Jones v. City of Firebaugh

1

DAQUAN JONES, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. CITY OF FIREBAUGH, Defendant and Appellant.

F083331

California Court of Appeals, Fifth District

June 29, 2023

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Fresno County Super Ct. No. 18CECG04044. Rosemary T. McGuire, Judge.

Suzanne M. Nicholson; Litigation Engineered and Chester E Walls for Defendant and Appellant.

Miles Sears &Eanni, Richard C. Watters and Lyndsie N. Russell for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

DETJEN, Acting P. J. Plaintiff and respondent Daquan Jones-a former truck driver-brought an action against defendant and appellant the City of Firebaugh (City) for personal injuries caused by a dangerous condition of public property. He alleged he was driving a tractor trailer on M Street when the road unexpectedly terminated in front of the private property of Hiller Aircraft Corporation (Hiller). Unable to turn around due in large part to concrete barricades on the road, Jones and his codriver John Cheatham entered Hiller's property. Hiller's general manager Steven Palm refused to let Jones and Cheatham leave until they paid $50. Thereafter, Jones and Palm got into a physical altercation. While being restrained by Palm on the ground, Jones was run over by Cheatham, who was driving off the property.

Following trial, the jury returned a special verdict finding, among other things: (1) City controlled M Street; (2) M Street was in a dangerous condition at the time of Jones's injuries; (3) the dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of these kinds of injuries; (4) City had sufficient notice of the dangerous condition to have taken measures to protect against it; (5) the negligent and/or wrongful conduct of a City employee acting within the scope of his employment created the dangerous condition; and (6) the dangerous condition was a substantial factor in causing harm to Jones. The jury awarded Jones over $9 million in damages: $1,182,877.69 in total past economic damages; $5,145,446 in total future economic damages; $1,500,000 in past noneconomic damages; and $1,500,000 in future noneconomic damages. Liability was apportioned as follows: 45 percent to Palm, 25 percent to Hiller, 25 percent to City, and 5 percent to Cheatham.^[1] After factoring in Cheatham's share of fault as well as prior settlements, the superior court adjudged Hiller and City jointly and severally liable for $5,743,907.51 in economic damages and City severally liable for $750,000 in noneconomic damages. An amended judgment on the special verdict was entered June 22, 2021.

On appeal, City makes four contentions. First, "the public property at issue was not a dangerous condition" "on this record and as a matter of law." Second, the trial court "abused its discretion when it allowed [an expert witness] to testify to the ultimate issue to be determined by the jury," i.e., whether "City's property was a dangerous condition." (Some capitalization omitted.) Third, CACI No. 1125 (Conditions on Adjacent Property) and Special Instruction No. 1 were "erroneous" and "contributed to the jury's erroneous finding of a dangerous condition." (Capitalization omitted.) Fourth, "[t]he court abused its discretion when it denied the City's motion for leave to amend its answer to conform to proof and instruct the jury on intentional or criminal conduct as a superseding cause." (Boldface &some capitalization omitted.)

We conclude: (1) substantial evidence supported the jury's finding of public entity liability; (2) the court did not abuse its discretion when it allowed an expert witness to testify about M Street's condition; (3) the challenged jury instructions were proper; and (4) the court's denial of City's request for leave to amend its answer was justifiable and its decision not to give City's requested instructions was not prejudicial.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

I. Trial testimonies

a. Daquan Jones

On July 2, 2018, Jones and Cheatham arrived at the loading dock of Red Rooster, a tomato packing operation located near the intersection of M Street and 12th Street. This was Jones's "first time in Fresno" and he was unfamiliar with the area.^[2] After picking up tomatoes, Jones needed to move his vehicle-an 80-foot-long "sleeper berth" tractor trailer-to accommodate "other drivers that was getting in the docks." He saw smaller "day cab" tractor trailers parked along M Street and "figured that that was someplace for trucks." Jones drove northbound on M Street and passed both 12th Street and 11th Street.

M Street dead-ended at 10th Street and in front of Hiller's property. Before Jones reached Hiller's "magnetic" gate, he had not seen any signs indicating M Street would terminate. Once there, he noticed concrete barricades on the road. Because of these barricades, Jones "could not make a safe U-turn" and deemed a three-point turn "impossible." In addition, based on his training, he felt "[i]t was unsafe to back up that far."

Jones "popped [the] parking brakes." Cheatham got out of the tractor trailer and asked "one of the [Hiller] employees outside" "if it was okay to make a U-turn." That individual-Cory Hornsby-"said, yes, of course." After Cheatham returned to the truck, Jones passed through the open gate and made a U-turn. Before the pair could leave, however, Palm "came out of nowhere" yelling, "Stop, Stop" and "jumped on" "the steps" on "[t]he driver's side." Jones stopped the truck and both he and Cheatham disembarked. Palm insisted the men had to pay $50 for making a U-turn on Hiller's property. Jones replied, "You don't have any signs out indicating that it's $50. So, at this point, can you just call the police? If I'm at fault, I will pay you the $50. But can you please call the police?" Palm refused to call the police.

Per Jones's instructions, Cheatham went back inside the tractor trailer. After Jones told Palm they "were going to leave," Palm "shut the gate." Jones reopened the gate and told Cheatham to "drive out." As Cheatham "drove slow out of the gate," Jones headed toward the truck. When he "got to the front of the truck," Palm "started pushing" him. They were at the side of the vehicle when Palm said, "You're gonna get hurt." Jones and Palm "got into a pushing match." Palm placed Jones in a headlock and the two "fell to the ground" "underneath the trailer." Jones implored, "Hey, man, just let me up.

I'm gonna get ran over." Palm did not release him. Jones's "whole left side" was then crushed by the trailer's right rear tires.

As a result of the accident, Jones sustained a large left buttock avulsion; a left shoulder fracture dislocation; a neck fracture; severe damage to the anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments of the left knee; damage to the left peroneal nerve leading to functional left foot drop; mild to moderate traumatic brain injury; permanent memory and cognitive deficits; posttraumatic stress disorder; and major depressive disorder. He underwent numerous surgeries at various medical facilities.

b. Gary Maslanka

In July 2017, Maslanka-Hiller's materials manager-purchased 10 concrete barricades measuring "five feet by two feet by 18 inches thick" at Palm's behest. The purpose of these barricades "was to prevent the trucks from doing U-turns next to the property, or on the property" because "trucks tended to create a lot of dust" and Hiller was "producing a part that does not like any dust in the tooling."

c. Cory Hornsby

Hornsby, a Hiller aircraft mechanic, was one of the employees Palm tasked with placing the barricades on M Street. Vehicular access to eastbound 10th Street was blocked by a line of seven barricades, the farthest of which was approximately 88 feet south of Hiller's fence. Access to westbound 10th Street was blocked by a line of three barricades.

At Palm's direction, Hornsby stenciled the phrase "Truck Turn Around $50 Cash" on some of the barricades.^[3]

d. John Borboa

Approximately two weeks before the July 2, 2018 accident, Borboa-City's fire chief-observed a Hiller employee "on a backhoe placing power poles across" "the 10th Street driveway." Worried these poles would "negate[] [a fire engine's] ingress and egress to the property that's on the north side of Hiller," Borboa spoke with the employee, who remarked "his boss wasn't going to be happy." At the same time, Borboa noticed the barricades but believed they were on private property. Later, after a land survey was performed, he learned the barricades were actually on City's property.^[4]

On the day of the accident, Borboa returned to the site and saw the barricades again. He contacted Palm and expressed concern about them, i.e., "if [Hiller] had something behind [its] property [the fire department] would not be able to get fire apparatus to the back side of [the] property." A few days later, Palm informed Borboa the barricades were removed.

e. Salvador Raygoza

Raygoza, City's police chief, testified the police department was responsible for enforcement of the municipal code. On or around June 20, 2018, sometime after Borboa advised him Hiller's barricades may be on City's property, Raygoza sent a code enforcement officer to Hiller's location. According to the officer, Palm maintained Hiller placed the barricades on its own property after conducting a survey. Raygoza instructed the officer "to work with the building department at city hall and check and see if truly, in fact, those cement barricades were on private property."

On July 2, 2018, the day of the accident, Raygoza arrived on the scene and spotted the barricades along M Street. Thereafter, City commissioned a survey. Raygoza learned barricades were on City's property. (See ante, fn. 4.)

f. Benjamin Gallegos

Gallegos City's public works director...