Cavalcanti v. Equity Residential
In this premises liability case, Plaintiff fell into a 3’ deep utility box that had a cracked plastic cover. The utility box, owned and maintained by PG&E, was built into the sidewalk of one of the Defendant's apartment buildings. After the fall, plaintiff had emergency treatment, therapy, injections and ultimately hip fusion surgery.
Defendant discovered the crack in the cover a month before the fall and notified PG&E; however, PG&E did not remedy the problem until learning of Plaintiff's injury. Plaintiff alleged that Defendant failed to properly warn of the dangerous condition. Ultimately, the jury found the Defendant negligent in the maintenance of the property.
Prior to trial, PG&E settled with the plaintiff. Defense counsel subsequently requested a complete set-off of the settlement under the doctrine of non-delegable duty. Plaintiff objected and the court tentatively ruled in favor of Plaintiff, but allowed the Defendant to argue comparative fault and brief the issue prior to a final ruling.
After review of Defendant’s brief, the judge issued a final ruling and ordered that in the event of a damage award to Plaintiff, that Defendant would in fact be entitled to a complete set-off of PG&E's settlement with Plaintiff.
After a two week trial, Plaintiff asked the jury for $1.8 million in damages. The jury returned a verdict of $179,000 in damages. Thus, after setoff of $300,000 from co-defendant’s settlement, the Plaintiff recovered nothing from the Defendant.