Sandy Soto; David Romero v. City of Carlsbad, et al.
Plaintiffs, husband and wife, filed a lawsuit against our client West Coast Arborists (“WCA”) and the City of Carlsbad seeking damages for injuries allegedly sustained when a branch broke off and struck Plaintiff on the head, neck and back at a public park. Plaintiffs alleged causes of action against WCA for Negligence, Dangerous Condition of Public Property, and Loss of Consortium. WCA was contracted with the City of Carlsbad to perform tree trimming services for the City’s parks.
WCA filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that WCA did not owe the Plaintiff a legal duty under any theory because WCA was not the owner of the subject property, no contractual relationship existed, and that there was no special relationship that would warrant creating a legal duty to Plaintiff. WCA also presented evidence that it was not public entity, and argued that Plaintiff’s loss of consortium claim fell with the claims of the primary injured spouse.
The court granted summary judgment and ruled in favor of WCA on all three causes of action.