Brian tried Wong v. Shigetoshi in Sacramento County. The plaintiff, a 92-year-old woman, claimed that she was walking on a city sidewalk when Brian’s client hit her and ran over her while he backed his pickup into the street from an auto repair facility. Brian’s offer at the settlement conference was $22,500 versus a demand of $50,000. On the first day of trial, the plaintiff’s attorney said the case could not settle for less than $100,000. Brian was able to convince the jury that based on the type of injuries sustained by the plaintiff she fell down before his client started backing out and was therefore not visible to him before and as he backed up.
The jury returned a defense verdict.