Officer shooting

Settlement: $1,088,427

BART passenger shot and killed on station platform by transit police officer during New Year’s scuffle (Johnson v. Bay Area Rapid Transit District, Northern District Federal Court, Plaintiff attorney: John L. Burris).

Shaken baby syndrome

Settlement: $2,000,000

Victim of abuse settled with county social services for failure to monitor infant’s placement setting (Confidential v. County of Alameda, Alameda County Superior Court, Plaintiff attorney: R. Lewis Van Blois).

Insurance bad faith

Verdict: Defense

Homeowner whose residence suffered significant damage from a fire claimed her insurance carrier failed to deal with her claim in good faith (Frawley v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., Sacramento County Superior Court, Defense attorney: Julian J. Pardini).

Motorcycle fatality

Verdict: $3,859,000

Family of motorcyclist killed in intersection collision recovered in retrial following successful appeal of a defense verdict (Kennedy v. Cummings, San Diego County Superior Court, Plaintiff attorney: Otto L. Haselhoff).

Copyright infringement

Verdict: $6,884,215

Civil engineer alleged copyright infringement of plans against the developer of a subdivision (McIntosh v. Northern California Universal Enterprises, Eastern District Federal Court, Plaintiff attorney: James J. Braze).

Medical malpractice

Verdict: Defense

Patient whose back surgery resulted in paralysis alleged negligence, lack of informed consent (Cake v. Misra, Fresno County Superior Court, Defense attorney: William M. White).

Head-on collision

Settlement: $705,000

Motorist was severely injured when a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction skidded on black ice and struck his pickup truck head on (Schaefer v. Peterson, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Plaintiff attorney: Wayne McClean).

Construction defects

Settlement: $11,375,000

Construction project was allegedly plagued with numerous defects, requiring two-year relocation of building occupants (Price Charities v. Martinez & Cutri Architects, San Diego County Superior Court, Plaintiff attorney: Kenneth C. Turek).

Disability discrimination

Verdict: Defense

City of Oceanside police officer claimed the department’s actions following his workers’ compensation claim were discriminatory (Brazelton v. City of Oceanside, San Diego County Superior Court, Defense attorney: Deborah Nash).

Prisoner rights

Verdict: $100,000

Inmate claimed that indifference to her requests for medical care resulted in damage from MRSA infection (McKinn v. County of San Bernardino, Central District Federal Court, Plaintiff attorney: Robert Mann).

Editor's Note: California Bar Journal publishes this abbreviated summary of important trials in California provided by Trials Digest. To report your case results, go to west.thomson.com/trialsdigest/form.aspx or call 415-344-3952.