Maddern v. City & County of San Francisco

169 P.2d 425, 74 Cal. App. 2d 742, 1946 Cal. App. LEXIS 1023
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 29, 1946
DocketCiv. No. 12960
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 169 P.2d 425 (Maddern v. City & County of San Francisco) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Maddern v. City & County of San Francisco, 169 P.2d 425, 74 Cal. App. 2d 742, 1946 Cal. App. LEXIS 1023 (Cal. Ct. App. 1946).

Opinion

SCHOTTKY, J. pro tem.

Plaintiff brought this action under the Public Liability Act of 1923 (Stats. 1923, p. 675; 2 Deering’s Gen. Laws, Act 5619) to recover damages for personal injuries to himself and damages to his automobile, sustained when, while driving on Bush Street between Franklin Street and Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, the pavement [744]*744collapsed and his ear sunk into the depression. The action was tried before a jury, and a verdict rendered in plaintiff’s favor for $3,585. From the judgment entered pursuant thereto the defendant city has appealed.

The accident happened about 10:30 in the evening of January 7, 1944. Plaintiff was driving alone in his car, and when he was about three-quarters of the way down the block from Franklin Street toward Van Ness Avenue his car began to lurch toward the left and then toward the right; and when it came to a stop the back end was resting in a large depression, the front end was a little above street level, and the car was at about a 45-degree angle. Plaintiff climbed out of the car, remained five or ten minutes, left to make a telephone call and returned to the scene, declined the services of an ambulance, and remained about an hour before going home. He had been thrown to the floor of the car by the impact and suffered from bruises and nervous shock. The size of the depression into which the car had sunk was variously estimated at from 65 to 80 feet long, 10 to 12 feet wide, and 8 to 10 feet deep. It is not disputed that the pavement collapsed into this depression while plaintiff was driving over it. The slope in grade of Bush Street from Franklin Street toward Van Ness Avenue is 5% per cent. The sewer, located in the middle of the street, is approximately 8 feet below the surface of the street and drops at a descent parallel to the street. There was one cement or concrete sewer pipe 15 inches in diameter. Between the pipe and the pavement, and supporting the latter was a sandy soil which is common to this area. There was an asphalt concrete wearing surface for the pavement of two inches thickness; its concrete base was around six inches.

As grounds for reversal of the judgment defendant contends : 1. That the evidence does not establish any element of knowledge upon the part of the city or notice to the city; 2. The trial court erred in admitting into evidence that there was a replacement by the city of pipe in the whole block six months subsequent to the accident; 3. The court erred in its instructions to the jury; and 4. The damages are grossly excessive. We shall discuss these contentions in the order of their statement.

The portion of the Public Liability Act pertinent here reads as follows: ‘ ‘ Counties, municipalities and school districts shall be liable for injuries to persons and property resulting from the dangerous or defective condition of public streets, high[745]*745ways, . . . and property in all eases where the governing or managing board of such county, municipality, school district, or other board, officer, or person having authority to remedy such condition, had knowledge or notice of the defective or dangerous condition of any such street, highway . . . and failed or neglected, for a reasonable time after acquiring such knowledge or receiving such notice, to remedy such condition or failed and neglected for a reasonable time after acquiring such knowledge or receiving such notice to take such action as may be reasonably necessary to protect the public against such dangerous or defective condition. ’ ’

It is not contended by plaintiff that there was any evidence of actual notice to the defendant city or actual knowledge on its part, but plaintiff relies upon constructive notice.

Before discussing the contention of defendant that the evidence is insufficient to establish constructive notice on the part of the city, we shall briefly summarize the evidence.

Reuben Nybakken, witness for the plaintiff, testified that he worked for the James F. Waters Co., automobile agency located on the southwest corner of Bush and Van Ness, and had been so employed for some time prior to January 7, 1944, the date of the collapse of the street and consequent injury to plaintiff. He recalled the incident herein involved. The collapse occurred on Bush Street, some relatively short distance west of Van Ness Avenue, and in the approximate center of that street. Nybakken lived directly across the street from his place of employment—his residence being an apartment house on the northwest corner of Bush and Van Ness. He crossed Bush Street (at the place where the collapse occurred) every day to go to lunch. He and other of the employees of James F. Waters Co. usually went to the Little Fawn Restaurant, located on the northwest corner of Bush and Van Ness. In crossing Bush Street for lunch he “noticed the street was cracked, started at the intersection and back up Bush Street towards Franklin was cracked twenty or thirty feet, I would say.” He first noticed that crack about “four or five days” prior to its collapse on January 7, 1944. The crack ran lengthwise with Bush Street, and he said that it was about iy2 inches wide and that he could look down into it about 2 feet and see concrete. On more particular questioning concerning the extension of the crack from the intersection or the Van Ness property line, he said that it started at the Van Ness property line and ran about 30 feet west on Bush towards [746]*746Franklin Street. He did not report the fact of having seen the crack to anyone in the City Hall whose duty it would be to maintain the streets.

Norman E. Taber, witness for plaintiff, also worked in the James F. Waters Co., and was likewise in the habit of going to the Little Fawn Restaurant. While crossing Bush to go to the restaurant he had noticed a crack in the street “two or three days” prior to the collapse of the street. It was a small “break in a paved street,” running lengthwise with Bush Street, about midway between the two sidewalks. It began west of Van Ness, and was “twenty or thirty” feet long. Over the period of time (prior to the collapse) that the witness had observed the crack it increased to a width of about ‘ ‘ three inches. ’ ’ He looked down into the crack for a distance of about one foot, and he saw what appeared to have been asphalt. Taber never reported having seen the crack in the street to anyone in the City Hall who might remedy the defect.

Plaintiff examined Emile Muheim, Superintendent of the San Francisco Bureau of Street and Sewer Repair, under section 2055 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The witness held that position during all the times concerned in this action. He testified that1 ‘ There are something like 325 street sweepers that are instructed to watch the streets and curbs, manhole covers, cesspool covers, etc., and get in communication with the proper authorities. There are six men, I believe, in the traffic bureau, in the City Engineer’s office, it is part of their duty. There are also five inspectors.” He said that he was, on the evening of January 7, 1944, called to the scene of the street collapse herein involved by his general foreman. Because of the great amount of sand washed away under the pavement at the situs of the break, he concluded that the sewer pipe had a break in it through which the subpavement sand had escaped. The easternmost tip of the hole in the street was about “ten or twelve feet west of the west property line of Van Ness Avenue. ’ ’ That 10 or 12 foot area was likewise somewhat undermined, and the witness directed people who were standing on that undermined asphalt to move away lest it should also collapse.

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Bluebook (online)
169 P.2d 425, 74 Cal. App. 2d 742, 1946 Cal. App. LEXIS 1023, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maddern-v-city-county-of-san-francisco-calctapp-1946.