In Dammann v. Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation Dist., published December 20, 2012, the First Appellate District, Division 2, affirmed summary judgment in favor of the defendant district in a dangerous condition of public property case. The plaintiffs were injured in a cross-over auto accident on the Golden Gate Bridge. The trial court granted the district summary judgment based on Government Code section 830.6's design immunity. It concluded that the district was immune for its 1985 decision not to install moveable median barriers on the bridge. The plaintiffs argued that the district's later knowledge that technological advances in the barriers made them appropriate for the bridge constituted the "changed physical conditions" that, by statute, can trigger loss of design immunity. The appellate court carefully analyzed the legislative and court history of the statute's criteria for loss of the immunity, and concluded that only changed physical conditions that exist at the public property in question can terminate design immunity. Technological advances, including those installed on similar property elsewhere, do not constitute changed physical conditions.
Government Liability Update
Pollak, Vida & Fisher's "Weblawg" of Important Developments in California Public Entity Tort Liability. Edited by Daniel P. Barer, Partner, Pollak, Vida & Fisher
Recent Posts
- County's Change in Position on Interpretation of Ordinance after Assurances Found to Be Temporary Regulatory Taking
- District Attorney Acts for County, Not State, in Establishing Policy and Training Concerning Jailhouse Informants
- California Laws Governing Medicinal Marijuana Use Do Not Bar Cities and Counties from Barring Marijuana Dispensaries
- Ordinance Making Non-Disruptive "Insolent" Speech to City Council a Crime Deemed Facially Unconstitutional
- Placing Members of Different Gangs in Same Cell Alone Is Not in Itself Deliberate Indifference to Risk of Harm; Failure to Give Inmate Rand Notice Harmless Error
- Dirt Strip along Street in Residential Area Is Recreational Trail for Purpose of Immunity Statute
- Conflict-of-Interest Exception for Government Attorneys Does Not Apply to Private Attorneys Who Advise Public Entities
- Judge's Determination of Probable Cause at Preliminary Hearing May Not Preclude Plaintiff from Arguing Lack of Probable Cause in Federal Civil Rights Action
- Trial Court Cannot Grant Police Officer Qualified Immunity for 14th Amendment Claim of Improper Use of Force after Jury Finds Against Defendant on That Ground
- Correctional Employee Who Uses Addresses of Inmates Obtained Through Work to Intimidate Civil Litigant Acts Outside Scope of Employment as a Matter of Law
Categories
- Administrative Law
- Claim Procedure
- Current Affairs
- Dangerous Conditions of Public Property
- Federal Civil Rights
- Fees and Costs
- Immunities
- Inverse Condemnation
- mandatory duty
- Medical
- Miscellaneous
- Negligence
- Police Liability
- Prisoner's Rights
- Property Regulation
- Public Employment
- Religion
- School District Liability
- State Law Civil Rights
« Tree Planted in Street Median Is Not Dangerous Condition of Public Property if It Poses Danger Only to Those Driving Without Due Care | Main | In Deciding Whether Prison Healthcare Provider Is Deliberately Indifferent to Prisoner's Medical Needs, Jury May Consider the Resources Available to the Provider »
Verify your Comment
Previewing your Comment
This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been posted. Post another comment
As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.
Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.
Comments