New CA Tort Case

New Published California Tort Case

Was the City of Long Beach liable for plaintiff’s injury suffered when he fell from a rented electric scooter after hitting an asphalt patch on a sidewalk?

The California Court of Appeal Court addressed this issue last month. Below is my one-paragraph case summary from my online publication California Case Summaries™: 

Sargenti v. City of Long Beach (2026) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2026 WL 1362086: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court order granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment in plaintiff's action for personal injuries suffered when he fell from a rented electric scooter after hitting an asphalt patch on a sidewalk. The trial court granted defendant’s summary judgment motion on the ground that plaintiff had signed a user agreement with the scooter rental company that waived and released his negligence claims against defendant City of Long Beach (defendant). The Court of Appeal affirmed but on a different ground, concluding that defendant had neither actual nor constructive notice of the allegedly dangerous condition — rejecting plaintiff’s argument that defendant’s original (but subsequently corrected) interrogatory responses admitting it placed the asphalt patch automatically created a triable issue of material fact, and further holding that the Supreme Court's decision in Sweetwater Union High School Dist. v. Gilbane Building Co. (2019) 6 Cal.5th 931 did not authorize courts to consider inadmissible evidence, such as an unauthenticated Google Street View screenshot, in opposition to a summary judgment motion simply because the proponent claims the evidentiary defect could be cured at trial. (C.A. 2nd, May 15, 2026.)

Mediation, Arbitration & Referee Services

Monty A. McIntyre, Esq. helps attorneys and their clients throughout California as a mediator, arbitrator and referee, handling employment (PAGA, wage and hour, wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation), tort (elder abuse, legal malpractice, medical malpractice, personal injury, product liability and wrongful death), business, commercial, insurance (bad faith, coverage, UIM), real property and trust and estate/probate cases. Monty has been a California civil trial lawyer since 1980, a member of ABOTA since 1995, has tried over 100 civil cases (jury trials, judge trials, administrative trials and arbitrations), and has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in the areas listed above.

To easily schedule a new matter, pick your date on Monty's calendar: https://montymcintyre.com 

You can also mediate with Monty at ADR Services. To schedule at ADR Services contact Rachael Boughan, rboughan@adrservices.com, (619) 233-1323.

 California Case Summaries™
Know The New Law.  

California attorneys will win more cases and get better results by always knowing the new civil case law in their practice areas. California Case Summaries™ make this easy with unique one-paragraph case summaries, with practitioner takeaways, organized by legal topic, of every new civil case published by California courts throughout each year. Seven publication options are available for either Individual Attorney subscriptions (only the subscribing attorney can read the summaries) or Law Firm Unlimited subscriptions (the firm can send summaries to every firm attorney).

There are two ways to get California Case Summaries™:

1. Mediate with Monty McIntyre to Get a Free 1-Year Subscription to California Case Summaries™:

For law firm lawyers, when you conduct two half-day or two full-day private mediations in one calendar year with Monty McIntyre your law firm will get a free 1-year Law Firm Unlimited subscription (letting the firm send summaries to every attorney or paralegal) to California Case Summaries™.

For solo practitioners, when you conduct one half-day or full-day private mediation with Monty McIntyre you will a free 1-year Individual Attorney subscription to California Case Summaries™.
 
To easily schedule a mediation with Monty pick your date on Monty's calendar: https://montymcintyre.com 

You can also mediate with Monty at ADR Services. To schedule at ADR Services contact Rachael Boughan, rboughan@adrservices.com, (619) 233-1323.

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Do well and be well.  

Best regards,
Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.
Ending the Trauma of Litigation &
Helping Attorneys Get Excellent Results
-Settling or Deciding Cases or Issues: Mediator, Arbitrator & Referee
Employment, Torts, Business, Real Property, Insurance and Probate Cases
To easily schedule a new matter visit: https://montymcintyre.com 
-Working Up Cases: California Case Summaries™: Know The Law
-Trying Cases: Trial Alchemy™ - Learn from Civil Jury Trial Experts
ABOTA Member Since 1995
Past President San Diego County Bar Assn. (2002), Past President SD ABOTA Chapter (2014)
Phone: (619) 990-4312 | Email: monty@montymcintyre.com