New CA Torts Case

To do the best job possible as a mediator, arbitrator and referee, I review and summarize every new published California civil case. In this blog post, I discuss a new civil case that was published last month. 

Landowner Tort Duty

California landowners often owe a duty of care to people on their property. Last month, the Second District Court of Appeal published a decision addressing the issue of whether a landowner owes a duty of care for an open and obvious risk. Whether a risk is open and obvious will often be a question of fact that will preclude the granting of a motion for summary judgment. In this case, however, the parties agreed the risk was open and obvious. A video discussing the case is above and my summary of the case is below.

New Torts Decision  

Montes v. Young Men's Christian Assn. of Glendale (2022) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2022 WL 3053305: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's order granting defendant's motion for summary judgment in plaintiffs' wrongful action for the death of their son. Decedent Abel Montes, Jr., fell to his death from the steep, sloped roof of a residential building where he lived, owned by defendant. Mr. Montes had been drinking and had eaten a marijuana brownie earlier, was feeling high, and had been acting erratically before the fall. The parties agreed there was an "open and obvious risk" from the roof sloped at a steep angle and covered with brittle, broken, slippery and unstable Spanish tiles. They also agreed there was no need for Mr. Montes to be on the roof. The Court of Appeal concluded that, under these circumstances, defendant owed no duty of care to Mr. Montes and the trial court properly granted the motion for summary judgment. (C.A. 2nd, August 3, 2022.)

Mediation, Arbitration and Referee Services

I help attorneys and their clients throughout California serving as a mediator, arbitrator and referee at ADR Services, Inc., handling business, commercial, employment, insurance bad faith, insurance coverage, landlord-tenant (commercial and residential), legal malpractice, medical malpractice, personal injury, real property and wrongful death cases. I'm an expert in new California civil case law and using Zoom. I've been a California civil trial lawyer since 1980 and a member of ABOTA since 1995. I've represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of civil cases including the areas listed above. To schedule a new matter, please contact my case manager at ADR services, Ins.,  Haward Cho, [email protected], (213) 683-1600.  

California Case Summaries™

Best regards,
Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.
Mediator, Arbitrator & Referee
California Case Summaries™
Lawyer Master Mentoring™
CA Civil Trial Attorney Since 1980
ABOTA Member Since 1995
Past President San Diego County Bar Assn., SD ABOTA Chapter
Phone: (619) 990-4312. Email: [email protected]