35 Cal. App. 5th 590
Cal. Ct. App. 5th2019Background
- On Aug. 20, 2012, Stephen Taulbee drove his Jeep into the back of a truck parked in the gore point between I‑5 and an exit ramp; Taulbee suffered catastrophic injuries.
- Plaintiffs (Taulbee and his wife) sued driver Carlos Aldana and his employer, EJ Distribution, alleging negligence.
- Trial court instructed jury that Aldana could be negligent per se for parking in the gore point (Veh. Code §21718) and that Taulbee could be negligent per se for driving across a dividing section (§21651). Plaintiffs requested, but the court refused, an instruction that Aldana could be negligent per se for driving into the gore point in violation of §21651.
- Evidence: Aldana testified his truck lost power and he stopped wholly within the gore point, turned on flashers, and tried unsuccessfully to restart the engine; 5–8 minutes later Taulbee’s Jeep struck the truck. Experts disagreed on whether Aldana could safely have coasted to a shoulder instead.
- The jury found Aldana not negligent and the court entered judgment for respondents. Plaintiffs appealed solely on the instructional error (failure to give negligence‑per‑se instruction for driving into gore point).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the trial court erred by refusing to give a negligence‑per‑se instruction that Aldana violated Veh. Code §21651 by driving into the gore point | Taulbee: substantial evidence showed Aldana drove into the gore point in violation of §21651 and that this violation could be a proximate cause of the collision; therefore the instruction was required | Respondents: even if Aldana violated §21651 in driving into the gore point, that act did not proximately cause the collision; the §21718 instruction (parking on freeway) addressed the relevant conduct | Court: no error — as a matter of law Aldana’s driving into the gore point did not proximately cause the collision; any instructional error was harmless given jury’s not‑negligent verdict on parking (§21718) |
Key Cases Cited
- Soule v. General Motors Corp., 8 Cal.4th 548 (trial‑court instruction standard and prejudice test)
- Alcala v. Vazmar Corp., 167 Cal.App.4th 747 (elements of negligence per se under Evidence Code §669)
- Traxler v. Varady, 12 Cal.App.4th 1321 (refusal to instruct on negligence per se proper where statutory violation did not proximately cause harm)
- Spriesterbach v. Holland, 215 Cal.App.4th 255 (failure to give negligence‑per‑se instruction not prejudicial where jury found defendant not negligent)