2001 AGN DEC 18 I14 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Item #14 CITY OF COLTON AGENDA REPORT FOR COUNCIL MEETING OF December 18, 2001 Daryl Parrish, City Manager City Attorney ECT: Request for Amicus Curiae Support in Bonanno v. Central Contra Costa Transit Authority TE: December 18, 2001 BACKGROUND: From time to time, public agencies seek the City's support as an amicus curiae (a friend of the court). There is no cost to the City to participate as an amicus curiae. The County of Solano is seeking support in the case described below which involved a ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that will affect all law enforcement agencies in California. DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: The plaintiff, Darlene Bonanno, suffered serious injuries when struck by a car while crossing a street in a marked crosswalk at an unlighted/unsignalized intersection to reach a CCCTA bus stop. Bonanno claimed that the bus stop location constituted a dangerous condition because it "induced" pedestrians like herself to use the crosswalk to cross a busy street at an unlighted intersection. CCCTA did not own, control or operate the public street, crosswalk or sidewalk near the accident, all of which were county property. The trial granted a non -suit in CCCTA's favor, ruling that the driver at fault was the sole cause of the accident. Bonanno appealed the trial court's ruling and the Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's decision. The appellate court created a new precedent to impose premises liability on a public agency if it fails to make sure that a route traveled to its property is safe, despite the lack of any dangerous condition on the agency's own property. If allowed to stand, the appellate court's ruling will have an enormous negative impact on all public agencies in the State. The State Supreme Court granted review of the case. The amicus brief will demonstrate that Bonanno's expansion of dangerous condition liability threatens every public agency in California that has publicly accessible property. We believe that the success of this brief and a favorable outcome for CCCTA will be of great importance to the City of Colton. Therefore we urge the City Council to authorize the City's participation in the amicus curiae brief in the matter of Bonanno v. Central Contra Costa Transit Authority. RVPUB\NGS\624042