OMLO Partners Thomas Madruga and Tania Ochoa recently secured a significant appellate victory on behalf of the City of Inglewood in a wrongful death action arising from the fatal shooting of a man at Darby Park.
Following the death of Andrew Summerfield by an unknown third party at Darby Park, Summerfield’s parents and estate sued the City. The Plaintiffs alleged that the City had created a dangerous condition at the park by failing to install security cameras in an area where criminal activity had allegedly occurred. They argued that lack of security measures contributed to the circumstances of Summerfield’s death and supported liability against the City.
OMLO challenged the claim, leading the court to enter judgment in favor of the City. The Plaintiffs appealed.
In a published opinion issued October 25, 2023, the California Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment of dismissal. The Court concluded that the Plaintiffs’ allegations did not adequately establish that the absence of security cameras constituted a dangerous condition of public property or that the City could be held liable for the independent criminal act of the unknown shooter. The Court also concluded that the additional allegations proposed by the Plaintiffs were insufficiently specific to cure the deficiencies in their claims.
The California Court of Appeal, Second District’s decision resulted in a complete defense victory for the City.