Jury Finds No Dangerous Condition at Transbay Terminal

By editor on August 29, 2023

Maria Nozzolino, a partner at the firm, successfully defended her client and obtained a defense verdict in a dangerous condition of public property action in San Francisco Superior Court, the Honorable Christopher C. Hite presiding. The case was Minying Yang v. Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA), case number CGC-19-577438.

The plaintiff, Minying Yang, alleged an unmarked glass panel next to a sliding glass door at the Transbay Transit Center was a dangerous condition of public property under Government Code section 835. Yang was attempting to catch a bus from San Francisco to Oakland. After walking through the sliding glass doors to enter the bus deck platform, she checked the 511 App on her phone and decided to take an earlier-arriving bus. She turned around and hit the glass panel, missing the sliding doors she had walked through moments before.

Yang’s theory of the case rested upon her claim the unmarked glass panel was dangerous because of the failure to include warning signs or decals on the glass. The TJPA denied all liability, arguing the glass panel was properly constructed, met all applicable state and local building and safety codes, and did not present a substantial risk of injury when the property was used with due care. Yang sought past medical damages in the amount of $14,028 and past and future non-economic damages in the amount of $247,812. Non-economic damages were broken down by assigning a dollar amount per hour and day since the date of the accident.

After a six-day trial, the jury returned a defense verdict. The jury found the glass panel was not a dangerous condition of public property, specifically finding the glass wall did not present a substantial risk of injury when the property was used with due care.

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