Advanced Civil Litigation: PLG-402-1412

Assignment: Assignment 3
You have filed a lawsuit on behalf of Janet Strother a
gainst Susan Fried in state court
in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. This case involves an incident tha
t occurred on July 12,
2013. On that date, plaintiff and her eight
–
year
–
old son, Sean, were riding their
bicycles on the sidewalk approaching 2250 Barrington Road
in University Heights,
Ohio. Sean was riding a few feet in front of his moth
er.
At the same time, defendant was backing her car out of h
er driveway located at 2250
Barrington Road. On the passenger side of defendant’s ve
hicle, the driveway was
lined with hedges, which obstructed the view of the drive
way from the sidewalk.
Noted from a preliminary interview with a member of yo
ur firm indicate that your client
gave the following responses:
Q And how did you come to fall?
A I just saw the car moving in front of me and I hit br
akes and I fell off the bike.
Q Where was her vehicle when you first saw it?
A Let me just say this, it happened so quickly, that she was
right there in front of me
when I just slammed on brakes. I didn’t see her until sh
e just pulled out in front of me.
Your client claims that she did not see the defendant’s ca
r until it was right in front of
her because the protruding hedges obstructed her view. Sh
e stated that the car
extended over half of the sidewalk and that the sudden e
mergence of the car caused
her to apply the brakes of her bicycle quickly and to fall,
injuring her knee. Your client
has repeatedly stated that the car was in front of her w
hen she fell.
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Defendant claimed, in her answer, that she saw plaintif
f and her son riding their bikes
along the sidewalk while she was backing out of the drive
way. She claims, in her
answer, that she brought her vehicle to a stop at the po
int of intersection between her
driveway and the sidewalk. She claims that she came to a com
plete stop before Mrs.
Strother, who was allegedly twelve to twenty feet from
this intersection, saw her
vehicle. She further claimed that she stopped her vehicle,
a 1984 Oldsmobile Delta,
right before the sidewalk, when the plaintiff’s bicycle st
ruck her car, causing plaintiff’s
injuries.
Both parties agree that defendant then exited her car
to see whether the plaintiff was
hurt and she subsequently loaded plaintiff’s bicycle in her
trunk and offered to drive
plaintiff home. Plaintiff then entered the car throu
gh the passenger side.
You filed a complaint in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas C
ourt, to which an answer
was filed.
In your research, you have found the following relevant l
anguage under Ohio Revised
Code 4511.431 that specifies the duty of emerging cars. T
he law states:
The driver of a vehicle or trackless trolley emerging from
an alley, building, private
road, or driveway within a business or residence district sha
ll stop the vehicle or
trackless trolley immediately prior to driving onto a sidew
alk area extending over the
alley, building entrance, road, or driveway, or in the
event there is no sidewalk area,
shall stop at the point nearest the street to be entere
d where the driver has a view of
approaching traffic thereon.
Ohio Revised Code 4511.38 states as follows:
Rules for starting and backing vehicles.
No person shall start a vehicle, streetcar, or trackless troll
ey which is stopped,
standing, or parked until such movement can be made with
reasonable safety.
Before backing, operators of vehicles, streetcars, or trackless
trolleys shall give ample
warning, and while backing they shall exercise vigilance no
t to injure person or
property on the street or highway.
No person shall back a motor vehicle on a freeway, except:
in a rest area; in the
performance of public works or official duties; as a result
of an emergency caused by
an accident or breakdown of a motor vehicle.
Your client has also told you that she saw the police inte
rviewing two bystanders after
the accident, but she has no idea who they are or where
they live.
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ntID=1681