Fuss v. City of Los Angeles

PATROSSO, J. pro tem.

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Appeal by plaintiffs from an order quashing service of summons upon J. A. Thompson and Son, Inc., a corporation.

Plaintiffs instituted this action to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff Edith K. Fuss on August 4, 1954. The original complaint was filed on August 3, 1955, and named as defendants therein the city of Los Angeles, a municipal corporation, J. A. Thompson and Son, Contractors, a copartnership, J. A. Thompson, J. H. Thompson and a number of fictitiously named corporations, copartnerships and individuals. A first amended complaint was filed on August 15, 1955, naming the same defendants and insofar as material here, containing substantially identical allegations as the original complaint.

Both the original and first amended complaint allege “That J. A. Thompson & Son, Contractors, is a copartnership consisting of J. A. Thompson and J. H. Thompson;” that J. A. Thompson and J. H. Thompson were engaged in the construction business as contractors and constructed and laid a con

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crete sidewalk on the northerly side of Victory Boulevard immediately adjacent to premises owned and occupied by the plaintiffs; that “J. A. Thompson, J. H. Thompson, and their agents, and employees, Doe V and Doe VI,” in the course of constructing said sidewalk placed spacer-boards therein and after the completion of the work negligently left some of said spacer-boards imbedded in the sidewalk in such manner as to protrude and extend above the level thereof; that “J. A. Thompson, J. H. Thompson, Doe V and Doe VI knew, or should have known, that the said sidewalk with one or more of the said ‘spacer-boards’ so placed and protruding therefrom ... was a dangerous and defective condition which would constitute a continuing hazard to the public and particularly” the occupants of plaintiffs’ premises; “That the careless and negligent conduct of the said Defendants, J. A. Thompson and J. H. Thompson and Doe V and Doe VI created the dangerous and defective condition aforesaid which, as a continuing hazard, directly and proximately caused Plaintiff, Edith K. Fuss, to be injured” as therein set forth.

It will be noted from the foregoing recital of the allegations in plaintiffs’ complaint that the only defendants