Brown v. City and County of San Francisco CA1/3

Filed 11/26/14 Brown v. City and County of San Francisco CA1/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

JOHNNIE L. BROWN, Plaintiff and Appellant, A140644 v. CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN (City & County of San Francisco FRANCISCO, Super. Ct. No. 500108) Defendant and Respondent.

Plaintiff Johnnie L. Brown was allegedly injured when a bus door closed on her. She sued the City and County of San Francisco (city) on the ground the city had constructive knowledge of the existence of a dangerous condition of public property. On appeal from a summary judgment entered in favor of the city, her sole claim is that certain city witnesses who supplied declarations in support of the city’s summary judgment motion failed to properly authenticate business records on which they relied. We affirm the judgment. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On October 14, 2009, Brown was riding MUNI coach number 6418 on the 38 Geary line in San Francisco. Brown and her companion, Eddie Pipkin, began exiting the rearmost door of the bus. Pipkin stepped off the bus completely and turned back to look at Brown, who had placed both feet on the second of three steps in the stairwell of

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the rear doorway. The door closed on Brown’s hip while she was standing on the second step. Brown sued the city to recover for injuries she allegedly suffered when the bus door closed on her. In the operative fifth amended complaint (hereafter, complaint), she alleges a single cause of action for premises liability based on a dangerous condition of public property. She alleges the city had constructive knowledge of the existence of a dangerous condition created by employees of the city. Brown sought discovery from the city regarding MUNI coach number 6418. The discovery consisted of special interrogatories, document requests, and requests for admission. According to the city, Brown did not conduct any depositions or pursue further discovery. In response to discovery propounded by the city, Brown identified MUNI coach number 6418 as the bus on which she was injured. The city moved for summary judgment. It claimed the doors functioned properly and there was no evidence of prior accidents involving the doors. It further argued Brown could not establish the existence of a dangerous condition or that the city had actual or constructive notice of any alleged dangerous condition. Finally, the city argued that it enjoyed design immunity. In support of its motion, the city relied on excerpts from Brown’s deposition and her responses to special interrogatories. The city also relied upon the declarations of MUNI employees Elson Hao and Neal Popp. Popp was the deputy director of maintenance for MUNI and had previously been MUNI’s senior operations manager. He stated that MUNI’s 38 Geary line is populated with Neoplan AN460 buses, which are “articulated” 60-foot-long buses with two right- side rear doors that close automatically and cannot be closed by a bus operator. The rear doors may be opened by a passenger or by the bus driver. According to Popp, a passenger can open the door after the bus has come to a stop and the operator pushes a button unlocking the rear door by either (1) pressing a touch bar on the door or (2) standing in the exit stairwell on the bottom treadle step. Regardless of whether the door was opened by the passenger or the operator, the door closes automatically after a short,