Davis v. Harano

Filed 6/8/22 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

ANTHONY DAVIS, B306575

Plaintiff and Appellant, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC692726 v.

TYLER RAY HARANO,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, James A. Kaddo, Judge. Affirmed.

Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack, Andrew M. Jacobson, Christopher A. Kanne; The Pirnia Law Group and Ardy Pirnia for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Horvitz & Levy, Lacey L. Estudillo, Karen M. Bray; Gates, Gonter, Guy, Proudfoot & Muench and Gina Y. Kandarian-Stein for Defendant and Respondent.

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The jury disbelieved Anthony Davis’s claim that a 2017 rear-ender caused him $1.5 million in damages. We affirm. I We present the facts in favor of the prevailing party. In 2016, an accident totalled Davis’s car. He retained counsel, sued about pain in his neck and elsewhere, and settled. When his medical care ended in 2016, Davis still was claiming neck pain. In 2017, Tyler Ray Harano’s car made contact with Davis’s rear bumper. Photos show only slight damage to Davis’s bumper. No airbags went off, both cars were drivable, and Davis walked around the accident scene without discomfort. Davis told Harano there was no need to call the police. Davis drove himself home. He called his attorney right away but waited five days to seek medical attention. The lawyer was the same one Davis had retained for the 2016 litigation. Counsel recommended Davis go to medical providers who worked on a lien basis, which means they deferred billing demands and charged against Davis’s expected recovery from his suit against Harano. At trial, Harano conceded negligence. Davis told jurors of his suffering. Davis’s son, who lived with Davis, testified to corroborate Davis’s supposed injuries. The son agreed the lawsuit was like a lottery: “Some people win a lot of money. Some people don’t.” Davis’s son wanted his father to win “a substantial amount of money.” When asked if Davis’s lawyer told the son “what to say” during his testimony, the son answered, “Yes.” The jury awarded Davis nothing. It found the 2017 accident with Harano caused Davis no injury. Davis appealed.