Alonzo v. Langridge CA3

Filed 5/20/13 Alonzo v. Langridge CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Nevada) ----

ROBERT ALONZO et al., C068767

Plaintiffs and Appellants, (Super. Ct. No. 76086)

v.

JESS E. LANGRIDGE,

Defendant and Respondent.

This case arises from a motor vehicle accident in which defendant Jess Langridge collided with plaintiffs Robert and Ashley Alonzo. The Alonzos rejected Langridge‟s offer to settle the case, but then recovered less than the amount of the settlement offer. The trial court awarded Langridge his expert witness fees, including the fees of neurologist Floyd Fortuin as charged by the company ExamWorks, which arranged for Dr. Fortuin to serve as an expert witness for Langridge. The Alonzos appeal from the judgment. Their sole contention is that the expert witness fees for Dr. Fortuin should be reduced to $400 per hour, the amount he testified was his “normal fee,” from the $650 to $750 per hour charged by ExamWorks. Because

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we find the trial court did not abuse its discretion in setting the amount of expert witness fees, we shall affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Robert Alonzo, accompanied by his wife Ashley, was driving on Highway 49 when he stopped to make a left turn. He was hit from behind by Langridge. The Alonzos sued Langridge for damages. In response to a request for admissions, Langridge admitted that his negligence caused the accident. About a month before trial, Langridge offered to compromise, pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 998 (section 998). He offered Robert $15,000 and Ashley $10,000. The Alonzos did not accept either offer, but Ashley offered to settle for $39,995. Having learned that the Alonzos had retained an expert witness, Dr. Blaha, Langridge retained Dr. Fortuin to examine both Alonzos. Dr. Fortuin was a board certified neurologist who for 40 years had been a clinical professor of neurology at University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. Dr. Fortuin was deposed and his deposition was videotaped for use at trial. In his deposition, Fortuin testified ExamWorks charged $750 per hour for his time, of which he received $400: “That‟s my normal fee.” After a four-day trial, the jury returned a special verdict on damages. It found Robert had past medical expenses of $4,500 and past noneconomic damages of $2,000, for total damages of $6,500. It found Ashley had past medical expenses of $7,550 and past noneconomic damages of $3,000, for total damages of $10,550. Ashley‟s medical expenses were reduced to $2,119.75 pursuant to Hanif v. Housing Authority (1988) 200