McKinley v. CHLN, Inc.
Plaintiff Margaret McKinley and her family were dining at the Chart House restaurant in Newport Beach when a waiter on an upper level dropped several plates, hitting her on the head. A jury awarded her $165,000 in damages. Defendant CHLN, Inc., appealed. In its opening brief, appellant argued the trial court wrongly gave the jury a res ipsa loquitur instruction and improperly failed to reduce the amount of medical expenses damages by $30,000 pursuant to a pretrial stipulation. The appeal is still in the briefing phase.
The parties have now settled the matter and have filed a joint application and stipulation for reversal of the judgment pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 128, subdivision (a)(8) and in compliance with this courts published internal operating practices and procedures. A reviewing court may reverse or vacate a judgment upon the stipulation of the parties if it finds [t]here is no reasonable possibility that the interests of nonparties or the public will be adversely affected by the reversal, and [t]he reasons of the parties for requesting reversal outweigh the erosion of public trust that may result from the nullification of a judgment and the risk that the availability of stipulated reversal will reduce the incentive for pretrial settlement. (Code Civ. Proc., 128(a)(8)(A) & (B).)
Comments on McKinley v. CHLN, Inc.