Saberi v. Cal-Nevada Towing
Nahid and Mohammad Saberi died after Nahid Saberi lost control of their car on an icy portion of the highway and slid into a tow truck parked on the shoulder of the road. Their daughter, plaintiff Mahnaz Saberi, along with plaintiff Estate of Mohammad Saberi, sued defendant Cal-Nevada Towing for wrongful death, contending that its employee, tow truck driver Douglas Casler, negligently parked his tow truck where it was foreseeable that another car would slide into it. Following a court trial, the trial court entered judgment in favor of Cal-Nevada Towing.
Plaintiffs contend on appeal that the trial court erred (1) in its application of the duty of care to the facts of this case, and (2) in allowing police officers to give expert testimony without foundation.
We conclude that the tow truck driver had a duty to use reasonable care in choosing whether, when and where to stop on the side of the highway. (Cabral v. Ralphs Grocery Co. (2011) 51 Cal.4th 764, 783 (Cabral).) Nonetheless, on these particular facts, the tow truck driver did not breach his duty of care as a matter of law. As a result, we need not address plaintiffs' additional claim regarding police officer expert testimony. We will affirm the judgment.
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