Gibson v. Garcia
California Court of Appeals
96 Cal. App. 2d 681 (1950)

- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
Los Angeles Transit Lines (defendant) operated an urban streetcar system. This operation required Los Angeles Transit Lines to set up wooden utility poles next to busy city streets. Paul Garcia (defendant) crashed his car into one such pole. The pole had been rotted by termites. The crash caused the pole to topple and strike Ada Gibson (plaintiff), who sustained injuries as a result. Gibson sued both Garcia and Los Angeles Transit Lines for negligence. As regards Los Angeles Transit Lines, Gibson alleged that the weakened pole’s proximity to busy car and pedestrian traffic made it reasonably foreseeable that passersby such as Gibson could be injured if the pole collapsed. The trial court found Garcia liable for damages but sustained Los Angeles Transit Lines’ demurrer. Gibson appealed to the California Court of Appeals.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Shinn, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.