Los Angeles plaintiffs’ lawyers have been working overtime since a Metrolink commuter train crashed head on into a Union Pacific freight train.
“We have been contacted, and we are interviewing people and making determinations of the necessary governmental agencies,” said Browne Greene, name partner at Santa Monica-based Greene Broillet & Wheeler LLP. “The claims have to be filed with all potential governmental agencies that are involved so you don’t fall through the cracks.”
The Chatsworth crash injured more than 135 people and killed at least 26, and is the most deadly in a recent series of Metrolink crashes.
The National Transportation Safety Board was still investigating the cause of the crash at press time, although it’s been reported that the Metrolink driver did not stop for a red light.
Beverly Hills-based plaintiffs’ firm Kiesel Boucher & Larson LLP filed the first claim last week with Metrolink on behalf of the parents of a 19-year-old woman who died in the crash.
Other attorneys, including high-profile L.A. plaintiffs’ lawyers Jerome Ringler and R. Edward Pfiester Jr., said they have been receiving calls from people who were injured in the Chatsworth crash or family members of those who died.
But, these attorneys have yet to file claims as they are mobilizing teams of lawyers to research which public agencies and private companies should be named in any claim or civil suit that is filed.
Claims are a legal prerequisite to a suit against a government agency. Once the claim is filed, the agency can either decline to pay the claim or not respond. If the agency doesn’t respond within 45 days, the individual can file a civil lawsuit.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers said agencies like the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority seldom agree to settle victims’ claims before the matter makes its way to the courthouse.
“In the 35 years of involving myself in railroad litigation, it is rare, if ever, that the carrier that operates the railroad in question goes to a settlement conference in any meaningful case,” said Ringler, who served as lead counsel for victims of the Metrolink train derailments in Placentia, Burbank and Glendale.
In the Glendale crash, which occurred in 2005 after a man parked his car on the tracks, Ringler said the majority of the filed claims went unanswered, and the public agencies only settled civil lawsuits with those who suffered minor injuries. The remaining civil suits, where plaintiffs are likely seeking upward of $500,000, are scheduled to go to trial in June.
Pfiester, a Los Angeles-based lawyer who has represented injured railroad workers and crash victims for 25 years, also represented victims in the Glendale crash and said Metrolink vigorously fought all damage claims.
“Metrolink isn’t standing around shoveling out money to people, they fight it tooth and nail,” Pfiester said.
Francisco Oaxaca, a Metrolink spokesman, said the agency would not comment on how it handles claims.
The fight is likely to drag on for several years.
“These cases are very complex, even in the most open-and-shut case,” Greene said.
Legal Treat
After he started working for Los Angeles-based frozen yogurt purveyor Pinkberry, Mark Friedman saw his status rise with one key constituent.
“My daughter thinks I am very cool right now,” Friedman said of his 7-year-old. “She was not impressed with the oil or golf industry, but now she thinks that I am cool.”
Pinkberry officially named Friedman, a South Bay native, general counsel last week. He had joined the company in June.
Before joining Pinkberry, he served as general counsel for Santa Monica-based golf management company American Golf Corp. and was previously senior counsel at oil giant BP.
Friedman said he jumped at the opportunity to work for a young company like Pinkberry, which is continuing to grow and recently opened its 67th store.
“At a startup, you can make your own way,” Friedman said. “You are a staff of one, and have to learn how to be practical.”
Friedman has been busy. Pinkberry filed six lawsuits in early September against alleged copycat frozen yogurt stores.
Friedman said the company’s trademark swirl, pebbled floors, Le Klint lamps and Danish-style benches are often imitated by competitors and create confusion among consumers.
“In once instance, we caught a gentleman who appeared to have taken our items from a construction site and put them in his store,” Friedman said.
He is also vice president of business development at the company, and in that role he’s looking forward to helping Chief Executive Ron Graves build the brand.
Staff reporter Alexa Hyland can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 235.
