You might have missed this story about how city coffers just got $650,000 lighter. It’s an example of the unpleasant compromises that come with the territory of being a city attorney.
In 2009, then-Cal State Long Beach student Macey Kibbee was crossing the intersection Clark Avenue and Los Coyotes Diagonal on what witnesses say was a green light, when she was struck by motorist going through what he claimed was a yellow light.
Kibbee suffered fractures to her skull and pelvis, among other injuries, resulting in permanent neurological and physical impairments.
The driver personally paid out $75,000 to Kibbee and his insurance paid out an additional $100,000, but those representing Kibbee also threatened to take the City of Long Beach to court, with attorneys for both victim and driver alleging that the 1.8-second length of the intersection’s “all-red phase”—i.e., the interval between when a light turns green after its opposing street signal turns red—was inadequate, even though the interval is within standards promulgated by U.S. Department of Transportation in its “Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).”
Although Principal Deputy City Attorney Monte Machit notes that “the phasing of the signals at the intersection, i.e., the sequence of the lights, has been changed, making a similar incident less likely,” the City has not lengthened the all-red phase, firm in its conviction that the timing is adequate.
Then why the settlement?
“Under California law, if a jury finds that the City is even 1% responsible, the City is obligated to pay all of the Plaintiff’s economic damages, such as earning she loses in the future because of this incident, as well as the costs of her past and future medical care,” explained Machit via email. “[…] Ms. Kibbee sustained substantial injuries, and her economic damages were sizable, in the 10 to 12 million dollar range. […] The settlement limited that exposure, and was a small fraction of what Kibbee might have been awarded by a jury; and is approximately the amount of her medical expenses to date.”
Such legal maneuvering is part of the civic landscape. It’s not the sexy law of hour-long courtroom dramas, but finding the least bad of possibilities is a necessary art.