Thompson

Background Plaintiff was injured in 2008 while a passenger on an Alameda-Contra Costa County Transit District (AC Transit) bus being operated by defendant Mario Torres. On April 19, 2011, following a jury trial, judgment was entered awarding plaintiff $10,566 in damages ($5,566 in medical expenses and $5,000 in general damages) on his personal injury action against AC Transit and Torres. The judgment apportioned responsibility for the accident and, thus, liability for the general damages, according to the jury’s verdict in equal thirds between AC Transit, Torres and the unknown driver of a car involved in the

1 collision. AC Transit paid plaintiff $8,335 in satisfaction of the share of the judgment for which AC Transit and Torres were responsible.1 In January 2009, plaintiff submitted an uninsured motorist claim under his State Farm insurance policy. In February 2012, State Farm paid plaintiff $11,029 on the claim. The letter accompanying the payment stated, “Our efforts to resolve this claim through negotiation were not successful and appear to have reached an impasse. Under these circumstances, we are advancing the amount of our initial offer . . . . [¶] This payment is made in…