People v. Southern California Edison Co.

After a trial before a jury, the People of the State of California (hereinafter “State”) recovered a judgment for $21,584.19 against Southern California Edison Company (hereinafter “Edison”) in an action for fire suppression expenses pursuant to Health and Safety Code sections 13009, 13008 and 13007. Thereafter, the trial court granted Edison’s motion for a new trial on the sole ground of jury misconduct. State has appealed from that order, and Edison filed a timely protective cross-appeal from the judgment.

The central issues to be determined are (1) whether the declaration of trial counsel for Edison, submitted in support of the motion for a new trial, was adequate to establish that neither he nor Edison had knowledge of the jury improprieties prior to the return of the verdict, and (2) whether it was reversible error for the trial court to withdraw the determination of the amount of State’s damages from the jury by instructing the jury that State’s firefighting expenses had been established in the amount of $21,584.19.

Motion for a New Trial

The fire giving rise to this litigation occurred in rural Tulare County in July 1968 and spread over an approximate 65-acre…