Trewin

Allan and Patricia Trewin, appellants, were seriously injured when an automobile driven by Harvey Foster Wood, age 87, crossed the center divider of a highway and collided with their automobile. Appellants sued the State of California, respondent, which issued a driver’s license through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to Wood before the accident. Their complaint alleged that DMV knew Wood was unable to safely operate a motor vehicle upon the streets and highways. The trial court entered a judgment on the pleadings in favor of respondent State of California and this appeal followed.

The judgment on the pleadings was granted to appellants’ first amended complaint. On the day of trial, appellants made a motion for leave to amend the first amended complaint to insert additional allegations. The motion was granted.

The DMV issued the driver’s license to Wood on November 24, 1976. On January 9, 1977, less than two months later, at or near Imperial Highway, near the intersection of Meyer in La Mirada, or Santa Fe Springs, California, Wood was operating his motor vehicle on the wrong side of the road after jumping a divider. It collided with appellants’ vehicle which was…