Copeland

The City of Oakland appeals from a judgment in favor of Robert W. Copeland and his wife, Margaret Copeland, in a personal injury case arising out of the overturn of their truck at an intersection in Oakland. The city argues that there was insufficient evidence that it had accepted the street on which the accident occurred into the city’s street system. Absent such acceptance, the city would be immune from liability pursuant to Streets and Highways Code section 1806. We find that there was substantial evidence of acceptance of the street and affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background

On August 18, 1984, Copeland was driving his tractor-trailer rig, making a right turn from Seventh Street to Maritime Street in Oakland, when he felt the left wheels of the trailer drop into a storm drain grating and the right wheel begin to lift off the ground. This caused the entire rig to tip over and fall on its left side. Copeland and his wife, who was a passenger in the truck, were seriously injured. The Copelands’ claim against the city was denied, and they filed an action in superior court.

The storm drain, located in the traveled portion of Maritime Street, had been constructed in…