Allen

Civil Code section 3333.4, an initiative measure that the voters passed in 1996, precludes uninsured motorists who are injured in accidents from recovering noneconomic damages for their pain and suffering. 1 In Day v. City of Fontana (2001) 25 Cal.4th 268 [ 105 Cal.Rptr.2d 457 , 19 P.3d 1196 ] (Day), a majority of this court applied that provision against two public entities that failed to correct or warn of a dangerous condition on public land. I disagreed and joined Justice Stanley Mosk’s dissent. Today, relying on Day , the majority applies section 3333.4 in an action against private contractors responsible for a dangerous property condition. Again, I dissent.

The front tire of plaintiffs motorcycle caught on a three-inch high elevated lip of a bus pad defendants built on Bundy Drive at Santa Monica Boulevard for the City of Los Angeles. The motorcycle slipped and plaintiff fell on his kneecap. The majority bars recovery for the pain and suffering plaintiff experienced from the injury. But as Justice Mosk pointed out in Day , the voters who enacted section 3333.4 “did not intend to limit damages for injuries to motorists based on a dangerous condition of property . . . .”…

The majority’s expansive interpretation of Proposition 213, enacted as Civil Code section 3333.4 (section 3333.4), produces a result that surely was not contemplated by the voters who passed this initiative. According to the majority, a private contractor that maintains a dangerous condition on property is excused from bearing the cost of injuries caused by its negligent behavior when the injured party happens to be an uninsured motorist. Because there is no suggestion in either the language or the legislative history of section 3333.4 that it was intended to apply in the case of a negligent private contractor, I respectfully dissent.

The majority reaches its conclusion by relying on our decision in Day v. City of Fontana (2001) 25 Cal.4th 268 [ 105 Cal.Rptr.2d 457 , 19 P.3d 1196 ] (Day), where we held that under section 3333.4, an uninsured motorist is precluded from recovering noneconomic damages in an action against a *233 public entity. I disagree for three reasons. First, I question the Day majority’s broad reading of Proposition 213, given our previous discussion of this initiative in Hodges v. Superior Court (1999) 21 Cal.4th 109 [ 86 Cal.Rptr.2d 884 , 980 P.2d 433 ]…

Civil Code section 3333.4 (section 3333.4) was enacted through passage of Proposition 213 in the November 5, 1996 General Election. Known as The Personal Responsibility Act of 1996, Proposition 213 sought to restrict the ability of uninsured motorists, convicted drunk drivers, and convicted felons to recover for losses suffered in accidents.

In this case, an uninsured motorcyclist was injured in a single-vehicle accident while turning across an unmarked elevated "bus pad" on a public roadway. We shall address whether section 3333.4 bars the motorcyclist from recovering noneconomic losses in his premises liability action against the private construction company that maintained control over the roadway at the time of the accident. We conclude that it does.

The City of Los Angeles (the City) hired Sully-Miller Contracting Company (Sully-Miller) as the prime contractor for certain road construction work, including street widening and the installation of concrete bus pads on the road at bus stop locations. Sully-Miller, in turn, subcontracted with Daniel J. Lopez Concrete Construction (Lopez Construction) to construct the bus pads. Sully-Miller retained responsibility for…

Civil Code section 3333.4 (section 3333.4) was enacted through passage of Proposition 213 in the November 5, 1996 General Election. Known as The Personal Responsibility Act of 1996, Proposition 213 sought to restrict the ability of uninsured motorists, convicted drunk drivers, and convicted felons to recover for losses suffered in accidents.

In this case, an uninsured motorcyclist was injured in a single-vehicle accident while turning across an unmarked elevated “bus pad” on a public roadway. We shall address whether section 3333.4 bars the motorcyclist from recovering noneconomic losses in his premises liability action against the private construction company that maintained control over the roadway at the time of the accident We conclude that it does.

Factual and Procedural Background

The City of Los Angeles (the City) hired Sully-Miller Contracting Company (Sully-Miller) as the prime contractor for certain road construction work, including street widening and the installation of concrete bus pads on the road at bus stop locations. Sully-Miller, in turn, subcontracted with Daniel J. Lopez Concrete Construction (Lopez Construction) to construct the bus pads.…