Hernandez

Randy Hernandez was standing near his car after an accident on the freeway when he was struck and killed by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s car. Randy’s minor daughter Jocelyn Hernandez, through her guardian ad litem Debbie Castaneda, brought a negligence action against the County of Los Angeles (County). The trial court concluded evidence of Randy’s marijuana use was relevant to assess fault attributable to Randy. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Jocelyn, but apportioned 14 percent of the fault to Randy for the accident. Jocelyn contends in her appeal from the judgment that the .trial court erred by admitting evidence of Randy’s marijuana use when there was no evidence the marijuana use contributed to the accident. We conclude evidence of marijuana use is irrelevant in the absence of a causal connection between the marijuana use and the accident. Admission of the evidence was prejudicial, because it is reasonably probable the allocation of fault for Randy’s death would have been more favorable to Jocelyn if the marijuana evidence had been excluded. We therefore reverse the judgment and remand for a new trial. Our resolution of Jocelyn’s appeal renders moot the…