Shiver

*397 The sudden emergency doctrine, aka the imminent peril doctrine, shields a defendant from liability in a negligence action. The rule is aptly restated in jury instruction CACI 452. Here we have the rare case when the rule applies at a summary judgment motion. A freeway driver with the right of way is not required to anticipate an act of road rage that unexpectedly causes merging traffic in front of him to come to almost a dead stop. As we shall explain in detail, that is what happened here and why the defendants are not liable.

Appellant Joshua Shiver brought a negligence action against respondents Charles Edward Laramee and Don Shapka Trucking, LTD. Appellant was injured when his car was rear-ended by respondents' tractor-trailer. Appellant appeals from the judgment entered after the trial court granted respondents' motion for summary judgment. The trial court ruled that respondents were not liable pursuant to the sudden emergency doctrine. The doctrine applies where a defendant, acting with reasonable care, is suddenly and unexpectedly confronted by an emergency he did not cause. We affirm.

Facts

The traffic collision occurred in September 2014 at approximately 6:00 p.m.…