Stokes

Stokes v. Muschinske

Good Law
245 Cal. Rptr. 3d 764·34 Cal. App. 5th 45
Court of Appeal of CaliforniaMarch 14, 2019B280116California5,919 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

Bigelow, J.

*47 Plaintiffs James Stokes and his wife Patricia Stokes sued Defendant Martin Muschinske after he rear-ended a car driven by Stokes, injuring him. Muschinske stipulated to liability for the accident, and the remaining issues, particularly the extent of Stokes's injuries and damages, were tried to a jury. After hearing testimony from numerous experts and other witnesses, the jury returned a damages award of just over $ 610,000, far below Stokes's requested damages of $ 23.5 million for himself and $ 4 million for his wife.

Stokes 1 seeks to overturn the award, arguing the jury foreperson intentionally concealed during voir dire that he had been involved in two prior lawsuits, and the court allowed Muschinske to violate the collateral source rule as it related to his past and future medical expenses. 2 We *767 find no merit to these contentions and affirm.

BACKGROUND

Our overview of the facts is brief, and we will discuss additional background facts as necessary to resolving the issues on appeal.

On March 28, 2013, Muschinske was driving a pickup truck towing a horse trailer loaded with equipment when he rear-ended Stokes's car. Prior to trial, Muschinske stipulated to…

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