Three cars entered the freeway in front of defendant’s truck. The first car suddenly slammed on its brakes coming to a full stop. The other two cars braked and avoided a collision. The truck slowed but could not stop and a car in the adjoining lane prevented it from switching lanes to avoid an accident. This decision holds that the trial court correctly granted defendant summary judgment based on the sudden emergency or imminent peril doctrine as the undisputed evidence established all three of the elements of that doctrine: (1) There was a sudden and unexpected emergency situation in which someone was in actual or apparent danger of immediate injury; (2) The defendant did not cause the emergency; and (3) The defendant acted as a reasonably careful person would have acted in similar circumstances.
California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 6 (Yegan, Acting P.J.); June 12, 2018; 2018 Cal. App. LEXIS 535