Preston v. Bosch Motors, et al

Preston v. Bosch Motors, et al (United States District Court, District of Nevada 2002)

THE CASE OF THE RUNAWAY MUSTANG

On May 8, 2000, Plaintiff, Sheryl Preston, a homemaker age 49, was taking her regular daily walk on a sidewalk in Bellevue, Washington, when she was struck from behind by an automobile (owned by Defendant Brian Yax). The automobile, a 1988 Mustang came loose from a tow dolly pulled behind a Ryder Truck driven by Brian Yax at the top of the hill, hurtled off the dolly down the hill while gathering speed and blindsided Ms. Preston, who never saw nor heard, and could not have seen or heard, the Mustang coming. Ms. Preston was carried by the Mustang approximately 40 feet, was thrown onto the sidewalk, where she remained unconscious. It is uncontested that the dolly was equipped with adequate warnings and instructions relating to safety mechanisms. It is also uncontested that the safety chains were never deployed.

On or about Saturday April 29, 2000, Defendant Brian Yax was driving westbound on I-80 just outside Winnemucca, when the Mustang which broke down. Brian Yax called for a tow. Tim Adams, an employee of Defendant Bosch Motors, in Winnemucca, Nevada, answered the call, towed the Mustang to Bosch, unloaded the Mustang in the Bosch yard, and helped Mr. Yax to find a motel.

The following Monday morning, May 1, 2000, Allan Olson, the service manager for Bosch Motors, inspected the Mustang, informed Mr. Yax that it would be very expensive to repair the Mustang at Bosch, advised that Mr. Yax tow the Mustang to Seattle (Mr. Yax’s ultimate destination and where his cousin was a mechanic) because repairs would be cheaper, and advised Mr. Yax he could rent a truck and tow dolly in Winnemucca.

Acting on Mr. Olson’s advice, Brian Yax rented a truck and a tow dolly from a Ryder outlet in Winnemucca, and drove the truck and dolly to Bosch Motors to pick up the Mustang to tow to Seattle.

Upon driving the Ryder rental and attached tow dolly into the Bosch yard, Brian Yax met with both Mr. Olson and Mr. Adams. Mr Yax testified that “the service manager offered, and the tow truck driver, they told me that they would give me a hand since there was no way I was pushing the car on a dolly by myself.” Yax accepted the offer of assistance, telling Messers. Olson and Adams that “I’ve never done this before.” Messers. Yax, Olson, and Adams all agree that the three, acting together, loaded the Mustang onto the dolly. Mr. Yax testified that he put the Mustang in neutral and steered the vehicle while Mr. Adams and Mr. Olson from Bosch pushed the vehicle’s front wheels up onto the tow-dolly. Mr. Adams admitted that Mr. Yax told him that he had never loaded a car onto a dolly before. In the year prior to the incident, Mr. Adams had loaded 50-100 vehicles onto dollies and was intimately familiar with the correct manner in which to accomplish that task. According to Mr. Adams, the proper procedure was as follows:

I would make sure the straps are not tangled up, make sure I put the nylon straps over the tires, and then I would make sure, after I had taken and ratcheted it down, or whatever the type ratchet deal it hi\ad, make sure that it’s nice and secured. And then I would go back and make sure that the nylon straps are pulled up, not down, over the tire. When you go down the road, it would work loose and then it would be loose again. I would make sure it’s secure, just like putting chains on. And then I would make sure that the safety chains are on. I would either run it through the A-frame, or if it has the hooks like the tow deal, put it up on the frame and secure it nice and tight.

Although the dolly was equipped with both safety straps and chains, and although he admits being told that Mr. Yax had no experience in loading a vehicle onto a dolly, Mr. Adams claims he rendered no assistance in attaching any safety mechanism, made no inspection after he helped Mr. Olson push the Mustang onto the dolly, and offered no suggestions to Mr. Yax as to how to properly secure the Mustang onto the dolly.

Mr. Yax paid Bosch $28 in cash as compensation for the work performed in loading the Mustang onto the dolly.

Working with former Washington Trial Lawyer President Robert Dawson, Mr. Cashill and Mr. Dawson settled the case for $1,000,000.