Cleveland v. Taft Union High School Dist. CA5
Plaintiff Bowe Cleveland obtained a $2 million judgment against Defendant Taft Union High School District (District) for negligence in assessing the threat posed by a student who shot plaintiff in the stomach with a shotgun. After the jury verdict in his favor, plaintiff filed a motion pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.420 seeking the attorney fees and costs incurred because defendants denied requests for admission (RFAs) that District was aware the shooter made “violent threats” to other students in February 2012.
The trial court denied the request on the grounds that the undefined term “violent threats” could have many different meanings and the matters covered by the RFAs were not of substantial importance because the details about what the shooter said and did 11 months before the shooting needed to be presented to the jury for it to evaluate whether the reaction of District’s employees breached the standard of care. As explained below, we conclude the tria
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