Newport Beach Award Cited : Bill Would Shield Cities in Some Damage Cases

SACRAMENTO —  Saying that “the taxpaying public” had been unfairly held responsible in a $6-million Orange County Superior Court damage award last year, State Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) introduced legislation Friday to exempt local governments from liability for some injuries at beaches, parks and other recreational areas.

The bill is a reaction to a judgment last October against the City of Newport Beach favoring John Taylor, now 23, who was rendered a quadriplegic in a 1980 dive into the surf on a city beach.

“While I have great sympathy for the young man involved in the Newport Beach lawsuit, his unfortunate plight is not the fault of the Newport Beach taxpaying public,” Bergeson said.

Protection Factor

“My intent in carrying the legislation is to both protect our municipalities from these unwarranted claims and to make individuals more responsible for their own actions,” she said.

In the 1980 accident, Taylor, then 18, hit his head on the bottom when he dove into shallow water near the Balboa Pier.

His attorneys claimed in court that his injuries could have been avoided had the city posted warning signs about the constantly shifting ocean floor.

Bergeson, however, said the city would have been exempt from liability under existing case law had there been no improvements at all on the city beach.

But existing law, as it was applied to the Taylor lawsuit, states that the existence of lifeguards on the beach constitutes improvements that remove the exemption. Bergeson said her bill is intended to clarify the law in future cases.

Under the bill, improvements designed to make public recreational facilities accessible or to ensure public safety would not necessarily make public entities liable.

The City of Newport Beach is appealing the Taylor verdict.