Supreme Court hears arguments for civil case in preschool

murders

Lolita Harper

California Supreme Court judges heard arguments on Wednesday morning

about a civil lawsuit filed by the parents of two toddlers who died

at a preschool after a man intentionally ran them over with his car

five years ago.

The case is before the Supreme Court to decide if the Wiener and

Soto families, who lost children on that horrific day, have a

legitimate civil case against Southcoast Early Childhood Learning

Center, where the children were killed, and should be heard. The case

was thrown out of a lower court.

The proceeding took about an hour, said Ron Harris, whose Los

Angeles-based law firm Harris & Green represents the child-care

center. The information now lies with the Supreme Court for a

decision. Gary Leland Green, Harris’ partner, argued the case and

called Harris briefly before boarding a plane back home.

“We thought it went well,” Harris said. “As we lawyers say, all

the ‘hard questions’ were posed to the plaintiffs. ... Whether that

means anything or not, we have yet to see.”

Harris expects the Supreme Court to make a decision within the

next 30 days. The Wieners, Sotos and their legal counsel could not be

reached for comment by press time but have always expressed

confidence in their argument.

“We will win this lawsuit,” Aaron Wiener said earlier. Wiener’s

3-year-old son, Brandon, was one of the victims. On May 3, 1999,

Steven Abrams drove his brown 1967 Cadillac through a chain-link

fence at Southcoast Early Childhood Learning Center in Costa Mesa,

killing 4-year-old Sierra Soto and Brandon Wiener, and injuring

several others. He was found guilty on Aug. 24, 2000, on two counts

of murder, seven counts of attempted murder and three counts of

causing grievous bodily injury. His insanity plea was rejected, and

he went to prison for life without the possibility of parole.

In the midst of criminal legal proceedings, the parents filed a

wrongful death lawsuit against the school and its former director

Sheryl Hawkinson, accusing them of negligence. But an Orange County

Superior Court Judge threw out that lawsuit in January 2001.

The Wiener and Soto families appealed that decision, armed with

confirmation from the U.S. Postal Service that a mail carrier ran

into the school about three years before the murders. The parents

contended in their lawsuit that the school, at Magnolia Street and

Santa Ana Avenue, could have prevented the tragedy had they taken the

necessary precautions after that incident and the appellate court

agreed -- giving the parents the right to sue the preschool.

Southcoast Childcare Centers Inc., the parent company of the Costa

Mesa preschool, appealed that decision and put it in the hands of the

state Supreme Court. If the state Supreme Court rules for the

parents, a lawsuit will commence.