Anderson v. City of Thousand Oaks

In Anderson v. City of Thousand Oaks (1976) 65 Cal. App. 3d 82 135 Cal. Rptr. 127, the decedent was killed when the car in which he was riding failed to negotiate a curve on a roadway that had been open for one month. The public entity moved for summary judgment on the question of design immunity. The appellate court agreed with the trial court that the defense of design immunity, as an initial proposition, had been established. The opposing affidavits did indicate that the design speed of the curve was 45 miles per hour; with other factors, the curve could safely be negotiated at a maximum speed of 55 miles per hour, but the road was not safe at the prevailing speed limit of 65 miles per hour. The appellate court determined that there was sufficient evidence to show that the banking of the curve was part of the design, and that the design plans included consideration of warning and other signs for the curve. The court did reverse the summary judgment, however, because there was a triable issue of fact whether the public entity had notice, in the one month of the road's use, that it was in a dangerous condition as designed. (Anderson v. City of Thousand Oaks, supra, 65 Cal. App. 3d 82, 89-91, 91-92). The Anderson court's receipt of evidence, in the moving and opposing papers on summary judgment, concerning the speed limit and its relation to the design of the curve in the road, does not indicate that speed limit setting is not part of roadway design. First, the trial court received the evidence in a limited context--motion for summary judgment--and did not admit such speed limit evidence at trial. Second, nothing in Anderson involved proof that the speed limit itself had been set as part of a speed survey or other plan. Third, the critical issue was notice of a dangerous condition of the roadway; even if the public entity was immune for the decision to set a certain speed limit for the roadway, it might still have had notice that the curved portion of the roadway was in a dangerous condition at the speed as set, and to have incurred additional duties to warn or correct the dangerous condition.