JBS Carriers v. Mendoza CA4/1

Filed 6/23/25 JBS Carriers v. Mendoza CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION ONE STATE OF CALIFORNIA JBS CARRIERS, INC., D083415 Plaintiff and Respondent, v. (Super. Ct. No. CIVDS2017102) MICHAEL MENDOZA, et al., Defendants and Appellants. APPEAL from judgment and posttrial orders of the Superior Court of San Bernardino County, Gilbert G. Ochoa, Judge. Affirmed. Haight Brown & Bonesteel, Arezoo Jamshidi, Krsto Mijanovic, Patrick F. McIntyre and Kaitlyn A. Jensen for Defendants and Appellants. Wood Smith Henning & Berman, Stephen M. Caine, Wyeth E. Burrows and Steven D. Stutsman for Plaintiff and Respondent. INTRODUCTION A JBS Carriers Inc. (JBS) tractor trailer crashed and tipped over on its side on the I-15 freeway, resulting in damage to the JBS truck and destruction of the load of lamb meat it was carrying. JBS sued Cindy Ann Diamond (the driver of a passenger vehicle) and Michael Mendoza (the driver of another tractor trailer), alleging their negligent driving caused the accident. JBS also sued Mendoza’s employers, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Inc. (Mesilla) and OEP Holdings, LLC (OEP), on a respondeat superior theory. By special verdict, the jury found Diamond, Mendoza, and Mesilla were negligent and their negligence was a substantial factor in causing JBS harm in the total amount of $204,528. The jury found JBS and OEP were not negligent. After being instructed that if Mendoza was acting within the scope of his employment when the accident occurred, “then his employer is responsible for any harm caused by . . . Mendoza’s negligence,” and the allocation of fault must total 100 percent, the jury assigned 80 percent fault to Diamond and 20 percent fault to Mesilla. The trial court entered a joint and several judgment for $204,528 against Mendoza, Mesilla, and Diamond. On appeal, as they did in their motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), Mendoza, Mesilla, and OEP (collectively, the Mesilla defendants)1 argue the jury’s assignment of zero “percentage of responsibility” to Mendoza was a verdict in favor of Mendoza, which then precludes a finding of vicarious liability against Mesilla. They argue the trial court’s interpretation of the jury’s special verdict and its subsequent costs award are erroneous. We conclude the trial court did not err and we affirm. 1 Diamond is not a party to this appeal. 2  FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND I. The Accident The evidence at trial established an accident occurred in April 2018 on the I-15 freeway, a four-lane highway, in San Bernardino County in California. The JBS tractor trailer was in front, driving in the right lane of the two-lane highway. Mendoza was operating a Mesilla-owned tractor trailer in the same lane behind the JBS truck. Diamond was driving a passenger sedan in the left lane, further behind Mendoza. Mendoza testified at trial that he sought to pass the JBS truck by moving into the left lane occupied by Diamond, and he saw Diamond’s car in his mirror at a time when she was far enough away to safely change lanes. According to Diamond, she was “push[ed] . . . into the center of the freeway” when Mendoza’s truck began to change lanes. Both the JBS and Mesilla tractor trailers were equipped with a “dashcam” that recorded the events surrounding the accident. A JBS accident reconstructionist analyzed the video recordings and testified to his conclusions. According to the expert’s calculations and review of the videos, as Mendoza began to initiate the lane change, Diamond “floored” her accelerator and tried to pass him before he could move over. Diamond was traveling at 88 miles per hour, or within a range of 80 to 90 miles per hour. Mendoza continued to move to the left without noticing Diamond’s car in his mirror. As he moved over, Diamond was unable to speed ahead of his truck. She lost control and her car veered onto the left shoulder of the highway. Once there, the left wheels of her car were no longer on the paved surface of the road. Instead, they were on the “sandy gravel area of the center median.” Diamond’s car continued to accelerate until she passed