4DCA Division 1 Oral Argument - 2026/05/11 - May 11, 2026
argument4DCA Division 1 Oral Argument - 2026/05/11
California Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One
1h 39m
7 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What procedural rules do the justices give before the oral argument begins?
Right, she can do it. So again, hopefully this afternoon goes like this morning, but Yeah. It should.
Um there.
Can't on this side.
What's the better? There's a Okay, again. Yeah.
Good afternoon. Welcome to the Appellate Fort. Just a couple things before we get started this afternoon. When you come to argue, please make sure you adjust the podium using a switch here on the right side so the microphone is pointing in your chin area. If you don't, the justices will not be able to hear you and I think you adjust it into argument. Uh appellate tables here to my right, we're spotted to my left. Uh please keep talking and noise down to minimum during court. And if you have to use the restroom, you have to back through screening inside the courtroom. Any questions for me this afternoon? Appreciate that. Thank you.
All rise. The Court of Appeal of the City of California, Fort Defella District, Division 1 is now in session with the Honorable Judith McCall. Mm-hmm. Good afternoon. Welcome to the Court of Appeal. Uh with me on this first panel are Justice Doe to my right and Justice Kelly to my left. We do have one panel change, but keep in mind on all the cases That we're familiar with your briefs, so just highlight those issues you think are most important. We're going to start with McGarry versus Uber. Please uh state your appearance and let us know if you'd like to reserve time.
Thank you. May it please the court, David Finn on behalf of the appellant, with the court's permission, I would like to reserve three minutes for rebuttal order.
All right, thank you. You may proceed.
One of the reasonably foreseeable harms to nineteen year old Stella Lee who was abandoned by Uber under a freeway overpass at one AM in the morning in an extremely intoxicated state by herself was that she would be picked up by a bad actor. And despite
you know, we don't really know anything about who picked her up, do we?
Your Honor, there's significant evidence that she was in fact picked up by a a bad actor.
We know she was picked up by somebody because she ended up some distance away.
That's true, and we know that it's a bad actor based upon the circumstances and the reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the evidence in this case. Specifically, there are a number of facts here that strongly suggest that it was a bad actor. First, we need to put it in context of where Miss Yi was and who she was at the time. She was an extremely intoxicated young lady that was left by herself under a freeway overpass in a desolate area where there was nobody around. She is transported a distance. She is extremely intoxicated, and she's transported a distance. After which she calls nine one one on her phone, although the case doesn't connect. Her appearance becomes disheveled. She is in a state of what can only be described as panic based upon the testimony of Goner Kai, who drives by her on the eight oh five freeway, and she is standing on the side of the road trying to get help.
She has just tried to call nine one one, she's now standing, and she reaches for the door handle and she yells, Please help me. And he drives off. And that's where she's at. picture.
Could those circumstance indicate the disheveled appearance, um, the attempt to get help? also uh be that she's on a freeway as opposed to on this uh secluded area on the overpass. w why does that suggest a bad actor or or anyone versus she's now on the side of a freeway?
Yeah, uh we will readily can see that there's multiple possibilities for things that have could happen here. But the question in the standard that the trial court below failed to adhere to is that whether a reasonable juror could could adopt this inference. And there's enough evidence here that a reasonable juror could in fact adopt this inference. The location of where she's at in the middle of the night in the dark by herself makes it much more likely that somebody's going to prey on her. A bad actor. She's alone, she's vulnerable, and the fact that somebody picks her up, there's no phone calls, and they do not take her.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What procedural rules do the justices give before the oral argument begins?
13:27–28:37
2
How does the appellant frame the McGarry v. Uber case and the alleged “bad actor”?
28:37–38:42
3
What evidence does the appellant use to argue that a reasonable juror could infer negligence?
38:42–56:15
4
Why does the appellant contend that summary judgment was improperly granted?
56:15–1:12:00
5
What issues arise after the panel change when the Animal Protection case is introduced?
1:12:00–1:25:18
6
How do the parties interpret the city’s rodeo and animal‑zoning ordinances?
1:25:18–1:37:36
7
What arguments are made about the validity of the levy and the need for restitution?
1:37:36–1:39:26
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