Shanks v. Dept. of Transportation

*545 Gary Lynn Shanks died in a head-on collision with another motorcycle on a state highway. In the ensuing wrongful death action, a jury determined that the People of the State of California (State) and the operator of the other motorcycle *362 were at fault. The jury found the State liable for a dangerous condition on the highway and awarded Shanks's family a total of $12,690,000 in damages. After just 90 minutes of deliberation, however, Juror No. 2 reported that Juror No. 7 was not deliberating. The trial court confirmed this by questioning that juror and a second juror who had "raised concerns"…