Preface: This is a tragic story of how our city caused the death of a resident, even after being warned about existing problems, and subsequently abandoned the victim of their mismanagement. I have been observing the case of Pitts vs. the City of Davis in court. The legal process is slowly confirming, under oath, the mismanagement of the Davis Tree Program that I have personally witnessed over the past 15 years while attending tree commission meetings. I tried to alert the city council to the issues I observed during multiple public comment sessions, even adopting the persona of the “Davis Lorax.”
This situation highlights the need for accountability and better management practices to ensure the safety and well-being of our community.
I failed
On February 23, 2021, a mother named Jennipher Comey was struck, pinned down, and killed by a city tree that stood beside the sandbox in Slide Hill Park in east Davis. As reported in the Enterprise Sunday, the incident occurred in front of her 3-year-old daughter, Marjory. Two weeks ago, after four years, the city admitted its inadequate tree care and thus its liability. This admission seems to have come only after an under-oath deposition by the former city arborist, Robb Cain, who stated that there was no city record of this tree ever being pruned in the past, no current plan to inspect it for safety, and no future schedule for routine tree maintenance or pruning in Slide Hill Park. This information was provided by a lawyer from the Davey Resource Group, a co-defendant in the case, and the company the city hired to develop its $250,000 Urban Forest Master Plan (UFMP) later in 2021.
In contrast, professional arboriculture standards call for heightened attention to trees that overhang children’s play areas or picnic tables, as the fallen tree did. The trees in Slide Hill Park were neglected and were not even included in the city’s minimal seven-year “block pruning” cycle, which street trees receive according to Davey.
The delay in admission suggests that the city has not provided any financial support to the family over the last four years since the incident. During that time, the now-orphaned girl and her surviving father left Davis and moved to Ohio to be near family for the support they did not receive in Davis.
According to reports in the Enterprise, the city has now offered $10 million to settle the case. The family is requesting $30 to $40 million for the loss of the girl’s mother, based on lost income and care.
During the trial on Friday, the lawyer representing the city stated that they “supported” the father and child in getting what they needed to heal. The family’s lawyer objected to this statement, arguing that the city was not acting in a “supportive” manner, as they had taken no responsibility or made any support payments in the four years since the incident. The judge agreed with the family’s attorney and blocked further such statements from the city in front of the jury, stating four times that they were “gratuitous.”
The case continues to unfold.
The public can watch trial—likely to go on 2 more weeks. It will likely expose more of the inadequacies of the city’s tree maintenance program, and determine the amount of damages the city must pay. Watch either livestream on the internet or in person at yolo superior court in Department (court room) 11 in Woodland. The public can watch at www.yolo.courts.ca.gov . 10:30 to noon and 1:30 -4:30pm every weekday day except court holidays Wed 2/12 and Mon. 2/17.
Alan “Lorax” Hirsch can be seen handing out “love your neighbor” lawn signs most Saturdays in the Davis Farmers’ Market.
One of observations by tree expert on monday trial was break was in middle of limb not at joint. This is unusual — and would indicate end weight on long limb also noted was proximate cause- which a routine pruning cycle would have addressed this.
But stay tuned for more testimony.
The Lorax
I wanted to clarify a point here that seems to have been lost – the way that these kinds of lawsuits happen is the city’s risk management agency – in Davis’ case an outside agency – calls most of the shots – not the city.
YCPARMIA, the risk management pool that the City and most other agencies in Yolo contract with, is responsible for the legal defense in this case.
As part of this defense, the Davey Resource Group (DRG), a contractor that conducted a tree inventory for the City in 2018, is also involved.
The legal team has decided to acknowledge liability, which narrows the focus of the trial to two main issues:
The amount of damages to be awarded.
The percentage of those damages that will be assigned to YCPARMIA and DRG.
Currently, the trial is in its early stages, and additional testimony and evidence will be presented as it progresses.
Seems to me that the end result of this will likely be a reduction in the number of trees throughout the city, and/or a reduction in canopy (shade).