An entertainment company sued by a woman who broke her right ankle after coming down the 72-story U.S. Bank Tower is suing two other firms for an apportionment of damages in the event the plaintiff wins her case.
Legends Hospitality LLC filed the cross-complaint Sept. 9 against OUE Skyspace LLC. Legends and Beringia Central LLC. The cross-complaint identifies Legends as the operators of the slide and Beringia Central as the property owners.
Plaintiffs Gayle Yashar, 57, and her husband, Morty Yashar, both of Woodmere, N.Y., began the litigation by filing a negligence lawsuit on July 13 in Los Angeles Superior Court against OUE Skyspace and Legends. Morty Yashar also alleges loss of consortium.
According to the original complaint, Gayle Yashar was injured July 3, eight days after the slide opened in downtown Los Angeles on the side of the tallest building on the West Coast. The suit alleges the owners failed to warn riders of the risks involved in coming down the slideslide, and that it was designed in a way that those who use it cannot slow down enough before reaching the end.
The Yashars also allege that stacked mats at the end of the slide runout area “created a gap that trapped the covered feet of riders. This increased the risk of serious injury for an ankle fracture which was far beyond the risk assumed by the uninformed and unsuspecting riders.”
In their court papers, Legends’ attorneys are asking that their client’s degree of fault be apportioned in the event both the company and the other firms are found jointly liable in the Yashar case. Legends’ lawyers also want a judge to order the other firms to reimburse the company for any damages Legends may have to pay in excess of its responsibility.
The other companies maintain they have no obligation for any reimbursement, according to the Legends’ attorneys’ court papers.
