On Nov. 15, 2015, plaintiff Elayne Higbee, 65, a cashier, parked her vehicle in the driveway of her residence, on Clear Creek Road, near the intersection with Highway 9, in Brookdale. As she attempted to exit her vehicle, she stepped into a pothole that straddled the termination of the residence’s paving and the traveled roadway. Higbee sustained of her left foot. Higbee sued the owner of the house where she resided, William “Cal” Deason, alleging that Deason failed to properly repair and/or maintain the area, creating a dangerous condition. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that although Higbee knew of the pothole’s existence, Higbee’s typical parking spot did not require her to encounter the pothole to enter or exit the residence. Counsel contended that, at the time of the accident, Higbee’s parking space was occupied by someone else, which required Higbee to park adjacent to the pothole in the dark. Counsel further contended that Deason created the dangerous condition, as Deason had extended a paved driveway past his property line, into the right of way of Clear Creek Road. In addition, Higbee’s counsel contended that Deason controlled the location where the erosion was located and that Deason failed to properly maintain the driveway. Plaintiff’s counsel noted that Deason testified that he had performed no maintenance on the driveway in the 40 years since its paving was completed. Higbee’s civil engineering expert opined that the asphalt paving of the driveway changed the natural flow of surface water, which caused the formation of the pothole. Deason claimed that he did not own, possess or control the area where Higbee was injured, as the pothole was on Clear Creek Road, which was controlled by the county Santa Cruz. He also claimed that Higbee was alcohol impaired at the time of her fall and that Higbee had knowledge of the erosion area’s existence for multiple years prior to her fall., Higbee sustained a Lisfranc fracture of her left foot. She was taken to a hospital, where she underwent an immediate open reduction and internal fixation. The fracture healed with a significant dorsal deformity, leaving the third and fourth toes angulated downward. As a result, Higbee underwent a second surgery a year after the incident to remove hardware and undergo an osteotomy in an attempt to realign the deformed bones, but the surgery failed. Higbee claimed that she will have to reduce the amount of hours she worked due to her injury. She also claimed that it was recommended that she undergo further procedures, including a mid-foot fusion. Higbee, a MediCal recipient, waived her past and future medical expenses at trial, but she sought recovery of past and future lost wages, and damages for her past and future pain and suffering. She claimed that her foot injury caused her pain every step she took, so her counsel calculated out the amount of steps Higbee took per day and for the rest of her life. Plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury to award Higbee a dime per step, which would total $2.2 million. Defense counsel claimed that plaintiff’s counsel refused to mediate unless Deason’s $300,000 policy limits were offered and that Deason eventually offered to tender his $300,000 policy limits prior to the first witness being sworn at trial, but that Higbee refused to settle.