On Sept. 24, 2011, plaintiffs’ decedent Allen Lee, 52, a small business owner in Alameda, was riding his bicycle with his cycling club when his front tire became caught in a large rut in the roadway while he was descending Grizzly Peak Boulevard, in Oakland. As Lee struggled to free his bicycle from the confines of the large rut, he was thrown over the handlebars, across the center line, and into the path of an oncoming vehicle. He sustained massive head trauma and died almost instantly. The decedent’s wife, Nancy Lee, and daughters Monica and Samantha Lee, sued the city of Oakland. They alleged that the city allowed a dangerous condition to exist on public property despite actual notice of the condition in plenty of time to correct it before Lee’s death. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that in March 2005, the city responded to a cyclist’s complaint, acknowledging that it was unable to fix the potholes on one section of Grizzly Peak Boulevard and again acknowledging the road’s condition was a danger to cyclists. Counsel also contended that in December 2005, Oakland City Councilwoman Jane Brunner forwarded a complaint from a civil engineer regarding the danger to hundreds of bicyclists on Grizzly Peak Boulevard because of cracks in the roadway. There were allegedly several emails back and forth between public works about advising as to the plan of action, but no plan of action to correct the dangerous condition was ever undertaken. Plaintiffs’ counsel further contended that another complaint was filed on March 20, 2007, which indicated that two bikers ended up in an emergency room because of the potholes on Grizzly Peak Boulevard. Counsel contended that the response from the city was that it was repairing streets, but that it was limited by funding. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that the response acknowledged that the city was familiar with the condition of the road and even admitted that there likely were many bicycle collisions caused by the condition of the road that were unreported. Counsel contended that as a result, as of 2009, sections of Grizzly Peak Boulevard were put on Oakland’s five-year repaving plan and were eligible for paving between the 2011-2012 fiscal year. However, counsel noted that this repaving was not completed by the time of Allen Lee’s accident. Cycling activist Tom Buoye was interviewed by ABC News after the plaintiffs’ lawsuit was filed. He said that he had been asking the city to fix the heavily traveled scenic road since 2009, but that since the city did not address the problems on Grizzly Peak Boulevard, he took it upon himself to attempt to alert cyclists by spray painting the many hazards on the road. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that there were several other complaints regarding the potholes on Grizzly Peak Boulevard in 2010 and 2011, and that the Department of Public Works issued multiple service requests for the roadway, indicating that there was a danger to cyclists and a risk of liability to the city. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the longitudinal cracks that ran parallel to the center line on Grizzly Peak Boulevard, such as that which trapped Allen Lee’s bicycle, were particularly dangerous. However, counsel asserted that the repairs that were done were insufficient and that the so-called pothole blitz that occurred on April 30, 2012, that allegedly addressed many of the complaints, were too little, too late for Allen Lee. Plaintiff’s counsel noted that after subject accident, the East Bay Bicycle Coalition emailed Oakland’s Public Works Department, informing it of Allen Lee’s death and indicating that the East Bay Bicycle Coalition had made numerous unanswered complaints about that section of the roadway. The city of Oakland claimed that it could not reasonably repair Grizzly Peak Boulevard due to a lack of funds. However, plaintiffs’ counsel noted that within two weeks of Allen Lee’s death, a crew repaired the area of roadway where the incident occurred., Allen Lee sustained massive head trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene. It was believed that he had died almost instantly from the blunt force trauma to his head. He was 52 years old. The decedent was survived by his wife, Nancy Lee, and daughters Monica Lee, then age 20, and Samantha, then age 16. The decedent’s family sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of their husband and father. They claimed approximately $500,000 in loss of household services.