Meyering v. General Motors Corp.
California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District, Division 1
232 Cal. App. 3d 1103 (1990)
Kurt Meyering (plaintiff) suffered a severe head injury when a piece of concrete, thrown from a freeway overpass by two juveniles, crashed through the plexiglass sunroof of his girlfriend's Corvette. Meyering sued General Motors Corporation (GM) (defendant), alleging GM used flimsy plexiglass for the sunroof when an inexpensive, shatterproof alternative was available. GM demurred, arguing its duty of care did not extend to the unforeseeable criminal act of juveniles throwing concrete from an overpass, and the trial court agreed and granted the demurrer.
Whether, for purposes of tort liability, an injury may be deemed foreseeable even though it was directly caused by an intervening criminal act.