Editor:

I represented Clint and Hiromi Kurahashi, the parents of Yuta "Pete" Kurahashi who died as a the result of the Eucalyptus tree falling on February 23, 1998. The facts of the case as learned through depositions and written discovery demonstrated that the Pomona College Grounds Department was negligent in its care of campus trees, particularly its aging Eucalyptus trees. Pomona College elected to plant these trees, mostly around the turn of the century, and it had a continuing obligation to monitor and maintain them in a sage and reasonable way. The tree in question was inspected by an arborist on one occasion in April 1994 after it developed a significant lean over Fourth Street. The arborist, Paul Rogers, determined the tree was safe for the time being, yet no one from the Pomona College Grounds Department inspected the tree at any time after April of 1994. Experts agree, however, that walking inspections of large trees set in urban areas should be conducted on an annual basis. And this tree stood 80 feet, weighed 30 tons and was located at the corner of a busy campus intersection. The fact that this tree leaned over a public thoroughfare and posed a significant hazard was without question; it was inexcusable that Pomona College failed to conduct any follow up inspection of it.

Moreover, there were warning signs that the large Eucalyptus trees on campus presented a significant hazard. In 1997, just one year before the incident, 3 large Eucalyptus trees fell in a windstorm across a public access way and within 500 yards of this tree. Fortunately, no one was injured then. Yet, it was tragic that Pomona College still failed to take any precautionary measures for its remaining Eucalyptus trees. In fact, at the time of Peter Kurahashi’s and Brian Cressner’s deaths, Pomona College had never conducted a campus-wide inspection of Eucalyptus trees. In March of 1998, one month after the boys’ deaths, Pomona College conducted its first ever campus-wide inspection of large Eucalyptus trees.

During the litigation, the Kurahashi’s and the Cressner’s retained James Clark, formerly a professor of Horticulture at the University of California, Davis, to evaluate Pomona College’s care of this tree. Mr. Clark was the author of an arborist’s manual entitled The Evaluation and Analysis of Hazardous Trees in Urban Settings. He was regarded as the most knowledgeable person in his field and he considered Pomona College’s care and maintenance of its Eucalyptus trees to be grossly inadequate.

Sadly, Peter Kurahashi’s and Brian Cressner’s deaths were preventable. Had Pomona College taken better care of its trees, these young men would be alive today. In acknowledgement of that fact and the unimaginable loss suffered by the Kurahashi’s and the Cressner’s, the case settled prior to trial for 1.6 million dollars. While no amount of money could compensate these families for the loss of their beautiful sons, the Kurahashi’s felt the amount of the settlement at least reflected the magnitude of Pomona College’s error. For Pomona College to state publicly that they did nothing wrong, and that the settlement resulted solely from the will of its insurance company, is disingenuous and wrong. During the litigation and settlement, the insurance company acted as an agent of Pomona College, and the facts of the case as learned through an exhaustive discovery process demonstrated Pomona College’s negligence. The case settled for the amount it did because Pomona College failed its duty to adequately inspect and care for its own trees, and that failure caused the deaths of Peter Kurahashi and Brian Cressner.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Korda