Sean Genrich v. Allied Studios, et al.

Case Background

Sean Genrich filed a product liability lawsuit alleging negligence after a defective forklift on a filming set caused severe injuries. The lawsuit was filed in the California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. Judges Mary Ann Murphy, Lee S. Arian, and Lisa R. Jaskol presided over this lawsuit. [Case number: 21STCV36709]

Cause

Defendants Allied Studios, Allied Partners LLC, and Does 1 through 50 owned, managed, and were responsible for the commercial property at 6800 Smith Road, Simi Valley, California (referred to as the "Premises"). Allied Studios, located in Simi Valley, served as a movie and television production facility. It provided various indoor and outdoor filming locations, along with additional production support services. One of these services included renting forklifts to production companies and their staff. Defendant Dependable Lift, LLC sold, rented, and repaired forklifts. Doe 1 was later identified as Pacific Studio Rentals Inc., and Doe 2 was identified as LLP Production Services Inc. On or around June 21, 2021, Plaintiff Sean Genrich, a production designer, worked for a production company filming at Allied Studios. Defendants provided Genrich and the company with a forklift for use on set. It was believed that Dependable Lift, LLC owned, rented, repaired, and maintained the forklift involved in the incident. Genrich, who had experience operating forklifts, was instructed to use the forklift to move equipment. While adjusting the forks to the appropriate width for the task, the entire fork mechanism unexpectedly fell, landing on Genrich’s right foot and causing an injury. Genrich claims that the forklift was in a defective and dangerous condition when it fell. He asserts that improper maintenance, inspection, and failure to provide adequate warnings allowed this hazardous condition to exist and lead to the injury.

Injury

Plaintiff suffered severe injuries to his foot and toes. As a direct result of the Defendants' negligence, Plaintiff experienced harm to his health, strength, and ability to perform daily activities. He sustained bodily injury, shock, and damage to his nervous system.

Damages

As a result of these injuries, Plaintiff suffered general damages. Due to the actions of the Defendants, Plaintiff incurred and will continue to incur, expenses fo