French Magazine Editor Sues Los Angeles Taxi Company

A taxi company is being sued by a French magazine editor who says her young daughter suffered a severe eye injury when a van transporting them from Los Angeles International Airport to a hotel came to a sudden stop, causing the child to be propelled forward against a folded seat.

Jennifer Eymere, who works for the French fashion magazine Jalouse, filed the lawsuit against Bell Cab Co. Inc. on behalf of herself and her daughter, Ully, alleging negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress. She is seeking unspecified damages

A representative for Bell Cab did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on the suit, which was filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

According to the lawsuit, Eymere and her daughter boarded a Bell van at LAX on Oct. 24 for a ride to the Sunset Marquis hotel in West Hollywood. Along the way, the man behind the wheel drove erratically and unexpectedly slammed on the brakes, causing Ully to hit her head on the seat in front of her, the suit alleges.

The driver dropped Eymere and her daughter off across from the hotel and did not accept payment for the ride, according to her court papers, which allege he did so to prevent her and anyone at the hotel from finding out out his name.

Ully sustained permanent loss of vision in one eye from hitting her head on the seat, and her mother suffered emotional distress from seeing her daughter get hurt, according to the lawsuit.

Last year, Eymere and Lynn Tesoro, who handles public relations for the Zac Posen designer firm, settled a lawsuit in which Tesoro alleged Eymere slapped her during a dispute over seating during New York Fashion Week.

---City News Service

Image: Wikimedia Commons