Mary Smith drops appeal in death of husband

Mary Smith of Portola Valley has paid approximately $100,000 to compensate Woodside resident Anthony Rose, a former superintendent of the Portola Valley School District, for his attorney fees, Mr. Rose’s attorney said in an e-mail to The Almanac.

Ms. Smith had sued Mr. Rose for $7 million to $8 million in damages over what she claimed was the wrongful death of her husband Rodney Smith, the former chief executive of San Jose-based Altera Corp. who died in May 2007 when his bicycle collided with Mr. Rose’s car on Sand Hill Road.

A jury rejected Ms. Smith’s claim in a 9-3 decision in December 2009 after a 10-day trial, and Superior Court Judge Carol Mittlesteadt, one of two “complex litigation” judges in the county, ordered her to pay restitution to Mr. Rose in the amount of $107,225 for the costs of expert witnesses.

Ms. Smith has now dropped her appeal of that decision and paid Mr. Rose for his expenses, according to Mr. Rose’s attorney, Kevin Cholakian of Cholakian & Associates in South San Francisco.

The case hinged on whether Mr. Smith, 67, had turned his eastbound bike into the path of Mr. Rose’s eastbound car, or whether Mr. Rose, 87, turned his car into the bike lane and struck Mr. Smith.

The expenses, Mr. Cholakian told The Almanac, represent the costs of hiring expert witnesses to reconstruct the accident using an identical car and bicycle and analyzing the damage to both vehicles.

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