Judge dismisses wrongful death lawsuit in case of man who fell from SLO parking structure
A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of a young man who died in a fall from a parking garage in 2019 was dismissed by a Paso Robles judge Thursday.
Thomas Jodry was 21 when he fell from the Marsh Street parking structure in September 2019. Before the fall, he had been drinking with Atascadero resident David Allen Knight — the man Jodry’s parents believe to be involved in their son’s death.
Mary Jane and Bill Jodry, Thomas Jodry’s parents, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in June 2020, alleging Knight “intentionally and proximately caused the death” of their son. Knight filed a motion for a summary judgment in August asking for the case to be dismissed, arguing he did not have a duty to care for Jodry that night.
San Luis Obispo Superior Court Visiting Judge William Palmer ultimately agreed, saying in the Paso Robles branch of San Luis Obispo Superior Court “there is no duty” that Knight had to keep Jodry safe that night.
During the reading of the ruling Thursday, Mary Jane Jodry attempted to tell the judge their lawyer, Eric Parkinson, was supposed to prepare an argument against the tentative ruling made the night before, but Palmer cut her off and Parkinson did not argue on behalf of his clients.
When the ruling became final, Mary Jane Jodry burst into tears. Around 15 community members attended the hearing to support the Jodry family.
“Big mistake, big mistake,” Karen Hulse, a friend of the family, said as she exited the courtroom.
Why the judge dismissed the case
In his tentative ruling, which became official Thursday, Palmer wrote that Knight’s legal team met the legal requirements to demonstrate Knight had not had any legal duty of care for Jodry.
Under California law, someone who provides a person with alcohol is not legally accountable for damages suffered by that person. Because Jodry was 21, in the eyes of the law, he was able to voluntarily consume the alcohol Knight bought for him.
Security footage from a San Luis Obispo bar reviewed by The Tribune showed Knight buying him and Jodry a large shot. Knight can be seen gesturing Jodry to a toast. Jodry takes his shot, but Knight does not. The footage then showed Knight switching his full glass with Jodry’s empty glass, and Jodry ends up taking both of the shots that were purchased over the course of a few minutes.
Jodry’s blood alcohol content was 0.38% at the time of his death — almost five times the legal limit to drive — according to a coroner’s report obtained by The Tribune.
“While plaintiffs claim that defendant ‘encouraged’ Thomas to drink, there is no evidence that Thomas — who was an adult of legal drinking age at the time of his death — did not partake willingly, or that Thomas lacked consent to consume alcohol,” Palmer wrote in his ruling.
Knight and Jodry did not have a special relationship, like parent and child or employer and employee, that could have established a duty of care, Palmer said in his ruling.
Jodry’s parents told The Tribune the reason Knight and their son met that night was to discuss how to grow his art, and it should have been considered a business meeting.
Jodry’s parents claim Knight knew their son was an alcoholic, but Knight denies it.
In his ruling, Palmer found the main relevant argument of Jodry’s parents was that Knight’s testimony is contradictory and not credible, but said he could not deny Knight’s motion on that basis. Palmer said Jodry’s parents did not argue against the legal issue of duty enough in order to take the case to trial.
Jodry’s parents told The Tribune they disputed several of the “undisputed facts” Palmer cited in his ruling, and were frustrated and saddened by the outcome. But it’s not a total loss, Bill Jodry said.
“Civil court for us was a means to gather information,” Jodry said, adding that they could not have gotten the depositions, security footage and body camera footage they did without filing the lawsuit.
What happened the night Thomas Jodry died
Jodry met Knight when Knight bought a cactus from him in late August 2019. Knight was 57 at the time, and Jodry was 21.
Text messages saved from Jodry’s phone by his parents and shared with The Tribune show the two messaged each other for a few weeks before Knight showed up at their Atascadero home on Sept. 14, 2019, to pick Jodry up for an unconfirmed plan to talk about art in San Luis Obispo.
The two had planned to view the architecture garden at Cal Poly, but campus was crowded as it was freshman move-in week. Google Timeline, an app Jodry had installed on his phone, shows that his phone went from Cal Poly’s campus to a Mexican restaurant, then Montaña de Oro State Park then back to San Luis Obispo, where security footage shows the two at the bar.
This is where Knight switches glasses with Jodry, and Jodry takes two large shots of hard alcohol in a matter of minutes.
The two separated in the pub around 8 p.m., and Knight texted “F--k you” to Thomas. Security footage shows the two then leaving the pub together around 8:45 p.m. Jodry arrived at the Marsh Street parking garage around 9:10 p.m., where the Google Timeline app lost its signal.
It is unclear what happened during this time, but an ambulance was called at 9:16 p.m. when someone spotted Jodry on the ground outside the parking garage after he fell. At that same time, Google Timeline shows Jodry’s phone leaving the structure and moving away from the scene, then returning to the parking structure around 9:25 p.m.
San Luis Obispo Police Department body camera footage shows Knight identifying Jodry at the scene, but it is unclear what time that was at. When Knight identified Jodry to officers, he told them he did not want to provide his name or go on record as knowing Jodry, according to the footage reviewed by The Tribune.
Knight texted Jodry, “Where are you?” at 9:27 p.m., according to phone records obtained by the Tribune, and it is unclear if this was after he identified Thomas Jodry to police officers or already had Thomas Jodry’s phone in his possession. Bill and Mary Jane Jodry began calling their son’s phone nonstop around this time, phone records show. They said they were worried because Jodry had still not returned home.
The phone seems to have been turned off at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center between 9:46 and 10:21 p.m., according to phone records. The timeline shows the phone seemed to be turned back on just before Knight returned to the Jodry residence at 10:21 p.m. and gave Jodry’s phone to his parents.
Knight told the Jodrys to call the hospital, which is how Bill and Mary Jane Jodry found out their son was dead.
Jodry’s death was first ruled a suicide, but the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office later amended its findings to show that his manner of death “could not be determined,” and instead wrote he “fell” from the structure.
Bill and Mary Jane Jodry told The Tribune they believe Knight, who has a child molestation conviction that has since been expunged, was grooming their son in order to sexually assault him. Knight has not addressed these allegations directly and has denied all responsibility in Jodry’s death.
Knight’s lawyer did not immediately respond to request for comment Friday afternoon.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office is currently reviewing evidence from San Luis Obispo Police Department to see whether there are legal grounds for charges to be filed.
The Jodry family is holding onto the hope that a criminal case may be filed against the man they believe is responsible for their son’s death.
“I’m just gonna grow old and I’ll always tell Tommy’s story,” Mary Jane Jodry said after the civil case was dismissed. “He was a great son.”
Anyone who wishes to speak to The Tribune with a news tip regarding this case can email Chloe Jones at cjones@thetribunenews.com.
This story was originally published January 7, 2023 at 8:00 AM.
