Socal man sues Tiburon, Marin, PG&E over trip-and-fall

A Southern California man says a steel utility-vault cover embedded in the sidewalk in downtown Tiburon shifted under his weight and dropped him to the pavement, and he is suing the town, Marin County and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. over the injuries.

Daniel Byun, 55, of Orange County filed the complaint July 10 in Marin County Superior Court. It alleges the town and county created “an unreasonably dangerous condition” by failing to maintain the sidewalk near Fountain Plaza downtown, and that PG&E, as owner of the vault and its cover, failed to inspect and maintain the cover.

Byun first filed a claim against the town and county on or about Dec. 15, 2025, the complaint says. The county and town each rejected it the next month, clearing the way for the suit.

The complaint does not name a dollar figure. It says only that the damages exceed $35,000, the minimum for an unlimited civil case, and asks a jury to set the amount at trial.

Saul Wolf, one of Byun’s attorneys at Costa Mesa-based Easton & Easton LLP, told The Ark in a July 29 interview that the fall left Byun with fractured ribs, shoulder sprains, a torn biceps, a damaged knee and neck and back pain.

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