Ross Louis Frazee agreed to pay David Elvin $250,000 through Farmer’s Insurance and $50,000 of his own assets including two motorcycles and a concrete pumper, said Don Galine, Elvin’s civil attorney.

Elvin is a concrete pumper and wanted Frazee to pay out something  personal rather than just receiving insurance money, said Frazee’s attorney Doug Nugent.

Frazee, a Menlo Park firefighter, worked some side jobs with Elvin and the two men knew each other for about seven years, Nugent said.

“There was no animosity between the two and no reason for anyone to think Mr. Frazee meant any harm,” Nugent said.

Frazee is scheduled to begin a two-month jail term July 29 and is eligible to serve it all through the sheriff’s work program. On Feb. 15, he also received three years court probation and was ordered to pay a $110 fine and have no contact with Elvin.

Prosecutors originally charged Frazee with felony assault with a deadly weapon and causing great bodily injury but dropped the charge to a misdemeanor when he agreed to plead no contest in September, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

On May 12, 2005, Elvin drove his motorcycle into his work driveway and was struck across the neck by a rope.

“He’s just lucky he didn’t get killed,” Galine said.

During depositions for trial, Frazee said he meant the incident as a joke and expected Elvin to break the rope like a finish line, Galine said.

Eyewitnesses, he added, claimed to see Frazee pull the rope tight.

Nugent said Elvin typically drove slowly into the driveway and Frazee expected him to do the same that night. The eyewitness is a homeless man who could not be located, according to Nugent.

“It was a stupid prank that didn’t go very well,” Nugent said.

Attorneys in the civil suit had finished motions and jurors were waiting to be sworn when the two sides settled, Galine said.

“We’re pretty happy,” said Galine who expects any extra punitive damages his client may have been awarded to go to the state.

Nugent said his client is also happy to have the case behind him and not face greater losses due to punitive damages.

The settlement came right before three Los Gatos residents pleaded not guilty to similar assault charges for allegedly booby-trapping a road and injuring a neighboring motorcyclist. Edward Anderson, Donna Olsen, and Donald Bryant are scheduled for trial in August on charges they strung a rope across a road May 6, knocking Robert Barnes from his bike. Barnes was left with a number of injuries, including 500 stitches, missing teeth and titanium plates in his head.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.