California’s New Normal: Electronic Service and Remote Depositions
9/25/20
By: Marshall Coyle Prior to California Governor Gavin Newsom approving Senate Bill 1146 on September 18, 2020, California law provided that, for cases filed on or after January 1, 2019, if a document may be served by mail, express mail, overnight delivery, or facsimile transmission, electronic service of the document was permitted if a party…
Avoiding Implied Attorney-Client Relationships with Individual Members of Small Companies
9/15/20
By: Jennifer Weatherup Where an attorney represents a partnership or entity, there is the potential for him or her to create an implied attorney-client relationship with its individual members, imposing a duty of care that the attorney may not be prepared to satisfy. This risk is particularly strong with small entities and partnerships, and attorneys…
California Expands Attorney Cooperation Requirement
9/1/20
By: Chuck Horn In California, for more than ten years, upon request of another party, a party has been required to provide an electronic version of its separate statement in connection with a motion for summary judgment. Since the separate statement would usually grow to three columns, covering many pages, with separate rows for citations…
Statute of Limitations Tolled in California Amid Pandemic
8/3/20
By: Matthew Jones In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, California’s Governor Gavin Newsom issued a “state of emergency” for the entire State. In response, the California Judicial Council adopted several Emergency Rules to implement during the pandemic. In particular, Rule 9 states that all statute of limitations for civil causes of action are tolled from April 6,…
Seeing is Believing: Effective use of Animations in and out of the Courtroom
7/20/20
By: Paul Bigley In California, we are blessed with a California Supreme Court case by the name of People vs. Duenas (2012) 55 Cal. 4th 1. The Duenas court addressed the use of animations in trial. The court drew a distinction between simulations and animations, equating animations to traditional demonstrative evidence such as charts or…
Attorneys, Beware Of The “Settle & Sue” Maneuver!
7/6/20
By: Elizabeth Lowery Malpractice lawsuits against attorneys are often referred to as a “case within a case” because they must delve deep into the underlying lawsuit in order to determine whether an attorney’s representation fell below the standard of care, and if so, what damages, if any, resulted. There is a common misconception that an attorney…
When Laws Conflict: What Ethics Rule Applies to a California Lawyer Advising On Cannabis?
6/30/20
By: Greg Fayard It goes without saying that a lawyer—from California or elsewhere—shall not counsel a client to do something illegal. But what about a state law that conflicts with a federal law? For example, federal laws that criminalize the use of marijuana and state laws that don’t criminalize marijuana–how should the lawyer advise a…
6/24/20
By: Dhave Balatero In California, the right to recover costs is entirely a creature of statute (Murillo v. Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. (1998) 17 Cal.4th 985, 989) and Cal. Code. Civ. Pro. section 1032 is “the fundamental authority for awarding costs in civil actions.” (Scott Co. v. Blount, Inc. (1999) 20 Cal.4th 1103, 1108. The statute…
How Should a California Mediator Deal With An Unrepresented Party?
6/17/20
By: Greg Fayard Most California mediators are lawyers. When mediator-lawyers handle a mediation where one party does not have a lawyer, the lawyer-mediator has to treat that pro per party differently than a party who has a lawyer. Specifically, if the mediator suspects the unrepresented party does not understand the role of a mediator as…
California’s Proposed Education Budget Cuts May Lead to More Layoffs
6/3/20
By: Matthew Jones California Governor Gavin Newsome proposed a new budget, which includes cuts of approximately 8% to California’s education system. Previously, California districts were not permitted to layoff teachers after mid-May. However, if the proposed budget cuts are approved, districts will have the opportunity to layoff additional teachers through August 15th. Although most districts…
5/7/20
By: Ryan Greenspan On May 5, 2020, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced that the State of California will be suing Uber and Lyft for misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors. The precise details of the suit are not presently known, but it is being reported that Uber and Lyft are being accused of violating…
3/20/20
By: Zach Moura California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued three notices to insurers on March 18, 2020 related to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), all aimed at ameliorating the pandemic’s impact on the both insurers and insureds. The first notice is addressed to all insurance companies and other licensees. The Commissioner recognizes that the COVID-19…