Over objection, a retired police officer gave expert testimony that a defendant’s conduct in shooting an intruder was unreasonable. Plaintiffs dismissed their battery claims before the case went to the jury, and defendant asked the court to instruct the jury to disregard the expert’s testimony. The court refused. The jury awarded over a million dollars […]
California Supreme Court Explains Protections For Attorneys’ Work Product.
Two items were claimed to be work product: recordings of witness interviews conducted by investigators employed by counsel and information concerning the identity of witnesses from whom counsel obtained statements. Regarding the recorded statements, the Supreme Court stated: “we hold that witness statements procured by an attorney are not automatically entitled as a matter of […]
Counsel’s Online Filing Satisfied FEHA’s Jurisdictional Requirement.
Plaintiff sued his employer for violating the Fair Employment and Housing Act [FEHA, Gov. Code §12900 et seq.]. The trial court grant the employer’s summary judgment motion on the sole ground the employee did not file a verified complaint with the department. The Court of Appeal reversed, concluding the employee’s counsel’s complaint filed through the […]
Jury Verdict After Good Faith Settlement Reduced To Zero.
Prior to trial, plaintiff settled her case involving the loss of anticipated survivorship interests with some of the defendants, and the court found the settlement was made in good faith pursuant to Civil Code §877. A jury awarded her $200,000 against the remaining defendants who are lawyers. The court granted an offset as to the […]
Appeal From Order Of Good Faith Settlement Dismissed.
The trial court approved a condominium developer defendant’s motion for a determination of a good faith settlement, and another defendant filed an appeal from the trial court’s order. The Court of Appeal dismissed, holding the appeal was from a non-appealable interlocutory order. The court noted Civil Code §877.6 permits review by writ of mandate within […]
A Borrower Is Not A Victim.
A woman failed to make her car payments. The car was repossessed and sold, and the bank hired a debt collector to collect the remainder of what was owed. The debt collector’s letter included the following language: “Please be advised that if you notify my office in writing within 30 days that all or a […]
Attorneys Fail In Argument They Played Only A Passive Role.
Plaintiff, who was the defendant in an underlying action, brought a malicious prosecution action. The trial court dismissed the malicious prosecution action against some of the attorney defendants pursuant to an anti-SLAPP motion to strike [CCP §425.16] and granted attorney fees to them, after they argued they played only a passive role in the underlying […]
Where’s The Dotted Line?
Defendant made an offer pursuant to Civ.Proc. §998 to settle the case for $100,000.49, and plaintiff did not accept. At trial, plaintiff was awarded $77,986 in compensatory damages and $1,400 in punitive damages. When defendant tried to collect his costs under the statute, plaintiff claimed his offer was invalid because the statute requires “a statement […]
A Motion For Summary Judgment Gets Even More Difficult.
An appellate court held a failure to provide opposition to objections raised by the other side in the trial court on summary judgment bars a party from challenging on appeal the trial court’s order sustaining unopposed evidentiary objections. Tarle v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 3; May 22, 2012) 206 Cal.App.4th […]
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