Plaintiff brought an action against defendant for child molestation, alleging he repeatedly sexually molested her from the age of 12 until she was 21, a month after he pleaded no contest to one felony count of lewd contact with a child under the age of 14. Pretrial in granting a preliminary injunction, the trial court […]
Pregnancy Discrimination Judgment Reversed.
A jury awarded $113,830 in compensatory damages for employment pregnancy discrimination. The trial court later awarded $1,157,411 in attorney fees. The employer requested, and the trial court refused to give, the following instruction: “You may not find that [the employer] discriminated against [the plaintiff] based upon a belief that [the employer] made a wrong or […]
$13.8 Million Punitive Damages Not Unconstitutionally Excessive.
Betty Bullock smoked cigarettes for 45 years. The jury awarded $850,000 in compensatory damages and later awarded $28 billion in punitive damages. The trial court granted a new trial on the issue of excessive damages with the condition it would deny the motion if plaintiffs consented to reduce the punitive damages to $28 million. Plaintiffs […]
Goodbye Collateral Source Rule.
The California Supreme Court stated the collateral source rule, as outlined in Helfend v. Southern Cal. Rapid Transit District (1970) 2 Cal.3d 1, [465 P.2d 61; 84 Cal.Rptr. 173] has no bearing on amounts that were included in a medical provider’s bill for which a plaintiff never incurred liability because the provider, by prior agreement, […]
Even Though Expert Had Previously Testified In Asbestos Cases, A Daubert Hearing Was Required.
An expert witness testified in federal court that a plaintiff’s exposure to asbestos for 20 years at a paper mill caused his mesothelioma. The defendant filed a motion in limine to exclude the expert testimony, which the trial court denied because the doctor had previously testified in other asbestos cases. A jury awarded $10,200,000 to […]
Party Did Not File Own Peremptory Challenge.
One defendant filed a peremptory challenge but was dismissed from the action before the trial judge reviewed and accepted it. Another party to the case argued “the peremptory challenge became immutable and irrevocable at the moment it was made, instantly requiring the removal of the assigned judge.” The Court of Appeal found the trial judge […]
High Heels Get Caught In Concrete Crack.
Plaintiff caught her foot in a walkway separation and “the toe of [her] right shoe . . .started to go forward” and she went down suffering injuries to her hands, wrists, elbows and knee. A jury awarded her $1,336,197 and the trial court granted both a JNOV and a new trial, ruling that “no reasonable […]
Expert Costs Add Up.
Plaintiffs turned down a $10,000 offer made under Civ.Proc. §998 and the matter proceeded to trial. Ford won and submitted a cost bill totaling $185,741.82. The court rejected plaintiff’s argument the offer was unreasonable and made in bad faith and that, besides, the expert witness fees were not reasonably necessary for Ford’s trial preparation. The […]
Expert Designation Inadequate In Medical Malpractice Case.
This is what the Cailfornia Code of Civil Procedure §2034.210 designation stated: “Plaintiff intends to call various treating health care providers as expert witnesses at trial,” which “are regarded as percipient witnesses not retained experts.” It continued to explain that “because treating physicians and other healthcare providers are not retained expert witnesses . . ., […]
Jury Did Not Wrongfully Consider Insurance In A Slip & Fall Case.
After a defense verdict in a slip & fall case, the plaintiff moved for a new trial, attaching the declaration of one juror to her motion. The declaration stated in part: “the jury discussed the belief that the plaintiff, Jean Barboni, must have already been paid on a homeowner’s insurance claim by an insurance company […]
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