An attorney, who represented a client in two divorce cases and a related Marvin action [Marvin v. Marvin (1976) 18 Cal.3d 660, [557 P.2d 106, 134 Cal.Rptr. 815]] without a statutorily required written hourly or contingency fee agreement, sued his client for the reasonable value of the services he rendered in the three cases. The jury, […]
Lawyer Personally Responsible For Law Corporation ’s Debt.
A law corporation obtained a business line of credit from a bank in 1997. The law corporation defaulted on the loan in 2008. The bank brought an action against the law corporation and obtained a judgment against the law corporation. The bank later asked the trial court to add the lawyer as a judgment debtor, […]
Flaws Found In Sampling Approach To Wage And Hour Case.
A wage and hour class action went all the way through to verdict. The trial court devised a plan to determine the extent of liability to all class members by extrapolating from a random sample. In the first phase of trial, the court heard testimony about the work habits of 21 plaintiffs, and defendant was […]
Health Care Provider Not Liable For Release Of Non-Medical Information.
A computer was stolen from a medical center in 2011, containing an index dating back to the 1980s of over 500,000 persons’ names, medical record numbers, ages, dates of birth, and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers. The medical center informed those individuals of the theft. A few of the persons named […]
Destroy Or Remove Fixtures From Foreclosed Property And Go To Jail.
Under Penal Code section 502.5, a borrower under a loan secured by real estate may not intentionally harm the lender by removing statutorily specified improvements from the encumbered premises. Defendants, a husband and wife, were convicted of violating section 502.5 by taking fixtures from their foreclosed home. A jury found an enhancement of “great taking” […]
Huge Award For Restitution And Penalties In Loan Modification Scheme.
The Attorney General brought an action seeking injunctive relief and restitution under California’s consumer protection statutes. The defendants operated a scheme by which they promised customers they would obtain loan modifications from lenders and prevent foreclosure of the customers’ homes. Although they represented to customers they never had a case in which a loan modification […]
Who Pays The Costs When Both Sides Prevail And The Judge Has Discretion?
The trial court awarded $12,731.92 to the defendant for costs after the parties placed the following settlement on the record just before a jury panel was called: “[I]n consideration for dismissal with prejudice of the two claims of breach of contract and breach of covenant, Defendant will pay Plaintiff within 10 days $23,500.” Defense counsel […]
Mother’s Chutzpah: Dead On Arrival.
In 1985, the father of two children was ordered to pay child support, which he did until the mother of the children, his former wife, disappeared with the children, moved out of state and changed the children’s names. The father did not see the children again for 15 years, almost their entire minority. In 1998, […]
Possessing Child Pornography Could Be Expensive.
As a component of 1994’s Violence Against Women Act [18 U.S.C. § 2259], Congress requires district courts to award restitution for certain federal criminal offenses, including child pornography possession. A man pleaded guilty to possessing between 150 and 300 images of child pornography, which included two that depicted the sexual exploitation of a young girl […]
Two Issues Decided: 1) Sophisticated User Doctrine Not A Complete Defense To Plaintiff’s Failure To Warn Claim; 2) Punitive Damages Issue To Go To Jury.
Plaintiff developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos from brake and clutch repairs while operating services stations for 40 years. He brought an action against multiple defendants, alleging several causes of action. The matter proceeded to trial against Ford Motor Company only. A jury rendered a plaintiff’s verdict on negligence and product liability claims, and […]
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