Overtime lawsuit 542
April 16th, 2012 
admin Premises liability is another area of San-Diego-Personal-Injury-attorney.com
Aleman v AirTouch Cellular 202 Cal.App.4th 117 (2011) (2/2) Employees DK & MK sued for overtime for attending work meetings. AirTouch’s MSJ granted, affirmed. San-Diego-Auto-Accident-lawyer [1] DK attended meetings on days where he was paid anyway, thus not entitled to “reporting time pay.” [2] MK signed release after accepting $25K. LabC §§ 206, 206.5 prohibit employers from making payments conditional on signing release, but only if payments conceded to be due. Here amounts were in dispute, and conditioning payment on release is legally permissible. [3] Attorney’s fee award under LabC § 218.5 (prevailing party if fees requested at outset) unavailable where LabC § 1194 (Employee-only attorney fees for minimum wage and overtime violations. [4] Class certification motion denial without prejudice is not an appealable order. San Diego personal injury attorney
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Equity loan lawsuit 541
April 16th, 2012 admin Premises liability is another area of San-Diego-Personal-Injury-attorney.com
Fayroyan-Mezhlumyan v Wells Fargo Bank 202 Cal.App.4th 195 (2011) (2/1) Bank paid forged checks from F-M’s home equity loan account. Bank May 2007 statement showed checks. San-Diego-Auto-Accident-lawyer F-M filed negligence etc. complaint Aug 2008. Demurrer sustained, reversed. [1] CCP § 340(c) one-year statue of limitations applies in actions by a depositor. But F-M is a loan customer, so 340(c) is inapplicable. San Diego personal injury attorney
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Civil harassment case 540
April 16th, 2012 admin Civil harassment is another area of San-Diego-Personal-Injury-attorney.com
R.D. v P.M. 202 Cal.App.4th 181 (2011) (2/1) Civil harassment order CCP § 527.6 does not violate Free Speech Clause where content-neutral order places no more burden on speech than necessary to serve legitimate governmental purpose and where reasonable time, place and manner restrictions. San-Diego-Auto-Accident-lawyer Restraining order against psychotherapist RD’s former patient from further stalking of RD and her family and harassing (including ‘volunteering’ at RD’s children’s elementary and middle schools) was proper. San Diego personal injury attorney
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Dow Chemicals product liability 539
April 16th, 2012 admin Product liability is another area of San-Diego-Personal-Injury-attorney.com
Dow Chemical Canada ULC v Superior Court 202 Cal.App.4th 170 (2011) (2/1) Canadian manufacturer’s product sold to another Canadian manufacturer whose product eventually made its way to California where it injured California citizen. San-Diego-Auto-Accident-lawyer Manufacturer eventually merged with Dow Canada whose offices and plants are in Canada. No sales to, offices in, or business conducted in California. Motion to quash denied, writ issued. [1] Placing products in stream of commerce in a foreign state, aware that some will be swept into California is insufficient to satisfy purposeful availment requirement for personal jurisdiction. San Diego personal injury attorney
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Administrative employees 538
April 16th, 2012 admin Premises liability is another area of San-Diego-Personal-Injury-attorney.com
Harris v Superior Court 53 Cal.4th 170 (2011) Corrigan 7-0 Claims adjusters brought class action for overtime, challenging their classification as exempt “administrative” employees. San-Diego-Auto-Accident-lawyer Employer’s MSAI denied, reversed. [1] Following wage order 4-2001 and LabC § 515, prior distinction–administrative v production workers–no longer applies. On remand trial court must determine if adjusters are exempt: if quantitatively administrative, and qualitatively “of substantial importance to the management or operations of business.” San Diego personal injury attorney
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Binding arbitration 537
April 10th, 2012 admin Premises liability is another area of San-Diego-Personal-Injury-attorney.com
Wisdom v AccentCare, Inc. 202 Cal.App.4th 591 (2012) (3) Employment agreement with arbitration clause, that all disputes to be submitted to binding arbitration. Arbitration petition denied, affirmed. San-Diego-Auto-Accident-lawyer [1] Procedurally unconscionable: adhesive, plus arbitration rules not attached, and jury trial waiver not made clear. [2] Substantively unconscionable: agreement lacked mutuality in that only employee’s claims subject to arbitration. San Diego personal injury attorney
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Breach of broker’s commission 536
April 10th, 2012 admin Premises liability is another area of San-Diego-Personal-Injury-attorney.com
Little v Amber Hotel Co. 202 Cal.App.4th 280 (2011) (2/4) In underlying case, Amber sued Martini for breach of broker’s commission agreement (which contained attorney fee clause). San-Diego-Auto-Accident-lawyer Martini retained attorney Little on hybrid fee agreement ($275/hour, 175 of which deferred as a lien, and 100% of any attorney fee award). Martini prevailed, with $160K attorney fee award. But Amber & Martini settled case, without Little’s participation. (A dismissed appeal and Martini waived attorney’s fees.) Little sued Amber and Martini for interference with contract. Jury verdict for Little ($900K+), affirmed. [1] Fee agreement created a valid attorney’s lien. Contract-interference tort does not require an actual breach of the contract, on disruption or interference. [2] Attorney’s lien attached to the court’s attorney fee award, and the client is honored to honor the lien rights (case of first impression). Martini breached fee agreement by settling with Amber. Martini interfered with contract by settling “so as to defeat the attorney’s rights.” [3] Special verdict form provided spaces for special and general damages, divided for the two Defendants, directing the jury leave bland Amber’s special damages it had already found special damages against Martini. Test is whether form is “merely ambiguous” or “hopelessly” so. Here, the form sought to foreclose double recovery and was merely ambiguous. Amber’s failure to request clarification from the jury before its discharge waives its defective-verdict claim. [4] Little’s lost profits claim [calculation: keeping Martini as a client until Little turned 65] supported by eight-year history with Martini one which ended only when Little sued for hist attorney’s fees . San Diego personal injury attorney
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Sky sports lawsuit 535
April 10th, 2012 admin Premises liability is another area of San-Diego-Personal-Injury-attorney.com
Sky Sports, Inc. v Superior Court 201 Cal.App.4th 1363 (2/3) (2011) Class action for rest break violations. San-Diego-Auto-Accident-lawyer Plaintiff moved for class action certification Nov 2009. In July 2010 Sky first raised contractual arbitration as an issue, arguing inadequate class representative since he had not signed an arbitration agreement as had most of the putative class members. Court certified class and held arbitration waived due to unreasonable delay. Writ issued. [1] Because Sky could not move for arbitration until the statutory requirements CCP § 1281.2 were satisfied, no unreasonable delay. Until the class was certified, the trial court could have denied the arbitration petition in that the class representative (and others) had not signed the agreement. San Diego personal injury attorney
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Inmate-civil defendant 534
April 10th, 2012 admin Premises liability is another area of San-Diego-Personal-Injury-attorney.com
Voit v Superior Court 201 Cal.App.4th 1285 (6) (2011) Inmate-civil defendant Voit presented to clerk “ex parte motion for appointment of counsel.” San-Diego-Auto-Accident-lawyer Clerk three times rejected it on the merits (“the court does not appoint counsel” in civil cases). Voit filed writ petition, court gave Palma notice and issued writ. [1] “The actions of the court clerk’s office are quite troubling. ‘It is difficult enough to practice law without having the clerk’s office as an adversary.’” Whether a motion has merit is determined by a judge, not the clerk. If a document complies with Rules of Court, the clerk is under a ministerial duty to file it. Even if it has defects, clerk should file it and notify party of defect. San Diego personal injury attorney
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Use of phone while driving 533
April 10th, 2012 admin Premises liability is another area of San-Diego-Personal-Injury-attorney.com
People v Nelson 200 Cal.App.4th 1083 (1/2) (2011) Using a hand-held cell phone while stopped at a red light is “using while driving,” as only a momentary pause between moving before and after red light. San-Diego-Auto-Accident-lawyer Distinguished from Mercer 53 C3d 753 where driver was in legally parked car with engine running, and thus was not driving. San Diego personal injury attorney
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