November 2012

Policy Limits Recovery for Victim of Drunk Driver

Janssen Malloy LLP recently obtained the defendants' combined insurance policy limits for a client who was the victim of a drunk driver in Eureka, California.   Plaintiff, Paula Paine, was driving on Broadway near Pierson Building Center when a drunk driver lost control of her vehicle, striking Ms. Paine's vehicle head-on.  Ms. Paine's vehicle was totaled in the collision, and she was transported by ambulance to St. Joseph Hospital, where she was hospitalized for four days.  In addition to abdominal, shoulder and knee injuries, she also lost time from work.

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Medical Marijuana Coop Same as Food Coop

The Fourth District Court of Appeal recently reversed a trial court's decision to deny a defendant the right to argue to the jury that his actions complied with California's medical marijuana laws.

Recently, various law enforcement officials had taken the position that it was never legal for a medical marijuana dispensary to sell medicine to its members. Using a narrow interpretation of the Medical Marijuana Program Act (MMPA), some argued that marijuana could only be shared among members of a collective when each member assisted in the cultivation process.

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Medicare Overbilling Rampant in Nursing Homes

A report by the Office of Inspector General issued on November 13, 2012, found that one quarter of all claims billed by skilled nursing facilities in 2009 contained errors which resulted in 1.5 billion dollars in overcharges to Medicare.  (The report is entitled “Inappropriate Payments to Skilled Nursing Facilities Cost Medicare More than a Billion Dollars in 2009.”)

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Property Tax Impacts of Revocable Trust Transfers

What impact is there on your property tax when your Humboldt County real property is transferred into or out of a revocable trust?  There are two general rules that apply; however, there are a number of exceptions to these general rules.  The two general rules are:

1. The transfer by the Trustor, or any other person, of real property into a trust is a change in ownership in such property at the time of the transfer;
2. The termination of a trust, or portion thereof, constitutes a change in ownership at the time of the termination of the trust.

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