California’s Labor Employment Task Force (“LETF”) has just provided written guidance to employers about obligations for employing workers and what to expect during an inspection. The LETF is a multi-agency enforcement task force in California charged with enforcing labor laws, particularly for underground employment industries, like car washes, restaurants, manufacturing, roofing, construction, agricultural and auto repair businesses. For Humboldt County … Read More
Mitigation of Damages in Personal Injury Cases
In personal injury cases, a plaintiff is not entitled to recover damages for harm that a defendant proves the plaintiff could have avoided with reasonable effort. This concept is known as the plaintiff’s duty to mitigate damages. The rule of law is stated in the standard jury instruction on the topic “Mitigation of Damages,” found in the Judicial Council of … Read More
Estate Planning for Vacation Homes
When it comes to vacation homes, effective estate planning often centers more on emotional factors than the legal issues of the succession. Developing a method to allow for one’s children and family to continue to use the family can be challenging. The current owner of the vacation home needs to determine how ownership will be held by the next generation. … Read More
Lessons in Equitable Easements
What is an equitable easement? An equitable easement is a judicially created doctrine that authorizes a trespasser to continue his or her trespass on another’s property in exchange for paying damages, where the hardship on the trespasser in ceasing the trespass is “greatly disproportionate” to the hardship on the land’s owner in losing use of the trespassed upon portion of … Read More