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
Medical Marijuana Use and Employment
While California law allows individuals to possess and use medical marijuana as prescribed by their physicians, its use and possession is still illegal under federal law and under California law without a valid prescription. For California medical marijuana users and their employers, this legal framework complicates questions concerning employees’ rights to use prescribed medical marijuana and employers’ rights to discipline … Read More
Not Too Social in the Workplace
California law actually prevents employers from requiring access to an employee’s social media as a condition of employment. California Labor Code section 980 very specifically limits an employer’s access – except where (1) access is required for an employer-issued device, or (2) an employer reasonably believes the employee’s social media to be relevant to an investigation of allegations of employee … Read More
Motorcycle Crash Case Settles for $300,000
Janssen Malloy LLP partner Michael J. Crowley last week settled a motorcycle/truck collision case for the defendants’ $300,000 liability insurance policy limit. Christopher Brimley was riding his motorcycle northbound on R Street in Eureka onto the Samoa Bridge when a southbound truck suddenly and illegally turned left in front of him just before the intersection of R Street and 4th … Read More
Oregon Jail Death Case Settlement
Janssen Malloy attorneys Michael Crowley and Megan Yarnall recently negotiated a $450,000 settlement with the City of Cottage Grove, Oregon in a civil rights lawsuit filed following the May 2012 death of twenty four year old Nathan Cooper in the Cottage Grove Municipal Jail. Mr. Cooper was in custody serving a ten day sentence for possession of a single Xanax … Read More
Devil’s Playground Accident Settlement
Janssen Malloy’s Patrik Gregio recently negotiated a $400,000 settlement with the City of Eureka for a client, Kathleen Anderson, who was injured in an accident at Devil’s Playground behind the Bayshore Mall in Eureka . Prior to the settlement the case went to trial on liability, and Ms. Anderson received a jury verdict finding the City to have been 70% … Read More
Nursing Home Rights at Admission
If you or a loved one is entering a skilled nursing facility (“SNF”) in California for any length of time, you may be asked to sign an arbitration agreement with the SNF. Typically, such agreements are presented at the time of admission or just prior. Arbitration agreements typically are those that waive a SNF resident’s rights under the law—like the … Read More