Daniel Fisher News
California loses claim on $1.25 million 'wrongful life' settlement
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - California’s Medicaid program was awarded too big a share of a $1.25 million “wrongful life” settlement between a severely disabled child and the doctor who allegedly failed to inform his parents of birth defects in time to abort the fetus, an appeals court ruled.
Major verdicts for hip replacement patient keep getting reversed
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A medical device manufacturer’s expert was improperly excluded from testifying in a lawsuit over an allegedly defective hip implant because the trial judge misunderstood the difference between proving a case and casting doubt on a plaintiff’s claims, a California appeals court ruled.
Retirement home defeats lawsuit over resident who was killed when he was hit by car
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A retirement home whose executives were convicted of felony elder abuse for allowing a resident to wander off repeatedly, until he was struck by a car and killed, is protected against lawsuits by California’s two-year statute of limitations, an appeals court ruled.
Court gives San Diego the green light to sue Instacart over payroll taxes
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court ruled that San Diego can sue Instacart for failing to collect payroll taxes from shoppers who use its app, even though California citizens passed a proposition confirming shoppers were independent contractors.
California governor fends off class action over COVID lockdown
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - California restaurants and gyms lost their effort to pursue a class action against Gov. Gavin Newsome over his stringent Covid-19 lockdown measures, as a state appeals court rejected arguments the orders violated administrative procedure law or represented an unconstitutional taking of their property.
San Diego can use private lawyers on contingency fee to sue, court says
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals refused to boot contingency-fee lawyers from a lawsuit by the City of San Diego against Experian, rejecting the company’s argument the private lawyers violated the public prosecutor’s duty of neutrality by working for a share of any money they won in the case.
Former Riverside prosecutor can question district attorney in lawsuit
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court ruled that a former prosecutor now suing Riverside County for wrongful termination can question the current district attorney over whether the county tried to pressure the DA into lying about whether his predecessor was unethical.
Free samples table could be liable for injuries all across Costco
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - A company that set up a table offering free samples inside a Costco warehouse store is potentially liable for customer slip-and-falls anywhere inside the building, a California appeals court ruled, overruling a trial court that found the vendor’s contract limited liability to within a 12-foot radius of the table.
Defendant can seek legal fees in Jones Act spat over where ship was built
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - A dredging company turned the tables on a competitor that sued it for violating federal law, winning a ruling by a California appeals court that it can seek attorneys fees under the state’s anti-SLAPP law prohibiting retaliation against protected speech.
Employer not liable for work-at-home shooting by employee's son
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - Two women who were shot at a colleague’s home by her mentally incapacitated son can’t sue her employer, a California appeals court ruled, rejecting plaintiff arguments the company had a duty to provide a safe working environment or should have prohibited employees from working at home.
California judge rejects public nuisance arguments in opioid lawsuit
SANTA ANA - A California judge eviscerated legal arguments that opioid manufacturers caused a public nuisance by selling their products, dismissing a vanguard lawsuit by Santa Clara County and other municipal plaintiffs because they failed to provide any evidence the companies caused doctors to write medically inappropriate prescriptions.
Trying to 'cancel' a business on Instagram isn't protected speech; 'Celebrity jeweler' faces defamation case
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A self-described “celebrity jeweler” who brought the wrath of his Internet followers down on a cake shop he accused of botching his son’s birthday cake can’t hide behind a law designed to protect statements made in the public interest, a California appeals court has ruled.
$4.3M verdict stands against rehab clinic after man jumps off roof to his death
SANTA ANA, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - A California drug rehabilitation clinic lost all of its arguments after appealing a $4.3 million jury verdict against it over the death of a patient who committed suicide by leaping from a roof just minutes after a staff member checked in on him.
$5.5 million California asbestos verdict reversed; Wrong state's laws were used
A California appeals court reversed a $5.5 million verdict awarded to the family of a pipefitter who died of mesothelioma, saying the trial judge improperly instructed jurors to apply California’s standard of proof in asbestos cases when they should have used the stricter Michigan standard.
Opioid makers lose key ruling in California as they seek records to help defense
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court rejected an attempt by Johnson & Johnson and other opioid makers to obtain millions of patient records they said they needed to defend against lawsuits by Los Angeles and other counties.
A court victory for cops who left dead man's genitals exposed during shootout
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - Cops who left a man’s body with pants down and genitals exposed for eight hours in a trailer park while police searched for his killer aren't liable for causing emotional distress to family members, a California court ruled.
Pain clinic doc loses court challenge after CVS shuts off supply
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A physician who was cut off by CVS after his hydrocodone prescriptions surged nearly fivefold lost his bid to force the pharmacy chain to fill his scrips, after a California appeals court said he has to seek redress from state regulators first.
Compressor maker liable for 60% of huge asbestos verdict despite 14 other defendants
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court upheld a jury verdict assigning 60% of the responsibility for a man’s mesothelioma to a compressor manufacturer even though the plaintiff identified 14 other defendants including the U.S. Navy that allegedly contributed to his disease.
Third trial's the $6 million charm for dismissed Rite Aid worker
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A Rite Aid worker who sued her former employer for wrongful dismissal and emotional distress won nearly $6 million in a third trial after an appeals court sent two previous verdicts back for reconsideration.
Woman hit by car must take responsibility for jaywalking across five-lane road, California court says
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A California condominium complex that failed to provide enough parking spaces for visitors isn’t liable for the injuries of a woman who was hit by a car after she parked offsite and attempted to cross a busy five-lane thoroughfare, an appeals court ruled.