Legal Blog
California Bans Insurance Policy Cancellations Amid Wildfires
On August 19, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a new one-year moratorium on insurance non-renewals for areas hit by the Lava and Beckwourth Complex fires. The decision affects around 26,000 policyholders in Plumas, Lassen, and Siskiyou counties, most of whom were already protected by a prior moratorium. The latest [...]
California Expects to Lift Most COVID Restrictions June 15
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in an April 6 press conference plans to reopen the state’s economy on June 15 as COVID-19 case rates stabilize and vaccines continue to be administered across California. A statement from the governor’s office was released following the press conference, outlining the following criteria that must [...]
Issues in Arbitration Clauses Arising From Dennison v. Rosland Capital, LLC Opinion
Recently, the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Eight issued an opinion (which has been certified for publication) invalidating an arbitration clause after determining the the arbitration clause in the contract was unconscionable. Dennison v. Rosland Capital LLC (Cal. Ct. App., Apr. 1, 2020, No. B295350) 2020 WL 1543537. While the Court’s unanimous [...]
California Appellate Court Rules that “Wage-and-Hour” Exclusion Does Not Bar Coverage for Employee Expense Reimbursement Claims
A. Summary In late 2019, a California appellate court ruled in a published decision, Southern California Pizza Co., LLC v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London, 40 Cal. App. 5th 140 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019), that a wage-and-hour exclusion in an Employment Practices Liability Insurance ("EPLI") policy did not bar defense coverage for [...]
U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects “Wholly Groundless” Exception to Court Deference to Contract Provision Providing the Arbitrator Determines Issues of Arbitrability
On January 8, 2019, the first day available for announcement of decisions by the Court, the United States Supreme Court again reminded all of the high court’s deference to parties’ contractual agreements regarding arbitration. In his debut opinion for the Court, Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh rejected the so-called “wholly groundless” [...]
Code of Civil Procedure Section 998: Understanding the Burden of Proof and Good Faith Requirements Regarding 998 Offers
In the case of Licudine v. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (opinion filed 1/3/19), the plaintiff served a statutory offer to compromise pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 998 on the defendant 19 days after filing the complaint and 5 days after the defendant answered the complaint. The 998 offer is [...]