Looking Forward to a Successful New Year

February 2016


Looking Forward to a Successful New Year 
Welcoming a new year allows the perfect opportunity to say thank you to our clients and colleagues for your support, and to wish you continuing success and good health. We look forward to another year of providing you the high-quality legal representation we have prided ourselves on for more than 30 years.
 
Toward that end, we recently made additions to Gray·Duffy‘s already deep roster
of legal expertise.  

Erin K. Tenner has come onboard as a partner in our Encino office. Erin brings three decades of experience in a variety of business transactions, including commercial real estate sales and purchases; asset and stock sale and purchase agreements; and shareholder, operating and partnership agreements. Throughout her career, Erin has represented a wide range of clients, with an emphasis on automotive dealers. She has published the California Automotive Dealer newsletter since 1996.

We are also pleased to announce that Katie Camerlengo, formerly a paralegal with the firm, is our newest associate. Katie joins her father,
George Camerlengo, a partner in our Redwood City office, in the employment law practice. She focuses on labor and employment matters, business owners’ liability, personal injury and construction defect litigation.  

These two attorneys join an already talented team that had many successes in the past year. Here are links to some of our most notable results:

Gray·Duffy Obtains Outright Dismissal of Worker’s Compensation Claim Filed Against Owner of Shopping Plaza

These notable cases are just a small sampling of the outstanding results we achieved throughout the year. To view all of our results, click here.

In 2015, we also launched our educational webinar series. You can view our most recent one here: “Trivial or Consequences: Cracked Sidewalks and Other Trivial Defects”

Our attorneys also authored several articles on various trending topics in 2015. You can read those articles here:

Again, we thank you for the trust you have placed in Gray·Duffy throughout the years. As always, our resolution for the new year is to continue bringing you the legal representation you have come to expect from our firm. We wish you and yours a healthy and prosperous 2016.

Sincerely,
Gary S. Gray
Managing Partner, Gray·Duffy, LLP

Gray·Duffy Welcomes
Partner Erin K. Tenner to Encino Office

We are pleased to welcome Erin K. Tenner to the firm as partner in the Encino office. Ms. Tenner has 30 years experience handling business transactional matters, including commercial real estate sales and purchases; asset and stock sale and purchase agreements; and shareholder operating and partnership agreements. She is particularly experienced in representing automotive dealers, and has published the California Auto Dealer newsletter since 1996.

Prior to joining Gray·Duffy, Ms. Tenner managed her own firm for more than 20 years. She earned her J.D. from the University of Detroit Law School and holds memberships with the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the California New Car Dealers’ Association and the National Association of Dealer Counsel.

Gray·Duffy Congratulates Katie T. Camerlengo, Employment Attorney in Redwood City Office
We congratulate Katie T. Camerlengo on passing the California State Bar and transitioning from a paralegal in our Redwood City office to its newest employment attorney. Ms. Camerlengo focuses her practice on labor and employment matters, including wage and hour disputes, discrimination and unfair competition, as well as business owners’ liability, professional liability, personal injury and construction defect litigation.

Ms. Camerlengo is a second generation member of the California State Bar and the San Mateo County Bar Association. She earned her J.D. from Lincoln Law School and her B.A. from the University of California at Riverside.
Defective Sidewalk Conditions:
Who Is at Fault? 
By: Barry Brown
 
Liability between municipalities and landowners for injuries sustained by pedestrians for defective sidewalk conditions has been the subject of lawsuits and statutory enactments for years. In the Risk Management article, “Defective Sidewalk Conditions: Who Is at Fault?” Partner Barry Brown analyzes liability in a case involving an allegedly defective sidewalk condition.

In the case, Williams v. Foster, the plaintiff originally sued the City of San Jose; however, the City argued under Section 5610 – California Streets and Highways Code – that the property owner was solely liable. The court held that the landowner owed no legal duty to the injured plaintiff.

Mr. Brown states, “Although state law provides that abutting landowners are responsible for sidewalk maintenance and may be assessed the cost of repairs, they may not be liable for injuries or damages to third persons who use the sidewalk, unless the municipality enacts an ordinance that addresses liability.”

 

Hear From Our Clients*

Gray·Duffy and Nathan Lee are extremely professional and prompt, and always get right to the heart of the matter. No stone was left unturned. I would highly recommend them to anyone seeking quality counsel. I would definitely retain them again in the future.”

-Alan Friedson, Client

*These endorsements do not constitute a guarantee, warranty or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter.
So You Think You Know The Law?
True or False?
California Streets and Highways Code Section 5610 provides for a property owner being liable to pedestrians for injuries sustained due to dangerous condition of adjacent sidewalks.

True or False?
Liability shifting ordinances shift liability for pedestrians who are injured due to sidewalk conditions completely from the municipality to the property owner.


True or False?
If a defect in a walkway is considered “trivial” under the law, it means that there is no substantial risk of injury when the property is used with due care.


Real Estate Corner

 
David Fisher
 
10 New Real
Estate Laws in 2016

Partner David Fisher discusses the important new real estate laws that took effect in 2016. 
  • New Method to Transfer Title to Real Property
     
  • Medical Marijuana and Land Use/Zoning Requirements
     
  • Short Term Rentals
     
  • Lender’s Credit Bids and Sham Bids
     
  • Mold and Landlords

And, in case you missed important 2015 real estate changes, click here. 

 

  

Webinar Recording Now Available!
In our most recent webinar, “Trivial or Consequences: Cracked Sidewalks and other Trivial Defects,” Attorneys Michael Eisenbaum and Barry Brown discuss how sidewalk conditions have been the subject of lawsuits and statutory enactments for decades, with municipalities and landowners looking to shift the blame to each other. 

Gray·Duffy, LLP Ranked on the 2016 “Best Law Firms” List by 
U.S. News – Best Lawyers®

U.S. News – Best Lawyers® ranks Gray·Duffy on the 2016 “Best Law Firms” list for their work in Insurance Law.

The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.
 

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Please Note: This article is necessarily general in nature and is not a substitute for legal advice with respect to any particular case. Readers should consult with an attorney before taking any action affecting their interests.