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Recreational Immunity Explained
Published in The Recorder
Most people in this country are probably aware that landlords may be subject to liability for injuries sustained on their property. However, they may not be aware that there may be certain exceptions to that rule, depending on the circumstances of the injury.
Imagine, if you will, a not too uncommon scenario. One evening, a teenage boy, Billy, and his friends climb up an exterior roof access ladder on a 30-foot warehouse building in Santa Rosa, California. They plan to practice skateboard stunts on the rooftop. Billy decides to use the skylight curb as part of his stunt. Unfortunately, instead of this scenario ending the way he intended, Billy miscalculates, goes over the curb, and crashes through the skylight. He falls to the concrete floor 30 feet below, sustaining significant injuries to his arms and legs.
Billy, through his mother as guardian ad litem, sues the owner/landlord of the property and the tenant renting the warehouse. At the outset, these facts sound like a great premises liability case with a comparative fault component. The initial thought from both the plaintiffs’ and defendants’ attorneys would be that this is a case that will likely settle somewhere down the line, but it may not be that simple.
Continue reading Recreational Immunity. |
How to Deal with Borrower Challenges to
Non-Judicial Foreclosures
 By: Patrick Roberts
Published in ABA Banking Journal
Today’s economic climate has caused an ever-growing number of borrowers to be in default and subject to the non-judicial foreclosure process. As a result, creative borrowers are attempting to “un-ring the bell” of a foreclosure by filing lawsuits alleging a variety of claims.
Lenders have potential defenses to such claims, which should be sustained by courts. No strategy is foolproof and specifics will depend on the jurisdiction where a lender does business, but the following is a guideline to possible assistance. Non-judicial foreclosures can be done in thirty-three of the fifty states.
Battle between lenders and delinquent borrowers. A new legal industry, it might be said, has emerged in many states in response to the sustained high level of foreclosures.
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A Moveable Feast:
The Key to a Successful Mediation
Published in The Recorder
Like the real life literary characters in Hemingway’s memoire about the “Lost Generation” in the 1920s, a good mediator needs to offer a variety of options to participants and their counsel and treat them to an endless supply of ideas and suggestions for resolution. Often times at the end of an initial mediation session, the parties are somewhat adrift in a sea of facts, ideas and concepts, like a rudderless ship. They need direction and continued cajoling from the mediator, in the form of follow-up. As a baseball great is often quoted saying, “it ain’t over ’til it’s over.” The significance of these literary and cultural references is simple; persistence settles cases.
Many consumers of the mediation product currently on the market, made available by professional mediators, lawyers, retired jurists and anyone else engaged in the dispute resolution profession, do not realize the potential impact of persistence. This brief article attempts to discuss the many uses of this underused tool in the mediator’s toolbox.
Continue reading A Moveable Feast.
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15760 Ventura Blvd., 16th Floor
Encino, CA 91436
(818) 907-4000
702 Marshall Street, Suite 600
Redwood City, CA 94063
(650) 365-7343 |
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So You Think You Know the Law… |
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Test your knowledge on issues related to civil damages by answering the following questions.
1. A man is “on a break” from his wife when his leg is broken by a negligent snowmobile driver while skiing with his mistress. When his wife finds out about the mistress, she files for divorce. Subsequent to entry of the divorce decree, the man recovers $50,000 from the snowmobile driver. The ex-wife is entitled to 50 percent because the recovery is community property. (True/False)
2. You just bought a large specialized ten-year-old piece of machinery at an auction from a failed business voluntarily selling off its assets. You paid $60,000 for the piece, which retails brand new for $120,000. When the trucking company you hired to transport the machinery to your plant negligently crashes and destroys the machinery, the trucking company is obligated to buy you a new one because there are no more used ones on the market. (True/False)
3. You are injured while vacationing in Sonoma by another vacationer who lives in Los Angeles. When you return to your home in Fresno you file a lawsuit against the negligent party at your local courthouse. If the defendant tries to have the case transferred to Los Angeles for their own convenience, you will most likely recover your attorney’s fees incurred in opposing the motion to transfer. (True/False)
4. You and your common law husband move from Texas to California for greater economic opportunities, (It could happen). While residing in California your common law husband is injured because of the negligence of another individual. You can recover loss of consortium damages from the negligent party as his common law wife. (True/False)
5. You are automatically entitled to punitive damages when you prevail against your insurance company in a bad faith insurance action. (True/False)
Please feel free to contact
Kevin Cruz if you have any questions about civil damages. |
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