In Coito v. Superior Court, the California Supreme Court resolved a long-standing dispute on the protections under the Attorney Work Product doctrine. The Court addressed what work product protection, if any, should be accorded to 1) recordings of witness interviews conducted by investigators
A DFEH Complaint Filed Online By The Lawyer Is Valid
In Rickards v. United Parcel Service, Inc., the Court of Appeal held that the administrative complaint filed through Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s (“DFEH”) automated online system was properly verified where plaintiff’s attorney filed the complaint on plaintiff’s behalf and received an
Failure To Pay Arbitration Fees Was A Waiver Of Right To Arbitrate
In Cinel v. Barna, the Court of Appeals ruled that the failure to pay the arbitrator’s fees constitutes a waiver of arbitration. There, numerous parties were ordered to arbitrate by the trial court. The plaintiff paid his portion of the fees, as did two of six defendants. At that point, the
Defendant Waived Arbitration Rights By Litigating Case For Over A Year
In Hoover v. American Income Life Insurance Company, the Court of Appeals ruled that the defendant waived any right to arbitrate by actively litigating with the plaintiff for more than a year, which caused plaintiff prejudice. The Court noted that defendant engaged in discovery, including
Failure To Sign Disciplinary Memo Resulting In Termination Leads To No Unemployment Benefits
In Paratransit, Inv. v. Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, the Court of Appeals upheld a trial court’s ruling that the plaintiff was not entitled to unemployment benefits. The employee was working for a company and was being disciplined for alleged wrongful conduct. The employee refused to sign
Contract Provision Requiring Mediation Before Recovering Fees Is Upheld
In Cullen v. Corwin, the Court of Appeals ruled that the trial court erred in awarding attorneys’ fees to the prevailing defendants where the parties’ contract provided that such fees were unavailable if the party seeking fees had refused to mediate the dispute. After the lawsuit was filed, the
Single Filing Rule Permits Other Plaintiffs To “Piggyback” On Timely Filed DFEH Complaint
In Harris v. County of Orange, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the single filing rule permits other plaintiffs to “piggyback” on the timely filed administrative complaint of a named plaintiff. The Court noted that a plaintiff asserting claims of discrimination pursuant to the FEHA must
California Law Applies When A Foreign Corporation Fires An Officer In Retaliation For Complaints of Harmful Or Unethical Activity
In Lidow v. Superior Court (International Rectified), the Court addressed the issue of whether, under a conflict of laws principle known as the internal affairs doctrine, California law or foreign law applies to a claim brought by an officer of a foreign corporation for wrongful termination in