Well, a bit of hiatus, and bit of overwork, and a bit of vacation, and the next thing you know, it's been twenty-five days since the last post (and that one was one of those annoying, off-topic music video posts). I'm sure this has been a huge disappointment to the twenty or twenty-five loyal readers out there.
Now that I'm back in the saddle, I'm not going to try to catch up on everything that's happened in the last month or so. Instead, a few highlights from that period over the next couple of days, and then we'll go current again. We'll start here with a few interesting verdicts:
First, in the boomer department, we have a $15,072,210 verdict in Los Angeles Superior Court, Central Division (the division known warmly to the defense bar as "the bank") in Kyle Tilton v. Southern California Gas Co., Los Angeles Superior Court No. BC367753. The verdict was in May, but reported in VerdictSearch (subscription required) on June 30. Gas company truck runs red light, hits mother and son, causes fourteen-year-old son serious injuries (closed head injury, eight fractured ribs, collapsed lung, spleen and liver lacerations, multiple fractures to pelvis, hip and coccyx) resulting in $134,000 in past medicals and a projected $3.5 million in future medicals. Admits liability. Jury awards the $15+ million, including $270,000 in emotional distress for mom and a thumping $10 million past and future emotional distress for the minor. Press account is here.
Next, in the "best defense isn't always a good offense" department, we submit for your consideration Montrenes Financial Services, Inc. v. Michael Littell, Orange County Superior Court No. 04CC08276. Coverage from the Trade Secrets Vault is here. Long story short: Four of Montrenes' sales people were told to sign a confidentiality agreement. They refused. Montrenes fired them, confiscated their personal computers, called the police and the FBI pressing complaints that they had stolen proprietary information, then sued them for stealing trade secrets. Littell countersued for wrongful termination in violation of public policy, contending he'd been fired for refusing to sign an unlawful confidentiality agreement. Montrenes spent ten weeks putting in evidence in support of its trade secrets claim, and then the trial court threw that out on Littell's motion for nonsuit. The court then ruled that the proposed confidentiality agreement was illegal, the case went to the jury, and the jury awarded Littell $3.9 million. I suppose Montrenes may want to re-think that strategy next time.
And finally, in the elder abuse department, we bring you Mary Kathleen Adams v. Sunrise Senior Living Services, Orange County Superior Court No. 05CC13119, reported in VerdictSearch and available on line here. Ms. Adams passed away at the age of 104. After breaking her leg at home, she was hospitalized and then moved to defendant's skilled nursing facility, where she stayed from December 21, 2004 through February 27, 2005 -- that's two months and six days, or sixty-nine days folks. And during those sixty-nine days, Ms. Adams got much sicker, ultimately succumbing to sepsis infection secondary to decubitus ulcers. While California law generally prohibits pain and suffering in wrongful death cases, there is an exception in some cases of elder or dependent adult abuse under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15610 and following, and particularly section 15657; Marron v. Superior Ct. 108 Cal.App.4th 1049, 1061-1065. Thus, for her sixty-nine days of suffering, the heirs of this 104-year-old decedent received $1 million in pain and suffering and $1 million in punitive damages.
More coming today or tomorrow with some of the recent appellate activity. Meanwhile, this is CalBizLit's first post using Windows Live Writer. I'll be holding my breath when I click the "publish button."
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