Understanding Mold and Mold Lawsuits
Recent years have seen an explosion of mold litigation with the publication of several multimillion dollar jury verdicts in toxic mold lawsuits. While large plaintiff’s verdicts are well publicized, defense verdicts in mold cases rarely, if ever, receive public notice. Prior to 2000, relatively few mold claims were pursued, and claims were routinely settled for nominal amounts – $5,000 or less. Since then highly publicized seven and even eight figure jury verdicts have led to a proliferation of mold litigation. U.S. insurers paid $1.3 billion in mold-related claims in 2001 and more than $3 billion in 2002¹ Medical opinion on mold related disease is evolving, and many mold injury cases are pursued without solid medical or scientific support.
Mass Construction Defect Actions: How Trade Contractors can Fight Back
It has become much easier for trade contractors and their attorneys to follow the herd and plod along in a wasteful and costly construction defect matter. Challenging the norm is all too rare in this business. However, there can be great advantages to being the pot-stirrer. Trade contractors and their attorneys (insurance retained or private) should plan out a meaningful strategy at the outset of every case, including exploring motions challenging the pleadings. The outcome, if successful, can save the trade contractor (and its insurer where applicable) tens of thousands of dollars in defense costs owed to its own attorney, the attorneys for the general contractor, the Special Master, and others who feed at the trough of the mass defect actions.
Have You Protected Yourself from Lawsuits Brought By Laid Off Employees?
In a difficult economy employee terminations are inevitable. Unfortunately, even when employers must terminate employees out of economic necessity, these employers are not immune from lawsuits brought by these terminated employees. All an employee requires to file a lawsuit is a willing attorney. Fortunately, there are a few steps employers can take prior to downsizing to discourage post-termination lawsuits. We suggest the following…
Notice to Employers Regarding Supreme Court Decision on Enforceability of Written Employment Contracts
If you are an employer in the State of California and use a written contract of employment to define the terms of employment with your employees, there is a good chance that, as a result of a decision of the California State Supreme Court, the contract you are currently using with your employees will not be enforced by the Courts of this state. It may therefore be necessary for you to consider revising your employment contract.
Workers Compensation Serious and Willful Misconduct Claims – Brought Before the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, but Not Covered by Your Workers Comp. Insurance (California Labor Code Section 4553)
The amount of workers’ compensation that may be awarded to an injured worker may be increased if the injury was brought about by the serious and willful misconduct of the employer or the employer’s managing representative. Serious and willful misconduct is best defined as any intentional act, or failure to act, coupled with the knowledge that serious injury will be the probable result from that act or failure to act.
Potential Penalties for Discriminating against Injured Workers Labor Code Section 132a
It is the declared policy of California that there should not be discrimination against workers who are injured in the course and scope of their employment. Therefore, any employer who discharges, or threatens to discharge, or in any manner discriminates against any employee because the employee has filed or made known his or her intention to file a workers’ compensation claim, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and the employee may seek extra forms of compensation from the employer.
Ten Tips for Construction Creditors
Many contractors, subcontractors and suppliers are suffering at the hands of those who fail to pay for the work or materials they supply to construction projects. This is a brief outline of ten tips to keep in mind when dealing with delinquent construction accounts.
U.S. Bankruptcy Code Section 547: The 90-Day “Preferential Payment”
Many businesses are surprised to learn that there is a Bankruptcy Code provision, commonly referred to as the “Preferential Payment Rule,” which generally provides that where a debtor makes a payment to a creditor and the debtor files bankruptcy within 90 days thereafter, the creditor can often be forced by the Bankruptcy Court to pay all the sums paid by the debtor back into the bankruptcy estate for distribution to general creditors. When the creditor is an “insider” with the debtor the time period increases from 90 days to one year. This Rule is found in U.S. Bankruptcy Code section 547. The impact of this rule is often devastating to those who have received payment and disbursed it to their own creditors and no longer have the funds to pay to the bankruptcy court.
