The case Karton v. Ari Design & Construction, Inc. (2021) 61 Cal.App.5th 734, addressed civility, among other issues. The plaintiff was an attorney who had a dispute with an unlicensed contractor. The contractor defendant owed the plaintiff $22,096, but Plaintiff’s judgment was for $133,792 because the defendant was unlicensed and had to pay penalties. The […]
Lack of civility can lead to lower attorney’s fee award Read More »
James Moore is a personal injury trial attorney. In the late 1600s, English judges served at the pleasure of the King and were often not impartial. English judges won independence from the Crown in the Act of Settlement 1701. Judges in the Colonies, however, still served at the pleasure of the King. King George III
A History of Juries Read More »
The local county Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) can be helpful in family law cases. And they can be helpful not just for the person that receives support. DCSS traces its history back to Title 4 of the Social Security Act, which was a way to recoup benefits from a non-custodial parent. The national
What does the California Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) do? Read More »
Many people receiving child support do not work or have not worked in a long time. The person paying child support wants the recipient to get a job so they have income and support goes down. Seek work orders are allowed for in spousal support, but not for child support (sometimes there is cross over,
Child Support and Seek Work Orders Read More »
Bicycle injuries can be serious. Against a car, the car is going to win. Hopefully the biker has a helmet, but still is at risk for traumatic brain injury, broken bones, spine injuries, etc. The basic principles of negligence most likely apply: duty, breach, causation, and damages. Each of those elements is factually intensive. For
Bicycle Injury Attorney Read More »
Dividing retirement accounts for a divorce is incredibly important. Retirement accounts and pensions are property subject to division. There are two main ways to proceed. First, settle that the person gets to keep their retirement account. Settling a case allows people to do things that a court would not order and parties can trade things.
Dividing Retirement Accounts in Divorce in California Read More »
California imposes limits on parental liability for the intentional torts of a minor. Intentional torts are claims such as assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and intentional misrepresentation. Civil Code section 1714.1(a) provides that “any act of willful misconduct of a minor that results in injury…shall be imputed to the parent and … shall
Parental liability for a minor in California Read More »
Spousal support taxability is important. The huge change to tax law passed under the President Donald Trump administration in late 2017 had many huge impacts, one of which was for the taxability of spousal support. (The IRS and some other states call it “alimony” but in California we call it “spousal support.) It is important
Why the 2017 Federal tax overhaul hurt divorcing couples Read More »
Understanding dog bite law is important for evaluating dog bite cases. In California, Civil Code section 3342 creates strict liability for dog owners if the dog is in a public place or the person who was bit was lawfully on private property (except for policy and military dogs). There are other ways, however, that dog
Liability for Dogs Besides Strict Liability Read More »
Strict liability for dog bites in California greatly helps victims. James Moore is a dog bite attorney who represents injured people. But strict liability was not always the law. Previously, animal liability followed the common law (appellate law that evolved over time). Basically, an owner of an animal was not liable unless they knew of
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