The Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, commonly known as MICRA, has been on the books in California since 1975. One of its provisions limits non-economic damage awards to a maximum of $250,000. You'd think that California courts would have determined all of the possible MICRA issues, but that's not the case. Just last month, the California Supreme Court issued a new decision regarding MICRA that I discuss in the video above.

Lawyer Master Mentoring™ Services

Lawyers (whether new or experienced) can rapidly create their dream law practices with the help of a master mentor who can help them think deeply, focus on what is essential, avoid distractions, develop their skills, avoid mistakes, answer their questions, and continuously improve their organization and systems. I offer an online video course and individual sessions to provide this much needed master mentoring to attorneys. For my lawyer master mentoring services visit my website at ...

In addition to helping lawyers with my Lawyer Master Mentoring™ services, I help California lawyers easily keep up with the new case law in their practice areas by publishing California Case Summaries™. 

Below is a free sample of a new case summary from the newly published issue of my publication California Case Summaries Monthly™, with summaries of the 43 new California civil and family law cases published in January of 2022. 

California Supreme Court
Employment

Lawson v. PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc. (2022) _ Cal.5th _ , 2022 WL 244731: The California Supreme Court, answering a question posed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, determined the proper method for presenting and evaluating a claim of whistleblower retaliation under Labor Code section 1102.5. Once an employee-whistleblower establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that retaliation was a contributing factor in the employee’s termination,...

Below is a free sample of a new case summary from the newly published issue of my publication California Case Summaries Monthly™, with summaries of the 48 new California civil and family law cases published in December of 2021. 

California Courts of Appeal
Settlement

CSAA Insurance Exchange v. Hodroj (2021) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2021 WL 5631492: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's order granting plaintiff's motion for summary judgment in an action by plaintiff carrier against defendant for breaching his agreement to settle a personal injury claim for the policy limit of $100,000. When parties agree on the material terms of a contract with the intention to later reduce it to a formal writing, failure to complete the formal writing does not negate the existence of the initial contract. The Court of Appeal concluded that the communications between defendant's lawyer and plaintiff reflected a settlement which would be later memorialized in...

Below is a free sample of a new case summary from the newly published issue of my publication California Case Summaries Monthly™, with summaries of the 32 new California civil and family law cases published in November of 2021.

California Courts of Appeal

Torts

Doe v. Lawndale Elementary School Dist. (2021) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2021 WL 5578329: The Court of Appeal reversed in part, and affirmed in part, the trial court’s order granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment in an action for sexual assault of a minor student by a music teacher. The Court of Appeal concluded that school administrators have a duty to protect students from sexual abuse by school employees, even if the school does not have actual knowledge of a particular employee’s history of committing, or propensity to commit, such abuse. Therefore, it reversed the trial court’s order granting summary adjudication on plaintiff’s negligence causes of action....

37 New civil and family law cases were published by California Courts in November 2020. Keeping current with the new published case law helps me get the best possible results for my law clients. 

I provide short summaries, organized by legal topics, of every new published civil and family law case in my online publication California Case Summaries Monthly™. It costs only $50 per attorney per month, and I also offer law firms discounted multi-user issues. To subscribe, click here.

Below is a sample of one of the case summaries in the newest issue of California Case Summaries Monthly™.

Arbitration

Coughenour v. Del Taco (2020) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2020 WL 6817570: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's order denying defendant's motion to compel arbitration in plaintiff's action alleging sexual harassment, wage and hour claims under the Labor Code, and other claims under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. Plaintiff began working for defendant when she...