New CA Torts Case

New CA Tort Case

Can a plaintiff recover emotional distress damages under Dillon v. Legg if, at the
time of the car crash, she was not aware of the causal connection between
her daughter's injuries and the defendants' alleged negligence? 

Last month, the California Supreme Court addressed this issue. Below is my one-paragraph summary of this new decision:

Downey v. City of Riverside (2024) _ Cal.5th _ , 2024 WL 3491142: The California Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeal’s order affirming the trial court’s orders sustaining defendants’ demurrer, without leave to amend, to plaintiff’s complaint alleging negligence under Dillon v. Legg (1968) 68 Cal.2d 728 (Dillon). Plaintiff, the mother of daughter Jayde Downey, was giving driving directions to her daughter over a cell phone and heard the event when her daughter was severely injured in a car crash. The trial court, and later the Court of Appeal, concluded that plaintiff could...

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New CA Civil Procedure/Torts Case

 
Can a Victim of Childhood Sexual Abuse Recover Treble Damages Against a Public Entity? 

Last month, the California Supreme Court published a new decision addressing this issue. To find out what they decided, watch the video and read my case summary below.

New CA Code of Civil Procedure/Torts Decision  

L.A. Unified School Dist. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County (2023) 14 Cal.5th 758: The California Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeal’s decision, and concluded that Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1 (b)(1), which allows the recovery of treble damages when a plaintiff suing in tort for childhood sexual assault proves that the assault was as the result of a cover up, cannot be awarded against a public entity because they are prohibited by Government Code section 818 which specifies that a public entity may not be held liable in tort for damages imposed primarily for the sake of example and by way of punishing the defendant. (June 1,...

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New CA Torts Case

duty negligence torts May 31, 2022
 
I've been a California civil trial lawyer since 1980, a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates since 1995, and I've been listed in The Best Lawyers in America every year since 2012. I still take a select few cases in the areas of business, insurance bad faith, personal injury, real property and wrongful death.
 
For many years I've provided mentoring to many less experienced California lawyers. Unlike when I started practicing in 1980, today very few new lawyers get mentoring to help them learn how to practice law the right way. To address this need, I've created Lawyer Master Mentoring™ to help lawyers throughout the U.S. learn how to practice law and create their dream civil law practices. I offer both a 12-week online video course and one-on-one Lawyer Master Mentoring™ sessions. 
 

 
To be the best lawyer that I can be, I keep up with the new California civil case law. A great way for lawyers to improve their organization...
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