Business, Labor & Employment

Being "Offended" as an Impediment to Settlement

A Mediation Scuttled by Emotions             Recently, I participated in a…


Business, Labor & Employment

Beware of Inadvertent Judicial Admissions, Plaintiff’s Allegation Deemed a Judicial Admission

Plaintiff homeowner sued a contractor for improper work, alleging (among other…


Business, Labor & Employment

Confidentiality Clauses in Settlement Agreements

A Trap for the Unwary?   Word processing programs make it easier to…


Business, Labor & Employment

Property Taxes: Falling Values Whither Due Process?

California real estate values have fluctuated wildly in different localities…


Scales of Justice

Lawyers: You Need a General/Ethics Counsel!!!

Courts begin to recognize that a lawyer need not hire outside counsel for…


Construction

Builders Rejoice? SB 800 Not Dead Yet!

In 2002, the California Legislature enacted SB 800 to cover residential…


Business, Labor & Employment

Proper Venue to File California Lawsuit

Some seem to think that a creditor plaintiff always has to sue to collect a…


Business, Labor & Employment

When is a Lis Pendens effective? When it’s indexed!

Some seem to think that merely depositing a Notice of Pending Action [fn] is…


Business, Labor & Employment

Prop. 8 Mandates Annual Reassessments, Are California Assessors Ignoring The Law?

California's Proposition 13 is well known to real property owners.  It…


Scales of Justice

Should Lawyers "force" their clients to mediate?

Once again, I have a cautionary tale about the perils of NOT mediating a…