The following summaries are of recent published decisions of the California appellate courts, the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. The summaries are presented without regard to whether Severson & Werson represented a party in the case.
Under a manuscript endorsement, Yahoo's insurance policy provided covereage for “injury . . . arising out of . . . [o]ral or written publication, in any manner, of material that violates a person’s right of privacy.” This decision holds that the "restrictive relative phrase" "that violates a person's right of privacy" might under standard rules of English usage and the… Read More
Florida does not violate the Medicare Act by asserting a lien for 37.5% of a Medicare recipient's settlement of his claim against a third party tortfeasor for injuries treated with Medicare benefits. Under Florida law, there is a presumption that 37.5% of any personal injury settlement is paid for past and future medical expenses unless rebutted by clear and convincing… Read More
In this attorney malpractice case, the trial court properly ruled against plaintiff on the case-within-a-case, establishing that the underlying insurance claim had no merit, so the attorney's negligence in not filing suit in a timely manner did not cause plaintiff's loss. The insurance claim arose under a contractor's CGL policy, and the policy's own work exclusion clearly barred insurance coverage… Read More
CCP 340.5's one-year statute of limitations, not the general two-year limitations period for personal injuries applied to this action by an emergency room patient who was injured when she collapsed on the way back from the bathroom. The emergency room nursing staff made a medical decision that the patient did not need to be accompanied to and from the restroom. … Read More
The general rule under CCP 395 is that the county of the defendant's residence is the only proper venue in which to bring a suit against him or her. However, CCP 395(a)'s second sentence also allows suit to be brought in the county in which injury to person or personal injury occurs. This decision explains that to qualify as an… Read More
Landowners could not invoke Civil Code 836 recreational use immunity to bar a personal injury action by a minor female who was injured riding her motorcycle on the landowners' motocross track because the landowners' 18-year old son who lived with them had invited the plaintiff onto the property to use the motocross track. When a child of the landowner is… Read More
Defendant’s repeated kicks and punches of the plaintiff was sufficient evidence of malice and/or intent to injure, thus providing sufficient justification for a punitive damages award. Read More
Unless a personal injury plaintiff’s (future) heirs join in the settlement agreement individually, they are not bound by it or by its releases, so money paid to the plaintiff to settle future wrongful death suits is worth only as much as the hold harmless agreement by the now-deceased plaintiff is; moreover, non-settling defendants cannot take advantage of any setoff as… Read More
Claims for prenatal injuries to a baby caused by the mother’s exposure to toxic chemicals are governed by the two-year statute of limitations for personal injuries from exposure to toxic chemicals, which includes tolling provisions for minors and for delayed discovery. Read More
