California Case Law Update

Tuesday, January 27, 2015 | 0

NEW! Gutierrez v. Girardi, B251857, (01/12/2015): A California appellate court upheld the denial of the certification of a class of plaintiffs in a malpractice suit against Girardi & Keese, based on the famous law firm's alleged mishandling of the proceeds of a toxic tort settlement.

NEW! Arrow Recycling Solutions v. Applied Underwriters, B245379, (01/08/2014): A California appellate court ruled that the carrier administrator and reinsurance provider for a workers' compensation insurance profit-sharing program could not compel an employer to arbitrate its claims based on the alleged miscalculation of the cost of its coverage.

NEW! Schultz v. WCAB, B255678, (01/2015): The 2nd District Court of Appeal reversed a Workers' Compensation Appeals Board's ruling that the coming and going rule barred a claim by a civilian worker who crashed his personal vehicle one mile after entering the gates of Edwards Air Force Base, finding that the accident was within the course of his employment.

NEW! Ogden Entertainment Services v. WCAB (von Ritzhoff), B254082, (12/31/2014): The 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that a self-represented injured worker who refused to submit to cross-examination during the hearings on his claim was not entitled to an award of permanent total disability benefits.

NEW! Mendez v. Cottage Health System, B256632, (12/17/2014): A California appellate court rejected a worker's claim that her former comp attorney and the administrative law judge who presided over her comp claim were to blame for her delayed filing of a personal injury action for her alleged workplace exposure to radiation.

NEW! California Insurance Guarantee Association v. WCAB (Elite Surgical Centers), D065072, (12/16/14): The California 4th District Court of Appeal ruled that the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board retained the authority to decide medical-billing disputes after the passage of Senate Bill 863, and it upheld the WCAB's resolution of several hundred disputes between a group of carriers and a trio of ambulatory surgical centers.

NEW! Affinity Logistics v. Ruiz, 14-451, (12/2014): The U.S. Supreme Court will not be weighing in on a dispute over whether a Georgia-based logistics company has been misclassifying its retail store delivery drivers as independent contractors when they were employees.

NEW! Stevens v. WCAB, A143043, (12/2014): The California 1st District Court of Appeal has agreed to hear a case that brings a constitutional challenge to the independent medical-review process mandated by Senate Bill 863.

NEW! West Hollywood Community Health and Fitness Center v. California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, B248641, (12/05/2014): A California appellate court ruled that a business could seek judicial review of a determination by the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board that one of its workers was an employee and not an independent contractor.

NEW! Thornburg v. Faunce, G050299, (12/02/2014): A California appellate court revived an injured police officer's malpractice claim against the attorneys who had represented her in her efforts to secure a disability retirement pension, saying triable issues existed as to whether the alleged negligence of her attorneys had led to the denial of her application.

NEW! Sierra Chemical v. Salas,  14-369, (12/14): The United States Supreme Court will not review a California Supreme Court decision allowing an allegedly undocumented worker to sue his former employer for its refusal to rehire him after he got hurt on the job.

San Francisco State University v. WCAB (Jones), A141793, (10/22/2014): The California 1st District Court of Appeal has declined a request to publish a September ruling which found that an injured worker was not entitled to a fee award based on amendments to the Labor Code from the passage of SB 863 while her case was still pending.

Old Republic Construction Program Group v. The Boccardo Law Firm, H037989, (10/21/2014): The California 6th District Court of Appeal is standing by its decision from earlier this year that an insurance carrier's claims against an applicant attorney for disbursing the funds from a third-party settlement to his client without the carrier's consent did not amount to a strategic lawsuit against public participation.