California Case Law Update

Friday, July 10, 2015 | 0

NEW! Angelotti Chiropractic v. Baker, 13-56996, (06/29/2015): The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the $100 lien-activation fee imposed by Senate Bill 863, lifting an injunction that was imposed 19 months ago that prevented the Division of Workers' Compensation from collecting the fee as required by the bill for liens filed before 2013.

NEW! San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District v. General Reinsurance Corp., 3:14-CV-01866-JSC, (06/24/2015): A federal magistrate judge ruled that the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board did not have exclusive jurisdiction to decide a former Bay Area Rapid Transit worker's date of injury for purposes of deciding the availability of coverage under an excess liability insurance policy.

NEW! Williams-Foreman v. ConocoPhillips Co., A142968, (06/23/2015): The employee of a subcontractor hired to perform maintenance work at an oil refinery could not sue the refinery owner for damages after she slipped and fell while walking through the property, the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled.

NEW! Quiroz v. BNSF Railway Co., B250165, (06/24/2015): A California appellate court ruled that the family of a former railroad employee who died of mesothelioma failed to establish a triable dispute over whether the worker was exposed to asbestos while working on the railroad.

NEW! People v. Johns, E061814, (06/05/2015): A California appellate court ruled that a criminal who was found guilty of inflicting great bodily injury on a peace officer was properly ordered to pay restitution to the injured officer for the officer's time off work, even though the officer was already compensated for her loss through the comp system.

NEW! Lopez v. Fishel Co., G049678, (05/28/2015): A California appellate court ruled that a worker or his attorney ought to be subject to sanctions for filing a meritless challenge to the dismissal of the worker's negligence claim against his employer for his injuries from an on-the-job truck accident.

NEW! South Coast Framing v. WCAB (05/29/2015): The California Supreme Court ruled that an appellate court incorrectly applied the causation standard for tort cases when it vacated an order awarding death benefits to the family of a man who overdosed on prescription drugs.

NEW! HCF Insurance Agency v. Patriot Underwriters, B257715, (05/27/2015): The 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected a bid by Patriot Underwriters to force arbitration of a Los Angeles insurance broker's claims of fraud and antitrust violations stemming from the carrier's refusal to enter into a captive insurer agreement.

Arrendondo v. Tri-Modal Distribution Services Inc., SCIF, ADJ2440992, (05/12/2015): A failure by the state's independent medical reviewer to comply with the statutory deadlines for issuing decisions doesn't render the untimely decision invalid, according to a divided Workers' Compensation Appeals Board.

Lozano v. WCAB (SCIF), B258000, (05/13/2015): The California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that a 2009 amendment to the Labor Code expanding the scope of the presumption of industrial causation for firefighters can apply retroactively to a firefighter who died of stomach cancer a year before the statute became effective.

Kimco Staffing Services v. State of California, B257258, (05/08/2015): The Labor Code's prohibition on allowing temporary services employers and leasing employers to self-insure their workers' compensation liabilities passes constitutional muster, the California 2nd District Court of Appeals ruled.