California Case Law Update

Tuesday, December 9, 2014 | 0

NEW! Hamp v. Harrison, Patterson, O'Connor & Kinkead, D064453, (10/30/2014): The 4th District Court of Appeal ruled that an injured worker's malpractice claim against his former attorneys failed as a matter of law.

NEW! Cordova v. BNSF Railway, E056223, (11/06/14): A California appellate court ruled that a railway's partial payment of the amount due on a worker's Federal Employers’ Liability Act claim did not stop interest from accruing on the amount of the judgment, and that the trial judge had properly calculated the amount due to the worker.

NEW! Wycoff v. Paradise Unified School District, C071754, (10/31/2014): A California appellate court ruled that an injured cafeteria worker failed to establish her claims that her employer discriminated against her due to her disability from an industrial injury as a matter of law.

NEW! Griffin v. Berlin, F068780, (11/18/2014): A California appellate court ruled that an applicants' attorney was entitled to summary judgment dismissing his former client's malpractice claim against him.

NEW! Mahboubian v. Beyer Law Group, H039415, (11/18/14): The individual shareholders of a law firm can not be held personally liable for the alleged wage claims of a former employee because they were not his "employers," a California appellate court ruled.

NEW! Escalera v. Tung, H038765, (11/18/2014): A California appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment in favor of a homeowner against the negligence claim filed by an employee of the independent contractor the homeowner had hired to perform tree-trimming services.

NEW! Bodam v. San Bernardino County, (11/2014): A California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board panel ruled – in a decision deemed significant by the full board – that a utilization-review decision made within the time frame allowed by the Rules of the Administrative Director, but issued to the worker one day too late, is invalid.

NEW! Powell v. WCAB (City and County of San Francisco), A141429, (11/21/2014): A California appellate court ruled that a worker's actual job activities should be the determinative factor for classifying him under an occupational group for the Schedule for Rating Permanent Disabilities.

NEW! Petroleum Casualty v. WCAB (Barrios), S221813, (11/2014): The California Supreme Court will not be reviewing a carrier's challenge to an administrative finding that its insured was the special employer of an injured refinery worker.