The California Supreme Court revived a racial bias lawsuit filed by Twanda Bailey, a former employee of the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. The court overturned a prior decision by the California Court of Appeal, ruling that a single instance of racial harassment by a coworker, specifically the use of a racial slur (the n-word), …
The U.S. Solicitor General has recommended that the U.S. Supreme Court deny review of an important case impacting the application of AB5 to California’s trucking industry. In it’s Supreme Court brief, the Solicitor General urged that the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit “correctly determined that petitioners were unlikely to succeed” in …
A 55 year old Manhattan man is suing his 82 year old mother for the loss of potentially valuable baseball cards. The plaintiff (i.e., ungrateful son) says that the cards — a 1953 Topps Ralph Kiner and a 1953 Topps Satchel Paige — could be worth more than $25,000. He further alleges that his mother bought …
Natural disasters have been shaping California homeowner’s insurance for decades. After the 1906 quake in San Francisco the city installed a gravity fed city wide fire suppression system as a way to coax carriers back into the city after a majority of the city had burned to the ground and firefighters stood helpless as the …
On Friday, August 19, 2021, a California State Court Judge struck down the voter-approved Proposition 22 as unconstitutional. The origin of Proposition 22 was the California Supreme Court’s decision in Dynamex, which held that Dynamex’s had misclassified its drivers as “independent contractors” in violation of California law and state wage orders. Proposition 22, which passed in …
On May 7, 2021, a California regional air quality board approved a landmark rule that would require warehouses and by extension, the diesel-fueled trucks serving them, to cut chronic air pollution linked to asthma, cancer and deaths in Southern California. The South Coast Air Quality Management District board passed the Warehouse Indirect Source Rule, which …
As previously chronicled in Stone | Dean blogs, lawsuits premised upon “bad faith” denials of business interruption claims premised upon Covid related shutdowns have been routinely dismissed by California Courts. Courts have focused on the requirement contained in most policies that a “physical loss” must be present before such claims can be allowed. The Los …
The dispute over whether Uber/Lyft drivers are employees is worldwide in scope. Specifically, the UK’s Supreme Court has held that Uber drivers must be treated as workers rather than as self-employed independent contractors. This decision could mean thousands of Uber drivers are entitled to minimum wage and holiday pay. The decision is also expected to …
In light of the trade restrictions imposed by Robinhood last week, numerous Robinhood customers have joined class actions against the Company, asserting that such conduct amounted to illegal market manipulation. The lawsuits, which have been filed in Federal District Courts nationwide, all have a common theme – that “Robinhood’s trade restrictions were done purposefully and …
In light of the passing of Proposition 22 in California, both Uber and Lyft have petitioned the California Court of Appeals for the First Appellate District to reconsider its decision upholding an injunction requiring the ride-hailing companies to classify their drivers as employees. Specifically, the ride share companies have asserted that the California voter approval …