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 Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a California event operator’s lawsuit against its insurer over COVID-19 coverage. The dismissal followed a May ruling by the California Supreme Court, which found that COVID-19 does not cause the type of property damage required for insurance coverage to be triggered. As a result, the Ninth Circuit agreed …
The California Supreme Court has made it easier for plaintiffs to seek emotional distress damages by ruling that close relatives do not need to be aware of potential negligence at the time they witness an injury-causing incident. In a unanimous decision, the court reinstated claims by Jayde Downey, who witnessed her daughter Malyah Vance’s serious …
The California Supreme Court has unanimously upheld Proposition 22, a voter-approved law that allows gig companies such as Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart to classify their drivers and delivery workers as independent contractors instead of employees. Passed by California voters in 2020, Proposition 22 excludes certain gig workers from full employee benefits, including workers’ compensation, …
Good news for renters and bad news for landlords in California. Assembly Bill 12 goes into law on July 1, 2024, prohibiting landlords from collecting a deposit from renters that is more than one month’s worth of rent as a security deposit. Landlords may still collect the first month’s rent, a security deposit equal to …
Stone | Dean is thrilled to announce their newest partner, Joseph Lara. Joe zealously represents clients in a wide variety of disputes. A skilled litigator, Joseph has guided myriad clients through cases in both State and Federal Courts. His practice focuses on complex litigation, including trade secrets misappropriation, trademark infringement, shareholder derivative actions, business disputes, …