Property

In the recent case entitled, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority v. Yum Yum Donut Shops, Inc., (2019) 32 Cal. App.5^th 662, the California Court of Appeal, Second District, in a decision which would have pleased even the donut master himself, Homer Simpson, clarified that a property owner facing eminent domain is only required to prove partial loss of goodwill, not total loss of goodwill, in order…

Recently, in the case of Western Heritage Ins. Co. v. Frances Todd, Inc. (2019) Cal. App.5th 976, the Court of Appeals of California, First Appellate District, addressed whether a commercial condominium association’s insurance carrier could subrogate against the tenants (aka lessees) of one of its member unit owners.

In the recent decision in McMillin Homes Construction v. National Fire & Marine Ins. Co. (2019 WL 2366468) the Fourth District Court of Appeal continued a recent trend of finding coverage for additional insureds in construction related cases.

Recently, the California Fourth District Court of Appeal held that homeowners suing their real estate broker for negligence did not need an expert witness to establish the elements of their causes of action. (Ryan v. Real Estate of the Pacific, Inc. (2019) 32 Cal. App. 5th 637).   Generally, expert witnesses are required to establish the standard of care in professional negligence cases.

The Privette Doctrine arises from a 1993 California Supreme Court case entitled Privette v. Superior Court (1993)5 Cal.4th 689, which provides that a higher-tiered party such as an owner or general contractor is not liable for injuries sustained by employees of a lower-tiered party such as a subcontractor on a construction project. There are, however, a number of exceptions to the Privette Doctrine. One of these exceptions is known as the “retained…

In the recent case of Travelers Property Casualty Co. v. Engel Insulation Inc. (2018 WL 6259032; November 30, 2018), The Third District Court of Appeal ruled a Complainant in Intervention could not maintain an affirmative action against subcontractors to recover attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in defending its suspended insured in an underlying action.

In the recent case of William Jae Kim, et al. v. Toyota Motor Corporation, et al. (2018 WL 4057248), the California Supreme Court affirmed the Second Appellate District Court of Appeal decision which previously affirmed the trial court judgment after a jury found for defendant in a product liability case. Plaintiffs claimed the pickup truck was defective because its standard configuration did not…