California Litigator

Cal/OSHA Reports

January 20, 2012

By Barbara Haubrich-Hass, ACP/CAS

The Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) protects workers and the public from safety hazards.  Within 24-hours after an industrial incident, every employer is required to report any serious injury or illness, or death of an employee occurring in a place of employment in connection with any employment. [Title 8, California Code of Regulations, Section 342(a)] 

Understanding a CHP Traffic Collision Report

January 20, 2012

By Barbara Haubrich-Hass, ACP/CAS

The California Highway Patrol (“CHP”) does not investigate every traffic collision.  The police department that responds to a traffic collision depends on the location of the accident and the jurisdiction of the law enforcement agency.  The California Highway Patrol is a statewide law enforcement agency and responds to traffic collisions that occur on state highways.  However, many local law enforcement agencies will utilize the Traffic Collision Report established by the California Highway Patrol.  For this reason, it is important to understand the dynamics of a CHP Traffic Collision Report. 

Service of Process in a Foreign Country

November 29, 2011

By Justin Madding, Paralegal

Every once in a while I get a case where it becomes necessary to serve a Summons on a person who resides in a foreign country.  These cases are few and far between for me, so I have to refresh my memory on the process each time I do it.  This article will outline the process for effectuating service on a foreign defendant in a California civil suit.

Teamwork and the Power of "We"

October 25, 2011

By Barbara Haubrich-Hass, ACP/CAS

 “Coming together is a beginning.  Keeping together is progress.  Working together is success.”  ~Henry Ford 

If you have worked for any length of time in the legal field, you have come to realize the basics of what an attorney expects from you: loyalty, talent, and work ethic.  These are all great qualities to have for success in any field.  Some attorneys, however, leave out the core to a successful practice, which is the power of teamwork. 

Paralegal Fundamentals of a California Civil Appeal

October 24, 2011

By Barbara Haubrich-Hass, ACP/CAS

A very small percentage of California unlimited civil matters go to trial.  Most civil cases are resolved prior to trial or the rendering of a trial verdict.  From that small number of cases that do reach a trial verdict, an even smaller percentage of those cases are taken up on appeal.  For that reason, unless you work for an appellate attorney, most paralegals are not faced with the day-to-day case management tasks of appellate matters.  This article will focus on four fundamentals that a paralegal can be expected to provide to an attorney when filing an appeal from a trial verdict/judgment with the California Courts of Appeal.

Billable Time as an Effective Communication Tool

October 24, 2011

By Barbara L. Liss, Paralegal

As a paralegal manager I often encountered paralegals who regarded their time entries as though once recorded, they disappeared into the black hole of Calcutta never to be seen or heard from again.  Some legal assistants view billing time as an anathema, an excruciating experience to be avoided at all costs, and when unavoidable, to be given little or no serious consideration with regard to composition, tenor or readability.  The task of preparing time entries is often viewed as a painful but necessary burden that is somehow less important than the work that is being billed, to be done only when no other assignments are immediately pressing.  (And when is that, really?)

The Douglas Cases

October 21, 2011

By Barbara Haubrich-Hass, ACP/CAS

Due to the California budget crisis, state legislature passed a law reducing reimbursement rates by 10 percent for a variety of Medicaid providers.  Because Medicaid reimbursement is historically lower than private insurance, Medicaid providers and beneficiaries argue that the rate reductions would cause medical providers to drop out of the program.  In the Douglas cases (cited below), providers are suing the state of California alleging that the reduced Medicaid reimbursement rates dropped to such an extent that they cannot provide the services mandated by federal Medicaid law.  At issue before the Supreme Court is not whether this claim is true or false, but whether the parties have the right to bring the claim at all.

Illegally Obtained E-Mails

October 13, 2011

By John E. Thomas, Esq.

When discussing the admissibility of e-mails and other electronic communications, you, as a family law paralegal, need to be aware of the existence of five acts or statutes:  (i) the Federal Wire Tap Act, as originally passed in 1968, and as amended in 1986 by the Federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2520), (ii) the Federal Stored Communications Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 2701-2720), (iii) section 631 of the California Penal Code, which is sometimes referred to as the California Wiretap Act, (iv) section 632 of the California Penal Code, which is sometimes referred to as the California Eavesdropping and Confidential Communication statute, and (v) section 502 of the California Penal Code, which makes illegal a broad range of computer related activities.   These five statutes or acts are collectively referred to in this document as the “Five Primary Electronic Communications Statutes.” 

The Seabright vs. U.S. Airways Decision

August 29, 2011

By Barbara Haubrich-Hass, ACP/CAS

Claims made by injured workers against general contractors were made more problematic.  On August 22, 2011, the California Supreme Court rendered its decision in the case of Seabright Insurance Company v. U.S. Airways, Inc., where the Court was asked to consider the following:

The Howell Decision

August 28, 2011

By Barbara Haubrich-Hass, ACP/CAS

Plaintiffs and insurance defense attorneys have followed the Howell case with anticipation.  In the battle between the injured claimants versus the liability insurance, the injured claimants lose again.