Huntington Beach Law Blog

Not a week seems to pass without news of a giant settlement against negligent businesses. Whether it is the utilities of California being blamed for fires in the last three years with $30 billion in liability to the utilities, or the recent billion award against Roundup, the cost to insurance companies is steep, with the California Camp wildfire threatening to put at least one insurance company out of business.

Industry experts believe the main reason for these large payouts is that plaintiff attorneys have learned how to manipulate juries. As the attorneys defending the companies downplay or deny fault, the plaintiff attorneys explain to the jury how many millions that should be paid and to whom. This often guts the company or passes the losses along to customers with a hike in premiums.

Like other California businesses, your company gains significant advantages from its workers, but it could also incur significant disadvantages as well. Not every employee will work out as you hoped when you hired him or her.

Sometimes, people look better on paper than they do in reality. Others may go through circumstances that cause a decline in their work performance. Still others may never live up to your expectations no matter how hard they try. At some point, you may consider terminating such an employee, but before you do, take steps to protect your company from a wrongful termination claim.

Federal officials at the Bureau of Land Management and the Forestry Service announced that they had come up with a plan to save sagebrush habitats in Western states. The 248-page report balances the needs of cattle ranchers, recreation usage as well as 350 species of animals. The document also reputes to be a paradigm shift in reducing invasive species of plants and brush fires in the Sagebrush Steppe throughout the west, which includes Eastern California.

Categorizing sagebrush

State Farm Insurance settled a class action lawsuit brought by 4.7 million customers. The plaintiffs alleged that the carrier, which is the largest property casualty insurance company in the country, cheated its customers by using substandard motor vehicle replacement parts. In a years-long case that seemed more like a fictional legal thriller instead of real life, State Farm opted to settle outside of court for a total of $250 million.

According to the original suit, State Farm Auto Insurance policies guaranteed that customers would get original manufacturer replacement parts, but instead, the customers got generic parts of lower quality that cost much less. When customers realized what was happening, they protested and asked for the parts promised as part of the contract; nevertheless, the carrier denied these subsequent claims.