Business Law

In Magic Carpet Ride LLC v. Rugger Investment Group, L.L.C. (Oct. 25, 2019),a California Court of Appeal addressed the question whether untimely performance under a contract containing a time-is-of-the-essence clause always constitutes a material breach. Although this case involves the purchase and sale of an airplane, the principles discussed in the opinion could apply to an asset or stock purchase agreement. Read more

Please join the Nonprofit Organizations Committee for a program on the topic of “Classifying Workers in California: Independent Contractors, Volunteers & Employees. Read more

Dr. Sundar Natarajan, a hospitalist at St. Joseph’s Medical Center of Stockton (a Dignity facility), had difficulty completing timely medical records. When the problems persisted despite a warning by the medical executive committee, a committee was assigned to investigate. The investigatory committee confirmed Dr. Natarajan’s record keeping problems, identified additional problems regarding untimely responses while on call and the length of patients’ stays, and recommended that that the medical executive committee revoke Dr. Natarajan’s medical staff privileges. The executive committee adopted that recommendation and Dr. Natarajan appealed to the hospital’s peer review committee. Read more

Courtesy of CEB, we are bringing you selected legal developments in areas of California business law that are covered by CEB’s publications.  This month’s feature is from the November 2019 update to Trade Secrets Practice in California.  References are to the book’s section numbers.  See CEB’s BLS Landing Page for special discounts for Business Law Section members.  The most significant legal developments since the last update include developments in such important topic areas as trade secrets protection, workplace issues, trade… Read more

On November 13, 2019, another lawsuit was brought in California (in this case in the United States District Court in the Eastern District) challenging California’s gender quota law for boards of directors (SB 826). This lawsuit seeks (i) a declaratory judgment that SB 826 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and (ii) a permanent injunction to halt California’s Secretary of State (Alex Padilla) from enforcing or taking further action to enforce the law. Read more

The 2019-2020 California Lawyers Association (CLA)/Bar year started immediately after the CLA Annual Meeting in Monterey in October 2019. Following the Annual Meeting, the BLS held a Fall Leadership Retreat with over 45 officers and leaders from our 15 standing committees (including the Business Law News editorial board), and Business Law Section Executive Committee members and advisors, in Costa Mesa on November 2-3, 2019. Read more

Issue class could be certified to address hospital’s billing of uninsured patients at chargemaster rates.

Following an automobile accident, plaintiff Tony Sarun received emergency care at Northridge Hospital Medical Center. Sarun, who had no health insurance, signed an agreement requiring him to pay the hospital’s “full charges, unless other discounts apply.” “Full charges” were defined as “the Hospital’s published rates (called the chargemaster), prior to any discounts or reductions.” After receiving an invoice reflecting chargemaster rates and an “uninsured discount,” Sarun filed a putative class action alleging unfair or deceptive business practices under the UCL and violations of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act. Read more

A resident at ResCare, a long-term health care facility, developed a history of maladaptive and self-injurious behavior. However, his physicians did not classify him as a suicide risk and did not order any special measures beyond medication. Although ResCare had nursing care and behavior plans in place and monitored the resident frequently, he choked to death on a small towel left within his reach. The Department of Public Health cited ResCare for violating two regulations (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 22, §§ 76918, subd. (a), 76875, subd. (a)(2)) by failing to ensure that the resident was free from neglect and protected from injuring himself. ResCare sued the Department to challenge the citation. Read more

Dr. Novarro Stafford is a retired anesthesiologist whose clinical privileges were terminated by the medical staff at USC Medical Center prior to his retirement. While Dr. Stafford worked at the Medical Center, a female patient had complained that Dr. Stafford had acted inappropriately during an examination. The medical staff summarily suspended Dr. Stafford’s privileges and referred him for a neurocognitive evaluation. The medical staff then terminated Dr. Stafford’s privileges after he failed to timely submit to the evaluation. Dr. Stafford appealed and requested an administrative hearing. A hearing officer (James Lahana) was appointed. Read more

From October 10 to 12, the California Lawyers Association hosted its 2019 Annual Meeting in Monterey. As part of the three-day, multi-disciplinary, state-wide calendar of events, the Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies Committee organized an event reviewing the past year. Chris Chediak, Soyeun D. Choi and Katie O’Neil Tran prepared content and Nina Hong acted as moderator. Read more