Case Updates

The California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA) is a state-run entity that pays covered claims against insolvent insurers. California law prohibits CIGA from reimbursing state and federal agencies, like Medicare. In contrast, the Medicare Act contains a Secondary Payer Provision that requires a primary insurer to reimburse Medicare for any medical care included under the beneficiary’s policy with a primary insurer. Read more

The seller in commercial real estate transactions is commonly a single-purpose LLC (limited liability company) set up to hold only one property.  After the property is sold, the owners (members) of the LLC usually take the proceeds (via distribution from the LLC) and dissolve the LLC.  Later when the buyer discovers a potential claim against the seller, say, for fraud and misrepresentation, the LLC has already been dissolved with no assets left. Fraud and misrepresentation is probably the most common… Read more

On July 5, 2019, Judge Thomas Hardiman, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (the “Panel”), affirmed the District Court of the Virgin Islands’ verdict dismissing all claims in Spartan Concrete Products, LLC v. Argos USVI, Corp., 929 F.3d 107 (3d Cir. 2019). The case involved a dispute over the sale of ready-made concrete in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Id. at 109. Read more

The case is about telescopes and the antitrust law. The Court’s earlier opinion denying defendants’ Motion to Dismiss was covered in a previous e-brief (here). In the above-captioned Order the Court ruled on a myriad of summary judgment motions filed by the plaintiff, Optronic Technologies (“Orion”), and the defendants, Ningbo Sunny Electronic Co. Ltd. and Sunny Optics, Inc. (“Sunny”). Read more

On August 23, 2019, the SBRA was signed into law. It becomes effective on February 19, 2020. Read more

In a malpractice action brought by a 50% member of an LLC against the LLC’s outside legal counsel, the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, confirmed a lower court’s holding that the member did not have standing to pursue her claims of (among other things) malpractice and breach of fiduciary duties for services provided by such legal counsel. Additionally, the court held that the member had no basis for claiming an attorney-client relationship with her, which might otherwise have precluded the attorneys from advising the company in a manner adverse to her personal interests. Read more

The California Consumers Privacy Act (CCPA) represents a quantum leap in US privacy, and the core of that change is the expansive concept of personal information. Read more

With the widespread use of social media among all generations, vast amounts of publicly available data exist that automated bots can scrape information from and provide to other companies Read more

On September 10, 2019 the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment to counter-defendant Intellectual Ventures by district courts in Maryland and Virginia. Read more

Unruh Act forbids religious hospital from denying treatment based on gender identity without providing treatment at comparable facility. Read more