New CA Tort Case

To do the best job possible as a mediator, arbitrator and referee, I keep up with and summarize the new published California civil cases. In this blog I discuss a new civil case that was published last month. 

 Torts

The issue of tort duty is constantly evolving in California. Last month, the Second District Court of Appeal published a new decision addressing whether a residence for the disabled owes a duty under tort law to protect residents from potential harm from contractors used by the residence. In the video above I briefly discuss this new case. Below is my summary of the case.

New Tort Decision 

Doe v. Brightstar Residential Incorporated (2022) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2022 WL 714127: The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's order granting defendants' motion for summary judgment in plaintiff's action against defendants, a residence for the disabled and its owners, as a result of a sexual assault of plaintiff by a handyman used by the residence. Plaintiff was in her 20s but had the mental functioning of a child. The trial court granted the motion for summary judgment because the attack was unforseeable. The Court of Appeal disagreed, finding the trial court erred in excluding evidence from a police file that the residence knew its handyman had a history of harassing women. This evidence was relevant and admissible regarding whether the attack was foreseeable. The Court of Appeal also ruled that the residence had a duty to take cost-effective steps to protect plaintiff from foreseeable harm from people like the handyman, and once the residence knew it had a harasser on its payroll, its duty was to contain that danger. The Court of Appeal reversed the summary judgment because whether the residence or its owners knew or should have known of the danger from the handyman was a disputed fact. (C.A. 2nd, March 10, 2022.)

Mediation, Arbitration and Referee Services

I help attorneys and their clients by serving as a mediator, arbitrator and referee with ADR Services, Inc. I handle cases in the areas of business, commercial, employment, insurance bad faith, insurance coverage, land use, landlord-tenant (commercial and residential), legal malpractice, medical malpractice, personal injury, real property and wrongful death. I also keep up with the new civil case law published in California. I offer Zoom services throughout California and also in-person services. I've been a California civil trial lawyer since 1980 and a member of ABOTA since 1995. I've represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of civil cases including the areas listed above. If you'd like to work with me, please contact my case manager at ADR services, Haward Cho, [email protected], (619) 233-1323.  

California Case Summaries™

California courts are constantly publishing new civil case decisions. Last year in 2021, the California Supreme Court published 22 new civil or family law decisions and the Court of Appeal published 483 new civil or family law decisions, for a total of 505 new civil or family law cases!

While you don't need to read new case decisions outside of your civil practice area, it's clear that there are lots of new case decisions each year that you need to know about to keep current in your practice areas.  

I keep up with the new case law, and I help California lawyers easily keep up with the new case law by publishing California Case Summaries™ with short summaries (one paragraph), organized by legal topic, of the new published civil or family law decisions. I publish monthly, quarterly, and annual publications, giving you several options for mastering the new case law. 

Here are the subscription options:

California Case Summaries Monthly™:  short summaries (one paragraph), organized by legal topic, of every new civil and family law case published each month by California courts for only $50 per attorney per month. To subscribe, click here.

California Case Summaries Quarterly™: short, organized summaries of every new civil and family law case published each quarter, with the official case citations, for only $200 per attorney per quarter. To subscribe, click here.

California Case Summaries Annual 2021™:  short, organized summaries of every new civil and family law case published in 2021 for only $900 per attorney per year. To subscribe, click here.

Annual Practice Area Case Summaries 2021. In January 2022 we published our Annual Practice Area case summaries for the practice area of Employment, Family Law, Real Property and  
Torts. They cost only $350 per year per attorney. To subscribe select the area below:
-Employment: to subscribe, click here.
-Family Law: to subscribe, click here.
-Real Property: to subscribe, click here.
-Torts: to subscribe, click here.

Lawyer Master Mentoring™ Services

Lawyers (whether new or experienced) can rapidly create their dream law practices with the help of a master mentor who can help them think deeply, focus on what is essential, avoid distractions, develop their skills, avoid mistakes, answer their questions, and continuously improve their organization and systems. I offer an online video course and individual sessions to provide this much needed master mentoring to attorneys. For my lawyer master mentoring services visit my website at https://montymcintyre-law.com, email me at [email protected], or call me at (619) 990-4312.

Until my next blog post, stay safe and healthy.

Best regards,
Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.
Mediator, Arbitrator & Referee
Lawyer Master Mentoring™
California Case Summaries™
CA Civil Trial Attorney Since 1980
ABOTA Member Since 1995
Past President San Diego County Bar Assn., SD ABOTA Chapter
Phone: (619) 990-4312. Email: [email protected]