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In Meleski v. Estate of Hotlen (No. C080023, filed 11/29/18), a California appeals court held that an insurer is subject to the penalties for failure to accept a statutory offer to compromise under Code of Civil Procedure 998, even though the estate of its deceased insured is the named defendant in an action that the insurer defends under Probate Code sections 550, et seq.In Meleski, the insured was at fault in an accident, but died before suit was filed. The complaint named his estate, although

On January 24, 2019, the Appellate Division First Department dealt a blow to plaintiffs' attempts to hide their activities on social media. In the case of Vasquez-Santos v Matthew, 2019 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 527, the Court held that, "[private social media information can be discoverable to the extent it 'contradicts or conflicts with [a] plaintiff's alleged restrictions, disabilities, and losses, and other claims'"In Vasquez, the plaintiff, a semi-professional basketball player, alleged that the

Although at times cumbersome, retention of all records is an essential duty of real estate agents and brokers. In fact, not only is it a duty of agents and brokers, it is also a legal requirement. Under California Business & Professions Code §10148, "A licensed real estate broker shall retain for three years copies of all listings, deposit receipts, canceled checks, trust records, and other documents executed by him or her or obtained by him or her in connection with any transactions for whi

Chicago -- Every year, NALFA, a non-profit group, announces the nation's top attorney fee experts. Attorney fee experts are judicially qualified experts who provide expert testimony and reports on the reasonableness of attorney fees and expenses in underlying cases. Attorney fee experts are increasingly retained by fee-seeking or fee-challenging parties in litigation to independently prove reasonable attorney fees and expenses.Our attorney fee experts also include court adjuncts such as bankru

Recently, in Mason v. BCK Corporation, 292 Or App 580 (2018), the court held that an injured plaintiff could not recover against a bar because the plaintiff was unable to demonstrate that he did not “substantially contribute” to the driver’s intoxication. In this case, the court considers whether the personal representative of a deceased passenger can hold the bar liable for serving the intoxicated driver if the passenger and intoxicated driver spent several hours drinking and sociali