By Kathi Smith When the parties’ contract provides that the prevailing party shall recover reasonable attorney’s fees in any dispute arising out of the contract, fees sought must be reasonable in relation to the services performed. If the opponent’s case was over-lawyered, if fees are block-billed, if clerical tasks are included in the billings, then their Motion for Award of Attorney’s Fees can be attacked. Your attorney could ask the court to recalculate the...
Schneiders & Associates, LLP is proud to announce that the Pacific Coast Business Times has named Eric A. Hirschberg a “40 Under 40” honoree! Eric focuses his practice in the areas of estate planning, trust administration, probate, business and corporate transactions, and entity formation. Eric prides himself on his lasting relationships with his clients built on trust and mutual respect, where they feel comfortable seeking legal advice from him regarding all aspects of their estates...
On July 26th, 2018 the California Supreme Court ruled that employers must pay employees for routine and small amounts of time they spend working off-the-clock. The court found that the federal de minimis rule that allows employers not to pay for short amounts of time that are difficult to keep track of did not apply to Californian labor law. This ruling arose from Starbucks employee, Douglas Troester, suing Starbucks for not paying him for...
Lawsuits in real estate transfers can include breach of contract allegations, and also fraud allegations if the seller failed to properly disclose defects in the purchased residence. The residential purchase agreement includes a separate form called Transfer Disclosure Statement (“TDS”). This form is required to disclose any known defects in a residential property containing up to four dwelling units. Civil Code section 1102 obligates the seller to disclose the condition of the property. The...
In June, the California Court of Appeals in AHMC Healthcare, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County found that the employer’s policy of rounding employee time records by 15 minutes is lawful. The suit was brought by two employees who argued that the company’s policy of rounding to the nearest quarter-hour unfairly reduced wages and was a violation of California law that requires accurate time keeping. The employer, AHMC, argued that the policy...
On July 1, 2018, new regulations will go into effect under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) that are designed to prevent discrimination based on an employee’s national origin. National origin discrimination is already illegal in California, but these new regulations expand on those existing prohibitions, and protect both employees and applicants, including undocumented employees and applicants. The new regulations define “national origin” broadly to include an individual’s actual or perceived Physical, cultural...
If you own real property in California, the California Probate Code almost forces you to create a trust to avoid fettering away your children’s or your heirs’ inheritance. While trust and probate law is a very complicated area of practice with numerous intricacies that requires the assistance of an attorney well versed in this practice area, below are some of the reason why it is so important in California to create an estate plan,...
On April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court issued its much anticipated ruling in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court that makes it more difficult for companies to label workers as independent contractors rather than employees and overturns nearly 30 years of legal precedence. The Court tossed out a more flexible standard that had been in place since 1989 and, instead, embraced a standard presuming that all workers are employees instead of contractors, and placed the burden on...
Board members of community associations juggle three different hats. One is the “I am a homeowner hat.” Another is the “I want to be a good neighbor hat,” and the third is the “I am a board member hat.” It is sometimes difficult for board members to always know which “hat” they are wearing at which time. Even when not physically at a board meeting, a director must consider which “hat” he or she...
Choosing a trustee or financial fiduciary to handle your estate upon death or incapacity is very personal decision and varies from family to family. Some families prefer to name their children as their successor trustees or financial fiduciaries. However, consider the “explosiveness” potential of requiring all your children to agree on every decision. On the face of it, the desired effect of “forcing them to agree” can also force them to fight. Appointing just...
