Authority To Make Medical Decisions Is Not The Same As Authority To Consent To Arbitration. In Lombardo v. Gramercy Court, C098857 ( 3rd Dist. 12/31/24) (Robie, Earl, Mauro) the plaintiffs, Lisa Lombardo and others, sued Gramercy Court for wrongful death, negligence, elder abuse, and gross negligence after Elizabeth Stein, their relative, died following inadequate […]
A Reference To "Dementia" Signals Where The Court Was Headed. Harold and Lucy West and their adult daughter Deon were approached by a salesperson from Elite Home Remodeling, Inc. regarding solar panel installation and bathroom renovation. Harold and Lucy, in their 90s and suffering from dementia, did not use email, computers, or mobile phones. […]
Health Care Cases Continue To Generate Problematic Arbitration Agreements. The case James Maxwell v. Atria, A168043 (1/1 9/19/24) (Siggins, J.) involves the death of 93-year-old Trudy Maxwell, a resident at Atria Park of San Mateo, who passed away after drinking industrial-strength cleaner mistakenly served by an Atria employee. Trudy's children, including James Maxwell III, […]
Equitable Estoppel, Third-Party Beneficiary, And Agency Arguments Of Employer Failed To Gain Traction. Nelida Soltero sued her employer, which sought to compel arbitration, based on an arbitration agreement in a contract between Soltero and Real Time Staffing Services, a temporary worker staffing agency. However, the employer was not a signatory to the agreement between […]
California Health Care Decisions Law Allows For Appointment Of A Health Care Agent. The problem in Harrod v. Country Oaks Partners, LLC, S276545 (CA S.Ct. 3/28/24) (Jenkins, J.) is that the health care agent who signed an agreement with a skilled nursing home facility containing an arbitration clause was acting outside the scope of […]
Keep In Mind That Authority Must Be Created By The Principal, Not The Agent. Kinder v. Capistrano Beach Care Center, LLC, B316937 (2/7 5/18/13) (Escalante, Perluss, Feuer) is a lawsuit brought by a resident of a residential skilled nursing facility who broke her hip in a fall and sued. The nursing facility tried, unsuccessfully, […]
The Trial Judge Said He Had An Issue Of First Impression. Jessica Hernandez sued Meridian Management Services, LLC and other entities for employment violations. The defendants sought to piggyback on to an arbitration agreement that Ms. Hernandez had entered into with her employer Intelex in order to compel her to arbitrate. Her lawyer, however, […]
Factual Questions Existed As To Whether Lawyer's Client Authorized Agreement To Arbitrate. Plaintiff Barbara Knapke sued PeopleConnect, the owner of Classmates.com, for allegedly making unauthorized use of her name and likeness. Before filing the lawsuit, Knapke's attorney Reilly logged in to the Classmates.com website, and in doing so, agreed to arbitrate. Did […]
Based On Generally Applied Principles Of Agency, The Care Facility Failed To Establish Son Acted As Father's Agent. An elder care facility argued that aged father, who died of severe sunstroke while in care of facility, was bound to arbitrate by son's signature on Residency Agreement. The basic problem was that, though it was […]
California courts continue to scrutinize cases in which hospitals and nursing homes seek to enforce arbitration provisions. The medical settings often involve patients who are old, quite sick (or both), hurried admission processes, and urgency. These cases remind me of a story my law school torts professor told, about taking his daughter, who had […]