California

Lawyers in multiple states face inquiry, or worse, over legal fees in mortgage foreclosure matters

Attorneys in multiple states are in the news due to alleged violation of rules concerning the fees they charged clients seeking mortgage modifications or concerns that they may have used questionable billing practices while representing lenders in foreclosure cases. In California, attorney Stephen Siringoringo was ordered by the State Bar…

Aug 9, 2013 10:30 AM CDT

Hospital cannot ban all service animals from psych ward, federal judge rules

A California hospital can’t unilaterally ban all service animals from certain areas, such as a psychiatric ward, a federal judge has ruled. Siding with a disabled woman who said she had to choose between getting the treatment she needs for her bipolar disorder and getting the help she needs from…

Aug 8, 2013 8:20 PM CDT

City moves forward with controversial mortgage rescue plan, backed by eminent domain power

A city in the San Francisco Bay area is the first in California to move ahead with a controversial approach to the problem of struggling homeowners having trouble paying mortgages on their upside-down homes. Richmond has asked the holders of more than 620 underwater mortgages—mortages in which the principal balance…

Aug 7, 2013 8:10 PM CDT

Judge OKs big sale of water from farmers to San Diego County

A Sacramento Superior Court judge has OK’d what is said to be the nation’s largest ever sale of water from farms to cities, granting the wish of farmers from California’s Imperial Valley to sell some of their allotment of the Colorado River’s flow to increasingly thirsty San Diego County, the…

Aug 2, 2013 9:07 PM CDT

Refusal to pay San Diego mayor’s sex-harass case legal bills ‘not a rational decision,’ lawyer says

A unanimous decision by the San Diego City Council not to pay for the defense of the city’s mayor in a sexual harassment case is “a political, not a rational decision,” his lawyer contends. Refusing to cover Mayor Bob Filner’s defense costs could hurt the city, which is a co-defendant…

Aug 1, 2013 5:10 PM CDT

College student forgotten in DEA cell for nearly 5 days gets $4M settlement

A college student who spent nearly five days forgotten in a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration cell after being swept up in a drug raid at a friend’s home in the San Diego area last year has settled with the feds. Daniel Chong, now 25, has agreed to accept $4.1 million…

Jul 31, 2013 7:55 PM CDT

San Diego sues its mayor for costs of legal defense against sexual-harassment suit

The San Diego City Council doesn’t want taxpayers footing the bill for a lawsuit claiming that Mayor Bob Filner tried to kiss a staffer and put her in a headlock. The city council voted Tuesday to deny funds for Filner’s legal defense and to sue him for defense costs and…

Jul 31, 2013 2:41 PM CDT

Lawyer accused of killing ex-wife on Italian cruise can be tried in California, judge rules

A California judge has ruled he has jurisdiction to try a lawyer accused of killing his ex-wife and throwing her overboard while on a cruise off the coast of Italy. Judge Gregg Prickett of Orange County stayed his ruling to allow an appeal by the defendant, Lonnie Loren Kocontes, report…

Jul 30, 2013 12:09 PM CDT

Man faces manslaughter charges after driving into utility pole; downed wire electrocuted 2 rescuers

A California man who crashed his car into a utility pole and a fire hydrant last year is now facing two felony manslaughter charges after would-be rescuers stepped into a pool of water electrified by a downed wire and were electrocuted. “He was definitely driving negligently, he definitely had disregard…

Jul 26, 2013 3:05 PM CDT

Despite DOMA win, some same-sex couples see a tax-related downside; others get estate tax refunds

As the dust settles after a celebration of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that a federal law restricting the rights of same-sex married couples is unconstitutional, some are now facing new tax issues. While the court’s decision to strike the Defense of Marriage Act is expected to result in hefty…

Jul 24, 2013 8:20 PM CDT

Young lawyer saves $25K a year in rent by living with mom and dad

John O’Connor is lucky on two fronts. In a tough legal hiring market, the 26-year-old landed a job and is working as a litigator at a San Francisco area law firm after earning his law degree at the University of California’s Hastings College of Law. And he is able to…

Jul 24, 2013 6:50 PM CDT

Bicyclist takes plea in felony case over pedestrian death, will not serve any jail time

In what is being billed as the first such conviction in California, a bicyclist has taken a felony plea after striking and killing a pedestrian in a crosswalk last year. Chris Bucchere, 37, will plead guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the death of Sutchi Hui, 71, and is to be…

Jul 23, 2013 4:40 PM CDT

Judge OKs $1.6B pact in Toyota class action as trial begins in first wrongful death case

A record $1.6 billion settlement approved last week by a federal judge in Orange County, Calif., is only part of the potential liability that Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc. is facing as the first trial begins in more than 80 state court suits filed over alleged sudden-acceleration defects in the…

Jul 22, 2013 7:57 PM CDT

Businessman charged in sex-tourism case files $10M malpractice suit against elite civil lawyers

A former client jailed in Mexico as he awaits extradition to the U.S. in a sex-tourism and child-pornography case has sued two elite San Francisco lawyers who previously represented him in civil litigation for claimed malpractice. Businessman Thomas White contends that his then-lawyers, Nanci Clarence and Kate Dyer, did not…

Jul 22, 2013 7:35 PM CDT

Lawyer for inmates on hunger strike is banned from all California prisons

A prominent lawyer known for her representation of inmates has been banned from all California prisons. In a Tuesday letter, a state corrections official prohibited Marilyn McMahon from visiting all state prisons, citing a probe of a claimed “threat” created by a retired paralegal who had been working for her…

Jul 18, 2013 4:45 PM CDT