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in the news 2.22.2010 James Ballard successfully defended a client against claims of racial discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination. Mr. Ballard successfully sought and received summary judgment which disposed of the case prior to getting to a jury. 4.23.2009 Mechanic’s Lien Seminar Kevin Cauley was the primary speaker for the April 23, 2009 Mechanic’s Lien Seminar presented by the American Subcontractor’s Association, San Diego Chapter. The seminar covered the basic issues involved with Mechanic’s Liens, Private and Public Stop Notices, and collection issues. 3.20.2009 Construction Law Seminar Kevin Cauley was the primary speaker for the March 20, 2009 Construction Law Seminar presented by the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., San Diego Chapter. Seminar topics included Mechanic’s Liens, Stop Notices & Collections, Construction Contracts, Bidding Law, Change Orders, Contractors’ License Law, Litigation, Arbitration & Negotiation, Business Structure – Corporations, and more. 1.26.2009 Employers in California Beware - Law Makes Supervisory Sexual Harassment Training Mandatory! Although existing law makes sexual harassment unlawful and requires every employer to provide a workplace free of sexual and other forms of harassment, the law mandates certain sexual harassment training for all private and public sector employers with fifty or more employees. Click here to read more 10.28.08 Recent Developments in Employment Law It has been a busy few months on the employment law scene with two lawsuits of note to pass your way and a recent Appellate case that will impact the way you handle employees out on medical leave and their subsequent re-employment. click here to read more 6.17.08 On June 17, 2008, Dick Semerdjian achieved settlement in the amount of $6.75 million on behalf of firm client, Dr. William Arterberry dba Farm ACW (“Farm”). A complaint was filed in San Diego Superior Court on January 2, 2007, against Defendant San Diego Gas & Electric (“SDG&E”) for breach of its utility duty of service under Public Utilities Code section 2106. Prior to the filing of the civil complaint, SDG&E’s alleged tariff issues were adjudicated before the California Public Utilities Commission, which ruled largely in the Farm’s favor. The civil suit in which Mr. Semerdjian achieved the large settlement included damages against SDG&E for increased electricity costs, lost profits and emotional distress. The parties conducted one full day and two half-days of mediation with mediator Justice Howard Wiener (Ret.), with settlement reached on the last day of mediation. Case settled for $6.75 million two weeks before trial. 12.7.07 2007 Developments in Employment Law by James R. Ballard Two recent cases have further defined the Employer's role in dealing with disabled employees. In Wysinger, the Court confirmed that the duty to provide a reasonable accommodation to a disabled employee is separate and distinct from the employer's duty to engage in a good faith interactive process with the disabled employee to explore accommodations. The duty to engage in the interactive process exists even where there is no reasonable accommodation available and the employer can be held liable for its failure to so engage even where there is no finding of disability discrimination. My memo detailing the case and its application to employers is attached as a pdf document. In Green, the Supreme Court confirmed that the employee bears the burden of proof to show that he/she could perform a job's essential duties with or without reasonable accommodations. Previous to Green, there had been a split of authority as to whether the burden fell on the employer or the employee. This significantly eases the employer's burden of proof in a disability discrimination case as well as potentially signals a shift towards more rigorous standards in dealing with disability discrimination. My memo detailing the Green case is attached as pdf document as well. On November 5, 2007, James Ballard received a judgment in excess of $6.3 million on behalf of 75 clients involved in failed land deal in Colorado. Factoring in settlements reached prior to the trial, Mr. Ballard recovered over $8 million for the defrauded clients. The lawsuit, a combination of contract and security claims, was the culmination of over two years of work investigating and prosecuting the claims. 4.18.07 On April 18, 2007, James Ballard successfully defended Neopost, Inc. against two claims of disability discrimination and one claim of failure to accommodate a disability by Plaintiff Anthony Kuchta. The matter was tried to a jury for over three weeks in Alameda County Superior Court. The jury took less than two hours to return defense verdicts on all claims. This is Mr. Ballard's second successful defense of Neopost, Inc. against claims of discrimination. 10.31.06 On October 31, 2006, James Ballard obtained a $5.96 million jury verdict (later reduced to $2.4 million after post-trial motions) in a malicious prosecution action on behalf of his client, Dr. Sara Sukumar. The case was tried to a jury for over four weeks and resulted in one of the biggest verdicts for malicious prosecution in the history of San Diego County and one of the largest verdicts for the 2006 year. Jim also handled the appeal of the matter which resulted in the judgment being affirmed. Ultimately, after costs and interests were added to the judgment, Jim collected over $3 million for his client. 2.1.07 Dick Semerdjian installed as new chairman of the San Diego International Sports Council 9.20.06 Dick Semerdjian Nominated The Daily Transcript's Top Influentials 7.2.06 Dick Semerdjian named one of the San Diego Daily Transcript's Top 10 Attorneys for 2006.
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publications
Failure to Comply With Discovery May Cost More Than Just Sanctions;
Trial Bar News, April 2010
Attorney Work-Product Privilege Does Not Extend to Written and Recorded
Witness Statements; Trial Bar News, March 2010 Privileged
Means Privileged; Trial Bar News, January 2010
Preventing the Apex Deposition; Trial Bar News, December 2009
Think Before You Object – The Appellate Court Affirms a Sanctions Award;
Trial Bar News, November 2009
Answering Questions About Discovery in California From Your
Out-of-State Contacts Just Got Easier; Trial Bar News, June 2009
Rules Regarding Discovery Sanctions and Motions to Withdraw or Amend an
Admission; Trial Bar News, May 2009 Attorney-Client
Privilege Limits Corporate Director's "Absolute Right;" Trial Bar
News, February 2009.
A Mechanics'
Lien: What's In It For You?,
by Kevin T. Cauley
Discovery Cut Off Motions; Trial Bar News, October 2008
Terminating Sanctions; Trial Bar News, August/September 2008 Discovery Issues; Trial Bar News,
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Wysinger Memo (.pdf)