California Service of Process Rules are Changing - What Litigants, Landlords, and Businesses Should Know About AB 747 Assembly Bill 747 is known as the “SPARE Act.” It makes significant changes to the rules governing service of process in civil litigation. It is intended to improve accuracy and transparency in...
Dawn M. Coulson California Best of the Bar Distinction We’re excited to share that our Managing Partner, Dawn Coulson, has been recognized for achieving one of the Top 100 Verdicts in California in 2025, making her eligible for the highly selective Best of the Bar distinction. It serves as...
California Minimum Wage Requirements for Employers Employers in California should prepare for a number of local minimum wage increases in various cities and counties across the state that will become effective July 1, 2026, including: •Los Angeles City: $18.42 •Los Angeles County (unincorporated): $18.47 •Malibu: $17.91 •Pasadena: $18.57 •Santa Monica:...
Truck Driver Employees U.S. Supreme Court Says Interstate Commerce Drivers May Not Have to Arbitrate The U. S. Supreme Court ruled that employee truck drivers (and yes, most drivers are employees and not independent contractors if they are controlled by the employer) may avoid previously signed arbitration agreements when litigating...
Initial Status Conference on July 24, 2026 The Court has scheduled an initial status conference for July 24, 2026. The initial status conference is an early administrative hearing where the judge organizes the case and sets a schedule for next steps. Before that hearing, Epps & Coulson, LLP will...
Stay-or-Pay Provisions Face Growing State-Level Regulation “Stay-or-pay” provisions—contract terms requiring employees to repay certain employer-incurred costs if they leave before a specified period—are receiving increased legal scrutiny. These provisions often relate to training expenses (TRAPs) and have expanded beyond high-skilled roles into lower-wage industries in recent years. Shifting Federal Landscape...
Shared Enterprise Liability and Alter Ego Liability In California Law Corporate law begins with a premise that is both simple and fragile: entities are separate. That premise does a great deal of work. It allocates risk. It encourages investment. It allows complex organizations to exist without collapsing into a single...
Talking and corresponding with your attorney is shielded from discovery by the opposing counsel by the doctrine of attorney client privilege. It is meant to allow and indeed, intended to encourage honest and full disclosure of the legal facts and analysis between client and counsel. But what happens when the...
LITIGATION HOLDS JUST GOT ENHANCED When someone files a lawsuit or begins an arbitration, the parties are supposed to place a hold on destroying any files about the matter, even tangentially related documents. It is especially important for businesses that have automatic deletion of correspondence, video, documents or other items...
TARIFF REFUNDS Supreme Court Invalidated Pres. Trump’s Authority To Impose Various Tariffs While the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision invalidating tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) rejected Pres. Trump’s authority to impose those duties, it leaves unresolved a separate and potentially complex issue for businesses: how...