On November 22, 2020, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced that it would be shutting down all outdoor dining for a minimum of three weeks. The order will take effect on Wednesday, November 25 at 10 pm, and will be in place for at least the next three weeks.

The Public Health Department stated that “new COVID-19 cases remain at alarming levels and the number of people hospitalized continue to increase, the Los Angeles County Health Officer Order will be modified to restrict dining at restaurants, breweries, wineries and bars as the five-day average of new cases ...

There are certain core principles that must be applied in analyzing coverage under a liability insurance policy.

This two-part article sets out those principles. It also explores some counter-intuitive situations in which such coverage may come into play.

Examples of Coverage in Counter-Intuitive Situations

• Patent infringement
• Business and IP disputes
• Cyber-related risks
• Trade dress claims
• Unfair competition claims

Patent Infringement

• See, e.g., com International, Inc. vs. American Dynasty Surplus Lines Ins. Co., 120 Wash. App. 610 (2004) (patent infringement covered ...

On November 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a mandatory overnight stay-at-home order. Under the order, Californians in the purple tier of the state’s reopening guidance, which now includes Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County and San Diego County, will be prohibited from leaving their homes for nonessential activity from 10pm to 5am. The restriction goes into effect on November 21, 2020 and is scheduled to last until December 21, 2020, although it may be extended.

The order requires “that all gatherings with members of other households and all ...

If your workforce includes private security officers, then new Assembly Bill 1512 should come as great news to you.  Back in 2016, the California Supreme Court issued a controversial decision called Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc. which held that ABM’s security officers were not afforded legally compliant, off-duty rest breaks as long as they were required to carry pagers and respond to emergencies on an “as needed” basis.  Citing the “public interest that security officers are able to respond to emergency situations without delay”, California’s new AB 1512 ...

On November 17, 2020, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors determined at a closed meeting that it would be setting a 10pm curfew for restaurants, bars, breweries, wineries and non-essential retail businesses. These businesses will not be allowed to be open to the public for entry from 10pm to 6am. At this point it is unclear whether this restriction will also apply to takeout and delivery options.

The LA Times and Daily News reported that restaurants, breweries and wineries operating outdoors will be limited to 50% maximum outdoor capacity. Non-essential indoor businesses in ...

On November 16, 2020, California officials pulled an “emergency brake” and announced that the state would be rolling back reopenings in 28 counties across the state. These changes will go into effect on Tuesday, November 17. Los Angeles County has consistently remained in the purple tier, which prohibits indoor dining, closes bars and breweries, and allows malls and retail at 25% capacity.  However, San Diego County, Ventura County and Orange County were in Tier 2 and have now moved into a more restrictive tier.

Under California’s COVID-19 tier system, Tier 1 ...

Remember Assembly Bill 749 last year? Basically, AB 749, codified as Code of Civil Procedure section 1002.5, prohibited the use of no-rehire clauses in settlement agreements regarding disputes in which the worker had filed a complaint against the employer. It only provided a single narrow exception to allow no-rehire clauses if the employer made a good faith determination that the employee engaged in sexual harassment or sexual assault. Our article regarding AB 749 can be found here.

Employers have been largely dissatisfied with AB 749. They argue that AB 749 is overly restrictive ...

There are certain core principles that must be applied in analyzing coverage under a liability insurance policy.

This two-part article sets out those principles. It also explores some counter-intuitive situations in which such coverage may come into play.


Insurance Liability

• Hidden opportunities to obtain coverage in liability cases
• Sometimes counter-intuitive
• Often obscured by jargon and complexity
• What strategies will assist in uncovering these opportunities?

The 8 Key Points

1. Law Tilted in Favor of Policyholders

Liability insurance provides protection (i.e ...

Building upon California’s prior efforts to increase diversity in the workplace, Governor Newsom has signed into law Assembly Bill 979 and Senate Bill 973.  AB 979 requires greater diversity on corporate boards of directors while SB 973 imposes pay reporting requirements based on gender, race, and ethnicity. Both laws will become effective on January 1, 2021.

AB 979 applies to publicly held corporations headquartered in California, requiring them to diversify their boards of directors with directors from “underrepresented communities”.  AB 979 defines “director from ...

After the success and positive feedback for its “L.A. Al Fresco” program from customers and restaurant owners, the Los Angeles City Council is moving to make the initiative permanent.

The L.A. Al Fresco Program was first announced in May 2020, as an initiative to make pandemic restrictions easier for restaurants by streamlining the process for outdoor permits. LA Al Fresco endeavors to help local food purveyors reopen safely and allow customers and employees to maintain physical distancing by temporarily relaxing the rules that regulate outdoor dining. LA Al Fresco allows ...