Nelson v. Avondale Homeowners Assn. (2009) 172 Cal. App 4th 857 -- The Fourth District Appellate Court of California upheld a verdict in favor of Hollins•Schechter partners Jeffrey Gillette and Tamara Heathcote in Nelson v. Avondale Homeowners Assn. [(2009) 172 Cal. App 4th 857], the results of which were published in March, 2009. The case originated from an action in which plaintiff sought an injunction against his HOA after his patients were denied entry to his home by the association's security staff. Plaintiff's request was promptly denied by the trial court due to the fruitless grounds of plaintiff's action, as evidenced by the Hollins•Schechter team. Mr. Gillette and Ms. Heathcote's combined expertise in appellate matters helped to assure victory in the Court of Appeal, wherein the Appeals Court found that no abuse of discretion occurred at trial when the lower court denied said injunction. Based on relevant case law stating that abuse only exists where "plaintiff will prevail on the merits of the case" and where "plaintiffs is likely to sustain [harm] if the injunction is denied" (14859 Moorpark Homeowners Assn v. VRT Corp (1998) 63 Cal. App. 4th 1396, 1402-1403), the trial decision was affirmed. The publication of this case demonstrates California commitment to not allowing anti-discrimination laws to be abused for selfish ends, and Mr. Gillette and Ms. Heathcote have the distinction of having helped to publicly endorse this ideal.

Blessley v Fire -- On October 28, 2008, a California Jury found by a special verdict of 10-2 that an insurer was not liable to an elderly couple for breach of contract and bad faith, because the couple knowingly and willfully concealed a material fact from the insurer, during the presentation of their insurance claim.

The Supreme Court of California upheld a motion for non-suit made by Principal Bruce Schechter in Castaneda v Olsher. The plaintiff was shot and injured while he was a bystander to a gang confrontation, in the mobile home park in which he lived. He brought action against our client for premises liability, and after five days of testimony before a jury, the plaintiff rested his case and Mr. Schechter made an oral motion for nonsuit. The trial court granted the motion based on Mr. Schechter’s argument, that the plaintiff had failed to show that a shooting was highly foreseeable, and thus the landlord owed no duty to the plaintiff (Ann M. v. Pacific Plaza Shopping Center (1993) 6 Cal.4th 666). The Court of Appeal reversed the Imperial County Superior Court Decision, but the Supreme Court reinstated the non-suit for our client.

In a case in which the plaintiff alleged a bad faith breach of the duty to defend under a commercial general liability policy, Hollins•Schechter won summary adjudication of plaintiff’s claims for bad faith and punitive damages, successfully eliminating the client’s exposure to extra-contractual liability prior to trial.

Insurance Litigation practice partner, Sheila McDonald obtained writ relief on behalf of the defendant insurer, after plaintiffs were granted leave to amend their complaint only days before trial, to state a claim for punitive damages and to assert a new cause of action for bad faith.

Hollins•Schechter won summary judgment against a third party judgment creditor, who sued the defendant insurer for failure to pay the judgment. Plaintiff alleged causes of action for breach of contract and bad faith against the carrier, which had denied coverage on the grounds that plaintiff’s judgment against the insured for slander arose out of molestation, an excluded cause of loss. In a related bankruptcy proceeding, partner Sheila McDonald succeeded in preventing the plaintiff from obtaining an assignment of the insured’s cause of action against the insurer, for breach of the duty to defend against the same claims.

In a bad faith case alleging breach of contract and bad faith arising out of multiple claimed losses, the firm successfully extricated four defendant insurers at the pleadings stage by way of demurrers and motions to quash. In addition, the court dismissed plaintiff’s cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty without leave to amend, significantly reducing exposure to the client and streamlining the issues for trial.

Hollins•Schechter obtained summary judgment on behalf of a national insurer in an action for breach of contract and bad faith, which included a claim for punitive damages. Plaintiffs alleged that the insurer had improperly handled first and third party claims relating to the failure of a retaining wall on plaintiffs’ property, and that the insurer’s settlement with a third party claimant had funded the third party’s further litigation against the plaintiff insured's.

In a bad faith case where plaintiff alleged both wrongful cancellation and under insurance, partner Sheila McDonald prevailed in defeating plaintiff’s negligence and punitive damages claims by way of motion for summary adjudication.

Hollins•Schechter succeeded in striking punitive damages without leave to amend in a high exposure bad faith matter involving allegations of delay, harassment and abusive investigation by the defendant insurer.

Hollins•Schechter obtained summary judgment on behalf of a major insurance carrier in a bad faith case, arising from the denial of plaintiff’s claim for mold and water damage. Partner Sheila McDonald defended the case for the insurer, successfully asserting that the policy’s contractual limitations period barred any recovery by plaintiff.

Hollins•Schechter obtained a complete defense decision on behalf of a client in a personal injury case, following a slip and fall. The plaintiff sought damages in excess of $620,000 from her mother and her housekeeper. Principal Bruce Schechter from our Personal Injury practice area, prevailed against a prominent Los Angeles plaintiff attorney, following an 8 day jury trial. After deliberating for just 40 minutes, the jury returned with a 12-0 verdict in favor of our client.

Hollins•Schechter obtained a complete defense decision on behalf of a client, in a case alleging breach of contract and bad faith involving multiple residential fire claims. The plaintiff sought damages in excess of 7 figures, and Hollins•Schechter prevailed following an 18 day bench trial, and 5 ½ months under submission. Subsequently, the plaintiff challenged the tentative Statement of Decision, and the court issued a supplemental Statement of Decision in favor of our client.

After our client admitted liability and settlement offers were rejected, Hollins•Schechter took over at trial and secured a decision on behalf of our client. The original request was $250,000 and at the time of trial, the demand was for $3.7 million based on future care expenses, in a San Diego case alleging Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) following an automobile accident. Principal Bruce Schechter and members of our Catastrophic Injury team, obtained a decision resulting in the plaintiff owing our client approximately $65,000 after legal fees.

Hollins•Schechter prevailed on Motion for Summary Adjudication, eliminating bad faith allegations along with punitive damages in a water damage and mold case. Attorneys from our Orange County office handled the case in Los Angeles Superior Court’s Central District.

Hollins•Schechter prevailed on Motion for Summary Adjudication, eliminating bad faith allegations along with punitive damages, in a case involving residential water damage. Our client denied the claim following damage caused by rain entering a home, and Partner Sheila McDonald of our Insurance Law and Litigation practice area, secured appropriate experts to show that the damage was caused not by the wind as alleged, but by poor maintenance of HVAC systems on the roof by the homeowner.