Recent Articles

The Butte Fire started on September 9, 2015, near Butte Mountain Road in Jackson, California, spreading rapidly through drought-stricken Amador and Calaveras Counties. By the time the blaze was contained three weeks later, the fire had consumed more than 70,000 acres, destroyed 1,000 structures and claimed two lives. The fire started when a pine tree [...]

Every once in a while some of you receive solicitations from companies offering to record a homestead to protect your home. The flyers make it sound like you will lose your home if you do not “record a homestead.” Most of the time you need a homestead like you need tin siding on your home.This [...]

Under the Health and Safety Code, restaurants are generally required to keep their premises free of vermin, including mice, rats and cockroaches. How about black widow spiders? My last personal encounter with a black spider was in Sacramento when I was young, lighting one on fire with a match. Watching it explode. A practice I [...]

The US Supreme Court was asked to rule on a partisan gerrymandering case in Wisconsin:  Gill. v. Whitford. BLATANT GERRYMANDERING The Wisconsin Republican Party’s technique was by “cracking” aka “splitting” certain Democrat voters among different districts so those voters failed to achieve electoral majorities and “packing” aka “stacking” other Democrat voters in a few districts [...]

Alexander Vannesse was the driver of a vehicle involved in a collision.  Ventura Police Officer Baumann, a certified drug recognition expert, responded to the scene.  After his preliminary investigation, he arrested Vannesse for “driving under the influence.” POLICE ERROR Concluding Vannesse was under the influence of drugs (not alcohol), Officer Baumann advised Vannesse that he [...]

Most homeowners’ associations within the State of California are common interest developments governed by the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (“Davis-Stirling”).  Davis-Stirling is a state law imposing various rules, regulations and requirements on homeowners’ associations, concerning elections, open board meetings, assessment collections, and other matters.  Davis-Stirling is the principal state law governing homeowners’ associations, though [...]

Blended families, although increasingly common, still seem (to this author at least) to generate an outsized share of legal problems in the estate planning and administration field.  In the blended family arena a new California case gives us one more deadline to add to our post-death checklist regarding possible creditors and claim periods under California [...]

“Accidents happen. Sometimes they happen to individuals committing crimes with loaded guns.” Dean v. United States (2009). That is the lead sentence in today’s case USA v. Van McDuffy. BANK ROBBERY - RENO, NEVADA On October 16, 2013, Van McDuffy entered a Bank of America in Reno, brandished a handgun and demanded money from one [...]

Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) save lives and in my humble opinion should be available in all large business stores and in every major place of public assembly. HEART ATTACK IN TARGET STORE Mary Ann Verdugo had a heart attack and died in a Target store in Pico Rivera, California. Even though Target sold AEDs on [...]