
Ethan Birnberg Named 2023 Best Attorney in Truckee and Lake Tahoe
Porter Simon, a Truckee and Lake Tahoe-based law firm, is proud to announce that partner Ethan J. Birnberg has been named the “2023 Best Attorney” in the Truckee and North Lake Tahoe. Over 100,000 votes were cast during an approximate three-week period, according to Tahoe Daily Tribune and Sierra [...]

Does a Golfer Assume the Risk of Tripping on a Tree Root Near a Tee Box?
I am not a golfer. I prefer to walk in nature without the angst of having to hit a little white ball while doing so. Thus, I loved this quote from the First Appellate District Court of Appeal: “Golf is a sport whose object is for players to use [...]

Costco Gas Station Fist Fight Illustrates Good Samaritan Law
We’ve written about the Good Samaritan law before primarily because I want to encourage people to help others whenever possible without fear of being successfully sued. COSTCO GAS STATION FIST FIGHT My only minor beef with getting gas at Costco is the price is so cheap there is often [...]

My Alumni, Hastings College of the Law, Changes Name
When I attended Hastings College of the Law in the early 1970s, it was one of the top tier law schools in the country. And still is. I knew vaguely that the name came from Serranus Hastings who was the first Chief Justice of California. We’ve learned more about [...]

Leslie Van Houten – Charles Manson Cult Leader Follower – Released on Parole
All of us remember cult leader Charles Manson and some of us remember one of his cult followers Leslie Van Houten, who participated in the killing of Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary in Los Angeles. That was a day after other members of the Manson Family brutally murdered [...]

Beware of the Snow Damage Insurance Exclusion
The dog days of summer are here. The mercury malevolently rises, and heat records ignominiously fall world round. But here in Truckee-Tahoe, snow is still on the mind (and on the ground). The past winter wreaked havoc. So much so that federal and [...]

U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Racial Gerrymandering – Shocking
In recent years, the highly partisan, conservative Supreme Court has essentially gutted the Voting Rights Act by continuing to allow, if not endorse, racial gerrymandering of congressional districts. A “RED MAP” UPHELD A bit of recent history. North Carolina’s Republican Party drew partisan congressional districts in such [...]

Selling a Rental Property During the Lease: Can a Tenant Preclude the Landlord’s Real Estate Agent from Showing the House?
Landlords sometimes need to sell their investment property while leasing to a tenant. When this occurs, the landlord wants to enter the premises; but the tenant is understandably frustrated and concerned about this proposed invasion of privacy. A landlord is not required to wait to sell his or her [...]

California Landlord/Tenant and Lease Rights: When and How Can a Landlord Enter the Property a Tenant Calls Home?
We commonly field questions from landlords and tenants seeking to understand their property rights under leases and California or Nevada law. In California, landlords, owners, and property managers cannot simply enter a house, unit, or property once they have leased possession of the property. They need to have a [...]
Blogdesigner2026-03-31T16:23:54-07:00
