According to the US Department of Transportation (US DOT), the number of bus crashes has climbed in recent years. In the United States as a whole, there were 13,195 accidents involving buses in 2007 (the most recent year for which statistics are available), up from 8,555 in 2003. In those same five years, 1,651 people…
A California tour bus overturned on a Phoenix highway recently, killing six passengers and injuring all other 17 people on board. The bus, which was operated by Van Nuys, California based Tierra Santa Inc., reportedly hit a pickup and rolled over, ejecting six passengers who died of their injuries. The bus was traveling its regular…
California law requires sports agents to make certain mandatory disclosures to the Secretary of State prior to acting as an agent. According to a lawsuit filed by Callahan & Blaine’s client, International motocross racing team Pro Circuit Racing, Inc., its agent, Crown AMG, misrepresented its status as an authorized sports agent so that it could…
Daniel J. Callahan of Callahan & Blaine, recently represented Win Time, Ltd. against NCRS, Inc. of Anaheim, California in an extraordinary California real estate fraud case. The basis of the case is that NCRS, Inc. owned a Super 8 Motel which it sold to Callahan & Blaine’s client, Lake Forest, California-based Win Time. During the…
Tierra Santa Inc, a tour bus operator based in Van Nuys, California, runs regular bus routes from California to Mexico via Arizona. After six people were killed in a tour bus rollover accident in Arizona, the local press started digging into the company’s record. The company reportedly has a long history of safety violations, cannot…
Charlie Hall received a waterbed patent in 1971. Twenty years later, Hall began suing various waterbed manufacturers for possible patent infringement. The lawsuits were initiated in the United States District Court for the Central District of California before the Honorable James M. Ideman. Last year, the Court was presented motions from eight of the manufacturers…
In another nationwide precedent-setting case tried by Callahan & Blaine, Fonovisa v. Cherry Auction, swap meet owners were found liable for vicarious and contributory copyright and trademark infringement when counterfeit merchandise is sold by independent vendors at swap meets. The Ninth Circuit determined that swap meet owners sufficiently control their premises enough to know if…
A group of Domino’s Pizza delivery drivers was granted class-action status for a federal lawsuit filed in Minnesota. The drivers allege that Domino’s does not reimburse them for travel expenses, which in turns undercuts the drivers’ ability to earn minimum wage, as required by law. Lawyers for the Minnesota plaintiffs argue that Domino’s policy means…
Surgin Surgical Instrumentation Inc. was a manufacturer of certain devices for cataract surgery and had about ten percent of the market with projected annual profits of $7 million when Alcon, a competitor, filed a series of patent infringement and unfair competition lawsuits against the company. Truck Insurance, a subsidiary of Farmers Insurance Group, denied Surgin’s…
While most Orange County small business owners are aware of the basic types of business insurance they should carry, there are a few areas of coverage that many overlook. Identity theft and Internet fraud are two new areas of potential exposure that have emerged in recent years. Insurance companies have stepped up with products that…
