Arriagarazo v. BMW of North America, LLC, 64 Cal.App.5th 742, the 3rd District Appellate Court recently faced this issue on April 30, 2021. Appellants Arriagarazo and Arriaga accepted an offer to compromise their wrongful death action against BMW for $15,000 pursuant to a 998 offer. Judgment was entered against BMW in accordance with the compromise. BMW then moved to vacate this judgment, stating that the parties never stipulated to enter judgment under the 998 offer and that they instead planned to resolve the matter by way of a general release and dismissal. At the hearing, the trial court vacated the judgment as void because the 998 offer did not specify how the case was to be finally resolved.
Fraud
Senior Associate, Laura Malkofsky, won a motion to dismiss a RICO (Racketeer Influenced Corruption Organizations) claim in United States district court, on behalf of our client, a healthcare facility. The plaintiff was the former medical director of the facility who was terminated for cause. He filed suit in state court which included a RICO cause of action based on allegations of mail and wire fraud. The suit was later removed to the federal court. The district court judge ruled that plaintiff failed to show that there was any relationship of the mail and wire fraud and failed to articulate a basis for how the alleged falsity was material. The case was remanded to state court to adjudicate the remaining state law claims.
Leila M. Mohseni is an Associate in the Firm’s Oakland/East Bay office and handles employment, personal injury and products liability defense. She can be reached at (510) 832-7770 or by email at LMohseni@ericksenarbuthnot.com.
Medical Malpractice
Trial Court Did Not Err in Declining to Instruct Jury with CACI 509 in Medical Malpractice Case Involving Doctor’s Early Departure from Hospital - Zannini et al. v. Mark A. Liker, M.D., No. B302404 (Cal. Ct. App. Jan 31, 2022)