Gregory v. Cott, 2014 WL 3805478 (Cal. S. Ct. 2014)

Carolyn Gregory was injured while providing in-home care for Lorraine Cott, an Alzheimer’s disease patient.  Gregory received workers’ compensation benefits but sued the Cotts for negligence and premises liability and asserted a claim against Lorraine for battery.  The trial court granted a defense motion for summary judgment based on the primary assumption of risk

Touchstone Television Prods. v. Superior Court, 208 Cal. App. 4th 676 (2012)

Touchstone had an agreement with actress Nicollette Sheridan that gave it the exclusive option to renew Sheridan’s contract on an annual basis for an additional six seasons (after the first season) of the television show “Desperate Housewives.” Sheridan sued Touchstone for wrongful termination in violation of public policy, claiming she had been

Touchstone Television Productions v. Superior Court, No. BC435248, 2012 WL 3525609 (Aug. 16, 2012)

If you are among the throngs of Desperate Housewives fans, you may recall when Wisteria Lane’s Edie Williams, played by actress Nicollette Sheridan, tragically died of electrocution following a car accident during the show’s fifth season. Sheridan later filed a lawsuit against Touchstone Television Pictures (“Touchstone”), Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry (“Cherry”), and other parties (who have since been dismissed), alleging that her on-screen death and Touchstone’s subsequent failure to renew her fixed-term employment contract were tantamount to a wrongful termination in violation of public policy under California law. Before the series began, Sheridan and Touchstone executed an agreement which paid Sheridan a reported $175,000 per episode to start and gave Touchstone the exclusive option to renew the contract on an annual basis for six seasons. Touchstone exercised its option to renew the contract for Seasons 2 through 5, but informed Sheridan during Season 5 that it would not do so for Season 6. Sheridan alleged in her lawsuit that Touchstone’s decision was the result of a complaint she made about Cherry purportedly striking her during the filming of an episode. (She also asserted a claim of battery, on which the trial court granted a directed verdict in favor of Touchstone and Cherry.)

Pantoja v. Anton, 198 Cal. App. 4th 87 (2011)

Lorraine Pantoja sued attorney Thomas J. Anton and his firm for wrongful termination, violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), battery, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. By the time of the trial, only the FEHA claims remained. In their motions in limine, defendants sought to exclude any reference to the

Jones v. California Dep’t of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 152 Cal. App. 4th 1367 (2007)

Kim C. Jones worked as a correctional officer at the R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility for approximately 16 years before experiencing alleged gender discrimination, sexual harassment, race discrimination, assault and battery and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The trial court granted summary judgment to the defendants, including her supervisors

Plancarte v. Guardsmark, LLC, 118 Cal. App. 4th 640 (2004)

Eveilia Plancarte alleged that Toufik Kadah, a Guardsmark security guard, was responsible for assault, battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress, all of which allegedly occurred while she was working as a janitor in a building in which Kadah was working as a guard. Plancarte also alleged “respondeat superior,” negligent hiring and

Hoblitzell v. City of Ione, 110 Cal. App. 4th 675 (2003)

Timothy Hoblitzell, a construction contractor, sued three employees of the City of Ione and the city itself after the employees identified themselves to one of Hoblitzell’s customers (a property owner) as building inspectors, told the customer that Hoblitzell had been performing the construction without permits and made disparaging remarks about the quality of