Stay Out of It – Inmates Have No Standing to Sue About Phone Bills

Many of our county clients maintain contracts with private service providers for a variety of municipal needs. In a recent case, several California counties were sued by a group of inmates, organized by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, claiming that fees for telecommunications service in jails were an unlawful tax, requiring voter approval under Proposition 26.  The fees for use...

Staff Spotlight- Gretchen Dugan

Mrs. Gretchen Dugan has worked with the law firm of Prentice|LONG PC for nearly fifteen months.  Her calm and friendly demeanor provide superior customer assistance when answering phone lines and working with clients.  She helps to manage the firm’s calendar and works as Lead File Clerk, in addition to her many duties as Legal Assistant to multiple attorneys.  “Gretchen has...

CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT UP ENDS THE APPLE CART ON PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST COSTS

The California Supreme Court just issued a decision reversing a lower appellate court on the issue of redaction costs associated with electronic records.  In National Lawyers Guild v. City of Hayward, Supreme Court Opinion S252445 (May 28, 2020) the Court reversed a decision by the Court of Appeal that had construed the Public Records Act (PRA) as allowing the City...

Staff Spotlight - Cindy Buhler

Ms. Cindy Buhler has been a part of Prentice|LONG PC Law Firm since September of 2017. When hired, Cindy was tasked with learning legal billing and routinely ran documents to the courthouse for filing.  Eventually, she added new responsibilities, to include the review of Firm healthcare benefits as well as administrative and banking tasks.  She now does billing for seven of...

Obligations of County to Release Personal Health Information re COVID-19

Question:  What information or obligation is the County under to release that person’s personal health information (PHI)? Response:   All of the “old” rules for disclosures, the laws and regulations governing public health, still apply.  In all scenarios, Counties must ONLY release the minimum necessary information for the disclosure. Also, an individual may provide authorization to disclose PHI. In that situation, Counties still...

Governor’s May 6, 2020 Executive Order Grants New Temporary Presumption of COVID-19 Disability Arising Out of and In the Course Of Employment

On May 6, 2020, Governor Newsom announced an Executive Order creating a temporary rule which applies to employees working between March 19, 2020 and July 4, 2020.   While the official order is not available yet, we want to provide the key highlights of the temporary rule:    1.  Creates a rebuttable presumption that employees who contract COVID-19 within 14...