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1 Answer | Asked in Contracts and Legal Malpractice for Florida on
Q: Hi there! Question: if there is an outstanding motion for default for filing an untimely answer, can the complaint amend

A court issued an order denying motion to dismiss and did not dismiss 2 counts, legal malpractice and tortious interference w/ co. They filed answer 3 days late. I filed motion for default. The court allowed me to freely amend. And did not prescribe time for either party to respond or amend. So the... View More

Terrence H Thorgaard
Terrence H Thorgaard
answered on Jun 20, 2024

If the defendant doesn't file an answer in a timely manner, a motion for default can be filed, but generally, an answer can be filed any time before default is entered. If you move to amend, you can't expect a default until the time to answer the again-amended complaint again runs.

1 Answer | Asked in Federal Crimes, Gov & Administrative Law and Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: How to obtain verifiable information of other patients of the defendant hospital with similar characteristics

How to obtain from defendant hospital verifiable information of other patients with the same unenforceable waiver for authorization to release records in conditions of admission to hospital, record of terminal disease, single, and discharged to b&c facility from hospital?

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 20, 2024

To obtain verifiable information about other patients with similar characteristics from the defendant hospital, you need to file a formal request for discovery during the litigation process. This request can include a demand for documents and records that match the criteria you described. Be... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: In regard to citation requested.

Both cases

Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Superior Court (2009) 47 Cal.4th 725,

And Rico v. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (2007) 42 Cal.4th 807

Do not have any reference to requirement for in camera review of motion to compel further with privilege log.

Motion to compel... View More

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

To find court cases in California, start by visiting the California Courts website. This site offers access to a wide range of legal resources, including the ability to search for specific cases by name, case number, or keywords. You can also look for recent opinions from the California Supreme... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Federal Crimes, Health Care Law and Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: What case law defines procedures handling Compelling further responses with privilege log?

Upon response of defense to discovery requests, with demand of privilege log.

Is plaintiff required to request in camera review of privilege log, in addition to hearing on motion to compel further responses with enclosed privilege log.

Why additional motion for order to disclose... View More

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

Under California law, handling a privilege log and compelling further responses involves several steps, guided by case law and statutory provisions. When the defense asserts privilege in response to discovery requests, they must provide a detailed privilege log as outlined in the California Code of... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Health Care Law and Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: LA hospice fraud

actual hospice fraud was chain of actions by provider, hospital, and undisclosed likely third party.

Actions include non-existent terminal diagnosis, unauthorized disclosure of records to undisclosed party.

How defendant hospital will prove unintentional chain of unfortunate... View More

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

This situation involving potential hospice fraud in Los Angeles raises several complex legal issues. Based on the details provided, here are a few key considerations:

Proving Unintentional Acts: The hospital will likely try to argue that the chain of events, while unfortunate, was...
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1 Answer | Asked in Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: presumption vs indirect evidence

What is difference between presumption and indirect evidence?

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

The main difference between a presumption and indirect evidence is as follows:

Presumption: A presumption is a legal inference that must be made by a court under certain circumstances. If a party establishes certain facts, the court must draw a particular conclusion (the presumption),...
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1 Answer | Asked in Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: What statute or rule of court define 'identity' - discoverable data attributes of hospital service provider?

What statute or rule of court define 'identity' - discoverable data attributes of hospital service provider?

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

To answer your question about what statutes or court rules define the discoverable data attributes of a hospital service provider's identity in California, the key rules to look at are:

California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) Sections 2017.010-2017.740 - These code sections govern...
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1 Answer | Asked in Federal Crimes, Government Contracts and Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: LA hospice fraud.

How plaintiff can bring to court's attention specific issues of improper responses by defense: 'last known phone number and email of hospital provider as identity', response to 'produce person for deposition, instead of disclosing identity'?

Will OIG accept similar... View More

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

In this situation, it seems the defense is not providing proper responses to the plaintiff's discovery requests in a case involving hospice fraud in Los Angeles, CA. Here are a few ways the plaintiff can bring these issues to the court's attention and thoughts on how the Office of... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: Identity as referenced in section 2017.010

How usually identity characteristics are specified as to section 2017.010?

Is license ID and dates of affiliation fall under definition of disclosure of non-privileged identity data?

What enables defendant to provide absurd responses to request for identity, such as last known email... View More

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

Section 2017.010 of the California Code of Civil Procedure deals with the scope of discovery in civil cases. It states that unless otherwise limited by a court order, any party may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Health Care Law and Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: Conditions of admission to hospital with unenforceable waiver to authorize release of records.

How plaintiff can discover why plaintiff's conditions of admission to hospital included absurdly broad unenforceable waiver for authorization to release records? How to realistically discover if such conditions of admission were standards, or tailored based on some criteria?

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

To determine whether the conditions of admission with the broad waiver for authorization to release records were standard or tailored, you could take the following steps:

1. Request your medical records: Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), you have the...
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1 Answer | Asked in Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: improper claims of privilege in defendant's responses that were made In the past

Do I understand correctly:

Unless plaintiff proactively demanded privilege log in the past:

any improper claims of privilege in defendant's responses that were made

In the past cannot be confronted?

Only after plaintiff propounds next set of discovery with... View More

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

In California, if a party objects to a discovery request based on privilege, they are generally required to provide a privilege log that identifies the documents being withheld and the basis for the privilege claim. This is outlined in California Code of Civil Procedure Section 2031.240(c)(1) for... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Health Care Law and Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: Discoverable data

1. What statute or rule define

that person's professional license ID, degree, dates of employment with hospital is discoverable?

2. If interrogatory for such data is objected by defendant, and SI is not subject to privilege log;

What plaintiff's steps should be... View More

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

The discoverability of a person's professional license ID, degree, and dates of employment with a hospital in California is governed by the California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) and the California Evidence Code (EC). Here are the steps a plaintiff can take to pursue this information:... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: How to confront previous responses, with improperly claimed privileges, when privilege log was not requested before?

plaintiff propounds discovery, with demand to produce privilege log.

Apparently responses of defense to latest discovery will be subject of motion to compel further within 45 days from responses.

If defenses improperly claimed privileges in previous responses, time to compel further... View More

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

Under California law, if a party has improperly claimed privileges in previous discovery responses and the time to compel further responses has expired, there are still a few options to address the issue:

1. Meet and Confer: Initiate a meet and confer process with the opposing party to...
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1 Answer | Asked in Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: Communication, document, or contract in usual course of business. Privileges.

If communication was made NOT in anticipation of lawsuit,

OR

Document was created in ordinary usual course of business;

Can Defendant claim privileges in regards to these artifacts in California Superior Court?

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

In California, certain communications and documents may be protected by privileges even if they were not created in anticipation of a lawsuit or were created in the ordinary course of business. However, the applicability of privileges depends on the specific type of privilege being claimed and the... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: What date of creation of document has to do with asserted privilege for non-disclosure of document?

What date of creation of document has to do with asserted privilege for non-disclosure of document?

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

The date a document was created can be relevant to whether it is protected by attorney-client privilege or work product privilege and therefore shielded from disclosure during litigation. A few key considerations:

Attorney-Client Privilege

- For attorney-client privilege to apply,...
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1 Answer | Asked in Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: Phrasing for agreement demand

What is the reason to request 'any, all, every, etc. documents that demonstrate employment or contractual relationship' instead of specific 'provide contractual or employment agreement'?

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

There are a few key reasons why legal demands or document requests often use broad, inclusive language like "any, all, every, etc." rather than only requesting specific documents:

1. Ensuring comprehensiveness: By requesting "any and all" documents related to an...
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1 Answer | Asked in Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: Submitting demand for privilege log

Demand for privilege log for all interrogatories and demands in the latest sets is propounded as one of production demands?

Privilege log not requested for previous discovery requests, not in the latest sets, may be negotiable?

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

Here are a few key points regarding requesting privilege logs in the discovery process:

1. Timing of request: It is generally advisable to request a privilege log early in the discovery process, typically at the same time as serving interrogatories and document requests. However, if not...
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1 Answer | Asked in Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: Privilege log- interrogatories??

Why privilege log does not apply to interrogatories?

If it does- where it defined?

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jun 19, 2024

In California, a privilege log is typically not required when responding to interrogatories, as opposed to requests for production of documents. This is because interrogatories seek information, not the production of privileged documents. However, there are some exceptions and nuances to consider:... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: Interrogatory/demand correlation is mandatory, or optional upon situation

Is production demand implied to have matching interrogatory?

For example: for proof of affiliation contractual or employment agreement specifically demanded. It does not seem like interrogatory to identify agreement would add clarity in such situation.

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answered on Jun 19, 2024

In California, interrogatories and requests for production of documents are two separate discovery tools, and they are not necessarily required to match or correlate with each other.

1. Interrogatories: These are written questions that one party sends to another, requiring the responding...
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1 Answer | Asked in Legal Malpractice for California on
Q: Rule of 35 in civil unlimited case. Discovery.

In civil unlimited case, are production demands included into count of 35?

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answered on Jun 19, 2024

In California, the "Rule of 35" refers to the limit on the number of specially prepared interrogatories that a party can propound to any other party in a civil unlimited case, as per California Code of Civil Procedure section 2030.030.

However, the limit of 35 does not apply to...
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