Janet Rubin Fields, Esq.

ERISA

• ERISA and the definitions of disability after initial claim and appeal

Sexual Harassment

• Plaintiff took her cell phone for repair and defendant's employee removed explicit photos and videos on to his phone for view. Plaintiff sued the defendant employee and employer on theories of negligent hiring, respondent superior, invasion of privacy, negligent hiring, conversion.
• An employment case involving sexual harassment with a woman who worked with the company for over 20 years. Settlement included terms of resignation.

Wage and Hour

• Wage and hour on the issues of meal breaks involving trucking industry

Wrongful Termination

• Wrongful termination, sexual harassment and wage & hour concerning hospital employees
• Sexual harassment of long term female employee by son of company owner concludes in a pre-litigation confidential settlement
• Age discrimination alleged by a 70 year male dialysis nurse employed for 7 years. Employee defends termination on failure to properly document patient files.

Bad Faith

• Insurance bad faith involving a 90 year old insured and his claim for property damage snow balls to millions of dollars

Coverage

• Insurance coverage, potential bad faith, breach of contract case where principal defendant in underlying case paid the settlement, paid and chased the remaining case on the errors and omission insurance broker and improper AI coverage.

Professional Malpractice Legal

• Legal malpractice brought by a professional athlete, underlying employment wrongful termination case against the sports organization
• Legal malpractice with underlying medical malpractice of an amputated index finger of a 35-year-old male.

Home Owners Association

• HOA case where parties participated in a mediation, signed a handwritten settlement agreement with general terms not specifics and each side were ready to file motions for enforcement or vacating the settlement including disgorgement of insurance money paid to the homeowner Plaintiffs. The mediator's task was to "amend" and solidify the inadequate original agreement including a possible buy out of the unit.

Real Property

• Several investors sue national real estate companies for fraud, unfair business practices involving multi-unit apartment buildings outside California - several sessions culminate in settlement

Transaction

• Lender liability regarding foreclosure on residential real property

Warranty of Habitability

• Multi-party warranty of habitability and toxic exposure brought against a vexatious litigant landlord multi-dwelling owner by a pro bono housing rights organization

Catastrophic Injury

• Minor pedestrian crossing the street in an uncompleted residential planned development sustains TBI claims against City, Architects, Developers. 4 mediation sessions involving insurance layers and coverage result in $10.5 million settlement
• College bound only daughter struck in crosswalk by senior with her own family settles with a $500,000 personal contribution motivated by integrity and honor
• Virtual mediation involving a plaintiff in his early fifties who sustained multiple trauma with permanent injuries including memory loss. Past, future medicals, a life care plan, and a wife who is now his caretaker taken into consideration. This matter resolved in mediation for an 8-figure settlement.

Defamation

• Defamation alleged against a dancer against her protege with a long time vengeance

Elder Abuse

• Elder Abuse against national healthcare service company, breach of contract alleging stealing of Plaintiff's property
• Dependent Adult Abuse, Negligence and Wrongful Death - heirs alleged hospital staff neglected decedent during her hospital stay resulting her fall sustaining a subdural hematoma leading to her death. Defenses included decedent having a complex medical history of diabetes, liver failure, seizure disorder and substance abuse, noncompliant her treatment.

General Negligence

• Television news anchor sustains permanent hair loss from hair color treatment, damages included lifetime hair extensions
• Pitbull bit a 5-year-old girl resulting in permanent facial scarring. In mediation, this settled in low seven figures.
• This was a dog bite case with punctures and scars to Plaintiff's pelvic area who was hospitalized for 6 days. Defendants are two celebrities, one of whose dog had known prior dog bites. Settled for a confidential amount.

Personal Injury

• Personal injury on premises with disputed liability involving a worker's compensation lien and Medicare set aside that was the potential death knee of settlement. Negotiations resulted in the third party defendant purchasing the worker's compensation lien for past medications, disability. The sticking point resolved was getting Plaintiff's employer to contribute via the worker's compensation vehicle to pay Plaintiff directly a portion of the Medicare set aside to create a self funded account.

PI Auto

• Serious injury with policy limits exposure results in three mediation sessions in northern California
• Business litigation dispute between a famous retired athlete and his managers involving breach of contract and embezzlement claims
• Extremely difficult Plaintiff client control issues with $1 million in lien meds, first party case Plaintiff is an independent contractor for a ride share company with a six-figure insurance policy. Two surgeries required as a result of a rear-end accident.
• Auto accident without a liability dispute, causation issue on damages involving multiple posterior and anterior prolapse repair surgeries, endometrial ablation resulting from vaginal tears and rectal herniation.
• Pre-lit mediation where the 17-year-old plaintiff was skateboarding on the back of his friend's truck and fell and sustained a hematoma along with other injuries. He was not wearing a helmet. Primary assumption of the risk issue.
• Post verdict 8-figure settlement underlying catastrophic injuries of two brothers. Negotiations involved the tender of layers of insurance towers, an extension on filing the judgment ordered by the court, while working with coverage counsel and the client/defendant to protect them from judgment being entered. Having multiple lawyers and adjusters on both sides, created point persons for negotiation to eliminate inconsistency and while lawyers worked in front of the scenes, mediator worked behind the scenes to finalize a settlement.

PI Sexual Assault

• Sexual abuse against teacher at a private out of state boarding school, pre-litigation mediation for confidentiality
• Sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, oral copulation, providing narcotics to five minor boys in middle school and high school. Perpetrator is a divorced mother in a rehabilitation facility. The parties agreed to mediate prior to filing a civil lawsuit. Time sensitive, funding, and emotional issues dominated the negotiations.
• Undisputed sexual abuse by a woman who was married with children. The perpetrator was under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time and had a history of substance abuse issues. Mediation participants included the parents of the victims, the victims, their legal counsel, the perpetrator accompanied by her criminal and civil defending counsel, and the ex-husband accompanied by his personal counsel involving aspects of fraudulent conveyance and family law. The settlement included a 7-figure monetary amount and a letter by parents acknowledging restitution satisfied and no issues with leniency sentencing.
• Special needs children being transported to and from their school allege oral copulation was occurring by an emotionally and behaviorally challenged male student to other students while riding the bus. Allegations include failure to supervise by the bs driver, understaffing by the bus company, and notice. Case settled in mediation for 7-figures.
• Two female students alleged sexual abuse against their teacher. After the teacher was fired, he was arrested. The same teacher was then hired by a different school district in another county where a third female student alleged negligent hiring, sexual abuse, and issues of notice.
• Two males, two females - all adopted by the same foster care family, alleged daily physical abuse by their foster family over a 14-year period. As adults, pre-litigation mediation occurred and the case settled globally in the millions. Mediation involved each of the four young adults meeting individually with the mediation to elaborate in detail in a safe place regarding their discoveries and future plans. Issues included the Referring Agency not carrying enough insurance.
• Parents of five teenage boys brought a civil lawsuit in conjunction with the felony count criminal action against a married mother for her lewd sexual misconduct and for furnishing controlled substances to minors. After two mediation sessions that included Defendant mother who was in rehabilitation with her criminal and family law attorneys, her now ex-husband, and his family law lawyer on the issue of community property liability and all counsel on the civil matter the case settled with private money at a confidential number.

PI Sexual Molestation

• Mediated a sexual abuse matter involving a high school student against a teacher in a unified school district involving multiple defendants. The teacher allegedly had previous complaints and District knowingly provided false letters of recommendation, resulting in him being hired at two schools. Issues included liability, insurance coverage, negligent hiring, and possible jail time. Case settled for a seven-figure amount including personal contribution.
• The claimant, a female middle schooler claims sexual harassment and bullying by a male student who is the son of a school principal.

Premises Liability

• Plaintiffs were moved out and injured after a contractor commenced moving a foundation from their rental house. The Contractor and Landlord didn't notify Plaintiffs timely or did the Contractor check to make sure the Plaintiffs were off the premises before moving the foundation.
• While entrenched in the 4th week of trial, the parties settled this catastrophic injury case after many early morning and late night discussions involving many layers of insurance for an eight-figure amount.

Toxic Torts

• Allegations of spraying pesticide exposure against significant farm landowners in the State of California.
• Mediated and settled allegations of spray pesticide exposure, against significant farm landowners in California.

Wrongful Death

• Wife accidentally crushes and kills her husband with her car, children claim wrongful death, insurance policy coverage issues
• Wrongful death of a daughter/girlfriend passenger in a race car at a speedway. Parents sued speedway, speedway cross complained against boyfriend who also sued speedway.
• Wrongful death of a son. Seven-figure amount offered to the parties prior to representation by counsel no additional coverage needed convincing; additional money by the company outside insurance policy settled the case.