On September 26 and 27, 2015, Steven L. Simas, founder and owner of Simas & Associates, Ltd. spoke at the 2015 Annual Conference for the California Physical Therapy Association (CPTA). The conference was held at the Pasadena Convention Center and had over several hundred physical therapists in attendance. This year’s conference Read more…
Under the American Rule of attorney fees in civil litigation, every party—even the party prevailing—must pay its own attorney’s fees. Unless specific authority granted by statute or contract allows the awarding of accrued attorney fees against the other party, each party in a lawsuit is responsible for paying its own Read more…
As the business world has turned increasingly tech-savvy, more and more employees—even run-of-the-mill support staff—are exposed to what businesses consider “confidential, proprietary, or trade secrets.” To protect the business, many employers have been advised by their attorneys to require employees to sign confidentiality agreements at the time of being hired Read more…
A temporary restraining order (TRO) is a form of extraordinary emergency relief granted by the court to preserve the status quo to the requesting party. The requesting party must show must show that denial will result in irreparable injury to the moving party before the matter can be heard on notice Read more…
One question regularly confronted by employers is when a former employee requests copies of “their file.” Ostensibly, the employee is requesting a copy of their personnel file. However, the contents of a personnel file may not include all that which the former employee is seeking. Sometimes the employee is seeking Read more…
In mid-month June, the Sacramento Business Journal contacted Simas & Associates, Ltd. for assistance on a story it was writing regarding surprising things about California alcohol licensing laws. Simas & Associates, Ltd. is known as one of the leading professional licensing law firms in California and provides statewide alcoholic beverage Read more…
When a party is harmed, that typically gives rise to a claim for damages. However, an express limitation to the extent of recovery for those damages is those that could be avoided by the injured party engaging in reasonable and ordinary care after the harm. The failure of the injured Read more…
A person whose license has been revoked or suspended may petition for reinstatement or reduction of penalty under Gov. Code, § 11522, which applies to virtually all state agencies that license or register people or entities and take action against their licenses. It specifically governs petitions for reinstatement, except when Read more…
Historically, pregnant women have been subject poor treatment in the workplace. Since approximately 75% of the 68 million plus women workers become pregnant at some point in their working lives, this a lot of poor treatment. This includes poor guidance by supervisors and human resources as well as abject discrimination in Read more…
When a party or attorney is confronted by a motion by the opposing party or opposing counsel, the primary focus is usually on what they are attempting to accomplish. And that is absolutely appropriate – what if upon review you determine that your client does not oppose or actually agrees Read more…