On July 1, 2024, Governor Newsom signed into law AB 2288 and SB 92, both of which significantly reform the California Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) by allowing for early evaluation and resolution procedures, revising and reducing the penalty structure, and imposing standing and manageability requirements in PAGA litigation. These changes apply to PAGA actions arising from notice made to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) on or after June 19, 2024.
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A new disclosure requirement that will impact countless small businesses went into effect in the United States on January 1, 2024. The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) was enacted to combat money laundering, tax fraud, and other illicit activities. The CTA requires many businesses operating in the United States to identify and report their “beneficial owners” to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) using the portal located at www.boiefiling.fincen.gov.
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On July 23, 2024, Partner William (“Bill”) Kaufman will present “Tips & Tricks for Subcontractors to Protect Themselves on Difficult Projects” to the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association (PHCC) at the Outback Steakhouse in Dublin, California.
In December, 2023, Partner Kurt Wilson and Associate Attorney Liudmyla Balke, with an assist from Partner Romin Thomson, obtained an outstanding result for a Sweeney Mason client in a contentious breach of contract litigation between two high tech companies. Sweeney Mason’s client had sued for breach of contract, demanding $75,000 in damages. The defendant refused to pay any money to settle and raised cross claims. The day before trial, the defendant settled for $175,000 and, under the terms of the confidential settlement, immediately wire transferred the money to Sweeney Mason’s client. One key to the success was the fact of the contract’s prevailing party attorney fee clause combined with Sweeney Mason’s client’s 998 Demand at $75,000. Defendant ended up paying the damages for its breach and all of Sweeney Mason’s client’s attorneys’ fees and costs.
Sweeney Mason Partner and litigation specialist Kurt Wilson and Senior employment counsel Rachael Brown successfully defended Sweeney Mason client San Jose State University Research Foundation against a former employee’s claims of discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination. The Plaintiff sought a recovery of $3,000,000 plus punitive damages and attorney’s fees. After a 4-week jury trial ending on September 15, 2023, the jury found against the Plaintiff and in favor of Sweeney Mason’s client on all claims.
Sweeney Mason successfully defeated a lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of California, San Francisco. The case involves numerous claims against Sweeney Mason’s client, a loan servicer, including fraud and violation of federal law. Early on in the lawsuit, Senior Counsel Nathaniel Lucey and Associate Attorney Quyen (“Molly”) Thai moved to dismiss all of the plaintiff’s claims. Sweeney Mason’s legal team presented persuasive arguments to highlight that the allegations were unsubstantiated. The Court agreed and ultimately dismissed the plaintiff’s case with prejudice. This early resolution saved Sweeney Mason’s client considerable legal fees and court expenses.
Sweeney Mason Senior Counsel Nathaniel Lucey and Associate Attorney Quyen (“Molly”) Thai prevailed on a Motion to Dismiss in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The plaintiff in the case asserted a breach of contract claim and a fraud claim against Sweeney Mason’s client, a loan servicer. At the outset, our legal team put forth compelling arguments to show that the lawsuit was founded on baseless allegations. The Court dismissed the plaintiff’s lawsuit with prejudice. By ending the litigation at its earliest stage, Sweeney Mason’s attorneys saved its client thousands of dollars in legal fees and court costs.
In addition, Sweeney Mason defeated the plaintiff’s request for temporary restraining order to halt a foreclosure on real property.
Sweeney Mason’s employment law team, Partner Roger Mason, Partner Kurt Wilson, and Senior Counsel Rachael Brown, achieved an excellent result for SM’s client, a local painting contractor, in a difficult employment lawsuit. The Plaintiff and his lawyer demanded $385K to settle claims of harassment, wrongful termination and failure to pay wages and provide rest or meal breaks. Through discovery, SM was able to prove that Plaintiff’s claims were largely false. Along the way, the Court issued decisions sanctioning Plaintiff’s lawyer for bad faith discovery tactics. In the end, the Plaintiff and his lawyer settled for less than $20K.
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