In complex business litigation it is common for both sides to ask the court to make an advanced ruling on evidence. These motions are heard either outside the presence of the jury or before a jury is empaneled. The theory is that you can not “unring the bell”, meaning if certain evidence is presented that is more prejudicial than probative the jury should not hear this evidence.

The Court has the inherent power to grant a motion in limine to exclude any kind of evidence which could be objected to at trial, either as irrelevant or subject to discretionary exclusion as unduly prejudicial.

The Court may exclude marginally probative evidence that might easily confuse the jury.  In one case the court excluded a letter that might have been confused the jury as substantive evidence when it was offered for a limited purpose.

Evidence Code Section 402 allows the court to hear and determine the question of the admissibility of evidence outside the presence or hearing of the jury.

Much of the battle on what evidence the court will allow the jury to hear is determined in these motions in limine. They can shape the outcome of the trial.

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Robert G. Klein, Esq. is a Los Angeles trademark attorney, business litigation attorney lawyer and a Los Angeles business lawyer who specializes in trademark infringement, copyright infringement, business torts, breach of contract actions and unfair competition.  He feels it is important to hire a Los Angeles trademark lawyer and a Los Angeles business lawyer if one is involved in litigation in that locale.  Robert G. Klein is a prominent Los Angeles business attorney and is available for consultation on matters involving trademark infringement, copyright infringement, breach of contract cases, business torts, fraud, and business law matters.  He has successfully obtained many multi-million dollar jury verdicts. Many of Mr. Klein’s court decisions have been published as case authority and he has appeared before the United States Supreme Court for oral argument. Mr. Klein has also published “Consumer List: Trade Secret or Fair Game?”, which is an article published in the Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine. Los Angeles trademark infringement attorney Robert G. Klein can be reached at (213) 996-8508 or visit our web site at http://www.kleinlitigation.com

Posted in Business Litigation  |   No Comments/Questions

As a Los Angeles based business litigation attorney representing small to medium sized companies, I often need to address lawsuits brought by former employees.  In these lawsuits the fired employee usually claims they were unfairly fired because they did nothing wrong or their boss had it out for them.

The issue is often whether the company was required to provide them some sort of hearing or whether the firing was based upon some form of discrimination and merely a pretext.

In California there is something called at-will employment.  Labor Code section 2922 provides, in pertinent part: “An employment, having no specified term, may be terminated at the will of either party on notice to the other.” This statute creates a presumption of at-will employment which may be overcome ‘by evidence that despite the absence of a specified term, the parties agreed that the employer’s power to terminate would be limited in some way, e.g., by a requirement that termination be based only on “good cause.”

If the employee can overcome the presumption the employment was not at-will but there was an implied agreement only to terminate the employment for good cause, the next issue is what duty does the employer have to investigate the alleged wrongdoing.

California cases have held jury need not decide whether the terminated employee actually engaged in the illicit activity, but whether at the time the decision to terminate his employment was made, the employer acted in good faith and following an investigation that was appropriate under the circumstances, had reasonable grounds for believing the plaintiff engaged in the wrongful behavior.

If the terminated employee claims they were wrongfully fired in violation of public policy, they would need to prove the firing violated some constitutional right or right guaranteed by statute.  An example would be the employee was fired because of their race or national origin, the employee complained about being a victim of sexual harassment, or the employee refused to lie in an investigation against the employer.  These are a few examples of a firing that would be wrongul in that it is against public policy.

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Robert G. Klein, Esq. is a Los Angeles trademark attorney, business litigation attorney lawyer and a Los Angeles business lawyer who specializes in trademark infringement, copyright infringement, business torts, breach of contract actions and unfair competition.  He feels it is important to hire a Los Angeles trademark lawyer and a Los Angeles business lawyer if one is involved in litigation in that locale.  Robert G. Klein is a prominent Los Angeles business attorney and is available for consultation on matters involving trademark infringement, copyright infringement, breach of contract cases, business torts, fraud, and business law matters.  He has successfully obtained many multi-million dollar jury verdicts. Many of Mr. Klein’s court decisions have been published as case authority and he has appeared before the United States Supreme Court for oral argument. Mr. Klein has also published “Consumer List: Trade Secret or Fair Game?”, which is an article published in the Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine. Los Angeles trademark infringement attorney Robert G. Klein can be reached at (213) 996-8508 or visit our web site at http://www.kleinlitigation.com

Posted in Business Litigation, Labor Law  |   No Comments/Questions

I often litigate unfair business competition cases.  These cases can arise in a variety of settings including actions for trademark infringement, trade secret misappropriation, or business torts including interference with contractual relations.  In Federal Court the Lanham Act is the federal unfair competition statute that protects consumers from trademark infringement or false advertising.

In California there is also an unfair competition law.  California’s unfair competition law (Business & Professions Code § 17200 et seq., UCL) “is a notoriously broad statute.”  This law defines the breath of the statute by stating: “… unfair competition shall mean and include any unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business act or practice and unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising…”

Virtually any law or regulation including federal or state, statutory or common law, can serve as predicate for a § 17200 “unlawful” violation.  If a “business practice” violates any law literally it also violates § 17200 and may be redressed under that section. [People v. E.W.A.P., Inc. (1980) 106 CA3d 315, 319, 165 CR 73, 75] .  As the California Supreme Court has said, § 17200 “borrows” violations of other laws and treats them as unlawful practices independently actionable under § 17200. [Farmers Ins. Exch. v. Sup.Ct. (1992) 2 C4th 377, 383]

In 2004 the California voters passed Proposition 64 which limited lawsuits brought under this law.  The limitation required the person bringing the lawsuit to have suffered an actual injury and instead of allowing what was referred to as representative actions, they are now required to be class action lawsuits and follow the strict requirements of such lawsuits.

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Robert G. Klein, Esq. is a Los Angeles trademark attorney, business litigation attorney lawyer and a Los Angeles business lawyer who specializes in trademark infringement, copyright infringement, business torts, breach of contract actions and unfair competition.  He feels it is important to hire a Los Angeles trademark lawyer and a Los Angeles business lawyer if one is involved in litigation in that locale.  Robert G. Klein is a prominent Los Angeles business attorney and is available for consultation on matters involving trademark infringement, copyright infringement, breach of contract cases, business torts, fraud, and business law matters.  He has successfully obtained many multi-million dollar jury verdicts. Many of Mr. Klein’s court decisions have been published as case authority and he has appeared before the United States Supreme Court for oral argument. Mr. Klein has also published “Consumer List: Trade Secret or Fair Game?”, which is an article published in the Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine. Los Angeles trademark infringement attorney Robert G. Klein can be reached at (213) 996-8508 or visit our web site at http://www.kleinlitigation.com

Posted in Business Litigation, Intellectual Property, Trade Secret, Trademark  |   No Comments/Questions