Chavez v. California Collision, LLC, 107 Cal. App. 5th 298 (2024)
Before trial on Samuel Zarate’s wage/hour claims, the employer (California Collision, LLC (“CCL”)) made an offer of settlement pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 998. After Zarate failed to recover at trial more money from CCL than it had offered before trial, the trial court awarded the company $54,473 in costs pursuant to Section 998. The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the “to the extent they conflict, the specific one-way cost and fee shifting provisions [in favor of an employee] in Labor Code sections 1094 and 218.5 (absent a finding of bad faith [by the employee]) take precedence over the more general ones in Code of Civil Procedure sections 998 and 1032.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) strongly denied unfounded allegations that the sacks of bones recovered by its divers from Taal Lake were planted in connection with the case of the long-lost cock...