Kuzyk Law's "Fighting For Justice"

Kuzyk Law's "Fighting for Justice" Radio with Attorney's Reid Breitman, Mark Leonardo, and Robert Ryan

Call Kuzyk Law at (661) 945-6969

San Diego student forced to urinate in bucket wins $1.25M lawsuit

A California Superior Court jury has ordered the San Diego Unified School District to pay $1.25 million to a former student who, after her bathroom break request was denied, was forced to pee in a bucket. The incident occurred at the Patrick Henry High School on Feb. 22, 2012. The school district denied the student's initial claim seeking $25,000 but the California jury voted in favor of the student. The student said the incident fueled gossip, lewd texts, depression and a suicide attempt. The San Diego Unified School District's lawyers said the teacher never intended to embarrass the student, arguing she attempted to find a solution in a lapse of judgement to what she mistakenly believed was a strict no-bathroom-break policy, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. the nature of recalls to change if over-the-air updates can make cars safer..

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Famous celebrity wrongful death suits

OJ Simpson

The former actor and NFL running back was found not guilty of the 1994 murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, his ex-wife, and her friend Ron Goldman. Family members of the couple filed a wrongful death suit against Simpson, who was found liable in 1997. Simpson was ordered to pay more than $33 million in damages to the families of the victims, according to Biography.com.

Robert Blake

In 2005, the 1970s-era TV star was acquitted by a jury in the death of his second wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. Just eight months later, however, a civil jury found that he killed Bakley or had someone else kill her and ordered him to pay $30 million to her children, according to The Washington Post

Kuzyk Law's "Fighting for Justice" Radio with Attorney's Reid Breitman, Mark Leonardo, and Robert Ryan

Call Kuzyk Law at (661) 945-6969

Stories Include:

Tesla's Autopilot investigation could change the nature of auto recalls

 Just a few months after the federal government opened up its investigation into Tesla's Autopilot system, the electric carmaker released a software update that could have prevented the whole ordeal in the first place.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched its investigation in June after a driver died in an accident that occurred while his Tesla Model S was operating with Autopilot activated. 

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Lawsuit Demands Apple Lock iPhones To Stop Texting While Driving

 A new class-action lawsuit filed in California earlier this week aims to hold Apple accountable for a number of automobile accidents caused by drivers getting distracted by their iPhones. The folks behind lawsuit are hoping to force the company to install a new safety feature on its devices to prevent users from texting while they are driving. According to the suit, Apple has possessed the technology required to implement such a feature since 2008, and was granted a patent for it in 2014. 

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A man in California was charged with driving under the influence—of caffeine. Yes, essentially a DUI for drinking too much Starbucks.

Joining us now is Mr. Schwab’s Attorney, Solano County Criminal Defense Attorney Stacy Barrett. We can learn more about her by visiting http://www.maascriminaldefense.com/. Ms. Barrett welcome to the program.

Kuzyk Law's "Fighting for Justice" Radio with Attorney's Reid Breitman, Mark Leonardo, and Robert Ryan

Call Kuzyk Law at (661) 945-6969

Storie's covered inclde:

Bus driver admits leaving autistic teen to die in locked hot bus

A school bus driver who left an autistic 19-year-old man alone in the locked vehicle on a warm summer day pleaded guilty Friday to a felony count stemming from his death, which triggered a new state law aimed at preventing such tragedies. Armando Abel Ramirez, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of dependent adult abuse resulting in death and admitted an allegation of proximately causing death to the victim, Hun Joon “Paul” Lee, according to Shiara Davila-Morales of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The Amazon Echo: Expert Witness in a Murder Trial?

The Amazon Echo, a smart speaker and personal assistant device responsive to voice commands, was one of this holiday season’s most popular gifts. Amazon.com, Inc. states that the Echo was its best-selling product, with millions sold worldwide. The Echo has myriad of uses – it streams music, reads audio books aloud, and now . . . may solve a murder? Prosecutors in Arkansas seem to think so. Last year, the body of Victor Collins was found floating in a hot tub at a friend’s home. The friend, James Andrew Bates, was subsequently charged with murder. 

David Spade involved in car crash at busy L.A. intersection

Comedian David Spade crashed his Range Rover at a busy intersection in L.A. The "Grown Ups" star was involved in a three-car accident near the intersection of Beverly and Sunset boulevards, TMZ reports. Spade's Range Rover was reportedly struck by another vehicle whose driver sped up to beat a yellow light. Spade's vehicle then spun around and into another car.

Kuzyk Law's "Fighting for Justice" Radio with Attorney's Reid Breitman, Mark Leonardo, and Robert Ryan

Call Kuzyk Law at (661) 945-6969

Today's Stories Include

Man Files Lawsuit Against Tesla Claiming His Model X Spontaneously Accelerated Into His Living Room

In addition to claiming that the sudden acceleration was caused by Son pressing the accelerator pedal, and not by any fault of the car, a statement from a Tesla spokesperson said the following: “Before filing his class action lawsuit against Tesla, Mr. Son had threatened to use his celebrity in Korea to hurt Tesla unless we agreed to make a financial payment and acknowledge that the vehicle accelerated on its own. 

Daughter Files Baby Powder Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Like many other women, Ann Christine Underwood regularly used Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder products for feminine hygiene. And, like thousands of other women, she developed ovarian cancer. Her daughter, Amy F. Darnold, believes her mother’s cancer was a direct result of baby powder use. Ms. Underwood used baby powder around her groin for over fifty years.

California man fights DUI charge for driving under influence of caffeine

Caffeine may be the “nootropic” brain drug of choice in Silicon Valley, but an hour’s drive north in Solano County, California, the stimulant could get you charged with driving under the influence. That is according to defense attorney Stacey Barrett, speaking on behalf of her client, Joseph Schwab. After being pulled over on 5 August 2015, Schwab was charged by the Solano County district attorney with misdemeanor driving under the influence of a drug.

Kuzyk Law's "Fighting for Justice" Radio with Attorney's Reid Breitman, Mark Leonardo, and Robert Ryan

Call Kuzyk Law at (661) 945-6969

Stories Covered This Week Include:

New California Laws for 2017

Minimum wage:

As of January first, the minimum wage will increase from 10 to $10.50 an hour: that's for businesses for 26 or more employees. That wage will keep rising until it hits 15-dollars an hour in 2022.

 

Assault weapons: 

this year, lawmakers passed a number of bills to strengthen our tough gun laws, and voters passed even more regulations: As of January first: people who own magazines that hold more than 10 rounds will be required to give them up. Buyers will need a background check before purchasing ammunition and will be barred from buying new weapons that have a bullet button: a device that makes it easier to dislodge a magazine.

 

Handgun storage:

As of January first: all law enforcement officers have the same rules as the rest of us when it comes to handguns: they must be securely stored in a lockbox out of plain view or in the trunk if weapons are left in an unattended vehicle.

 

Sexual assault:

Largely due to the sentence in the Brock Turner case, those convicted of sexual assault on an unconscious or severely intoxicated person in California will not receive a sentence of probation only...

 

It's not just texting anymore: 

new state law in California prohibits the use of any hand-held device while driving: including using traffic apps or updating your Instagram account while driving. If your phone is voice-operated or mounted in your car, you're okay.

Kuzyk Law's "Fighting for Justice" Radio with Attorney's Reid Breitman, Mark Leonardo, and Robert Ryan

Call Kuzyk Law at (661) 945-6969

STORIES COVERED INCLUDE:

Christina Grimmie's Family Files Lawsuit Against AEG Live, Orlando Venue Over Singer's Death

Christina Grimmie's family has filed a lawsuit against AEG Live over the 22-year-old singer's death on June 10 when she was fatally shot during a meet and greet following a concert in Orlando.  The Grimmie family's suit was filed Tuesday (Dec. 20) in Florida and also names The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Plaza Foundation, which owns the Plaza Live venue where Grimmie shot, as well as the security company working the event.

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$50 million wrongful death lawsuit filed in Terrence Sterling police shooting

FOX 5 has learned a wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in the fatal police-involved shooting of Terrence Sterling. Sterling was shot and killed by D.C. police on Sept. 11 while riding his motorcycle during the early morning hours in Northwest D.C. The $50 million lawsuit was filed in D.C. Superior Court Thursday on behalf of Sterling's family against Brian Trainer, the officer who allegedly shot Sterling, an unidentified officer working with Trainer that morning, the Metropolitan Police Department and the District of Columbia.  

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FEATURED GUEST:

Beth Karas is an attorney and TV commentator who worked as a Correspondent for CNN and CourtTV, providing commentary on a number of high-profile cases, including the rape trial of Kobe Bryant, the Martha Stewart trial, and the murder trials of Robert Blake, Scott Peterson, and Jodi Arias. Her website KarasOnCrime.com  provides coverage and legal analysis of high-profile trials.

Kuzyk Law's "Fighting for Justice" Radio with Attorney's Reid Breitman, Mark Leonardo, and Robert Ryan

Call Kuzyk Law at (661) 945-6969

News Stories of Week

Oakland fire: How civil and criminal cases might play out

A complaint about wires sparking had been lodged to no avail. A smoke detector required by code was not in place. The fire spread rapidly, trapping the victims. The blaze occurred in 1997 and killed four young children and a grandmother. A San Francisco public housing agency that owned the building was held primarily accountable.  A jury awarded family members $15 million — $3 million for each of the dead. 

Driver Exonerated in Deadly Faulty Brakes Crash

A man once charged with vehicular manslaughter after crashing his Infiniti into a minivan carrying a mother and her two young children has been exonerated after it was revealed that his car's brakes were defective. "The nightmare is over," Solomon Methenge said. Two families' lives were changed forever Aug. 29, 2012, in the horrible crash that left a mother and her 4-year-old and 6-year-old children dead. Methenge said he had been living his nightmare since.

 

Ask The Expert with featured guest

Alex Ferrer who is a retired police officer, lawyer, Florida Judge and former host of “Judge Alex” a nationally syndicated TV show.

Kuzyk Law's "Fighting for Justice" Radio with Attorney's Reid Breitman, Mark Leonardo, and Robert Ryan

Call Kuzyk Law at (661) 945-6969

STORIES COVERED INCLUDED:

Story: California Outlaws Immigration Evidence in Injury Lawsuits

Link:  http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=483a9b61-bdb5-4c9d-9d0d-56acc17bd2b5 

Story:   On August 17, 2016, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law A.B. 2159, which becomes effective on January 1, 2017. A.B. 2159 bars the admission or discovery of evidence related to a person’s immigration status in wrongful death and personal injury cases. Previously, some defendants had argued that damages in these cases should be based on what a plaintiff would prospectively earn in his or her country of origin or what medical costs would be in his or her country of origin, rather than in California.

Employers in California should take particular note of this decision because it is another reminder to employers that hiring an undocumented worker does not alleviate the employer’s liability for compliance with employment laws.

Story: Calif. Couple Sues PetSmart in Dachshund Pup's Death

Henry suffered 2 broken ribs and a punctured lung within 3 minutes of arriving

Story: Pet grooming is an unregulated business and requires no license, and a PETA spokesperson tells the San Francisco Chronicle that the organization gets complaints "all the time" from people who say their pets were injured or even killed during grooming at PetSmart. Now a California couple whose dachshund Henry died at a San Mateo PetSmart in May are filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the retailer and a groomer not for money, they say, but for "systematic" changes.

Kuzyk Law's "Fighting for Justice" Radio with Attorney's Reid Breitman, Mark Leonardo, and Robert Ryan

Call Kuzyk Law at (661) 945-6969

Victoria Vaughn-Perling and her Attorney, Reid Breitman from Kuzyk Law, LLP have a 30 minute discussion about Lion P-45

Los Angeles based Victoria Vaughn-Perling was recently issued a permit to kill Mountain Lion P-45 by use of a firearm within ten days, after the lion has terrorized her for the last several months (killing twenty Alpacas and at least 65 animals belonging to neighbors in the area in the last 8 months). Vaughn-Perling and her neighbors fear being mauled or killed by this lion.  Despite receiving the permit however, Vaughn-Perling doesn’t want to harm P-45.

Kuzyk Law's "Fighting for Justice" Radio with Attorney's Reid Breitman, Mark Leonardo, and Robert Ryan

Call Kuzyk Law at (661) 945-6969

Stories covered include:

Calif. Couple Sues PetSmart in Dachshund Pup's Death

Henry suffered 2 broken ribs and a punctured lung within 3 minutes of arriving

Pet grooming is an unregulated business and requires no license, and a PETA spokesperson tells the San Francisco Chronicle that the organization gets complaints "all the time" from people who say their pets were injured or even killed during grooming at PetSmart. Now a California couple whose dachshund Henry died at a San Mateo PetSmart in May are filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the retailer and a groomer not for money, they say, but for "systematic" changes. "We want these people to be trained," says Stefan Zier, who with his partner Terrie Peacock has been mourning Henry's death ever since. "I was helpless—he was dying right in front of us," Peacock says. "It's been a living nightmare."

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NYC Pays $1,500,000 to Family of Man Who Screamed ‘I Can’t Breathe’ and Died in Police Custody

Four years before Eric Garner died after an altercation with New York City police officers on Staten Island, N.Y., another man also died in the same neighborhood, his last words eerily echoing Garner’s: “I can’t breathe.” The New York Daily News reports that New York City has agreed to pay $1.5 million to Stanley Streeter’s fiancee to settle a federal lawsuit alleging wrongful death and excessive police force. The News reports that Streeter’s death occurred March 16, 2010, and went largely unnoticed—unlike the death of Eric Garner, which