Scali Rasmussen Principals Colleen O'Brien and Jasmin Bhandari have been selected as honorees by Los Angeles Business Journal recognizing the city's most influential women attorneys. The "Women of Influence: Attorneys" list recognizes women lawyers that have been recognized for exceptional legal skill and achievement across the full spectrum of responsibility, exemplary leadership as evidenced by the highest professional and ethical standards, and for contributions to the Los Angeles community at large.

In June of 2009, “marijuana smoke” was added to the Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer. OEHHA’s Carcinogen Identification Committee “determined that marijuana smoke was clearly shown, through scientifically valid testing according to generally accepted principles, to cause cancer.” As a result, all cannabis flower is subject to Proposition 65 cannabis warnings, because all flower contains/produces “marijuana smoke” and because there is no safe harbor level per OEHHA.

OEHHA announced that the 2022 meeting of the Carcinogen Identification Committee (“CIC”) will be held virtually on December 14, 2022. Among other issues, the CIC will consider listing Bisphenol A (“BPA”) on the Proposition 65 list as a chemical known to the State of California as causing cancer. (BPA has been listed as a chemical causing reproductive toxicity since April of 2013.) BPA was placed in the ‘high’ priority group for future listing consideration by the CIC at their November 2020 meeting.

On April 4, 2023, the California Court of Appeal’s Second District affirmed the trial court’s ruling in Ochoa v. Ford Motor Company and related cases, denying Ford’s motion to compel arbitration in a Lemon Law lawsuit. In so doing, the Second District split from the Court of Appeal’s Third District’s 2020 holding Felisilda v. FCA US LLC holding manufacturers could enforce arbitration provisions in car sale contracts between dealers and customers.

Dealership facility upgrades are a constant point of contention between factories and dealers. Factories can impose a wide range of facility demands, ranging from light brand image or signage updating, to complete facility refurbishment, rebuild, or even relocation. Dealers view many such requests as onerous and/or unlikely to provide any boost to sales.

We recently reported on various types of policies employers have adopted concerning cell phone use in California. California employers are required to reimburse a “reasonable” percentage of their employees’ cell phone, data and internet usage bill when said employees are required or expected to use their cell phone, data or internet connection for work-related purposes. This legal obligation arises from Labor Code Section 2802, which requires employers to reimburse their employees for “all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties.” One form of policy employers use to comply with this obligation is a “bring your own device policy” (“BYOD”). However, BYODs require diligent oversight to minimize risk of noncompliance. Different forms of BYOD exist that employers can implement, and each has its own benefits, administrative burdens, and risks.

Most of us enjoy a cup of coffee (or two) in the morning. In fact, we rely on it for the caffeine boost it provides. Other than the potential harmful effects of caffeine, we do not think that coffee can cause a major illness such as cancer or heart disease. But, unbeknownst to us, there has been a long running debate between California regulators, courts, business, and consumer advocates regarding whether drinking coffee can cause cancer.

The Consumer Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) amended the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”). The CPRA also created the California Privacy Protection Agency (“Agency”) to implement and enforce laws for the CCPA. As part of the Agency’s rulemaking authorities, the Agency published their first set of regulations which, among other things, update previous regulations to conform with the amendments to the CCPA through the CPRA.

The U.S. auto retail sector has in recent years seen a growing number of foreign firms and individuals seeking to acquire dealerships here. Meanwhile, U.S. dealership groups are also starting to look across the border for acquisitions.

The CPAs from Rosenfield & Company, PLLC were recently approached by a small group who own a very successful dealership group in India that are looking to acquire dealerships here in the U.S. It is an indication of how foreign investors from near and far are eyeing the U.S. auto retail market as a lucrative investment opportunity.