Once a contract is executed between parties, it is often assumed—wrongly—that the only remedy for a problem that may subsequently arise is to sue for breach of contract and seek money damages. In fact, depending on the circumstances under which the contract was formed, the best remedy for the problem may be to simply unwind the agreement entirely and restore the parties to their pre-contract position. This is the remedial power of the legal right of rescission.

In a recent case successfully prosecuted by Scali Rasmussen, a vehicle dealer sought recovery of amounts improperly withheld by the vehicle manufacturer, following the termination of the dealership franchise at the dealer’s election. The action was based on California Vehicle Code Section 11713.13. Pursuant to Section 11713.13, the manufacturer was obligated to repurchase certain of the remaining dealer inventory at dealer cost. Following the termination, a dispute arose regarding the amounts withheld by the manufacturer from the repurchase amount for that inventory owed to the dealer.

COVID-19 and the chip supply shortage has made new vehicle inventory scarce. This has resulted in fewer vehicles available for sale. And as the pandemic ends and people are getting back to their workplaces, demand continues to rise for new vehicles. A fundamental principle of economics is that price inflation results as supply dwindles and demand rises. Specifically, as retailers seek income equilibrium to meet normal operating expenses amid reduced sales volume, artificially created by a reduction in supply, their only choice is to increase the sales price of their remaining inventory.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) provides consumers with a variety of rights regarding the collection, selling, and sharing of their personal information. Some of the latest amendments to the CCPA expand mandatory disclosures when businesses share consumer information with other businesses (which can include vendors and contractors). However, it is important to know how to classify third-party businesses for purposes of maintaining compliance with the CCPA.

Human Resource and Compliance departments are scrambling to prepare for changes in California’s consumer protection laws. The California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) goes into full effect on January 1, 2023 which makes a variety of changes to the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) that was passed in 2018. Amongst many of the changes, CPRA provides consumers the right to know, modify and delete their information that a business collects. Many of these changes are applicable to information that human resource departments maintain.

Per CAL OSHA, employers must exclude from the workplace employees or employee groups who have been exposed to COVID-19. Employers must pay these excluded employees their regular pay and benefits. Under the new revised CAL OSHA revised Emergency Temporary Standard, discussed below, this pay is not to come from Covid-19 sick pay supplemented by the State of California, regular sick pay, vacation time or anything other than regular pay roll.

Office relationships and romances can be problematic, but they are bound to happen, even post-pandemic when businesses are operating in a digital space. For any employer, there should be safeguards and protocols to ensure employees are working in a healthy environment.

Although the California Covid-19 Paid Sick Leave bill ended in September 2021, a new bill has been put in place to continue paid sick leave for those affected by Covid-19. This new bill is effective February 19th, 2022 and is retroactive to January 1st 2022. The key similarities and differences between the 2021 bill and the new bill are listed below.

For many employers, a key tool for in avoiding litigation costs is to require employees to go to arbitration rather than file disputes in Court. The California Private Attorneys General Act or “PAGA” remains a persistent threat to employers because current California law prevents arbitration of these claims. With a quick glance at the database on the California Department of Industrial Relationships, it is easy to see the consistent increase in these types of cases and the risk they pose to employers. But there may be a change on the horizon…

Scali Rasmussen announced its continued support for an event benefiting SAGE, a national nonprofit serving LGBTQ+ older adults.