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Nail Salon Litigation Settlement

Recoveries for Pedicure Infections in Watsonville, CA

$2.919 million recovery for 74 pedicure patrons who got skin infections from improper disinfection of a salon's spa chairs.

In the first known cases of this type, the attorneys of Bohn & Bohn reached a $2.919 Million settlement in cases brought against the 'Fancy Nails' salon in Watsonville, California and manufacturer and suppliers of pedispa chairs used at the salon, after 74 people suffered severe skin infections. Caused by mycobacteria that had grown in improperly cleaned and disinfected pedicure footspas, the infections resulted in painful oozing lesions and boils on salon patrons’ lower legs, and in some cases, other parts of their bodies, leaving permanent scars and disfigurement.

Allstate to Stop Writing New Home Policies

Los Angeles Daily News - Associated Press

Article Last Updated: 05/10/2007 10:04:30 PM PDT

Allstate Corp. will stop writing new homeowners policies in California beginning in July, the company said Thursday. An Allstate spokesman said the move was to help control its catastrophe exposure in the state, which is prone to wildfires and earthquakes. The move will not affect current customers, nor will it affect auto insurance. Allstate agents in the state will continue to work with customers, but will offer new homeowners customers insurance through partner Pacific Specialty Insurance Company Northbrook, Illinois-based Allstate and other homeowners insurers have had a contentious relationship with insurance regulators in the state over homeowners insurance prices. Though several large insurers cut prices in the state lately, Allstate in September asked for an average 12 percent increase. The request is still pending. The spokesman said the move to stop writing new policies in California was not driven by insurance rates, but was purely a move to limit its exposure to catastrophe.

Attorney General Lowers Boom On Alleged Scheme To Violate Workers Comp Laws - Los Angeles November 9, 2007

The California Attorney General has filed suit against PacifiStaff Inc., a.k.a. Workforce Solutions, for implementing what it calls "an unlawful scheme" to convince employers that they don't need to purchase workers' compensation insurance. The AG's just-filed suit accuses the Anaheim-based company of violations under 17200 of the Business & Professions Code.

The attorney general appears to be cracking down on attempts by employers to avoid paying workers' comp. It also filed suit against Brinas Corp., a Los Angeles dry wall company, last week accusing the company of having employees without workers' compensation protections.

The complaint accuses PacifiStaff of convincing mostly high hazard employers that they could take advantage of a legal exemption in the law that permits owners of small, closed corporations to forego paying workers' compensation for themselves. In a nutshell, the AG alleges, the company simply exploited this loophole by advising its clients to name all their manual laborers as executive officers and give them a nominal share in a separate closed corporation. As the complaint states:

"The employer relying on the exemption does not then obtain workers' compensation insurance to cover their new officer/shareholder workers. The scheme leaves the workers without the no-fault protection of the workers' compensation system, and makes it more difficult for legitimate employers that fulfill their workers' compensation obligations to competitively bid..."

According to the complaint, PacifiStaff also used fairly aggressive marketing and sales approaches to convince their clients that they could use this method to eliminate the costs of workers' compensation. It also represented falsely, according to the complaint, that this program was "approved" by the Department of Labor.

Billing itself as the antidote to workers' compensation, PacifiStaff through theworkforcesolutions, its website, expounds on how the savings from workers' comp reforms only benefits "low-risk, white collar" companies. Rates for blue collar rates have actually increased, the company asserts.

"It's very concerning. [Attorney General Jerry Brown] wants to make sure the workers are protected. We don't want the employers to short circuit the system," says Abraham Arredondo, deputy press secretary to the AG's office.

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