lawprofessors

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Have you ever been lied about and those lies hurt you in some way (e.g. lost friends, lost job, expelled)?  Negative statements about ourselves, particularly falsehoods, make us hopping mad.  Can minors who spread false statements be liable for their statements?  Yes. This week (third week of November 2013), a Santa Clara County jury reportedly found several young girls (10 and 11 years old at the time of the incident(s)), along with their parents,  guilty of defamation  for lies they told about a private school teacher, John Fischler, alleging he molested them and peeked in their bathroom. One girl will have to pay punitive damages as she spread the lies with malice aforethought (basically intention to harm).  The other students and parents reportedly got off with a mere  $362,653  bill to the teacher, who had to defend against the allegations and had his workplace poisoned a...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 The last two posts concerned filing the prerequisite claim form prior to going to court if one is suing a governmental entity in California.  But,  WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU MISS THE SIX MONTH TIME LIMIT TO FILE YOUR CLAIM?   First, don't forget exclusions to the filing requirement which may exempt some claims from filing at all. This post presumes the 6 month time limit may apply. Remember, there are two time limits we have discussed for filing a claim form: one at 6 months for certain types of claims (e.g. personal injury, death, etc.), one at one year (claims not within the 6 month requirement) ( here ).   Whether and how someone may file the required notification with the governing body for claims required within the 6 month time period  after that 6 month period, will likely depend on the claimant and what they can prove. An example of a potential claim to be filed within 6 months could be...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Yesterday I blogged about the information which must be communicated to a school district prior to filing in court.  This blog will address the very important time limits in place in California for such notice under the Government Code. There are strict time limits with regard to filing claims against school districts (and other governmental entities) under California law, which the courts do honor.  A case may be rejected if the student (or claimant) did not file the required notice timely with the District (see yesterday's blog here ) and file in court timely after that process is complete. Time for filing with the governing body: For personal injury claims, claims for death or damage to person or property, and claims for damage to crops (crop damage does not typically come up with my office!), the notice to be filed with the governing body must be presented within 6 months of the accrual of the cause of...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 In California, the Government Code sets forth the requirements for suing a public (government) entity in the state courts.  That code requires that the entity and its ruling body be provided with written notice IN ADVANCE of fling a claim in court in many situations.  This is a mandatory prerequisite to filing a legal action and applies to actions against public school districts, public college districts, and other governmental entities in the state.  This blog will cover generally what should be provided to the governmental entity.  My blog tomorrow will cover some very important time limits and the two should be read in conjunction.  I will also follow with a third blog (maybe more) to address other aspects. Content of Notice  Government code section 910 and the surrounding sections, requires the following be provided to the government entity: [requirements abbreviated below- see th...