It depends. A New Jersey School district paid $9.1 million to parents of bullied student, Mallory Grossman who died by suicide in 2017. See news report here.

But most states do not allow recovery in cases of death by suicide.  They follow the archaic “suicide rule” that considers death by suicide a voluntary act

Guest authorVeronica Benigno Guinto, an immigration attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area answers:

No. The Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantees of due process and equal protection of the law protects U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike. The term “person” under the Amendment encompasses U.S. citizens, lawfully admitted resident aliens, and even aliens whose presence

 May a pet owner recover for emotional distress when another intentionally injures his pet?  It depends.  While in other states pet owners may recover for emotional distress, up until last month California courts only allowed juries to award economic damages to a pet owner and refused to award an owner for his emotional distress including

A parent can sometimes be liable for the harm his or her minor child causes to others.

Here are some situations in which, in California, a parent is automatically liable:

  • When the parent has signed  the child’s driver’s license application, and the child’s driving hurts someone (but the parent’s liability is limited to $15,000 per person

Usually, a homeowner who hires an independent contractor can delegate the responsibility for safety to the contractor. The theory behind the rule is that when an owner hires an independent contractor—or when a prime contractor hires a subcontractor—the responsibility for the safety of the contractor’s employees belongs with the independent contractor, not with the person

Homeowners who hire workers must comply with Cal-OSHA safety regulations. Those regulations require the homeowner, as an employer, to furnish a “safe and healthful” place of employment. “Employment” means "the carrying on of any trade, enterprise, project, industry, business, occupation, or work, including all excavation, demolition, and construction work, or any process or operation

Some estimate that automotive rear-enders cause about three million cervical injuries (a.k.a. "whiplash" injuries) in the U.S. each year. The injuries are real. According to the Insurance Research Council, the average payout for these injuries, which includes medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering, is around $8,000. Do the math. The potential cost of

Are business owners or landlords responsible to those injured due to the criminal acts of third parties? Sometimes. Because of the “special relationship” a California business owner has with its customers, the owner or landlord must take reasonable steps to keep the premises safe against foreseeable criminal acts of others. In determining whether the owner