Rebecca Grey, Esq.

Disability

• Plaintiff alleged FEHA claims against the county for failure to engage in the interactive process, failure to accommodate, and retaliation arising from her disability arising from a severe workplace injury incurred during her training as a deputy sheriff. Defendant contended it engaged in numerous interactive processes and appropriately accommodated the plaintiff's disability in finding her temporary and permanent alternate positions.

Discrimination

• Mediated a case where a phlebotomist was terminated by their employer hospital while on leave for a work-related medical condition. They claimed there was a failure to engage in the interactive process, failure to accommodate a disability and wrongful termination. The defense contended the employee failed to respond to multiple requests for updated information and abandoned the position.

ERISA

• ERISA disability claimant was denied Long Term Disability after nearly a decade on the claim. Plaintiff claimed denial was wrongful as the disability was well corroborated by extensive medical records and functional capacity evaluations; Defendant claimed after Social Security denial at the ALJ level that Plaintiff failed to satisfy the "any occupation" definition of disability.
• Plaintiff claimed disability due to mental health symptoms and severe physical conditions. When the disability carrier terminated her benefits after the maximum benefit period for mental health disabilities, she challenged the termination on the grounds that she was physically disabled. The carrier contended she failed to satisfy the definition of disability.
• ERISA disability dispute based upon a long-term disability claim regarding physical and cognitive symptoms such as chronic fatigue following a COVID vaccine. Defendant contended Plaintiff failed to demonstrate disability and even in the event of disability, payment duration for chronic fatigue conditions was limited.
• The plaintiff contended she was disabled by long covid. The disability insurer disputed she was totally disabled from doing her own sedentary occupation and denied her claim and her appeal, resulting in litigation under ERISA for breach of fiduciary duty, in which she sought past disabiity benefits, reinstatement of her claim, and attorney fees.
• The plaintiff claiming disability from their own occupation as a financial sales professional due to mental illness, brought a claim against the disabilty carrier, which terminated his benefits on the grounds that the evidence failed to demonstrate serious and impairing mental illness.
• The plaintiff made an ERISA disabilty claim for debilitating fatigue and cognitive impairment due to long covid. The defendant insurance company contended the evidence did not support the severity of the claimed conditions warranting total disability.
• A long-term disability claimant alleged her carrier improperly denied her LTD benefits for long covid symptoms of severe fatigue and inability to perform the cognitive requirements of her high pressure occpation. The carrier contended the applicant's medical records failed to demonstrate any condition severe enough to prevent her from her performing her own sedentary occupation.
• Mediated an ERISA disability case in which an engineer was disabled by a severe cardiac condition. The carrier paid through the own occupation period and into the any occupation period and terminated him after their reviewing doctor opined based upon his stable cardiac symptoms, he could still perform sedentary work.

Wage and Hour

• A doctor who was formerly employed by a local clinic brought a labor commission claim for unpaid wages claiming she had been improperly classified as an independent contractor.

Wrongful Term & Discrimination

• Plaintiff injured himself at work and requested accommodations. After providing restrictions on his ability to work in his heavy-duty job description, defendant determined he could not perform his position with or without accommodations and terminated his employment. The parties resolved claims arising out of, inter alia, failure to engage in the interactive process and failure to accommodate his disability.

Wrongful Termination

• African-American female plaintiff alleged race discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination after being terminated from a position in which she complained of racial animus by her co-workers.
• Plaintiff claimed race and disability discrimination when her employer refused to permit her to maintain remote work status and terminated her for failure to perform full-time work on-site. Defendant contended refusal to work on-site was a permissible basis for termination.

Bad Faith

• Plaintiff ICU doctors brought breach of contract and bad faith claims for disability during high-risk pregnancy during COVID.
• UM bad faith case in which Plaintiff alleged first party UM carrier initially stonewalled and ultimately delayed paying policy limits after multi-vehicle car accident resulted in injuries. Carrier contended the delay was caused in part by the claimant's refusal to authorize release of medical information which hampered its reasonable investigation into causation of claimed injuries.
• The plaintiff brought bad faith and other claims against his personal insurance company after losing a valuable watch. The company denied the claim on the grounds of suspected fraud.

Coverage

• Long term disability claimant made ERISA claim for wrongful termination of benefits for disability from "any occupation" where carrier terminated benefits despite claims of disability for cardiac conditions, chronic pain, diabetes, fibromyalgia and secondary medical diagnoses.
• An insurance carrier brought declaratory relief and rescission action against a professional painter for material misrepresentations on a policy renewal application. Painter/insured contended the application was completed by his insurance agent without his knowledge, and the answers were not materially false.
• Mediated a case ivolving an insurer for a tortfeasor who caused a multiple vehicle collision resulting in four injured parties who sought mediation when the parties failed to agree on an apportionment of limited funds.

Property Damage

• Plaintiff insurance company brought subrogation action against subcontract which it alleged caused a fire on a residential construction site; subcontract cross-complained against the general contractor which in turn cross complained against the homeowner and its own insurer.

Subrogation

• An insurance carrier brought subrogation action against insured landlord's tenant claiming the tenant caused the fire that damaged the multi-unit apartment building. The tenants disclaimed responsibility, contending the landlord and property manager's own negligence maintenance of the unit was the cause of the fire and made their own habitability, negligence and related tenancy claims against the property owner.

Medical

• Plaintiff claimed the surgeon committed malpractice during a male breast reduction procedure resulting in a puncture wound in the pectoral muscle and a subsequent hematoma with lasting complications.

Buy/Sell

• Mediated a trust and estate dispute over newly discovered claimed estate assets years after decedent's death, including whether or not various assets were part of the estate and the valuation and distribution of those assets.

Home Owners Association

• Adjacent home owners brought action against the HOA for damages arising out of defective roofing work done by the HOA's construction agents, resulting in water damage to the interiors of both units. The HOA contended the work was done by an unauthorized contractor and contested the amount of the damages.

Landlord/Tenant

• A long-term tenant displaced by fire made various habitability claims including a claim for future rent differential when the defendant landlord failed to timely invite her to return to the repaired unit.
• Plaintiff alleged an improper owner move-in eviction where the new owner's notice of eviction was based upon the new owner's mother moving into the unit but where the unit was subject to nearly two years of remodeling before the owner's mother actually took possession of the unit.
• Participated in settlement of a case arising from long-term tenancy of a single-family dwelling in San Leandro. Plaintiffs made habitability claims including rodents, mold, operable windows, plumbing, and security complaints; Plaintiffs also alleged retaliatory attempts to evict. The property owner contended she responded to and repaired all conditions of which she had notice.

Warranty of Habitability

• Plaintiff brought habitability and retaliation claims against her landlord alleging rodents, mold, upkeep, and habitability problems over her 6-year tenancy, forcing her to move out. Defendant contended he responded to all legitimate claims promptly and appropriately and that tenant moved out because she lost her job.

General Negligence

• Two previously designated dangerous dogs escaped their enclosure and attacked the plaintiff, injuring him physically and leading to serious post-traumatic complaints.

Personal Injury

• Personal injury matter by an unlicensed subcontractor against the homeowner after a fall from a ladder resulting in severe leg injuries.
• Plaintiff slipped and fell in residential street pothole resulting in serious lower extremity injuries; Defendant utility acknowledged the seriousness of Plaintiff's injuries but contended they were not at fault for any underlying leak or other cause of the sinkhole.
• Plaintiff is a professional painter who injured himself working on a wooden platform at a construction site. The plaintiff claimed damages for negligence and premises liablity for the erection of the unstable wooden structure. The defendant argued the structure was never intended as a work platform and they were not liable, or at a minimum, were only partially liable for damages given the potential for contributory negligence.

PI Auto

• Mediated pre-arbitration first-party Underinsured Motorist auto accident case involving claimed chronic cervical and lumbar spine whiplash injuries and emotional distress.
• Plaintiff was "doored" while riding her bike and claimed injuries to her neck, back, and shoulder which required ongoing medical treatment.
• Plaintiff bicyclist and City-operated Parking Control Officer's vehicle collided, injuring the plaintiff. Plaintiff claimed negligence against the municipality and parking control officer. Defendant denied liability and disputed the extent of damages and alleged comparative negligence.
• Plaintiff claimed personal injuries arising from two separate incidents on public transit; defense contended there was no causation and the medical symptoms were pre-existing.
• Plaintiff pedestrian crossing the street in a crosswalk was struck and injured by a car. She claimed physical injuries, lost wages, psychological trauma, and general damages. Defendant disputed the extent of damages, claiming failure to mitigate, citing little to no medical and/or psychological treatment.
• The plaintiff was a passenger in a car in a collision with the defendant driver in a city intersection causing the plaintiff's vehicle to fishtail and go over a downhill railing and flip onto its roof. The plaintiff claimed severe and permanent cervical spine injuries. Defendants challenged liability and extent of future medical expenses, noting some of the plaintiff's complaints pre-existed the incident.
• Mediated a case where the plaintiff was severely injured when a city bus veered over the median and collided with her vehicle head on. The bus had been t-boned by a speeding car, which ran a red light, impacting the bus and throwing the driver of the bus from his driving position and causing him to veer across traffic into the plaintiff's stopped car. The plaintiff brought claims against the original driver of the car, as well as against the city transportation agency.
• Mediated a case involving a scooter rider who collided with an indentation on the city street caused by a sewer repair, which was inadequately patched by a third party paving company. The plaintiff was thrown from the scooter, seriously injuring his knee and brought claims against the city for the dangerous conditions and against the paving vendor for negligence.
• Mediated a case where the plaintiff, an employee of a contractor vendor, slipped and fell on a defective stair while working on the HVAC system of a grocery store, injuring his knee. The store defendant argued WC exclusivity, and claimed the defect was open and obvious, as well as making an indemnity claim against the contractor employer. The HVAC company argued if anyone was responsible for a breach, it was the store, which retained control over the defective stairway.

PI Sexual Assault

• Personal injury alleged by the plaintiff against the defendant in sexual assault in a hotel room. Plaintiff alleged physical and mental injuries.

Premises Liability

• Plaintiff made claims for chronic personal injuries after stepping into an uncovered utility box on a public sidewalk on Treasure Island. Defendants claimed it lacked notice and challenged medical causation for the claimed injuries.
• Plaintiff alleged personal injuries arising from an accident in which a grocery clerk collided with her pushing a fully stocked dolly. She claimed chronic injuries to the neck, shoulder, and hip as well as mental injuries and emotional sequelae; Defendant contended that the plaintiff suffered a small ankle contusion and any subsequent claims were unsupported by the medical evidence and/or were pre-existing.
• The plaintiff fell off a raised sidewalk, severely fracturing her hip, and alleged premises liability for dangerous condition and failure to provide necessary guardrails and visual indicators to reduce the risk of falling. The defendant claimed code compliance in the immediate area of the fall, any risks were open and obvious, and comparative negligence.
• The plaintiff, a fast-food customer, was engaged in a physical altercation with an employee on restaurant premises in front of his wife and minor children, alleged premises liability and negligence by the employee and franchise. The defendant alleged that the plaintiff initiated the altercation with the teenage employee.
• The plaintiff claimed knee injury when a large grocery delivery cart impacted her lower body at the grocery supermarket. Defendant disputed causation contending pre-existing knee injury and surgery were the actual cause of symptoms.
• The plaintiff was injured when a grocery dolly cart impacted her and knocked her backwards. The plaintiff claimed a significant traumatic brain injury. The defendant argued that severity of injuries was not supported by mechanism of injury or history of clinical presentation.

Product Liability

• A woman injured on a rental scooter brought action against the rental company and municipality for design defect and premises liability; both liability and extent of damages were disputed by the defendants.
• The plaintiff was severely burned when a vape device battery exploded in his pocket; Defendant disputed the source of the battery at issue and the extent of damages.

Workers Compensation

• Personal injury claim for an unlicensed handyman who claimed injuries from a fall off a ladder at the defendant's home. The parties disputed whether WC was the exclusive remedy.
• Arbitration turned mediation of a subrogation claim involving a dispute about entitlement to the allocation of third-party tortfeasor payment of policy limits where workers comp carrier, underlying plaintiff, and plaintiff's counsel all claimed entitlement to some or all of the funds.