http://www.variety.com/article/VR1500001200.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&query=brad+call

Digital Domain loses termination suit

"Button" vfx company to pay $2 million in damages

By David s. Cohen

In a verdict handed down Thursday evening in Malibu, Christian Bradley "Brad" Call has won his wrongful termination suit against visual effects shop Digital Domain and has been awarded approximately $2 million in damages.

The size of the award raises questions about whether Digital Domain can survive, though in a statement, DD’s VP and general counsel Joseph Gabriel, said the ruling is "absolutely not going to put the company out of business."

Gabriel further noted that the company is "evaluating its appellate options."

The jury was unanimous on most findings.

Call had accused executives of DD’s current owner, Wyndcrest Holdings, of firing him after he objected to turning over inflated income projections to Falcon Partners, which was due to invest in the company. Falcon went on to make the loan to DD anyway.

Testimony at the trial included accusations of securities fraud extending to both Wyndcrest and Falcon.

Wyndcrest is a private investment firm whose investors include helmer Michael Bay and former pro quarterback Dan Marino .

Call also prevailed in DD’s countersuit, which accused him of breach of fiduciary duty. The jury did find that Call broke his confidentiality agreement with DD in emailing himself the documents that later became evidence in the case.

Digital Domain was the lead shop on this year’s vfx Oscar winner, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and contributed work to current smash "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

It’s finances have been under a cloud since SEC filings revealed the company has never turned an annual profit since its founding in 1993 by Scott Ross , James Cameron and the late Stan Winston .

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The Department of Labor says that the company cooperated with the investigation by conducting a self-audit and agreed to future compliance. Back wages have been paid to 588 branch managers, loan officers, loan processors, and clerks, who were performing inside sales work at the company.

The FLSA requires employers must maintain accurate time and payroll records. Also, employees must be paid minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 per week.

Earnings may be determined on a piece-rate, salary, commission or some other basis, but in all such cases the overtime pay due must be computed on the basis of the average hourly rate derived from such earnings. The FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay for bona fide executive, administrative, professional, and outside sales employees.

Additional laws apply in California.

If you have questions regarding Employment Law then contact The Law Offices of Amanda Hill located in Beverly Hills at (310) 694-8089 to have an attorney help you with your legal needs.

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The State Department has established a "working group" to better assess pay situations for locally employed staff.

The report from the department’s Office of the Inspector General looked at how the U.S. pays more than 51,000 local, non-American employees in about 170 missions. The low pay causes these workers severe hardship and in some cases makes it difficult for the U.S. embassies to find qualified employees to fill positions. “Twenty-seven missions presented compelling arguments that their lower-grade employees fall short of minimal living standards,” the report said.

The report blamed an overwhelmed and inadequately staffed employment office in Washington, D.C. for the inability to make needed changes to pay levels and to keep up with events overseas like inflation.

"These arguments included accounts of LE [locally employed] staff: removing children from school, cutting back to one meal a day, sending children to sell water or little cakes or toiletries on the streets … employees depending on salary advances and defaulting on loans in order to cover basic expenses … [pay]grades 1 to 3 earning less than $1.00 per day."

“About 25 percent of missions noted reduced productivity and lower efficiency as a result of inadequate compensation,” the report said. “Also, 32 percent of missions reported LE [local employees] staff taking second jobs to cover their expenses.”

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On June 2, 2009, the Fourth District Court of Appeal in San Diego decided Starbucks can legally require its low-wage hourly coffee baristas to share tips with supervisors who also wait on customers. The appeals court reversed a $106 million award against Starbucks, which currently has over 1,300 locations throughout California.

The lawsuit was filed in 2004, alleging Starbucks of violating California state law that declares tips to be the property of employees and denies a share to a company’s owners or managers. The lower court judge, Patricia Cowett, ruled last year that shift supervisors were company agents and equivalent to managers. Thus, Starbucks must repay the baristas for the portion of tips that went to the supervisors.

In March 2008, Judge Cowett awarded $86.7 million in damages to 100,000 past and present baristas who had worked in a California store since October 8, 2000, added $19 million in interest and ordered Starbucks to direct all future tips to baristas. She put the order on hold during Starbuck’s appeal.

The lower San Diego court ruled that Starbucks’ shift supervisors are managers who are ineligible to be paid out of the tip jar. The Court of Appeal rules that customers intend their tips to go to everyone who serves them, supervisors as well as baristas. The court ruled that there is nothing unfair or illegal about Starbucks’ policy of dividing up the money according to the hours each employee worked.

By leaving money in a box near the cash register, “a customer would necessarily understand the tip will be shared among the employees who provide the service,” Justice Judith Haller said in the 3-0 ruling. “There is no danger the tipping public is being misled by allowing Starbucks shift supervisors to obtain their fair share of the tipping proceeds.”

Baristas, the company’s entry-level employees, make and serve drinks and operate the cash register, and can be promoted to shift supervisors after six months. The supervisors do the same jobs for more than 90 percent of their workday, the court said, and direct the baristas, open and close the stores, and deposit money into the safe. They have no authority to hire, fire, or discipline other employees, the court said. The court also said, the tips are left in a “collective box” for the customer service team - which includes the shift supervisor - and therefore can be shared between baristas and supervisors.

A lawyer for the baristas said they would appeal to the state Supreme Court. Courts have ruled in other cases that employees do not need not share tips with supervisors who are part of the services team.

If you have questions regarding Employment Law then contact The Law Offices of Amanda Hill located in Beverly Hills at (310) 694-8089 to have an attorney help you with your legal needs.

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All property acquired by married persons while domiciled in California is classified as either community property or separate property. Generally the California marital property system is based on the principle that the husband and wife contribute equally to the accumulation of wealth during a marriage regardless of their respective salaries or income. In the absence of a premarital agreement (aka prenuptial agreement), all property acquired during marriage by the labor of either the husband or wife is community property that is owned equally by both spouses.

Certain property, however, is classified as separate property depending on factors such as when and how it was acquired. Generally property owned before marriage or acquired after permanent separation is separate property unless it is transformed into community property. However, parties may avoid the California community property system by agreement, such as a premarital agreement commonly known as a prenuptial agreement.

The California Family Code § 760 states: “Except as otherwise provided by statute, all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in this state is community property.” However, the California Family Code provides exceptions including but not limited to the following: property received by gift, bequest, devise, or descent; rents, issues, and profits of separate property; and property acquired in exchange for separate property.

A simple example of this is if Husband is given a gift or inheritance from his parents then that property would be Husband’s separate property unless he did something to change that separate property to community property. Another example is if Wife had a rental house that was separate property and she sold it and used all the proceeds to acquire some other property – generally that property would also remain Wife’s separate property. Finally, if Wife had a rental property that was her separate property and she received rental income then that income would also be her separate property. These examples are general illustrations. They are not exhaustive of possible separate property and they are simple illustrations that in reality can be much more complex.

There are also situations where the separate property presumption may overcome the community property presumption. In addition to the exceptions discussed above, other exceptions include if the parties take written title to an asset in a way that shows that the parties agreed to hold it other than as community property or if the parties agree either before or during marriage that the property is not community property. Another example is if one spouse took title to property in a way that shows the property was a gift from the other spouse, such as if Husband buys Wife a car for her birthday and put the title in Wife’s name alone.

One spouse may bring a separate property business into the marriage and devote his or her community labor to the management of the business. At divorce or death, the business may have appreciated in value and substantial assets may have been purchased with business profits. There are two methods in California that the courts have developed to apportion between the separate property component of the business that the managing spouse brought into the marriage and the community property value added by that spouse’s labor during the marriage.

First, when management by the spouse was the primary cause of the growth or productivity of the initially separate business, the law developed in the case Pereira v. Pereira, 156 Cal. 1 (1909), is applied. Second, generally when the character of the separate business is largely responsible for its own growth or productivity, the law apportions the separate and community property using the methodology developed in Van Camp v. Van Camp, 53 Cal. App. 17 (1921).

Essentially both of these cases allow for an apportionment of the separate and community property. Thus, under the law without a premarital agreement, one spouse would be entitled to a community property interest in a separate property business that the other spouse brings to the marriage, and the amount that would be community property would depend on the type of business and the community labor devoted to the management of the business.

If you have questions regarding Family Law or specifically a premarital / prenuptial agreement then contact The Law Offices of Amanda Hill located in Beverly Hills at (310) 860-7445 to have an attorney help you with your legal needs. You can also visit our Family Law page .

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1. The Arrest:

The police arrest someone based on probable cause that the person has committed a criminal offense.

2. Filing the Complaint:

The police provide reports and evidence to the prosecuting attorney (district attorney, city attorney, U.S. Attorney, etc.). The police do not file charges. The prosecuting attorney then decides whether or not charges should be filed . If they determine charges should be filed, then it is the prosecuting attorney who decides which charges will be filed. The prosecuting attorney files the "Complaint" with the court, which sets forth the allegations against a criminal defendant.

3. Arraignment/First Appearance:

At the arraignment, a criminal defendant is formally advised of the charges and his/her constitutional rights . Bail is often set during the arraignment. Bail is used by the court almost like an "insurance policy" that the criminal defendant will appear on future court dates.

The amount of bail is determined by the judge . The judge evaluates a criminal defendant’s risk of flight and potential danger to the community. Bail amounts can range from being released on one’s own recognizance to millions of dollars. In some cases bail is denied.

Many criminal defendants use bail bonds services to post the money needed for bail. Bail bonds services allow the criminal defendant to pay only a small percentage of the required bond to the bond company and the bond company pays the full amount on behalf of the criminal defendant. (If you or someone you know have been arrested the Law Offices of Amanda Hill can help you find a bail bond services at a discounted rate. You can contact us at 310-860-7445 .)

4. Preliminary Hearing:

Preliminary Hearings are held to review probable cause . This is necessary for the judge to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to support the charges against a criminal defendant. During the Preliminary Hearing, additional charges can be added and/or the bail amount can be adjusted.

5. Arraignment in Superior Court:

If the judge has determined that there is probable cause to support the charges, the prosecutor will file a charging document called an "Information " in the Superior Court. The Information alleges the charges the criminal defendant is facing at trial. The criminal defendant is formally advised of the charges and constitutional rights, and the criminal defendant enters a plea such as not guilty.

6. Pre-Trial Conference:

At the pre-trial conference, the defense attorney discusses the case with the prosecuting attorney . This is a good opportunity to speak with the prosecution in order to obtain the best possible deal or plea-bargain. It also allows the defense attorney to provide information which may prove the criminal defendant’s innocence. The prosecuting attorney may reduce the charges against the criminal defendant based on information presented by the criminal defense attorney.

7. Trial:

During the jury trial a criminal defendant is entitled to have a jury of twelve impartial jurors . Both the defense attorney and the prosecuting attorney have an opportunity to make opening statements, introduce witnesses and evidence in favor of their case, cross-examine witnesses, and offer closing arguments. During the deliberation phase of the case, the jury decides whether the prosecution has met its burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt . If the jury finds that the criminal defendant is not guilty, the defendant is free to go and not subject to further criminal prosecution based on the same offenses. OJ Simpson’s criminal trial is a good example of this, but keep in mind he still had to face a civil case.

8. Sentencing:

If a criminal defendant is found, guilty then the defendant must face sentencing at a court hearing. The sentencing hearing is where the judge determines and imposes the appropriate punishment based on sentencing guidelines . Different crimes carry different possible penalties. The criminal defendant may be sentenced to probation instead of a term in state prison. The criminal defendant is entitled to a sentencing hearing to propose why he or she believes the judge should give him or her the lowest possible penalty.

9. Collateral Consequences:

In addition to any sentence imposed by the court, a criminal conviction can have a number of additional consequences . In felony cases, these consequences can include, but are not limited to: loss of the right to vote, loss of the right to possess a firearm , loss of the right to associate with other known criminals, registration as a sexual offender , registration as a narcotics offender, and/or increased penalties for future convictions. Criminal convictions can also have immigration consequences .

10. Appeals & Writs:

If convicted, the criminal defendant may file an appeal to an appellate level court based on the argument that the trial court made legal errors . The appellate court may reverse the conviction if the defense can prove that the trial court made legal errors, or the defendant was denied due process of law or a fair trial.

11. Parole:

Parole is a conditional release from prison which entitles the defendant to serve the remainder of the term outside of prison. However, the defendant is still under the supervision of the department of corrections.

12. Expungement:

Expungement is a process where, in some cases, a conviction may be removed from the criminal defendant’s record .

If you have been arrested in Southern California then contact The Law Offices of Amanda Hill located in Beverly Hills at (310) 860-7445 to have an attorney evaluate your case. You can also visit our Criminal Law page.

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Labor Code section 226.7 requires employers to pay an employee an additional hour of pay for a missed meal or rest break . This additional pay was determined by the Court to be "wages" or "premium pay" rather than a "penalty." The simple fact that the extra pay was not called a "penalty" was not enough to sway the Court in their analysis. Instead, what is important is whether the monetary recovery provided for in Labor Code section 226.7 is proportionate to the injury.

The Labor Code provides that if an employee receives an extra hour of pay for a missed or interrupted ten (10) minute break or thirty (30) minute meal period. Thus, the question is why is an employee entitled to a full hour of pay for the 10 or 30 minute missed break. In light of construing statutes in favor of employees, the California Supreme Court held that Labor Code section 226.7 is proportional to the injury because it compensates for both economic and non-economic damages . This is similar to the premium pay for overtime.

The classification of the extra hour of pay as "wages" or "premium pay" is significant because a claim for the payment of wages is subject to a three year statute of limitation. Following the Murphy case, a virtual flood of meal period cases have been filed in California.

Contact the Law Offices of Amanda Hill at (310) 860-7445 for information regarding your employment law matters.

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The client establishing the trust is called a Trustor. The term “Living” means that the trust takes effect while the trustor is still alive. Living Trusts are also customarily Revocable, meaning they can be revised, changed, or even canceled during the lifetime of the Trustor. However, once the Trustor dies, the trust becomes irrevocable. This means that you retain full control of your assets during your lifetime and you are able to make changes to your estate plan as you experience changes in your life.

Living Trusts are commonly used to avoid the long and formal court procedure commonly referred to as “Probate.” In most circumstances, if you have a living trust, probating the Estate is not necessary.

Married couples are able to create a living trust to handle both their individual and joint estates. For married couples living trusts can also provide a benefit of reducing and/or minimizing estate “death” taxes.

The Law Offices of Amanda Hill are available to consult with you regarding whether or not this would be an appropriate testamentary instrument for you and to better explain this process.

To speak with an attorney to learn more about how estate planning can benefit you and your family contact us at (310) 860-7445. Please visit our Estate Planning main page at www.amandahill.com/estate-planning.html.

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Keep in mind that although this website and blog may provide information concerning potential legal issues, it is not a substitute for legal advice from qualified counsel regarding your situation. Since each client and their legal issues are unique, you should not rely on this website or blog as a source of legal advice.

To speak with an attorney about your legal concerns, please contact our office at (310) 860-7445 or visit out website at www.amandahill.com. We are located in Beverly Hills, California and serve clients throughout Southern California including Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and the Inland Empire. We are licensed to practice law in the State of California.

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