Please remember that all PDG events are for SCMA members only. However, non-members can attend two PDG events while considering an SCMA membership.

	3/24/2025
When:	Monday, March 24th, 2025 6:00 pm
Where:	United States
Contact:	Anthony Khoury [email protected]

My co-leaders Jack Schaedel, MyKhanh Shelton, and I just wanted to remind you that the Commercial and Employment Mediation PDG will be meetingTHIS Monday, March 24th at 6 p.m.! Going forward, however, we will continue to meet on the second Monday of every month.

 

I will be making a presentation on: "Dealing with the Specter of 998 Offers in Mediation AfterChavez". We plan on discussing some of the issues that arise in mediation when settlement negotiations grind to a halt because the employee's attorney is placing an incredibly high value on attorney's fees, and the employer's attorney threatens to serve an offer in compromise pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 998 the following day to try and 'cut off' future attorney's fees/costs. We will also specifically discuss the impact of the court of appeal decision inChavez v. California Collision, LLC(2024) 107 Cal.App.5th 298, reversing a trial court's granting of attorney's fees to the employer's attorney in a wage and hour case after the employer beat a 998 offer made during the litigation. We will also discuss the California Supreme Court decision inChavez v. City of Los Angeles(2010) 47 Cal. 4th 970, that addressed the (proportionate) awarding of attorney's fees in FEHA employment discrimination cases when the damages recovery is less than $25,000. 

 

We will not only present anecdotes from our own respective experiences, but also some practical tools to use in such situations. We hope that some of you will also be willing to share similar experiences that you have had. , so please make sure to click on the link below to register in advance: