- Child AbuseChild sex abuse is a much bigger problem than most people realize. Every ten seconds, a new report of child abuse is made, according to one expert study by ChildHelp.
- DUI/DWIHandling thousands of vehicular accident cases has provided our attorneys with the know-how to conduct swift and thorough investigations. Our legal team is skilled at identifying the negligence of the other party, whether caused by drunk driving, uber drivers, distracted driving or traffic violations. We are also familiar with handling extenuating factors that can further complicate an already complex matter, such as multiple-vehicle pileups, uninsured drivers, hit-and-run drivers, statutes of limitations and passengers injured by their own driver’s negligence. Our skilled Manhattan Beach motor vehicle accident litigators don’t shy away from the hard cases. Instead we roll up our sleeves and provide our clients with an aggressive legal representation.
- Wrongful Death$8.8 million settlement in a wrongful death case against the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, where a sheriff’s deputy struck and killed two pedestrians in an unmarked crosswalk.
- Traffic Violations
- Sex Crimes$5.4 million verdict in a sexual assault case where a 37-year-old woman was sexually battered and raped in a West Hollywood nightclub by a staff member.
- BurglaryMany of John’s cases have been covered extensively in the media, including his representation of the mother of a Lana Clarkson who was murdered by Phil Spector. He also represented the family of Sherri Rasmussen, who was beaten and shot by LAPD officer Stephanie Lazarus in 1986; the case went unsolved for more than 20 years because the LAPD believed it was a botched burglary. In a published decision, the Court of Appeal upheld a $10 million dollar verdict against Lazarus in 2018.
- MisdemeanorsCalifornia has a lengthy list of mandated reporters: individuals who are required, by law, to report child abuse or neglect, or any suspected child abuse or neglect, including: “physical abuse, sexual abuse (including both sexual assault and sexual exploitation), willful cruelty or unjustified punishment, unlawful corporal punishment or injury, and neglect (including both acts and omissions).†You can access the full list here, but it includes educators, doctors, clergymen and -women, child care providers, law enforcement, and mental health professionals. A mandated reporter has a legal obligation to report his or her suspicions, and must be free to do so regardless of what superiors say. Say, for example, a teacher wished to report suspected child abuse, but that teacher was stopped from doing so by his or her principal. The principal has violated the law by disallowing the teacher to report the abuse. Likewise, if a teacher suspects abuse but says nothing, he or she may be in violation of the law because of his or her role as a mandated reporter. Failing to report is a misdemeanor, and can land a person in jail for up to 6 months, and/or with a fine of up to $1000.
- AssaultRobert Clayton is a partner at Taylor & Ring. He has successfully represented clients in catastrophic personal injury actions in federal court and throughout the State of California. His practice areas include wrongful death, premises liability actions involving dangerous conditions on public and private property (including many structural failures), products liability, vehicular and mass transit accidents, scalding/burns, assault and battery of customers by security guards, and sexual abuse/assault cases.
- Murder$10 million verdict in a wrongful death case against the LAPD, 30 years in the making. In a published decision, the California Court of Appeal upheld the verdict against Los Angeles Police Detective Stephanie Lazarus for the murder of Sherri Rasmussen more than 30 years ago.
- Juvenile CrimesAfnan graduated from King Hall School of Law at the University of California, Davis. During Law school, she wrote for the Journal of Juvenile Law and Policy and was an advocate at the UC Davis Civil Rights Clinic. Prior to attending law school, Afnan graduated as a triple-major from University of California, Los Angeles.
- ProstitutionA commercial sex act is “any sex act, on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person.†Forced prostitution is a common form of sex trafficking.
- Hit and Run$1.75 million from a property owner for an elderly woman who suffered hip and rib fractures when struck by a hit-and-run driver at a medical building.
- Business Disputes
- Workers CompensationEvery day, industrial and construction sites workers face the risk of serious injury because of someone’s negligence, carelessness or failure to warn of hidden dangers. Yet, many of these injured workers assume that they are only eligible to recover workers compensation benefits because they were working at the time. The attorneys at the law firm of Taylor & Ring know that this is often not the case. Our experience in construction site accident cases and industrial accident cases has provided us with the resources to investigate and prove circumstances where companies other than the injured worker’s employer were at fault.
- Wrongful TerminationJohn also represented Gilberto Santillan, a local (Manhattan Beach) waste collector, in his wrongful termination case against USA Waste of California Inc. in Federal Court. John appealed the lower court’s ruling in favor of USA Waste to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, who in a published decision, concluded that “federal immigration law did not require [Mr. Santillan] to provide proof of employment eligibility.†The Ninth Circuit’s ruling paved the way for Mr. Santillan to proceed with his lawsuit which resolved shortly before trial.
- Employment DiscriminationEmployers who still discriminate obviously do whatever they can to cover up the discrimination. These employers will make up false reasons for a person's discharge from a job, when in fact the real reason is because of the person's race, elderly age, pregnancy, or other protected trait. At Taylor & Ring, we aggressively litigate cases of employment discrimination in order to prove that the employer's reason for a termination was "pre-textual," or "a lie," and that the real reason was a discriminatory one. This requires shifting through the employer's alleged reasons for the discharge and then proving they were false. This is never easy to do because there is never a "smoking gun" memo that sets forth the employer's scheme to discriminate. Yet, our lawyers have had great success proving discrimination against a wide variety of Southern California and Los Angeles businesses.
- Employment ContractEmployees who have a written contract or are protected by a collective bargaining agreement cannot be fired unless the terms of the contract/agreement are met. Generally, written employment contracts require cause (such as fraud, working for a competitor, poor performance, or other specific breaches). The rights and remedies for this type of wrongful termination are set forth in the contract.
- Employment LitigationTaylor & Ring handles employment litigation throughout the Los Angeles area and Southern California. We have a strong record of success fighting for employees who were discriminated against, wrongfully terminated, sexually harassed, or retaliated against for asserting their rights. To discuss your employee rights, call us or fill out our contact form to schedule a free initial consultation with one of our Los Angeles employment litigation attorneys We take the time to explain your rights and will vigorously pursue justice for the indignity and economic harm you have suffered.
- Sexual HarassmentNatalie Weatherford is a partner at Taylor & Ring. She focuses her practice on representing both children and adults in sexual harassment, assault, abuse and misconduct cases as well as civil rights litigation.
- Premises Liability$4 million settlement on behalf of a woman who was raped at gunpoint in a Los Angeles shopping mall. The case involved premises liability and negligent security against a mall owner and security company.
- Property DamageA successful claim under the Bane Act can recover medical bills, lost wages, property damage and other compensation.
- Personal InjuryBefore joining Taylor & Ring, Peter worked at a prominent litigation firm specializing in personal injury claims, and prior to that he served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Stephen M. Moloney in the Los Angeles Superior Court.
- Medical MalpracticeMedical malpractice cases involve extremely complex issues and theories of law. A successful outcome requires substantial knowledge, as well as sufficient resources to investigate the injury-causing incident and build an effective case. We have the resources and skills to handle complex birth injury claims against UCLA Medical Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Keck Medical Center of USC, and other local and regional facilities in LA and throughout Southern California. Our legal team has recovered significant verdicts and settlements in a variety of medical malpractice lawsuits, including the following birth injury cases...
- Auto Accidents
- Slip and Fall InjuryInvitees are individuals invited onto the property for a reason that is financially beneficial to the owner, such as customers to a store. These property owners have a reasonable duty to warn invitees of potential dangers and keep them reasonably safe from risky conditions. Property owners may also have a responsibility to routinely inspect the property for potential risks and address them in a timely manner. For example, retail stores have a legal responsibility to check the aisles regularly throughout a day and quickly clean up anything that creates a risk. Failure to do so could result in a severe slip and fall injury.
- Bankruptcy