Howell Articles By Robert M. Tessier
July 2014: Howell Update: Two Significant Developments
Recently there have been two developments in the continuing evolution of the law related to past medical expenses recoverable in trial of personal injury cases post-Howell, and discovery...
July 2014: Ochoa v. Dorado: Howell reasoning extended to Unpaid Medical Liens
The Second Appellate District Division 3 filed its decision in Ochoa v. Dorado, B240595, on July 22, 2014. This is another case in the Howell and Corenbaum line of decisions considering the issue of the admissibility…
February 2014: Dodd v. Cruz: Discovery allowed to determine amount paid by factoring company for medical liens
This week the Second Appellate District, Division Three handed down a published decision in the case of Dodd v. Cruz, B27493 (filed 2/5/14). The case tackles the issue of whether a defendant can discover...
August 2013: State Farm v. Huff: Hospital Lien Act Recovery Requires Proof of Reasonableness
On June 11, 2013, the Fourth Appellate District filed its opinion in State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co. v. Huff (2013) 216 Cal. App. 4th 1463. In this interpleader action, the court held that liens asserted under...
May 2013: Another post-Howell decision, Corenbaum v. Lampkin is a big defense win
The Second District Court of Appeal, Division Three filed its decision in Corenbaum v. Lampin, B236227, on April 30, 2013. This is an important decision as it considers many of the practical issues raised by...
April 2013: Howell Analysis applied to Medicare Reimbursement
The First Appellate District, Division Five filed the Luttrell v. Island Pacific Supermarkets decision April 8, 2013. The court followed Howell, and for the first time we have a published decision expressly expanding the Howell analysis to...
March 2012: Aftershocks of the Howell v. Hamilton Meats Decision
The Howell v. Hamilton Meats decision continues to create aftershocks both in the judicial and legislative arenas. Two events in the last few weeks are worthy of note, and will be summarized in this email...
November 2011: Trials and Settlements After Howell v. Hamilton Meats
The Supreme Court issued a remittur on November 2, 2011 and denied all requests for reconsideration/rehearing in Howell. Thus, barring any Legislative action in the area, trial lawyers...
August 2011: Howell v. Hamilton Meats Analysis
The issue of whether the substantive portion of the collateral source rule allows an injured plaintiff to recover the full billed amount of her medical bills, if her own health insurance has negotiated with the provider for...