Publications Archives

Competing interests of transparency in government and elected officials and government employees' right to privacy has stirred up a debate throughout California. A recent California appellate court ruled that government officials and employees' private communications sent on personal devices and not stored on public servers are not subject to the California Public Records Act (CPRA). City of San Jose v. Superior Court(2014) 169 Cal. Rptr.3d 840. This case addresses the important debate encompassing transparency in public agencies versus a public employee's right to privacy. The scope of this issue is evident as the California Supreme Court has recently decided to step in and settle the heated debate.

The Nevada Supreme Court has held that a litigant is under a duty to preserve evidence which it knows or reasonably should know is relevant to an action, even where an action has not been commenced and there is only a potential for litigation. Fire Insurance Exchange v. Zenith Radio, Corp., 103 Nev. 648 (1987). In fact, sanctions under Nevada Rule of Civil Procedure 37(b) may be imposed for willful suppression or destruction of evidence which is clearly relevant, whether or not the party has been expressly ordered to produce the evidence. See Bass-Davis v. Davis, 122 Nev. 442 (2006). The entry of liability against a party destroying evidence is also an appropriate sanction under NRCP 37. Fire Insurance Exchange v. Zenith Radio, Corp., 103 Nev. at 648.

Posted on April 30, 2014

By: David L. Miller

Where am I going to come up with the money to hire an experienced family law attorney to represent me in my divorce? This question is asked by many spouses who have just been served with divorce papers, or who wish to end their marriage. The majority of the time, a client with less financial ability than the other spouse will borrow the money family law attorneys require before accepting a case (i.e., the "initial deposit"). The lender is usually a parent, sibling or good friend. However, for many people, this is just not possible.

Couples going through a divorce are often so immersed in fighting with the other party that they forget the most important thing about their divorce: their children. Instead, parties become short, aggravated and distant with their children because they have expended all of their energy fighting with their ex-spouse.