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  • LAURANCE HAGEN VS. ASSOCIATED INSULATION OF CALIFORNIA ASBESTOS document preview
  • LAURANCE HAGEN VS. ASSOCIATED INSULATION OF CALIFORNIA ASBESTOS document preview
  • LAURANCE HAGEN VS. ASSOCIATED INSULATION OF CALIFORNIA ASBESTOS document preview
  • LAURANCE HAGEN VS. ASSOCIATED INSULATION OF CALIFORNIA ASBESTOS document preview
  • LAURANCE HAGEN VS. ASSOCIATED INSULATION OF CALIFORNIA ASBESTOS document preview
  • LAURANCE HAGEN VS. ASSOCIATED INSULATION OF CALIFORNIA ASBESTOS document preview 
						
                                
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                                CHRISTOPHER B. BRUNI, SBN 116521
KELLY L. COWAN, SBN 239635
SINUNU BRUNI LLP

333 Pine Street, Suite 400

San Francisco, CA 94104-3311
Telephone: 415.362.9700

Facsimile: 415.362.9707
cbruni@sinunubruni.com
kcowan@sinunubruni.com

Attorneys for Defendant

FISCHBACH AND MOORE, INCORPORATED, n/k/a

EX-FM, INC.

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA
CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO — UNLIMITED JURISDICTION

LAURANCE HAGEN,

Plaintiff,
v.

ASSOCIATED INSULATION OF
CALIFORNIA, et al.,

Defendants.

ELECTRONICALLY
FILED

Superior Court of California,
County of San Francisco

AUG 27 2010
Clerk of the Court

BY: JUDITH NUNEZ
Deputy Clerk

Case No.; CGC-10-275582

DEFENDANT FISCHBACH AND
MOORE, INCORPORATED, n/k/a EX-
FM, INC.’S OBJECTION TO
PLAINTIFF'S C.C.P. SECTION 998
OFFER TO COMPROMISE

Complaint Filed: June 2, 2010
Trial Date: Not assigned.

ee

COMES NOW Defendant FISCHBACH AND MOORE, INCORPORATED, n/k/a
EX-FM, INC. (“FISCHBACH”) and hereby objects to Plaintiff LAWRENCE HAGEN,
(“hereinafter Plaintiff’)’s Offer to Compromise pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section
998, on grounds that it is premature. At this date, Defendant FISCHBACH does not have
sufficient facts or information to determine if Plaintiff's offer is reasonable.

Section 998 was enacted to encourage the settlement of lawsuits prior to'trial and to

punish a party that fails to accept a reasonable offer. (See, T.M. Cobb v. Superior Court,

DEFENDANT FISCHBACH AND MOORE, INCORPORATED, n/k/a EX-PM, INC.’S OBJECTION TO C.C.P. SECTION
998 OFFER TO COMPROMISE(1984) 36 Cal. 3d 273, 280). However, a party is not expected to accept an unreasonable
offer, or one not made in good faith. (Elrod v. Oregon Cummins Diesel, Inc., (1987) 195
Cal. App. 3d 692, 698, 699). The reasonableness of an offer is determined by the
information known or the information that reasonably should have been known to the
offeree. (/d. at 699). Furthermore, if a party makes a section 998 Offer to Compromise with
the knowledge that the offeree lacks information necessary to evaluate the offer, the offer
was not made in good faith. (/d. at 700). Accordingly, an offer that is unreasonable and
made with a lack of good faith is an invalid Offer to Compromise under section 998. (/d. at
698-699).

In this case, insufficient discovery has been completed to enable Defendant
FISCHBACH to accurately analyze the reasonableness of Plaintiff's Offer to Compromise.
No depositions have been taken and Plaintiff has not yet served responses to Set Two
Standard Interrogatories. Further, FISCHBACH has not received all medical reports,
employment records, and/or other discovery responses. Thus, FISCHBACH lacks the
requisite information to accurately determine the reasonableness of Plaintiff's offer. Since
Plaintiff is aware that discovery is not complete in this case, his Offer to Compromise is
lacking in good faith. Therefore, his offer fails to effectuate the policy of encouraging
settlement of lawsuits prior to trial, and is invalid as a section 998 Offer to Compromise.

Based on the above objections, this FISCHBACH will request that the Court not

impose the augmented costs included within Code of Civil Procedure section 998.

Dated: August 27, 2010 SINUNU BRUNI

2

DEFENDANT FISCHBACH AND MOORE, INCORPORATED, n/k/a EX-FM, INC.’S OBJECTION TO C.C.P. SECTION
998 OFFER TO COMPROMISEPROOF OF SERVICE

Laurance Hagen y. Associated Insulation of California, et al.
San Francisco Superior Court Case No. CGC-10-275582

lam over the age of eighteen years and not a party to the above-captioned matter.
My business address is 333 Pine Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, California 94104-3311,
where the service described below took place on the date set forth below.

Person(s) Served:

Electronic Service: On the date executed below, I electronically served the
document(s) via LexisNexis File & Serve described below on recipients designated
x on the Transaction Receipt located on the LexisNexis File & Serve website.

Document(s) Served:

DEFENDANT FISCHBACH AND MOORE, INCORPORATED, n/k/a EX-FM, INC.’S
OBJECTION TO PLAINTIFF'S C.C.P. SECTION 998 OFFER TO COMPROMISE

Manner of Service:

Personal Service: I caused a copy of each document served to be hand delivered
to each person served pursuant to CCP § 1011. If required, the actual server’s
original Proof of Service will be filed with the Court.

Mail: | am readily familiar with my employer’s practice for the collection and
processing of correspondence for mailing with the United States Postal Service:
such correspondence is deposited with the United States Postal Service on the same
day in the ordinary course of business in the county where I work. On the date set
forth below, at my place of business, following ordinary business practices, I placed
for collection and mailing by deposit in the United States Postal Service a copy of
each document served, enclosed in a sealed envelope, with postage thereon fully
prepaid, each envelope being addressed to one of the person(s) served, in
accordance with C.C.P. § 1013(a).

Facsimile: On the date set forth below, I transmitted the document(s) served via
facsimile transmission to the facsimile number(s) set forth above. A confirmation
report was generated confirming completed delivery of the same. A copy of the
confirmation report is on file and available for inspection and copying upon
request.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the

foregoing is true and correct. OC —

Dated: August 27, 2010

Tn Karlsson

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PROOF OF SERVICE