Court to Dentist: You Owe $80,714 in Fees to SLAPP Defendants in Yelp Lawsuit.
As reported by Donna Domino in a May 17, 2011 post in Practice Management, California dentist Dr. Yvonne Wong was SLAPPed in a defamation suit against a patient’s parents and Yelp.com over negative reviews, following on the heels of an appellate court decision saying her claims should have been dismissed. On May 12, 2011, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Peter Kirwan ordered Dr. Wong to pay parents and Yelp $80,714 in attorney’s fees, reducing down the fee request of $113,620.
$243,314 Paid to Date By Los Angeles County to Defend Anaheim Man’s Personal Injury Lawsuit Arising from Car Accident With Former Sheriff Detective.
Greg Hardesty, in a May 19, 2011 article in The Orange County Register, reports that Los Angeles County Counsel has acknowledged that lawyers have been paid $243,314 in attorney’s fees to date to defend the County in an Anaheim man’s personal injury lawsuit arising out of a car accident with former County sheriff detective Robert Andrew Moran who was found to have a blood alcohol level of more than .08%. L.A. County supervisors, on May 17, approved a $4.75 million settlement in the case. Mr. Moran now works as a L.A. patrol deputy, according to the article.
California Metro Area Lawyer Average Pay List Released.
According to an article by Mary Ann Milbourn in the May 19 The Orange County Register, recent statistics for 2009 break down the average annual pay for lawyers in U.S. major metropolitan areas, with lawyers in Califiornia metro areas taking eight of the top 10 pay slots. Here is the breakdown by metro area and average annual 2009 pay: (1) San Jose — $192,020; (2) Santa Rosa — $170,860; (3) Napa — $170,400; (4) Madera — $167,980; (5) San Francisco-San Mateo — $167,130; (6) New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. — $166,130; (7) Orange County — $157,950; (8) Los Angeles — $155,120; (9) Modesto — $153,540; and (10) Wilmington,Del.-Md.-N.J. — $153,520.
Other statistics are interesting for our local area. There were 6,380 lawyers in Orange County in 2009, about one for every 474 people. The $157,950 annual pay broke down to $75.94 an hour compared to the annual 2009 pay for all Orange County occupations which clocked in at $50,700.