Continued to staff monthly free legal aid clinic for low-income residents in our community.
Continued to deliver cost-savings and greater service, including expanded and more direct access to the legal team for officials and staff.
Worked on well over 200 projects for all City departments, including:
Continued to manage multiple property acquisition matters, including those related to the Cajalco I-15 Interchange Improvement Project and the former Cheese Plant.
Continued to manage citywide cell tower license agreements, thereby freeing-up other departments, streamlining processes, enhancing City’s bargaining position and maximizing benefits.
Worked with several small cell site carriers to amend the small cell site ordinance & program in order to accommodate the industry standard equipment.
Continued to work with Management Services and Community Development on property disposition transactions related to Corona Mall North and South.
Continued to work with several departments to implement a complex DA for the Arantine Hills Project
Worked with PD, Code Enforcement, Community Development and other staff to assess the possibility of permitting marijuana related businesses.
Continued to assist the Administrative Services Department to annex numerous developments to City-wide public services CFD 2016-1.
Worked with Code Enforcement to develop template nuisance abatement documents.
Handled more than 30 litigation matters; including favorable conclusions to the following cases:
Summary judgment granted in a trip and fall over an Airvac situated in the middle of a sidewalk.
Settled an ADA lawsuit in which the plaintiffs were minors (three cases consolidated into one).
Summary judgment and attorney fees granted in a lawsuit alleging illegal tow of a vehicle.
Prevailed on appeal in a lawsuit involving an illegal billboard.
Prevailed on appeal in a lawsuit involving an injury at the City library.
Obtained judgments or settlements in several subrogation cases.
Secured guilty pleas in multiple marijuana prosecutions.
Worked closely with the Risk Management Division on numerous goals, including:
Began collection of court judgments through the Franchise Tax Board Intercept Program.
Continued to develop transactional and litigation experience with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and eminent domain issues, in an on-going effort to expand expertise and reduce outside legal counsel expenses.
Risk Management Division
Workers’ Compensation Program:
As a result of an RFP, we transitioned our Workers’ Compensation oversight to a new Third-Party Administrator and various unbundled managed care program service providers for cost savings and increased customer service and responsiveness to the needs of injured employees.
Continued to implement controls designed to increase accountability of Workers’ Compensation third-party claims administrator and outside legal counsel, including more oversight and efforts towards benchmarking, as well as quarterly litigation reporting of outside counsel efforts for efficiency and cost savings.
Continued to evaluate/implement ways in which to cost-effectively provide quality medical care to injured employees, in order to facilitate their recovery to pre-injury status and return to work as soon as reasonably possible.
By year’s end, we anticipate favorably settling 19 Workers’ Compensation cases, 16 by Stipulated Award and 3 by Compromise & Release.
Liability Program:
New Claims: Reviewed and processed at least 106 new liability claims.
Closed Claims: Closed approximately 89 liability claims.
Subrogation Efforts:
Billed about $229,187 and collected about $223,889.
Entered into 2 new payment agreements, totaling $3,652.
Continued to evaluate the City’s self-insurance and commercial insurance programs for effectiveness at protecting City assets and conformance with the practices of California municipalities of similar size and risk factors, including an analysis of alternatives for saving money at varying risk tolerance levels.
