Taylor | Anderson represented the owner of an assisted living facility in northern California.
The wife and children of a man living at the facility alleged that the facility was negligent in its care and supervision of him, resulting in his death.
In asserting claims of negligence and wrongful death, however, the plaintiff’s counsel named both the facility (a corporation) and the owner of the facility (an individual) as defendants in the lawsuit.
With the owner being named individually in the lawsuit, her personal assets were exposed in the event there was a judgment that exceeded the limit of the facility’s $1 million insurance policy. Since the case had five plaintiffs alleging the wrongful death and the negligent care and supervision of their father/husband, there was a distinct possibility that a judgment might exceed $1 million.
Taylor | Anderson lawyers got the owner dismissed individually from the lawsuit, saving her from any personal exposure above the $1 million insurance policy limit.
To do so, the Taylor | Anderson team drafted a motion for summary judgment showing a corporate owner/director is not personally liable for torts of the corporation if the individual has no day-to-day control of the corporate facility or direct managerial responsibilities or direct contact with the alleged negligent conduct. When the plaintiffs’ counsel was presented with a draft of the proposed motion for summary judgment, he immediately agreed to dismiss the owner from the lawsuit.