EX-PRESIDENT'S REPORT

By Wells Lyman

Yes, I know I am no longer President. On Friday, January 25^th , I received a thundering ovation from the East County legal community who was apparently elated that my presidency has finally terminated. As soon as the applause ceased, Bud Klueck jumped to the podium claiming, “I’m in charge!”, I’m in charge!” Bud was wrestled to the ground as our founding father, Tom Duffy, proclaimed that Jack McCabe is now in charge and Bud will have to wait until next year. At that same moment the chef came running in and screamed, “O.K., whatever you do don’t eat the prime rib!” By that time we were having dessert. I was then whisked away to an awaiting helicopter. I gave a left to right open hand “Richard Nixon” wave and flew away. Oh well, just another typical installation dinner.

I suppose the only way to wrap up our year with the Foothills is to give a laundry list of accomplishments and thank yous. So here goes!

►         Thanks to the Board of Directors, members, and El Cajon Judges, we did have a successful year for our Bar Association. With the combined efforts of the South Bay Regional Bar, San Diego Bar, Judges Michael B. Harris and William Howatt, we were able to save our County Law Libraries from imminent closure.

►         Our Bar Association set up an ad hoc advisory committee who worked with our Family Law Judges to implement a state demanded family law fast track process.

►         We participated in Law Week by providing a day of free legal counsel at the Court.

►         We assisted Cal Western School of Law in their Law Day activities.

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FROM THE COURT

by Sandra D. Down

Assistant Executive Officer

Administrative Division

Landlord-Tenant Payments and Civil Code 1950.8 by Donna Morel, San Diego Superior Court Small Claims Advisor

New laws have been implemented this year that directly impact small claims actions. One such law, Civil Code Section 1950.8, pertains to commercial leases. The law makes it unlawful for a landlord to demand any payment of money or attorney fees reasonably incurred as a condition of initiating, continuing or renewing a commercial lease agreement. A landlord may demand such payment only if the specific amount of such payment is stated in the lease agreement itself.

Additionally, Civil Code 1950.8 provides that any individual violating this provision shall be subject to a penalty of three times the amount of the actual damages proximately sustained by the individual attempting to lease or renew the lease of the premises in question.

The Code section states that the law shall not be construed as a prohibition against advance rent payment, provided that the amount is stated in the lease or rental agreement. Moreover, the law does not affect a landlord's right to collect fees relating to reasonable business expenses in preparation for initiating, continuing or renewing a lease. Such fees include verification procedures pertaining to the tenant's credit worthiness. Additionally, the law protects the rights of the landlord to increase rent in order to recover building operating costs incurred on behalf of the tenant so long as the amount of the rent and method of calculating the increase for a stated period of time is clearly described in the lease or rental agreement.

JUDGES CORNER

The East County Division of the San Diego Superior Court is pleased to welcome Judge Laura W. Halgren who has transferred from the Central Division; Judge Lillian Y. Lim who has transferred from the South County Division, and Commissioner Alan B. Clements, who has transferred from the Central Division.

Judge Halgren will be assigned to Department 7 where she will be handling a Family Law Independent Calendar. Judge Halgren received her Bachelor of Science degree from Loma Linda University and her Juris Doctorate Degree from the UCLA Law School where she was a member of the Order of the Coif. Judge Halgren was appointed to the bench by Governor Gray Davis on August 29, 2001. She worked in the Attorney General's office for over 12 years and had been lead counsel on a number of high-profile cases. In 1998, she volunteered for a six-month assignment with the San Diego County District Attorney's office, where she tried felony offenses. She also had a major role in supervising the work of 65 attorneys in the Appeals, Writs and Trial Sections of the San Diego Office. Judge Halgren was also an associate of the law firm of Gray, Cary, Ames & Frye.

Judge Lillian Y. Lim will be assigned to Department 15 where she will be handling a Civil Independent Calendar. Judge Lillian Y. Lim received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Brown University in Rhode Island and her Juris Doctorate Degree from Western State University, College of Law, San Diego. She was appointed to the bench by Governor Deukmajian on January 17, 1986. Judge Lim was Deputy Attorney General, California State Department of Justice in San Diego, from 1977 to 1986. She is a member of the California Judges Association, the Filipino-American Lawyers of San Diego, San Diego City

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EX-PRESIDENT'S

REPORT

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►         Our Board provided monthly seminars in family, civil and criminal law, plus additional estate planning seminars.

►         Because of Dan Bacal’s hard work we had a successful golf tournament, and we contributed the net proceeds from that tournament to the victims of the 9/11 disaster.

►         A great friend to our Bar, Cathy Tancredi, sat each month with computer in one hand and baby in the other hand and managed to assemble, edit and distribute our monthly newsletter.

►         For the most part our membership (which incidently has increased by 25%) has provided the volunteers to our El Cajon Court as family law mediators, judge pro tems, and domestic violence legal counselors. All of these accomplishments cannot be achieved without busy attorneys who are willing to extend themselves and give something back to the legal community through service to our Bar Association.

In closing, I ask one thing of you the members. Please support every seminar you can, every function you can and help us when you are able. Don’t pick and choose the seminars. Calendar all that are in your legal practice area. Our participation is respectful of the speakers and this will enable us to provide even better seminars. Call on Board members if you have a subject you could present to our membership or if you know someone who could provide a seminar. Understand that this is your Bar Association. If you have a rant, then send it to Cathy Tancredi, or call me to put it in our newsletter. We have a great upcoming Board led by Jack McCabe. Please support them.

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

The East County Division of the San Diego Superior Court, including the Ramona branch, will be closed on the following holidays: Tuesday, February 12, 2002 for Lincoln's Birthday and Monday, February 18, 2002 for President's Day.

FOOTHILLS BAR

ASSOCIATION

ANNUAL DINNER

The FBA Annual Dinner and Installation of the 2002 Officers and Board of Directors was held on January 25, 2002. The evening was quite a success and a good time was had by all. Judge Exharos gave the "State of the Court" address and gave out the awards for the Small Claims Pro Tem Judges. Judge Christine Goldsmith gave out the awards for the Family Court Settlement Conference Judges and Domestic Violence Volunteers. She also was the recipient of the annual "Footie" Award (see her letter of appreciation included herein).

Ex-President Wells Lyman gave his final address and introduced everyone to incoming President, Jack McCabe. The 'stupid skit' was actually quite funny and well done. It encompassed a "day in the life at El Cajon Court" and included photographs of your favorite Judges, lawyers, Clerks and Sheriffs at work and at play. Thanks to Wells, Sheryl Graf and Ginny Johnson for putting together such a fun (not stupid) skit. The photographs and accompanying commentary were very funny indeed! The evening was closed out with dancing by Steve Baker and his band. See you next year!

FROM THE COURT

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College Foundation and San Diego Dialogue Asian-American

Business Association. Judge Lim was a delegate to the Asian-Pacific Bar Association in 1984 and a former member of the Association of Deputy Attorneys General from 1977 to 1986. She is also a member of: San Diego County Bar Association, San Diego Charter Review Commission, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Trailblazer, and the Judicial Council Access and Fairness Advisory Committee.

Commissioner Alan Bruce Clements will be assigned to Department 5 where he will be handling a Family Law Independent Calendar. Commissioner Clements received his Masters Degree in History from Chapman College, California and his Juris Doctorate degree from Western State University School of Law in San Diego. He was admitted to the California Bar in December 1, 1981 and was appointed by the Judges as a Commissioner in 1988. Commissioner Clements is a member of the California Judges Association, was in private law practice in San Diego from 1982 to 1988, is a certified specialist in Family Law, was a police officer in San Diego from 1974 to 1980 and was a Captain in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1974.

We will truly miss Judge Victor E. Bianchini and Judge Patricia Yim Cowett who have transferred to the Central Division and, Judge Alvin E. Green, who transferred to South County.

Please join me in welcoming our new East County Judges.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

by Rex Randall Erickson

The testimony of each of the plaintiffs as to the discomfort caused by the smells was corroborated by several witnesses ... [Fn9 The testimony is reminiscent of Shakespeare's description in The Merry Wives of Windsor: ''The rankest compound of villainous smell that ever offended nostril.''] (Varjabedian v. City of Madera (1977) 20 Cal.3d 285, 294).

"That it is better 100 guilty Persons should escape than that one innocent Person should suffer . . .." (Letter from Benjamin Franklin to Benjamin Vaughan, Mar. 14, 1785, in 9 The Writings of Benjamin Franklin 293 (A. Smythe ed. 1909.))(In re Kailee B. (1993) 18 Cal.App.4th 719, 727 fn. 2).

An educated guess is the best a judge can do when deciding whether a settlement is made in good faith. Even the wisest judge rarely has powers to "prophesy with a wink of his eye, peep with security into futurity ...." [Gilbert and Sullivan, The Sorcerer, Act 1]. (North County Contractor’s Assoc., Inc. v. Touchstone Ins. Services (1994) 27 Cal.App.4th 1085, 1095; see also Security Union Title Ins. Co. v. Superior Court (1991) 230 Cal.App.3d 378, 387 (rule applied to attorneys predicting the outcome of trials, as well)).

LAWYER'S CLUB

BROWN BAG LUNCH

MEETING

On Wednesday, February 27, 2002, at 12:00 noon, at the El Cajon Superior Court, Department 6, the East County Lawyer's Club will have a brown bag lunch meeting. There will be a Judge's roundtable entitled "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Practicing Law in the El Cajon Courthouse But Were Afraid to Ask." There is no fee for this brown bag meeting and one hour of MCLE credit will be given. For more information, please contact Sheryl Graf at (619) 440-5716.

The next meeting of the Criminal Law Section will be held on Thursday, February 21, 2002, from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. in Department 6 of the El Cajon Superior Court (second floor). Food is allowed and you are invited to bring your brown bag lunch.

The topic will be "Deep Ethics" and the speaker will be Charles Sevilla, Esq. This program should be of interest to criminal law attorneys of all experience levels.

The meeting is free to members of the FBA. The cost is $10.00 for non members. Applications for FBA membership will be available at the door.

This activity has been approved for 1.0 hour of MCLE credit (Ethics) by the State Bar of California. The FBA certifies this activity conforms to the standards for approved education activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California governing mandatory minimum continuing legal education.

If you have any suggestions for speakers or upcoming meetings, please contact Dan or Sheryl.

The next meeting of the Family Law Section will be on Tuesday, February 19, 2002 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. in Department 6 of the El Cajon Superior Court (second floor). Food is allowed and you are invited to bring your brown bag lunch.

The speaker will be Laureen Phillip, Innocent Spouse Manager from the California Franchise Tax Board. She will speak regarding innocent spouse rules and other state tax concerns.

The meeting is free to members of the FBA. The cost is $10.00 for non members. Applications for FBA membership will be available at the door.

This activity has been approved for 1.0 hour of MCLE credit by the State Bar of California. The FBA certifies this activity conforms to the standards for approved education activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California governing mandatory minimum continuing legal education.

If you have any suggestions for speakers or upcoming meetings, please contact Richard or Garrison.

The next meeting of the Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Section of the Foothills Bar will be held on Thursday, February 14, 2002 from 12:15 noon to 1:15 p.m. at the Law Office of Nancy Ewin, 8166 La Mesa Boulevard, La Mesa, CA 91941. The office is in the La Mesa Plaza retail/office complex on the corner of Spring Street and La Mesa Boulevard. Food is allowed and you are invited to bring your brown bag lunch to enjoy during the (always) informative meeting. Soft drinks and water will be provided.

We are pleased to announce that our program will be presented by Mr. Harold McNeil, Attorney, who will discuss the basics of SSI, SSDI, and the effects of inheritance on both. Mr. McNeil worked for social

security before he began to practice law. He now assists his clients with problems relating to SSI and

SSDI.

This activity has been approved for MCLE credit by the State Bar of California in the amount of 1.0 hour Ethics or General Participatory. The FBA certifies this activity conforms to the standards for approved education activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California governing mandatory minimum continuing legal education.

These Section meetings are free for all FBA members, and $10.00 for non-members. Applications for FBA membership will be available at the door.

If you have any questions, please call the co-chairs of the Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Section: Scott Cole [460-2080], Nancy Ewin [698-1788] or Joselina Medrano [562-9999].

NOTICE TO FAMILY LAW ATTORNEYS

Effective immediately, any paper being filed in a family law case must indicate the next court date and department on the face or top sheet of the pleading. Handwritten information is acceptable.

UPDATE SKILLS FOR COLLEGE CREDIT

Judge E. Sturgeon and Kathy King, M.A., Paralegal par excellence, will be teaming up to teach Family Law at Cuyamaca College starting April 6, 2002. For further information call Mary Sessom at 697-4141 or visit www.cuyamaca.net.

2002 OFFICERS

John McCabe, Jr.          President           858-550-3030

Garrison Klueck             Vice-President   619-448-6500

Jerry Carmody             Secretary           619-667-9600

Joseph Fox                    Treasurer           619-466-9091

2002 DIRECTORS

Daniel Cohen                                            619-697-0333

Sheryl Graf                                               619-440-5716

Judy Klein                                                 619-698-1882

Wells Lyman                             619-589-9984

Jocelyn Medrano                                      619-562-9999

Angelo Parise                                           858-674-6660

Ed Torrence                                              619-233-5297

Dana Wynn                                               858-485-5518

REPRESENTATIVES

Wells Lyman, San Diego County Bar       619-589-9984

Sheryl Graf, East County Lawyers Club   619-440-5716

Foothills Bar Association

P.O. Box 1077

El Cajon, CA 92022

FBA NEWSLETTER PRODUCTION

Editor in Chief/Layout & Design . . . . . . .Catherine Tancredi

ADVERTISING RATES

Business Card. . . . . . .$ 25.00/month; $125.00/six months;

$250.00/one year (includes publication in annual attorney directory)

Issue Sponsorship (one-half page). . . . . $250.00/per issue

(Checks must accompany ad request before publication)

EAST COUNTY LAWYERING

AND OTHER SUBMISSIONS

Send submissions to Catherine Tancredi by mail to 275 E. Douglas Ave., Suite 115, El Cajon CA 92020, fax to 619- 579-2574 or email to cathyesq@adnc.com. If submission is lengthy, please send on a disk or by email in WordPerfect format.

ADDRESS CHANGES

Please send your change of address/telephone to Rita Drouin at 275 E. Douglas Ave., Suite 104, El Cajon, CA 92020-4545 (telephone 588-1936) or fax to Rita at 442-8060