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Western San Bernardino County Bar AssociationBAR BULLETINVolume XIX Issue 3www.wsbcba.orgREMARKS FROM THEPRESIDENT’S DESK By: Justin KingTolling of the Government Claims Statute For ThoseWho Are Mentally and/or Physically IncapacitatedI often get consulted by counsel appointed by theCourt to represent the interests of a mentally and/orphysically handicapped individual who sufferedinjury as a result of the potential negligence of agovernmental entity. Most often, these folks aresubject to a Conservatorship, and my office isconsulted as the two (2) year personal injury statute isapproaching and well after the six (6) monthgovernment claim statute has come andgone. Counsel appointed as Guardian Ad Litem forthese individuals should not let the fact that thegovernment claim statute has lapsed prevent themfrom pursuing remedies on their client’s behalf.Government claims for personal injury must bepresented within six (6) months after a cause of actionaccrues. (Cal. Government Code Section 911.2(a)). However, if a claimant fails to file a Claimwithin six (6) months, the applicant may present thegovernmental entity with an application for leave topresent a late claim “within a reasonable time not toexceed one year after the accrual of the cause ofaction.” (Cal. Government Code Section 911.4(b)). If the application for leave to present a lateclaim is denied by the Governmental entity or deemedto be denied pursuant to Section 911.6, a petition maybe made, within six (6) months of the date of thedenial, to the court for an order relieving thepetitioner from presenting a claim at all. (Cal.Government Code Section 946.6; Also see Ard v.County of Contra Costa (2001) 93 Cal.App.4th 339,343). “The proper court for filing the petition is asuperior court that would be a proper court for thetrial of an action on the cause of action to which theMarch 2019claim relates.” (Cal. Government Code Section946.6).Government Code Section 911.6(b)(3) which governswhen a governmental entity should grant anapplication for leave to file a late claim provides:(b) The board shall grant the application where one ormore of the following is applicable:(1) The failure to present the claim was throughmistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusableneglect and the public entity was not prejudiced inits defense of the claim by the failure to presentthe claim within the time specified in Section911.2.(2) The person who sustained the alleged injury,damage or loss was a minor during all of the timespecified in Section 911.2 for the presentation ofthe claim.(3) The person who sustained the alleged injury,damage or loss was physically or mentallyincapacitated during all of the time specified inSection 911.2 for the presentation of the claimand by reason of such disability failed to present aclaim during such time.(Continued on page 8)Welcome WSBCBANew MembersDerek S, Raynes, Esq.Courtney Medina, Esq.Michael J. Luther, Esq.Aaron Hudson, Esq.

PAGE 2March 2019www.wsbcba.orgHon. Joseph B. CampbellAmerican Inns of Courtby David P. Colella, PresidentOur Joint Inns Dinner is upon us and will take theplace of our March meeting. This is the yearlymeeting when all four area Inns - the Joseph B.Campbell Inn, the Leo A. Deegan Inn (Riverside), theSlaughter-Roemer Inn (Desert/Coachella), and theSouthwestern Inn (Temecula) - get together for anevening of great food and fellowship.So mark your calendars forTuesday, March 26, 2019,6:00 p.m. at the DoubleTreeby Hilton Hotel. I amexceptionally pleased toannounce our special guestspeaker is Nick Hanna, theUnited States Attorney forthe Central District ofCalifornia.Mr. Hanna oversees thelargest U.S. Attorney'sOfficeoutside ofWashington, D.C., employing approximately 260attorneys, over 250 additional staff, and serving over19 million residents.Mr. Hanna has enjoyed a distinguished legal careerincluding partnership at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher,LLP, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central Districtof California, and Assistant U.S. Attorney for theSouthern District of California. He was inducted as aFellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers in2009. This followed Mr. Hanna's graduation magnacum laude from Georgetown University Law Centerwhere he served as Associate Editor of theGeorgetown Law Journal and obtaining his B.A. fromU.C. - San Diego.We hope you will join us for this fantastic evening.RSVP details will follow to all Inns members shortly.If you are not a member of our Inn, or any other areaInn, and would like to attend, please reach out to meat dcolella@flsd.com.Now, a recap of last month's meeting. This year'sJeopardy-themed program format is well underwayand each meeting our members have enjoyed rousingdebate and discussion delving into the grey areas ofthe new/amended Rules of Professional Conduct.Each month, we have presented a new ethical dutyproviding one hour of specialty MCLE credit.Our February program focused on the ethical duty ofdiligence.Team Justice Marshall provided abackground into Justice Marshall's amazing careerincluding his pivotal role in Brown v. Board ofEducation and eventual ascension to the U.S.Supreme Court, become the first African-Americanjustice to sit on our country's highest court.Following the introduction and some "war stories"describing the importance of diligence in the legalprofession spanning decades of experience, the gamebegan and debate ensued. At the end of the night, aninformative night was had by all.Through four program meetings, standings are:Team:Total points:Average per meeting:Team GoldbergTeam MarshallTeam ScaliaTeam O'ConnorTeam DouglasTeam Souter22,00013,60010,7009,30011,0007,0005,5004,533 (hosted (Feb.)3,567 (hosted Oct.)3,100 (hosted Jan.)2,7502,333 (hosted Nov.)With only two program meetings to go, TeamGoldberg has really separated itself from the pack.This was aided in large part to a huge Februarymeeting haul with 8,600 points scored that meetingalone. What that means is that although the lead islarge, it can be overtaken especially consideringTeam Goldberg still has to present its program. Theother teams have ground to make up, but it can bedone. Our remaining meetings are sure to becontested battles.We will return to the Castaway for our April meetingwhen Team Justice Douglas presents on JudicialEthics.Interested in learning more about the new/amendedRules of Professional Conduct and get those specialtyMCLE credits? Join the Inns of Court! You can(Continued on page 3)

PAGE 3www.wsbcba.orgMarch 2019(Continued from page 2)request an application and/or ask any questions of me(dcolella@flsd.com) or our membership chair, Eric D.Anderson (ericanderson@edalaw.com).March 2019 CalendarMarch 10 - Daylight Savings beginsMarch 17 - St. Patrick’s DayMarch 20 - First Day of SpringMarch 21 - Appellate Practice MCLE

PAGE 4www.wsbcba.orgTHE HONORABLE ELLEN E. BRODIE—————By David Goldstein, Esq.andWill Wooten, Deputy D.A.Prior to the opening of the Rancho CucamongaCourthouse in 1986, local justice was administered atthe Ontario Courthouse located at 6th Avenue andMountain Avenue in the City of Ontario. It wasacross the street from the Thunderbird bowling alleyand café (known as Department T). The OntarioCourthouse was not a model of modern technology orarchitecture. The court rooms were spread amongseveral small buildings. Department F, located acrossfrom Norbert’s snack stand, was presided over by thevery excellent Judge Ellen Brodie. She ensured thatthe parties were treated with justice and fairnessirrespective of their race, wealth, age and/orgender. She was a model of civility but was no one’sfool. Her imprint on our criminal justice system canstill be felt today.From Department F Ontario CourthouseJudge Ellen Brodie was born Ellen Edith Cameron onDecember 15, 1918, in Saskatchewan in WesternCanada. She married Ian Brodie in 1941, had foursons and moved to Upland.She first worked as a sheriff’s dispatcher. After thatshe was hired as a secretary in the Public Defender’sOffice at the Ontario Courthouse. Due to herintelligence and character she was encouraged bythose around her to become an attorney. “She neverthought she could go to law school because she neverMarch 2019went to college,” said her grandson, Honorable KyleBrodie, who is a judge in the Rancho Cucamonga,Courthouse.Bailiff Alan Choco, Hon. Ellen Brodie, Clerk Patsy Choco (1985)Judge Ellen Brodie began attending law school atnight at the University of La Verne College of Law inLa Verne in 1970. She was 51 years old. In 1974 shebecame a Deputy Public Defender in the Office whereshe had once been a secretary. As a Deputy PublicDefender she exhibited great compassion andadvocacy on behalf of her clients. In 1982 theGovernor appointed Ellen Brodie to the MunicipalCourt. She was immediately assigned to the OntarioCourthouse where she had once been a secretary anda Deputy Public Defender. When the County outgrewthe Ontario Courthouse Judge Ellen Brodie moved tothe Rancho Cucamonga Courthouse, where she sat ina trial court on the second floor which, coincidentally,is the same Department that her grandson theHonorable Kyle Brodie now occupies. And of course,when Kyle Brodie was appointed Judge he was swornin by none other than Judge Ellen Brodie. Theybecame the first Grandmother and Grandson judgecombination in California history.Judge Ellen Brodie retired in 1992 but continued herlife of public service by serving as a retired judge. Inthat capacity she was assigned to the Chino andJoshua Tree courthouses. “You could tell she missedit, she missed the environment,” Kyle Brodie said.“She wanted to go back to it. She felt like those weresome of her best moments being in the courtroom.”Judge Ellen Brodie died on March 16, 2013, at theage of 94. She is survived by her four sons, three

PAGE 5www.wsbcba.orgMarch 2019(Continued from page 4)daughters-in-law, thirteen grandchildren and threegreat-grandchildren.Her integrity and welldeveloped sense of fairness remains a part of thefoundation of justice in the County of SanBernardino, and those of us who were fortunateenough to know her and appear in front of her havefond memories of the contributions she made as ajudge in San Bernardino County.Western San BernardinoCounty Bar Association2019 - 2020Slate of Officers andDirectorsA vote of the members of the association will beconducted pursuant to the bylaws of theorganization, if required, on a date and time to beannounced later.Members of the Board ofDirectors and OfficersWill Wooten, PresidentMichael Scafiddi, President ElectKareem Aref, Vice PresidentMatthew Taylor, Secretary/TreasurerJustin King, Imm. Past PresidentMembers of the Board At LargeFernando BernheimAngelique BonannoKyle BrodieJanet FrangieCandice Garcia-RodrigoDavid GoldsteinRandal HannahDiane HartogDaren LipinskyKevin MarshallDean McVayDavid H. RicksMitchell RothFernando D. Vargas

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