Long before getting involved in representing injured workers, Kim LaValley ended up representing individuals who had their boat and cargo seized by the Coast Guard and who were then charged with importing several tons of marijuana by boat into the San Francisco bay.
LaValley’s defense was on the grounds of illegal search and seizure – the Coast Guard officers didn’t get a search warrant before boarding the boat for a routine inspection of life vests, fire extinguishers and the like, he said. He realized he Coast Guard really had no suspicion that the boat was loaded with contraband.
LaValley won the case in the lower federal courts and got an order requiring the return of the boat to its owner, but the Federal government appealed to the Ninth Circuit, he said, where the now-retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy was on the panel, reviewing the government’s appeal.
Justice Kennedy asked “Isn’t a boat similar to a car in terms of the owner’s expectation of privacy?” (The reasonable expectation of privacy is a significant factor in determining when a search warrant is required and there’s very little expectation of privacy in one’s car.) LaValley responded by noting that unlike cars, a boat is commonly a repository for personal effects and that many people live on their boats full or part-time. Boat owners prepare and partake of meals there and recreate and relax on them, unlike cars which basically he argued are only used to transport passengers and commercial goods. LaValley proved that, in fact, a boat is not like a car but should be considered more like a home and that therefore the officers still needed a warrant before “entering” or boarding.
“And so the Ninth Circuit court went my way,” said LaValley. And because a Federal appeals court back east had decided the issue differently, the case was headed to the United States Supreme Court. The government’s paperwork, however, was filed one day too late, so the Ninth Circuit opinion was the last word, and LaValley’s client could not be prosecuted and his client’s boat therefore was not subject to government seizure.
After accruing more experience, and working as a public defender in Humboldt County, LaValley moved to Lake Tahoe and then Nevada County. In April of this year, he teamed up with Kyle Adamson to run Gold Country Workers’ Comp Center. The two were referred clients from now-retired attorney Jeff Toff, and work on disability law and workers compensation cases. Their firm includes three assistants who, according to Adamson, provide “as much security as possible” for their clients.
LaValley and Adamson offer free consultations and offer much free advise on a pro-bono basis.
BACKGROUND
Growing up, LaValley’s mother was a court reporter, he said, and his father was a court clerk. (His dad later went to law school at age 50, and won a jury trial at age 90.)
“I’ve always been around the law,” said LaValley.
Kim went from practicing law in the Bay Area, to Humboldt County where he conducted public defender work and began navigating workers compensation cases.
“I was always interested in representing the underdog — you know — the poor and disadvantaged,” he said. Kyle Adamson’s values are the same in this regard.
Eventually, LaValley moved with his wife and two children to the Lake Tahoe area where he said he took a short hiatus from the law to open a chain of Papa Murphy’s pizza restaurants. During that time, LaValley began coming to Nevada City and grew to enjoy the area.
“The more we got to know the community, the more we liked it,” he said.
Adamson, LaValley’s colleague, moved to Nevada County in 2015. Upon graduating from school, he said he worked at a credit union in 2008 – which “didn’t work out well” due to the financial crisis.
Upon entering law school, Adamson said he began aiding with cases helping law-abiding immigrants remain in the U.S. on a path towards legal residency or citizenship.
While working around Los Angeles, Adamson and his wife decided it was time to move to a rural area — something more similar to his wife’s roots — and Adamson received a state grant to do pro-bono work and take on cases with low-income clients in Nevada County. Before moving, he sent his resume to Nevada City’s Public Law Center and Law Library in search of work where he provided services while he developed his own private practice. When the opportunity arose to partner with LaValley this past year, he jumped at it.
NAVIGATING CHANGE
During the early 2000s, workers’ compensation benefits for bodily injury was slashed by then-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. That decision has changed the climate of workers’ compensation and disability benefits cases ever since, said LaValley.
Adamson and LaValley both note that “It’s a lot harder now than it use to be” to get money and medical care for disability claims, he said.
In the light of the new normal, LaValley and Adamson see their role with Gold Country Workers’ Comp Center as being even more important in a rural area like Nevada County.
“Many jobs in a rural employment sector are more dangerous and produce disabling physical injuries at a higher rates than job injuries in an urban area produce.”
LaValley and Adamson both noted that they have seen an increase in the incidence of illegal employment practices where employers are “paying people partially or totally under the table” or “charging them for a portion, if not for all, of the workers’ compensation premiums they pay” in instances where workers have been injured on the job. Adamson said the attorneys refer such cases to the district attorney’s office for possible criminal prosecution. Adamson noted that there is much more documented fraud on the part of employers than employees.
In general, said LaValley, insurance carriers and businesses today have a preference for paying their attorneys to dispute claims rather than just pay their workers benefits in scenarios where their employees get hurt on the job.
“Now it’s, ‘No, I’d rather pay my attorney $1,000 than pay the injured worker $500,’” said LaValley, adding there are exceptions to that trend.
For the Gold Country Workers’ Comp Center, the goal is to make people “feel happy and secure,” and to, if at all possible, help their clients get back to work as fast as possible.
“The real money is in working, not getting hurt” said LaValley. But if a worker is hurt, they should consult with a Workers’ Compensation specialist to help them pursue all the benefits to which they’re entitled. On a business note, Adamson and LaValley offer free consultations, so don’t hesitate to call (530) 362 7188 to set your appointment today.
