Payne & Fears LLP Wins $4.3 Million Appeal in Closely Watched Case for Negligence, Sexual Battery, and Fraud by Concealment Case

In a case generating statewide media attention, the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Two, unanimously affirmed a damages award of $4.3 million in favor of the firm’s client (Patricia Behr) for lifetime damages resulting from the defendant’s failure to disclose an infectious virus before transmitting it to her.  When the defendant subsequently informed Ms. Behr of the infection, the court found that he had misrepresented the nature of the risk.  Attorney Paul D. Herbert successfully argued the case before the Court of Appeal, which has since ordered that its decision be published in California’s Official Reports as Behr v. Redmond, Cal. App. 4th,2011 WL 721465, as modified at 2011 WL 1090305 (2011).