CACI No. 3110. Abduction - Enhanced Remedies Sought (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 15657.05)

Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2020 edition)

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3110.Abduction - Enhanced Remedies Sought (Welf. & Inst.

Code, § 15657.05)

[Name of plaintiff] also seeks to recover [attorney fees and costs/ [and]

damages for [name of decedent]’s pain and suffering]. To recover these

remedies, [name of plaintiff] must prove all of the requirements for the

abduction by clear and convincing evidence.

[If [name of plaintiff] proves the above, I will decide the amount of

attorney fees and costs.]

New September 2003; Revised December 2005, April 2008, October 2008

Directions for Use

Give this instruction along with CACI No. 3109, Abduction - Essential Factual

Elements, if the plaintiff seeks the enhanced remedies of attorney fees and costs and/

or damages for the decedent’s predeath pain and suffering. (See Welf. & Inst. Code,

§ 15657.05.)

If the plaintiff is seeking enhanced remedies against the individual’s employer, also

give CACI No. 3102A, Employer Liability for Enhanced Remedies - Both Individual

and Employer Defendants, or CACI No. 3102B, Employer Liability for Enhanced

Remedies - Employer Defendant Only.

The instructions in this series are not intended to cover every circumstance in which

a plaintiff may bring a cause of action under the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult

Civil Protection Act.

Sources and Authority

• Enhanced Remedies for Abduction. Welfare and Institutions Code section

15657.05.

• “The purpose of the [Elder Abuse Act] is essentially to protect a particularly

vulnerable portion of the population from gross mistreatment in the form of

abuse and custodial neglect.” (Delaney v. Baker (1999) 20 Cal.4th 23, 33 [82

Cal.Rptr.2d 610, 971 P.2d 986].)

• “As amended in 1991, the Elder Abuse Act was designed to protect elderly and

dependent persons from abuse, neglect, or abandonment. In addition to adopting

measures designed to encourage reporting of abuse and neglect, the Act

authorizes the court to award attorney fees to the prevailing plaintiffs and allows

survivors to recover pain and suffering damages in cases of intentional and

reckless abuse where the elder has died.” (Mack v. Soung (2000) 80 Cal.App.4th

966, 971-972 [95 Cal.Rptr.2d 830], disapproved on other grounds in Winn v.

Pioneer Medical Group, Inc. (2016) 63 Cal.4th 148, 164 [202 Cal.Rptr.3d 447,

370 P.3d 1011], internal citations omitted.)

• “ ‘Liability’ under section 15657 includes as an element ‘causation,’ which, as all

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elements of liability, must be proved by clear and convincing evidence for

purposes of an award of attorney fees.” (Perlin v. Fountain View Management,

Inc. (2008) 163 Cal.App.4th 657, 664 [77 Cal.Rptr.3d 743].)

• “We reject plaintiffs’ argument that a violation of the Act does not constitute an

independent cause of action. Accordingly, plaintiffs’ failure to obtain a verdict

establishing causation - one element of liability - by clear and convincing

evidence, precludes an award of attorney fees.” (Perlin, supra, 163 Cal.App.4th

at p. 666.)

Secondary Sources

6 Witkin, Summary of California Law (10th ed. 2005) Torts, §§ 1686-1688

Balisok, Civil Litigation Series: Elder Abuse Litigation, §§ 7:1-7:3 (The Rutter

Group)

3111. Reserved for Future Use

ELDER ABUSE & DEPENDENT ADULTS CACI No. 3110

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Page last updated October 2020