Appeals

Appeal of an order interpreting a nonprofit corporation's by-laws governing annual election of its directors was not moot though several elections occurred after the suit was filed because the judgment had a continuing effect on the corporation's elections and was subject to repetition but evading review. Read More

Under CCP 904.1(a)(12), a monetary sanctions award of $5,000 or more is immediately appealable.  However, an order for an issue sanction on a discovery motion is not immediately appealable.  Even when the order awards both monetary and issue sanctions, the issue sanctions portion of the order is not appealable unless the two sanctions are intimately intertwined. (See Mileikowsky v. Tenet… Read More

To appeal from a Labor Commissioner award of wages to an employee, the employer must post a bond in the amount the Labor Commissioner awarded.  This decision holds that a car wash company cannot substitute its $150,000 car wash bond for the bond required by section 98.2.  Though for a similar purpose of guaranteeing payment of wages to car wash… Read More

In a county that no longer uses a judgment book, judgment is "entered" for purposes of post-trial motions and appeal time when a copy of the judgment in filed by the clerk.  The clerk's entry in the register of actions that judgment has been entered is neither required nor sufficient.  Instead, it is the filing of the judgment document that… Read More

Employer filed an untimely appeal from a Labor Commissioner ruling ordering the employer to pay a substantial sum to the plaintiff employee.  After the untimely appeal was dismissed, the trial court properly ordered the bond forfeited to the employee and entered judgment in the bond amount against the employer.  Though filing a bond is a prerequisite to the trial court's… Read More

Good language requiring appellant to address in the opening brief arguments the respondent made in the trial court, even if not relied on by that court in entering the appealed order since the appellate court reviews the correctness of the appealed order not the reasons the trial court states for entering it. Read More

Under CRC 8.108(c), the time to appeal is extended by a "valid" motion to vacate judgment under either CCP 473(b) or 663.  To be "valid," the motion must satisfy the procedural prerequisites of such a motion (including timely filing) and must be based on a proper ground for such a motion, but it need not be substantively meritorious.  Here, plaintiffs… Read More

A group of plaintiffs represented by law firm A filed a parallel putative class action to one filed by law firm B.  B's suit was allowed to proceed.  A's was stayed.  When notice of a tentative settlement of B's suit was sent, A sent a letter to class members urging them to opt out.  B obtained court orders sending corrective… Read More

This decision holds that CRC 2.259(c) and 8.77(d) both apply to excuse late filing of notices of appeal in appropriate circumstances.  Rule 2.259(c) requires a court to deem a document filed on the day of the attempted filing if a technical problem with the court's filing system prevents the filing.  Rule 8.77(d) allows a court to deem a document filed… Read More

A judgment is not one "on the merits" entitled to claim or issue preclusive effect if the appeal from the judgment is dismissed solely on the ground that the appeal is moot due to post-judgment events--such as, in this case, completion of the development project that allegedly violated zoning of CEQA requirements.  See also Coalition for a Sustainable Future in… Read More

On appeal from denial of a Gov. Code 946.6 petition for relief from denial of his government claim as untimely, the plaintiff can argue, and the court can find that the plaintiff's claim was actually timely, so no relief under section 946.6 was required.  Here, plaintiff filed a government claim within 6 months of his injury.  The defendant agency waived… Read More

An order denying a nonstatutory motion to vacate judgment is appealable if the appellant claimed that the judgment was void. Read More

Though recognizing a conflict between Court of Appeal decisions on the subject, this opinion sticks with Housing Group v. Superior Court (1994) 24 Cal.App.4th 549 in holding that a good faith settlement determination under CCP 877.6 may only be attacked by petition for extraordinary writ, not by appeal from the final judgment in the case. Read More

Distinguishing Microsoft Corp. v. Baker (2017) 137 S.Ct. 1702, Langere v. Verizon Wireless Services, LLC (9th Cir. 2020) 983 F.3d 1115, and Sperring v. LLR, Inc. (9th Cir. 2021) 995 F.3d 680, which involved voluntary dismissals in order to appeal from class certification orders or orders compelling arbitration, as to which Rule 23(f) or 9 USC 16 prescribe different appellate… Read More

Appeals from probate orders did not automatically stay the parties' ability to settle their dispute.  Even though their settlement required dismissal of the pending appeals, the settlement was effective and did not violate the automatic stay on appeal under CCP 916. Read More

The automatic stay on appeal prevents the trial court from entering a voluntary dismissal of the action while the case is on appeal from an interlocutory order (such as here, an order denying an Anti-SLAPP motion) because dismissal of the case would affect the Court of Appeal's jurisdiction over the appeal.  Furthermore, even if it were otherwise effective, a voluntary… Read More

An order unconditionally granting or denying a motion for relief from the automatic stay in bankruptcy is final and appealable.  The 14-day window for filing an appeal from the order opens when the order is filed.  Stay relief is a proceeding separate from, and precedes, claim resolution. Read More

CCP 902 allows an appeal only by a party "aggrieved" by the appealed order or judgment.  Here, the watermaster appointed by the court to administer its judgment allocating water rights among claimants to the same river was not aggrieved and therefore lacked standing to appeal from a trial court order which interpreted the 60-year-old judgment allocating water rights among the… Read More

For a federal Court of Appeals to have jurisdiction over an interlocutory appeal under 28 USC 1292(b), the district court must first find that (a) there is a controlling question of law, (b) there are substantial grounds for difference of opinion on that question, and (c) immediate resolution of the question would materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation. … Read More

The district court denied defendant's Anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss the first amended complaint's defamation claims but granted defendant's motion to dismiss the other claims with leave to amend.  Plaintiff filed a second amended complaint before defendant appealed from the order denying the Anti-SLAPP motion.  This decision holds that the filing of the second amended complaint mooted the appeal from the… Read More