The automatic stay on appeal under CCP 916 applies only to civil actions, not special proceedings. A proceeding under the Sister State Money Judgments Act (CCP 1710.10 et seq.) is a special proceeding because it is commenced simply by filing the sister state judgment with a California court, not by filing a complaint. Accordingly, CCP 916 does not apply to… Read More
This decision affirms a summary judgment for the employer in a FEHA disability discrimination case. The employer met its McDonnell Douglas burden of proving a nondiscriminatory reason for terminating the plaintiff; namely, her chronic absenteeism and failure to document dispensing of prescription medicine properly. Plaintiff didn't produce any evidence showing the employer's reason was pretextual. Though the employer had misclassified… Read More
Under Civ. Code 3360 and applicable California decisions, a plaintiff who proves that defendant breached a contract is entitled to an award of nominal damages even if the plaintiff is unable to prove actual damages caused by the breach. (Sweet v. Johnson (1959) 169 Cal.App.2d 630, 632.) Two 9th Circuit opinions stating that breach of contract claims are not actionable… Read More
Defendant's $200,000 998 offer was clear, not ambiguous, and was enforceable when plaintiff recovered less than $200,000--even though the offer did not refer to the workers’ compensation lien and state whether settlement proceeds could be used to recoup the lien. Absence of a reference to the workers' comp. lien didn't render the offer uncertain or invalid. A party making a… Read More
The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying plaintiff a new trial on the ground of jury misconduct. During deliberations one juror said that they were not to consider insurance, a worker's comp. lien was insurance, and since workers comp. had already paid for the plaintiff's medical treatment, the jury shouldn't award damages for those medical expenses. The… Read More
Under the Knox-Keene Act, health care plans must reimburse out-of-contract hospital for emergency services provided to plan members at the reasonable and customary value for those services (in the absence of a contract setting another rate). A hospital may sue a health plan in quantum meruit if if thinks the health plan has paid less than the reasonable and customary… Read More
The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the longshoremen's union permissive intervention in this multi-sided litigation over an environmental impact report for the China Terminal which handles 17% of the cargo at the Port of Los Angeles. In ruling on a motion for permissive intervention, a court considers four factors: 1. whether the intervener has followed proper… Read More
This decision reverses a summary judgment in a disability discrimination case under FEHA. Plaintiff presented sufficient evidence to support a prima facie case that he could perform the essential duties of a job with or without accommodation and that he was treated differently from other employees because of his disability. Defendant's showing of a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for plaintiff's discharge… Read More
CCP 340.5's one-year statute of limitations, not the general two-year limitations period for personal injuries applied to this action by an emergency room patient who was injured when she collapsed on the way back from the bathroom. The emergency room nursing staff made a medical decision that the patient did not need to be accompanied to and from the restroom. … Read More
Plaintiff sued the manufacturer of his hip replacement for product liability failure to warn and defective manufacture. This decision affirms summary judgment for the defendant. The failure to warn claim failed because plaintiff's doctor who chose and implanted the hip replacement testified that he kept closely abreast of developments in hip replacement surgery and was aware from reading scientific journals… Read More
The general rule under CCP 395 is that the county of the defendant's residence is the only proper venue in which to bring a suit against him or her. However, CCP 395(a)'s second sentence also allows suit to be brought in the county in which injury to person or personal injury occurs. This decision explains that to qualify as an… Read More
While a trial court has broad discretion to allow an amendment to conform to proof after commencement of trial (CCP 576), the trial court lacks authority to make a sua sponte post-trial amendment of the complaint to allege a claim based on facts and theories not alleged in the complaint. Doing so denies the defendant due process. Read More
The federal Poultry and Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. §§ 451 et seq.) expressly preempts state laws that impose different or additional labeling requirements to the labels approved by the Secretary of Agriculture under the PPIA. (21 U.S.C. 467e.) Defendant bears the burden of proving federal preemption and thus, when the issue is contested, must prove that the Secretary… Read More
As in Turrietta v. Lyft, Inc. (2021) 2021 Cal. App. LEXIS 815, the plaintiff in a parallel wage and hour case appealed from an order approving a class action and PAGA claim settlement. Contrary Turrietta, but without citing it, this decision holds that even though he opted out of the class, the objector had standing to appeal from the final… Read More
The district court erred in holding that this class settlement was not a coupon settlement within CAFA's meaning (see 28 USC 1712. The settlement gave class members $36 or higher vouchers for defendant's services or products. The relatively low amount of the smallest vouchers and limited (251) number of products or services they could purchase, showed these were coupons even… Read More
Plaintiff and defendant were a married couple living in Georgia. While on a visit to California, husband assaulted and battered wife. The requirements for California to exercise specific jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant are satisfied when the defendant travels to California and commits a tort while in California--if the suit arises from that tort. California has an interest in deterring… Read More
To have standing to move to disqualify another party's attorney, the movant must generally be a present or former client of the challenged attorney, or at least a person who shared confidential information with that attorney in the course of a confidential or fiduciary relationship. Otherwise, the movant is generally not affected by any breach of the attorney's duties of… Read More
The trial court correctly refused to take judicial notice of insurance policies that were not matters of public record. The existence of a contract between private parties cannot be established by judicial notice under Evidence Code section 452(h). (Gould v. Maryland Sound Industries, Inc. (1995) 31 Cal.App.4th 1137, 1145.) Read More
The insurer did not breach its policy or the duty of good faith in settling plaintiff's claim which arose from destruction of her house by a wildfire. Under the policy, she was entitled to the least of (a) the policy limit, (b) the cost to rebuild the same house, or (c) the actual cost paid for reconstruction. Here, the insurer… Read More
In this case, defendant avoided summary judgment by submitting a declaration from a non-party witness which said she knew facts undermining the defendant's going and coming rule defense. After summary judgment was denied on that basis, defendant took the witness' deposition at which she disclaimed any personal knowledge of the facts stated in her declaration which she said she signed… Read More
