The trial court did not abuse its discretion in adding P as an additional judgment debtor. The trial court's early granting of summary judgment to P when she was initially sued in the case didn't prevent her from later being added to the judgment, since the summary judgment absolved her of indiivdual liability for the wrongs committed, while adding her… Read More
A shareholder in a California-based corporation has Article III standing to sue the California Secretary of State to seek to enjoin SB 826 (2018) which enacted Corp. Code 301.3, 2115.5, requiring covered corporations to have at least one female director by 2019 and up to three female directors by 2021. Even though the statute is directed against corporations, not their… Read More
The trial court retains jurisdiction to consider and approve a final report by a receiver appointed to remediate a nuisance caused by a substandard building is appointed under both H&S Code 17980.7 even after the plaintiff governmental entity dismisses the action. The receiver's final report and motion for its approval must be served on all persons with an interest in… Read More
In a personal injury action, a plaintiff must, before entry of a default serve the defendant with a statement of damages by the same means as the plaintiff served the summons and complaint. Here, service by publication had been authorized. Plaintiff could and did properly serve the statement of damages by publication without an additional order permitting service of the… Read More
After serving a defendant by publication, the plaintiff may obtain entry of the defendant's default if the defendant does not file an answer, a motion to transfer, a motion to quash service of summons, a motion to strike or a demurrer within the time for filing an answer. (CCP 585(c).) Here, within the time for answering, defendant filed a motion… Read More
The trial court did not abuse its discretion in permitting service by publication. Substantial evidence supported its finding that plaintiff had made diligent efforts to locate Singh and serve him by other means. He had tried service by mail, but received no signed receipt. He tried substituted service at Singh's purported place of business but found no one present with… Read More
Two individuals and a number of states lack standing to challenge the minimum essential coverage provision of Obamacare because Congress eliminated the penalty for non-compliance with the statutory requirement of minimum coverage. As there was no longer any governmental compulsion to obtain the coverage, the individual plaintiffs could not show that their supposed injury from having paid for coverage was… Read More
Civ. Code 3287(b) gives the trial judge broad discretionary power to award prejudgment interest in contract cases even when the damages are not certain or capable of being made certain. Uncertainty of damages alone would not be a proper reason to deny discretionary prejudgment interest under section 3287(b), but here, the trial judge also relied on the fact that the… Read More
The trial court properly admitted HP's expert's lost profits opinion. Unlike the plaintiff in Sargon Enterprises, Inc. v. University of Southern California (2012) 55 Cal.4th 747, HP was an established business. The expert had based his opinion on HP's past performance data and considered multiple variables including new product offerings by competing manufacturers. The expert's projection of lost profits five… Read More
Oracle breached its contract with HP by announcing that its next product releases would not be compatible with HP's Itanium computers. Following the first phase of trial in this case, the trial court concluded that the parties' contract required Oracle to offer Itanium-compatible versions of its product releases. Oracle then announced that it would release Itanium-compatible versions, but also announced… Read More
To settle disputes that arose from Oracle's hiring HP's former CEO, the two signed a settlement agreement containing a "reaffirmation" clause that stating each company’s commitment to their strategic relationship and support of their shared customer base, and that Oracle "“will continue to offer its product suite on HP platforms.” This lengthy opinion holds that the quoted words committed Oracle… Read More
This decision contains a lengthy discussion of requirements contracts and how they should be interpreted. The only appealed issue was the amount of damages that plaintiff should recover for the defendant's breach of the contract. The trial court had limited damages to a three month period before trial; whereas, the plaintiff sought damages for the entire period after the defendant… Read More
Under 9 USC 4, the district court must hold a summary jury trial if a party timely demands a jury and the district court finds, on a motion to compel arbitration, that there are disputed issues of fact as to whether the plaintiff entered into or is otherwise bound by an arbitration clause. Here, the district court so found, but… Read More
Distinguishing Law v. Siegel (2014) 134 S.Ct. 1188, this decision holds that a bankruptcy court may apply claim and issue preclusion doctrines to bar later assertion of exemptions it has already denied. Here, Albert claimed two exemptions when she originally filed her Chapter 13 petition. A creditor objected, and the bankruptcy court denied the exemptions. Albert failed to appeal. Later,… Read More
Under 28 USC 1367(d), an applicable state statute of limitations is tolled for a period of 30 days after the claim is dismissed from a federal lawsuit on the ground that the district court declines to exercise jurisdiction over the case. This decision holds that the 30 day period does not begin to run on entry of the judgment of… Read More
Gov. Code 12965(b) is an exception to the normal cost provisions of CCP 1032. Hence, when, as in this case, the plaintiff loses her FEHA claims but prevails on other claims, she is not entitled to recover costs incurred solely in relation to the FEHA claims. Also, since the total recovery in this case was less than the amount that… Read More
11 USC 108(c) extends time limits (such as statutes of limitation) for actions against the debtor until 30 period after the automatic stay in bankruptcy is vacated. This decision holds that 108(c) extends the 10-year period in which a judgment creditor may apply for renewal of the judgment under CCP 683.130. The majority opinion also disagrees with In re Lobherr… Read More
The federal Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. § 467e) preempts Webb's state law claims that Trader Joe's labels are misleading in stating that they contain less than 5% retained water. Under the PPIS, a poultry products producer must file with the Food Safety and Inspection Service a proposed protocol for measuring retained water. Unless the FSIS objects within 30… Read More
California follows Rest.2d Torts sec. 920 in allowing a reduction of a plaintiff's damages if the defendant's tortious conduct has conferred a special benefit on the plaintiff as well as damaging the plaintiff. But the reduction is permitted only to the extent it is equitable to reduce damages. In weighing the equities, the court can consider not only whether the… Read More
Under the recently revised Rule 23(e)(2) requires a district court to consider, in determining whether to approve a class action settlement, not only the adequacy of the relief in light of the risks of litigation, but also the effectiveness of the proposed means of distributing the settlement and the terms of any proposed award of attorney fees. This decision holds… Read More
