Civil Procedure

Plaintiff was a licensed solicitor in London and the subject of disciplinary proceedings before the independent regulatory body that governs solicitors and barristers in the UK.  He traveled to California and then claimed he was too ill to return to the UK, so an adjournment of the disciplinary proceedings should be continued.  Defendant, a doctor, was appointed as a neutral… Read More

In Omstead v. Dell, Inc., 594 F.3d 1081 (9th Cir. 2010), the Ninth Circuit had held that a plaintiff, against whom the district court had entered an order compelling arbitration, could take an appeal from that otherwise unappealable order by dismissing all his claims with prejudice.  Now, reviewing that same question in light of Microsoft Corp. v. Baker (2017) 137… Read More

A plaintiff alleging an accounting action must plead a specific dollar amount to support a default judgment awarding monetary relief.  The complaint can plead an estimated amount of damage and can err on the high side.  The decision does not resolve how the maximum default recovery is to be calculated if the complaint's prayer does not distinctly request award of… Read More

A qui tam complaint under the California False Claims Act must be filed under seal to give the Attorney General an opportunity to investigate the claim to see if she wishes to intervene and take over prosecution of the suit.  While the complaint remains sealed at the Attorney General's or a local prosecutor's request, it is impossible, impractical or futile… Read More

"Jurisdiction" is a term with many meanings.  As used in Probate Code 17000, jurisdiction does not refer to fundamental jurisdiction of the subject matter, nor to in personal, in rem, or quasi-in-rem jurisdiction.  Instead, that section simply provides that probate matters are to be heard in the superior court's probate division rather than its normal civil courts.  The section does… Read More

The State of California is the real party in interest in a qui tam action brought by a private party under the Insurance Fraud Protection Act (Ins. Code 1871 et seq.).  The state is not bound by an arbitration provision in a contract signed by the private party bringing the qui tam action.  Accordingly, arbitration of the qui tam action… Read More

On claims to which Civ. Code 1717 applies (claims on a contract), the statute's definition of "prevailing party" supersedes any definition of that term in the parties' contract.  In applying the Hsu v. Abbara (1995) 9 Cal.4th 863 test of prevailing party, the trial court may  not consider settlement offers the parties have made either informally or under CCP 998… Read More

In building a house on his own property, defendant severed roots of a large pine tree that was partly on defendant's property and partly on plaintiff's.  Following Scholes v. Lambirth Trucking Co. (2020) 8 Cal.5th 1094, this decision holds that plaintiff can recover only single damages for killing the pine tree.  The injury to the tree occurred from severing roots… Read More

Adams, a lawyer, switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Independent, and then filed this case challenging the constitutionality of Delaware's constitutional provisions that allow only a bare majority of judges on its top five courts to be of the same political party and require that the remaining judges on the top three courts be of the other major political… Read More

Under the Stored Communications Act (18 USC 2701, 2707) creates a private right of action against a person who intentionally accesses, without authorization, an electronic communication system, thereby obtaining an electronic communication in the system's electronic storage.  For this purpose, electronic storage includes storage by the system for the purpose of backup.  This decision holds that wife raised triable issues,… Read More

Disagreeing with Batze v. Safeway, Inc. (2017) 10 Cal.App.5th 440, this decision holds that Amrican Pipe tolling applies to this later-brought individual suit on the same Labor Code violations alleged in two prior putative class actions, both alleging that Staples misclassified its store managers as exempt employees even though they spent more than 50% of their work time performing functions… Read More

Summary judgment was improperly entered against plaintiff on claims for negligence and intentional tort arising from a violent collision between plaintiff and defendant during an adult "no check" ice hockey league game.  Plaintiff produced evidence that, if believed, showed that defendant had not only violated league rules but had intentionally injured plaintiff or engaged in conduct so reckless as to… Read More

Plaintiff sued the manufacturer of Pop Secret popcorn, claiming it committed unfair business practices and breached the warranty of merchantability, by including partially hydrogenated oils (artificial trans fat) in the popcorn after the FDA had concluded that the ingredient was no longer approved for human consumption.  This decision holds that plaintiff failed to allege a sufficient injury in fact to… Read More

If a defendant unsuccessfully moves to compel arbitration of a lawsuit filed against it, the lawsuit continues in court.  So for purposes of Civ. Code 1717, the plaintiff does not become the prevailing party on the contract simply by defeating the motion to compel arbitration.  However, if not yet having been sued, a party files an independent petition to compel… Read More

Under CCP 2023.010 and 2023.030, providing evasive or false discovery responses is a discovery abuse for which the court must grant the opposing party monetary sanctions unless it finds there was substantial justification for the discovery abuse or awarding sanctions would be unjust.  Here, the trial court found substantial abuse of discovery in providing false responses, but erroneously failed to… Read More

A party seeking to invoke federal admiralty jurisdiction over a tort claim must satisfy both a location test and a connection test.  To satisfy the location test, the tort must occur on navigable waters, which means waters that by themselves or through connection with others form a continued highway over which commerce with other states or countries may be carried… Read More

Under Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.516, in a coordinated proceeding, a 170.6 challenge to the coordination trial judge must be filed within 20 days after that judge has been assigned to the coordinated cases.  The rule also specifies that all plaintiffs in all the coordinated cases are deemed "one side" and all defendants another "side" for purposes of the… Read More

In cases seeking a writ of mandate, where the question is one of public right and the object of the mandamus is to procure the enforcement of a public duty, the [petitioner] need not show that he has any legal or special interest in the result, since it is sufficient that he is interested as a citizen in having the… Read More

To amend a judgment to name an alter ego, the plaintiff must show that the alter ego controled the litigation and were virtually represented in that proceeding, that there is a unity of interest and ownership such that the separate personalities of entities and owners no longer exists, and that an inequitable result would result if the entity's separate existence… Read More

An order amending judgment to name an alter ego is reviewed for abuse of discretion.  Relentless Air Racing, LLC v. Airborne Turbine Ltd. Partnership (2013) 222 Cal.App.4th 811, 815. Read More