Civil Procedure

A garnishment proceeding against a third party not involved in the original state court proceeding is a separate action which the garnishee can remove to federal court, and after removal, the action is governed by the federal rules of procedure, not state garnishment procedure.  Read More

So long as the notice of intention to move for a new trial is timely filed, the trial court may, in its discretion, consider late-filed affidavits supporting the motion. Read More

After an Indiana-based bus manufacturer was dismissed from the case, California law governed Chinese bus passengers’ claims against a California-based bus distributor for injuries sustained when the bus overturned in Arizona; only California had a governmental interest in application of its law.  Read More

For purposes of the five-year deadline for bringing a civil case to trial, trial “commences” when a jury is impaneled and sworn—even if the voir dire is not concluded within the five-year period.  Read More

The sue-and-be-sued provision in Fannie Mae's statutory charter does not confer federal jurisdiction over suits against Fannie Mae or allow it to remove those suits to federal court absent some other basis for federal jurisdiction.  Read More

A California state court judgment must be given issue preclusive effect on any issue it decides even if it is affirmed by the state Court of Appeal only on other issues.   Read More

The Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction over a non-final order denying motion to compel arbitration because the motion was brought under California’s Arbitration Act, not the Federal Arbitration Act.  Read More

District court properly denied equitable relief to plaintiff whose attorney filed a claim challenging a forfeiture one day late, since this error was the result of ordinary negligence rather than an extraordinary circumstance that would warrant relief.  Read More

Plaintiffs who purchased applications from Apple's App Store are direct purchasers from Apple and can sue it for monopolizing the market for distribution of applications that run on the iPhone.  Read More

A Court of Appeals lacks appellate jurisdiction over a order remanding a case that was removed based on federal question jurisdictional grounds, rather than on diversity grounds under CAFA.  Read More

A party may file a second § 170.6 challenge against the trial judge if the same judge is assigned to hear a retrial of the case after a reversal on appeal, but only if the appeal was from a final judgment rather than an interlocutory order.  Read More

The Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act does not confer federal jurisdiction over a complaint alleging state law securities claims within the exception to SLUSA's general prohibition of state law securities class actions, except for the limited purpose of determining whether a putative class action is banned by SLUSA's general preclusion of such suits.  Read More

The trial court erred in awarding damages in the amount of the difference between the amount of commission the parties sought in a separate suit against a third party and the amount for which they settled that suit, since the outcome of the lawsuit if prosecuted to completion was merely a matter of speculation.  Read More

Upon reversal on appeal, the appellant is entitled, in the trial court's discretion, to restitution of amounts paid or other value lost under the reversed judgment, and may seek this restitution via motion without any need for a separate cross-complaint.  Read More

Plaintiff was entitled to a new trial because the jury’s damages award did not match the cause of action on which the jury found liability.  Read More

University’s procedures prior to imposing discipline on male student for an alleged sexual assault were adequate to protect the accused’s rights.  Read More

Trial court did not abuse its discretion by allowing a local governmental entity to pay a $17 million judgment against it in up to 10 annual installments, since the entity presented evidence that paying the judgment in a lump sum would constitute an "unreasonable hardship."  Read More

An execution sale following a judgment is absolute and cannot be set aside for any reason, not even on grounds of extrinsic fraud.  Read More

Debtor who failed to appeal within the 14-day bankruptcy appeal deadline from an order denying his third motion to reconsider denial of motion for sanctions for violation of the automatic stay, could not cure the untimeliness of the appeal by use of a petition for writ of mandate.  Read More

An initial motion for relief from default due to attorney fault is not considered a motion for reconsideration, so it need not show new law or facts which are ordinarily needed to support a motion for reconsideration.  Read More