Torts

Plaintiff, who was held involuntarily for 72 hours for a mental health evaluation, could not sue hospital and officers who had probable cause to detain her, due to their qualified immunity. Read More

The psychotherapist-patient privilege may not be raised in opposition to producing patient records in a Medical Board investigation, but to protect the patient’s privacy rights the subpoena must be carefully tailored to request only records that are relevant and material to a compelling state interest, such as avoiding over-prescription of controlled substances. Read More

Defendant city was not barred from imposing a lien on plaintiff’s property to pay for the cost of abating nuisance caused by absentee landowner plaintiff’s failure to maintain the yard. Read More

Resolution of the underlying lawsuit (here by a settlement) does not automatically moot an appeal by a person who unsuccessfully sought to intervene in the action, so long as effective relief may still potentially be awarded the would-be intervenor. Read More

To reduce a damage award in a medical malpractice case, the defendant may introduce evidence of collateral source payments to plaintiff for medical care including Obamacare and private medical insurance benefits that has already received or likely will receive in the future. Read More

A creditor seeking to void a transfer under the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act loses if the transferee proves that it gave reasonably equivalent value for the transfer and lacked fraudulent intent and actual, not constructive, knowledge of the transferor’s fraudulent intent.  Read More

Under Government Code 850.4, a governmental entity was immune from liability for injuries the firefighter-plaintiff incurred when a truck ran over her while she was sleeping in a temporary firefighting base camp, as the injuries resulted from the condition of firefighting facilities.  Read More

Plaintiff cannot sue the United States for negligent injuries suffered in a foreign country, and plaintiff suffered her injury in Spain when she was prematurely born with brain damage, not in the United States where she was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy.  Read More

To state a conversion claim, a plaintiff need only allege ownership or the right to possession of the converted property, not both ownership and right to possession.  Read More

Genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether construction employer’s yard amounted to a worksite, such that the employer could claim exemption based on the going and coming rule from liability for injuries caused by employee on his way from home to the yard.  Read More

Because a county charged admission for entry into a campground located inside a county-owned park, and PG&E maintained a power line to the campground’s bathroom, PG&E could not claim immunity for injuries suffered by the public in connection with the bathroom—even though PG&E received no portion of the campground fee.  Read More

Employer’s Anti-SLAPP motion was properly granted in response to terminated CEO’s defamation claim, since the allegedly defamatory press release stated only that a third party investigation of allegations against the CEO had been undertaken and that he was terminated as a result of that investigation.  Read More

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting a letter, containing a remark showing callous indifference to worker death from asbestos, because the letter showed the employer was on notice of the risks of asbestos early, and prejudice from the callous remark was avoided by a jury instruction limiting consideration of the letter to the issue of notice… Read More

Although a governmental entity is legally required to grant a minor leave to file a late government claim, when it fails to do so, the minor must petition the superior court within a year or lose the right to sue.  Read More

A company with a website for anonymous online postings about employment experiences has standing to assert the privacy and First Amendment rights of its posters, and to force disclosure of their identities, the plaintiff must first prove a prima facie claim against the poster.  Read More

Summary judgment was properly granted against truck repairman plaintiff who had sued brake manufacturers and designers for asbestos exposure, since he introduced no evidence linking defendants to any products that he had used in repairing trucks.  Read More

The going-and-coming exception to respondeat superior absolved defendant from liability for injuries from car crash caused by employee who was offered free bus transportation to job site but elected to drive, and who was not on the clock during the car journey.  Read More

Youth soccer league owes duty of care to child participants to perform criminal background checks on adult volunteers and employees, but no duty to warn or train the children or their parents about the risk of sexual misconduct.  Read More

The governmental immunity for misrepresentations does not bar a claim for business disparagement, but suit was properly dismissed anyway because the alleged slander did not specifically refer to the plaintiff's product or business.  Read More

In determining whether the defendant exercised sufficient control to make the tortfeasor the defendant’s agent for purposes of respondeat superior, the jury may properly consider the degree of control which public regulations require the defendant to exercise over the tortfeasor.  Read More