California Appellate Tracker

This decision adopts the majority view that a website that is inaccessible to the blind can be a "place of accommodation" that violates the federal ADA and state Unruh Act if the website has a sufficient nexus to the provision of or access to the goods or services the defendant offers from its physical locations.  Here, plaintiff alleged sufficient nexus… Read More

AB 1687 (which enacted Civ. Code 1798.83.5 is an unconstitutional prior restraint on free speech.  It required a subscription service, like IMDb, to remove from the service and any affiliated public website at a subscriber's request, the subscriber's age and date of birth.  The statute is a prior restraint on speech that bars particular content and applies to specific speakers. … Read More

The parties' contract contained a choice of law clause choosing New York law.  Under New York law, prejudgment interest is to be awarded on any contract claim regardless of whether the damages are fixed or reasonably calculable, and interest is awarded at 9%, rather than at 10% as in California.  Under Restatement (Second) of Conflicts of Law, section 207, if… Read More

While a default judgment may not award damages in an amount greater than that alleged in the complaint, it is not necessary to plead the amount of prejudgment interest, costs or attorney fees.  A default judgment which may otherwise properly award prejudgment interest, costs and attorney fees may do so even if the total judgment, including those items, exceeds the… Read More

A defendant against whom a default has properly been entered is not entitled to service of notice of hearing on entry of default judgment or to service of a copy of the evidence submitted in support of the default judgment.  Also, since the defaulted defendant has no right to participate in the prove-up hearing, it cannot show any prejudice from… Read More

The trial court correctly denied defendant's Anti-SLAPP motion in this bad faith case by an insured against its insurer.  The insured claimed the insurer had breached its duty of good faith by retaining conflicted counsel, failing to pay amounts owed, and misleading Trilogy regarding obligations under the policies.  The insured alleged that the insurer urged or compelled defense counsel to… Read More

Despite the Erie Doctrine, federal law limits the equity jurisdiction of federal courts.  Federal courts may not issue equitable relief if the plaintiff has an adequate remedy at law, and that rule holds true even in a diversity case otherwise governed by state law and even though state law might allow state courts, hearing the same claim, to award equitable… Read More

A candidate for public office petitioned for a writ of mandate challenging the opposing candidate's ballot statements as misleading.  The petition was dismissed on the merits; then the real party's (opposing candidate's) AntiSLAPP motion was denied as moot and his separate motion for a private attorney general fee award was denied on the ground he had not shown his defense… Read More

Under Wage Order 16, an employer must pay a worker at least the minimum wage for mandated travel time between the place where the employer first exerts control over the employee and the place where the employee performs work.  Here, the employee was entitled to minimum wage for all time spent from the check in point, waiting for and then… Read More

The trial court did not err in refusing to instruct the jury on the consumer expectation test in this design defect products liability case.  The plaintiff was injured when his forklift, designed for use on uneven surfaces, overturned, and he fell out of the cab and suffered severe injuries.  The forklift had a roll-over cage and two-point safety belts as… Read More

Under City of South Lake Tahoe v. California Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (9th Cir. 1980) 625 F.2d 231, 233 and its progeny, a state's political subdivisions lack standing to challenge a state statute on constitutional grounds in federal court.  That rule applies to as-applied as well as facial challenges to state statutes.  Also, since the PUC is an arm of… Read More

An order denying a motion for a judicial reference is not an appealable order even when made as an alternative to a motion to compel arbitration.  Here, the parties' agreement provided for arbitration of disputes with the exception of those involving debts secured by California real property, and as to those provided that either party could demand a judicial reference… Read More

Under CCP 664.6, the court may, if the section's conditions are met, enter judgment enforcing the parties' settlement.  However, that judgment must state all terms of the settlement agreement that have not yet been fully performed.  The judgment can do nothing else.  If the settlement reserves jurisdiction in the court to enforce the settlement, the court may, after entering judgment… Read More

The district court abused its discretion in setting the hourly rate based solely on the amounts awarded the same attorney in prior decisions in other cases while rejecting his affidavits regarding hourly rates of other attorneys prosecuting similar types of actions. No. 16-16179, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 27491 (9th Cir. Sep. 12, 2019) Read More

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (47 USC 230(c)(2)) grants immunity from liability to an interactive service provider for providing the means of restricting access to materials that are of a violent or sexual nature or is “otherwise objectionable.” This decision holds that "otherwise objectionable" is not broad enough to encompass software that is objectionable only because it is… Read More

Labor Code sections 558 and 1197.1, allow the Labor Commissioner to sue for set civil penalties in addition to an amount sufficient to recover underpaid wages if an employer fails to pay overtime wages or minimum wages as required by California law.  This decision holds that in a PAGA suit, the employee plaintiff may recover only the set civil penalty… Read More

Flying into a tirade at a 13-year-old girl who had been drugged and raped and yelling at her that she was stupid and it was her fault is extreme and outrageous conduct that exceeds that bounds of decency tolerated in a civilized community and so the tirade supports a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.  To make matters worse,… Read More

Probate Code 859 provides for an award of double damages if the court finds that the defendant son has in bad faith wrongfully taken . . . property belonging to a . . . dependent adult, . . .  or has taken . . . the property by the use of undue influence in bad faith or through the commission… Read More

This decision affirms a JNOV entered after the jury awarded the tenant $600,000 for an eviction on an owner-move-in, alleged to have been in bad faith in violation of San Francisco's rent control ordinance.  The decision holds the "good faith" for this purpose relates only to the owner's  desire to occupy the apartment as his or her primary residence on… Read More

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the defendant's motion to dismiss two of the consolidated cases for failure to bring them to trial within five years.  Even though plaintiffs could have taken these defendants' defaults since they hadn't answered, the court could reasonably conclude that these complex consolidated actions could not have been prosecuted to judgment… Read More