California Appellate Tracker

A party that takes an assignment of a promissory note secured by a deed of trust may sue the title company under Civil Code section 2941 for wrongfully recording a release of the deed of trust even if the recordation occurred before the assignment. Read More

As a general rule in California, where an attorney is disqualified from representation, the entire law firm is vicariously disqualified as well. However, the general presumption is a rebuttable one, which can be refuted by evidence that an ethical wall or other circumstances has prevented the sharing of confidences in a particular case. Read More

When parties try to force a premature appeal by dismissing some claims without prejudice, the appellate court should dismiss the appeal and remand the case to the trial court so it can finally resolve all claims and enter a final, appealable judgment. Read More

Generally, a defendant owes no duty of care to avoid negligent conduct that results in solely economic injury; so a gas utility owed no duty of care to avoid a gas leak that caused neighborhood businesses to lose profits. Read More

A successful suit invalidating a public contract due to an awarding official’s conflict of interest is a suit “on the contract” for purposes of an attorney fee award under Civil Code 1717. Read More

There is no right to a jury trial in a suit for a public nuisance seeking only abatement of the nuisance. Read More

A standard form additional insured endorsement to a commercial general liability insurance policy provides coverage for claims first raised after completion of the principal insured’s work which arise from damage that began while that work was on-going. Read More

A voluntary dismissal without prejudice is sufficient evidence of a favorable termination for purposes of a later malicious prosecution suit. Read More

A landowner who constructs a parking lot across a public street may increase his or her invitees’ exposure to harm, but that alone does not warrant the imposition of a duty of care because landowners generally have little or no control over a public street’s safety precautions, which are typically maintained by state and local government. Read More

An internet website may assert the First Amendment rights of its anonymous posters when opposing a subpoena requiring it to reveal a poster’s identity, but the poster has no right to remain anonymous if the party issuing the subpoena demonstrates that the posted information was defamatory. Read More

An order removing an executor is not a final and appealable order if the trial court, in issuing the order, states that a written statement of decision providing the findings and reasoning supporting the order will be issued later. Read More

Judicial estoppel forbids a defendant from asserting that a court lacked authority to impose monetary sanctions when, in an earlier suit, the defendant successfully argued that the court should have entered monetary sanctions rather than terminating sanctions. Read More

Appeal time limits set by congressional statute are jurisdictional; those prescribed by court rule are merely mandatory and may be waived if the opposing party does not promptly object. Read More

A company that operates an employer-review website must cooperate with a grand jury subpoena unless there is evidence that the grand jury’s investigation is being conducted in bad faith. Read More

The invited error doctrine bars a party from appealing from an order the party submitted for the sole purpose of creating an appeal that would derail trial. Read More

A commercial general liability policy does not cover a claim that the insured drug company over-promoted its addictive drug since promotion is intentional conduct, not an accident, and addiction is a natural and foreseeable result of the intentional promotion. Read More

An action for civil penalties under Proposition 65 must be brought in the county in which the claim arose. Read More

A party moving for limited remand while a case is on appeal need not have moved for an indicative ruling in the district court if the district court has entered an indicative ruling in response to some other proceeding. Read More

In a suit for discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, district courts have the discretion to “gross up” an award for back pay to account for income-tax consequences. Read More

In deciding whether to award attorney fees in a partition action, fees may be for the common benefit of all owners even if the proceeding is contested, with some joint owners not wishing to partition the property. Read More