California Appellate Tracker

In evaluating whether a person is an “insider” of a debtor under the Bankruptcy Code, an appellate court reviews a trial court’s determination of whether a transaction was arm’s length using the clear error standard of review. Read More

A medical malpractice plaintiff provides adequate notice of a potential medical malpractice claim, as required by Code of Civil Procedure section 364, by mailing a notice of intent to file an action to a physician’s address of record with the Medical Board of California. Read More

In computing overtime pay at 150% of regular pay, the hourly equivalent of a flat sum bonus is calculated by dividing the bonus should by the number of non-overtime hours the employee worked during the pay period. Read More

A dissolved law partnership has no property interest in hourly fee cases after the cases are transferred to a new firm, even if the new firm is populated with refugees from the dissolved firm. Read More

Under Code of Civil Procedure section 526a, a taxpayer has the standing to sue to enjoin a government agency from conducting administrative proceedings in a manner that allegedly violates due process. Read More

Corporations Code section 17707.06 was amended in 2016 to permit an LLC to sue and defend actions after filing a certificate of cancellation; the amendment applies retroactively to LLCs that filed certificates of cancellation before its effective date. Read More

The National Bank Act does not preempt California’s statute requiring lenders to pay interest on home loan escrow accounts. Read More

Denials of requests for admission are not admissible evidence at trial. Read More

In the anti-SLAPP context, if a complaint itself shows that a claim arises from protected conduct, a moving party may rely on the plaintiff's allegations alone in making the showing necessary under prong one without submitting supporting evidence. Read More

An elder abuse complaint alleging neglect is not a dispute relating to a health care provider’s “professional negligence” within the meaning of Code of Civil Procedure section 1295, so the decedent’s heirs were not bound by the provider’s arbitration agreement. Read More

When an arbitration agreement is not covered by the FAA, Courts evaluate whether the agreement’s class waiver provision is unenforceable under the four-part Gentry v. Superior Court (2007) 42 Cal.4th 443 test. Read More

The FTC Act’s common-carrier exemption is activity-based, meaning that a common carrier is not entirely exempt from FTC jurisdiction, but rather, is only exempt with respect to its common-carrier activities. Read More

Summary judgment was properly granted to a landlord on proof that experts could not tell what caused the fire that injured plaintiffs, thus negating the element of causation of plaintiffs’ negligence claims. Read More

A property owner owes no duty of care to protect patrons of a taco truck on the property against unforeseeable misconduct by a patron fleeing the scene of a collision in the parking lot. Read More

The absolute litigation privilege protects statements in a probate proceeding by an executor or administrator, and if the privilege’s application depends on undisputed facts, it may be raised for the first time on appeal. Read More

In determining whether a bankruptcy trustee has the power to set aside a fraudulent transfer, the Court must examine the transaction the trustee seeks to avoid, not the intermediate transactions that effectuated the ultimate transaction. Read More

The separation of powers forbids Congress from compelling findings or results under an old law, but not from enacting a new law that dictates the outcome of pending cases. Read More

A property owner hiring an independent contractor is not liable for injuries the contractor’s worker suffers as a result of the owner’s negligent failure to install safety features required by CalOSH regulations. Read More

International service of process by Federal Express and e-mail fails for lack of an acknowledgment of receipt; Doe defendants not served within three years must be dismissed. Read More

Party-selected appraisers are “arbitrators” within the meaning of Evidence Code section 703.5, which renders their testimony inadmissible for most purposes. Read More