California Appellate Tracker

A court must determine at the outset of a suit against a foreign sovereign whether the expropriation of property in violation of international law exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act applies; it is not sufficient to decide that the plaintiff makes a non-frivolous argument for its application. 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

In analyzing a defendant's forum non conveniens motion in a suit brought in California by a plaintiff who is not a California resident, the plaintiff's choice of forum is entitled to little deference. 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

Project proponent cannot recover private attorney general fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5 because plaintiff did not act contrary to the public interest in bringing the unsuccessful suit alleging violation of various environmental protection laws. Read More

In defending a claim that employees’ pay disparity violates the Equal Pay Act, an employer may justify the disparities by showing that it results from differences between the pay the compared employees earned in prior jobs, so long as the reliance on prior wages effectuates some business policy of the employer and the employer uses evidence of prior wages reasonably. Read More

Nothing in the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Rehabilitation Act preempts a city's express indemnity claim against its architect and building contractor; although the city cannot escape its responsibilities under those acts, it may recoup from those whose errors caused the violations. 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

If a junior lien securing a non-recourse debt is wiped out by a senior creditor’s foreclosure sale before the debtor files a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, the sold-out junior lienholder is not entitled to a recourse claim against the Chapter 11 bankruptcy estate.  Read More

Private citizen claims brought under the Private Attorney General Act are not exempt from the automatic stay in bankruptcy.  Read More

Plaintiff-employee who quit her job during a psychotic episode induced by prescription drugs could not state a claim for disability discrimination when her former employer denied her later request for reinstatement; the former employer owed no duty to rehire her once the former employment relationship ceased.  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

To state a claim under California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, or Consumer Legal Remedies Act, a private plaintiff must allege facts showing that the defendant's advertising is actually false, not merely that that the defendant has not or cannot substantiate its advertising claims.  Read More

A federal lien and garnishment attach to the beneficiary’s interest in a spendthrift trust even if the trust gives the trustee sole discretion over distributions and even if the beneficiary disclaims his interest in the trust.  Read More

When the basis for a claim of breach of fiduciary duty arises from the same facts and seeks the same relief as a plaintiff’s attorney negligence claim for malpractice, the claim for breach of fiduciary duty is duplicative and should be dismissed.  Read More

Exercising its inherent power, a federal court may award attorney fees as a sanction; however, unless criminal contempt procedures are followed, the sanction cannot exceed the amount of attorney fees the opposing party would not have incurred but for the sanctionable conduct.  Read More

No matter how the attorney receives another party’s inadvertently produced privileged material, the attorney owes a duty to notify the privilege holder and await a court’s resolution of any dispute over existence or waiver of the privilege; failure to do so may lead to disqualification.  Read More

Although celebrity defendant’s comments about celebrity plaintiff ex-girlfriend’s medical history were matters of public interest and received Anti-SLAPP protection, his posting of a sonogram and medical records on social media was a bridge too far even in the relatively lenient context of celebrity gossip.  Read More