California Appellate Tracker

A homeowner’s application to have a homeowner’s association enforce a tree-trimming covenant against his neighbor was protected activity under the Anti-SLAPP statute, and the neighbor’s quiet title claim had no chance of success after the homeowner withdrew the application thus removing any cloud on the neighbor’s title.  Read More

A $30 million arbitration award is vacated as the arbitrator exceeded his powers by awarding punitive damages that the claimant first requested the day before the arbitration hearing.  Read More

The trial court abused its discretion in denying fees to three of plaintiff’s four lawyers because their time records were not properly authenticated, an objection the defendant did not raise.  Read More

A California state court cannot compel a party to undergo a vocational rehabilitation examination by the opposing party’s expert. Read More

When an employer pays an employee on a commission basis, the employer must separately pay the worker the minimum wage for the meal and rest break time, and cannot later deduct those wages from the employee’s future commissions.  Read More

Substantial evidence supported court's determination that plaintiff had not obtained sole ownership of the road easement between his property and defendant's; fence and gate did not constitute adverse possession because they had been erected by defendant’s predecessor to prevent plaintiff's mobile home park's tenants from crossing onto defendant's property.  Read More

In order to reach a jury, plaintiff did not need to introduce evidence that unwelcome sexual advances from plaintiff’s supervisor are both severe and pervasive; since the statute is disjunctive, she only needed to proffer evidence of one of these aspects.  Read More

If a party fails to exchange expert witness information in response to a timely demand, and the time to respond expires before the summary judgment motion is filed, the non-responding party may not rely on expert testimony to oppose the summary judgment motion over the moving party's objection, unless the trial court relieves the non-responding party of its default.  Read More

While it is illegal to supply from the United States "all or a substantial portion" of the components of a patented invention for assembly or combination abroad, the export of a single component of the patented invention cannot constitute a "substantial portion" of the components and so cannot violate the statute; “substantial” is a quantitative test, not a qualitative one.  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

An order denying class certification or striking class allegations is not a final or appealable order and is not certifiable for immediate appeal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b); instead a party may only seek appellate review under Rule 23(f) or 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b).  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

Without establishing the accrual date of claims for payment of old credit card debt, defendant could not prove the limitations period had expired and so was not entitled to summary judgment.  Read More

Corporation’s general counsel’s email to the press about its recently-filed lawsuit was not protected by the absolute litigation privilege but was protected by the privilege for fair and true reports to a publication about a judicial proceeding.  Read More

Trial court properly granted Anti-SLAPP motion filed by State of California in lawsuit brought by individual who was claiming the State threatened him with arrest or prosecution if he failed to register as a sex offender.  Read More

Fees and expenses of a receiver appointed as a provisional remedy may, in the trial court's discretion, be awarded in whole or part as costs to the prevailing party in the litigation.  Read More

A promissory note for a loan to aid defendant’s development scheme, which was not offered to the general public, is not considered a “security.”  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

Due to the unique constraints of the bid process for government contracts, an unsuccessful bidder on a public contract has no cause of action against the winning bidder for interference with prospective economic advantage.  Read More