A declarant's statement incriminating himself and denying involvement by others, including the defendant in this case, is sufficiently against the declarant's penal interest to allow its admission in evidence under the statement against interest exception to the hearsay rule in Evidence Code 1230. Read More
Trial court erred in denying appellant’s motion for a settled statement of unrecorded oral proceedings, but appellant failed to properly preserve that issue for appeal, so judgment had to be affirmed for lack of an adequate record to review. Read More
A public entity has four years to sue to invalidate its own contract under Gov. Code 1090 because of a board member approving the contract was on the contractor’s payroll, not the mere 60 days allowed a private party to sue to invalidate the public entity’s contracts. Read More
In extraordinary circumstances necessary to prevent injury or loss, Probate Code 1310(b) permits interim orders in trust or probate matters that are not stayed pending appeal, and the appellate court can issue no relief with regard to appeals that challenge this type of order. Read More
Labor Code 202 and 203 require employers to promptly pay final wages to employees who quit to retire as well as those who quit for other reasons. Read More
In seeking indemnity under an express contractual indemnity clause, an indemnitee is not limited to either the pleadings or proof the claimant presented in the underlying negligence action. Read More
An order denying an interim award of attorney’s fees under the Homeowner’s Bill of Rights after the borrower/plaintiff was successful in obtaining issuance of a preliminary injunction to prevent foreclosure, is interlocutory and therefore non-appealable. Read More
When, on a summary judgment motion in a case removed from state court, a federal court determines it lacks subject matter jurisdiction because the plaintiff lacks Article III standing, the federal court should remand the case to state court, not dismiss it. Read More
In compliance with the Rees-Levering Act, a car purchase agreement properly disclosed the buyer’s $3,000 as a down payment, rather than as a deferred down payment, even though the payment was by post-dated checks that the dealer orally agreed not to deposit for several days. Read More
An order compelling arbitration of an employee’s individual claims, dismissing his class claims, and staying his PAGA claims is not appealable even under the “death knell” doctrine since the PAGA claims survive and provide adequate incentive to prosecute the suit. Read More
Even though it did not expressly so state, given the parties’ prior settlement negotiations, a collection attorney's voicemail message to debtor sufficiently disclosed even to the least sophisticated debtor that the message was from a debt collector. Read More
Now-defunct Nevada statute violated due process by granting homeowners’ associations priority over mortgage lenders and other senior lienholders and allowing them foreclose liens for unpaid dues without requiring notice to a senior lienholder unless it affirmatively requested notice. Read More
An insurer failed to satisfy its obligation to settle a case of obvious liability within policy limits when it offered the full policy limits promptly, but demanded a full release of all claims against the insured in return—a broader release than it was entitled to. Read More
Ordinarily, when an appeal is mooted, the appellate court simply dismisses the appeal, but it can also vacate judgment and remand to allow the trial court to dismiss the case if legislative or administrative action has mooted the entire case; here, however, the appellant itself mooted its own appeal so it should not be allowed escape the consequences of a… Read More
The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (“FIRREA”) provides an extension on the statutes of limitations for contract and tort claims in actions brought by the National Credit Union Administration Board, which supersedes other limitations periods set by state or federal statute. Read More
The relevant limitations period on a quiet title claim is governed by underlying basis of the claim; in this case, the gravamen of the quiet title claim was that defendant induced her erstwhile boyfriend to sign title transfer documents while inebriated, so the three-year limitations period applicable to fraud claims applied. Read More
A settlement payment that is clawed back in bankruptcy as a voidable preference does not count as performance of the settlement agreement, so the party entitled to payment can pursue the debtor’s guarantors for the clawed back amount. Read More
In dispute between HOA and homeowner over improvements to homeowner’s patio, HOA prevailed and was therefore entitled to mandatory fee award under Civ. Code 5975(c), but only for portion of attorney’s fees incurred after the homeowner failed to complete agreed changes within the 60 days allowed under the parties’ settlement agreement. Read More
In this suit for extra compensation under plaintiff's subcontract to supply expansion joints for a bridge overpass construction project, extra compensation was reasonably calculable as it depended solely on the difference in price between cheaper two expansion joint assemblies and the four expansion joint assemblies that the defendant belatedly insisted on, so trial court should have awarded pre-judgment interest. Read More
Claims under an Oregon statute for wages "due and owing" were preempted by the National Labor Relations Act, because the court would have to interpret the collective bargaining agreement in order to decide what wages were due and owing under its terms; nonetheless, a claim that the employer failed to promptly pay health insurance premiums from sums it deducted from… Read More
