California Appellate Tracker

For the first time, this decision holds that the rule barring attorneys from vouching for a witness’ credibility in closing argument applies to civil as well as criminal cases, but because the rule’s application to civil cases was not clear before, the district court did not commit plain error in failing to strike the forbidden argument sua sponte.  Read More

The district court had subject matter jurisdiction if complete diversity actually existed when the complaint was filed, even if the complaint failed to allege it properly, so the district court properly denied defendant’s motion to vacate a summary judgment for lack of subject matter jurisdiction after the plaintiff submitted evidence of complete diversity in opposition.  Read More

Summary judgment is affirmed in favor of defendant in antitrust suit by competitor who claimed without sufficient supporting evidence that defendant had illegal exclusive dealing contracts and that its contracts were of such long duration as to unduly restrict the market.  Read More

Trial court erred in denying summary judgment to defendant in misappropriation case, since defendant showed uncontradicted evidence that plaintiff had signed a contract consenting to the challenged use of his name and likeness.  Read More

Defendant corporation was subject to specific (though not general) personal jurisdiction in California, since it was not necessary for the plaintiffs to be California residents or to have claims that arise directly out of defendants' California-related activities in order for their claims to “arise out of or be related to” the defendant’s forum-directed activities.  Read More

Failure to recite all the evidence on an issue waives a substantial evidence attack on appeal.  Read More

An arbitration clause calling for the losing party to pay arbitration costs and attorney fees of the prevailing party was not substantively unconscionable, nor was the forum selection clause.  Read More

An arbitration clause in an employee handbook given new employees was unenforceable because the employee was not required to (and didn’t) agree to its terms, but only acknowledged that she had received the handbook.  Read More

An arbitration clause in an employment contract which requires individual arbitration of the plaintiff's claims violates sections 7 and 8 of the National Labor Relations Act, which guarantee a worker's right to engage in concerted activities with respect to working conditions, including administrative or judicial proceedings.  Read More

Los Angeles ordinance setting $15.75 minimum hourly wage is not pre-empted by the National Labor Relations Act.  Read More

The 2008 repeal of Probate Code section 21230 bars later-filed suits for a declaration that a proposed suit would not be a "contest" within a no-contest clause's scope, even if the underlying will or trust was executed before 2008.  Read More

A complaint charging brother/trustee with wrongfully taking money from elderly mother and from family trust to fund litigation against plaintiff sister was not a SLAPP suit subject to an Anti-SLAPP motion to strike, except for the cause of action alleging wrongful conduct in filing and prosecuting the earlier suits.  Read More

A bankruptcy’s order approving the trustee’s settlement of the estate’s claims against a defendant is a sale under 11 USC 363(m) and is unreviewable on appeal unless the bankruptcy court grants a stay pending appeal.  Read More

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