Plaintiff was employed by defendant. While on a lunch break, he was hit by a pickup truck as he crossed a street near the store where he worked. He returned to work where he was given some minor first aid and then driven home, where it died. This decision holds that the Worker's Compensation Act provides plaintiff's sole remedy against… Read More
Subject to various exceptions, CCP 699.730 provides that a judgment debtor's principal residence cannot be sold to satisfy a judgment for a "consumer debt" incurred by an individual for personal, family or household purposes. This decision holds that a debt owed on a boat purchased for recreational purposes is a consumer debt within the statute's meaning. It also holds that… Read More
Under Civ. Code, §§ 3045.1-3045.6),1, when a hospital provides care for a patient, the hospital has a statutory lien against any recovery by the patient against the tortfeasor or his insurer that caused the injury requiring the hospital treatment. The law prohibits the tortfeasor from paying off the patient if notified of the hospital's lien. This decision holds that the… Read More
The trial court erred in sustaining defendants' demurrer to the class action allegations of the complaint in this case which sought actual and punitive damages for the defendants' misuse of the Ellis Act to evict tenants from rent-controlled units and then to list units in the same building on AirBnB for tenancies of up to three years. The decision holds… Read More
Under Education Code 44808, a school district is generally not liable for injuries students receive while not on school property. There is an exception to that immunity, however, when the district has undertaken to provide students transportation to and from school and the student is injured while he is or should be under the immediate and direct supervision of a… Read More
This decision holds that a stand-alone website, not acting as the gateway to a physical location is not a "place of public accommodation" within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Hence, maintaining a stand-alone website in a format that is not readable by standard programs for the visually impaired is not an ADA violation. And, other than extreme… Read More
Applying the test for conduct in furtherance of First Amendment activities stated in Filmon.com v. DoubleVerify, Inc. (2019) 7 Cal.5th 133, this decision holds that while the production of a TV program about rich Asian-Americans' adjustment to life in LA was an exercise of constitutionally protected expression, the wrongful conduct alleged in the complaint--denying the plaintiff a role in producing… Read More
Following Marx v. General Revenue Corp., 458 U.S. 371 (2013), which it holds effectively overruled Brown v. Lucky Stores, Inc., 246 F.3d 1182 (9th Cir. 2001), this decision holds that the attorney fee and cost provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act does not limit a district court's normal discretion under Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(d) to award costs to… Read More
In this action, plaintiff sought a declaration that its use of the trademark "Impossible" in connection with its food products didn't infringe upon defendant's federal trademark of the same word. By a split decision, the 9th Circuit held that California could exercise personal jurisdiction over the defendant, a one-man LLC that for two years operated primarily from San Diego before… Read More
While a trustee, executor or administrator may appear in pro per in requesting instructions from the court in fulfilling her duties, she may not, without a licensed attorney, represent the interests of the trust or estate beneficiaries in pursuing relief against third parties, whether she sues them in a separate action or in a proceeding in the probate court. Read More
As amended in 1984, the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act excepted from the definition of "employee" "individuals employed by a club, camp, recreational operation, restaurant, museum, or retail outlet," whether for-profit or not-for-profit, so long as the individiuals are covered by a state worker's compensation scheme. This decision holds that general federal admiralty and maritime law follows this statutory… Read More
Short term rentals are not individually or as a group, a development of coastal property (thus requiring a coastal development permit from the Coastal Commission) merely because they increase the number of people using the coastal zone. Increases in density or intensity of use of coastal properties qualify as developments requiring permits under Pub. Resources Code 30600(a) only when there… Read More
When a plaintiff seeks a preliminary injunction claiming a state statute infringes on plaintiff's constitutional rights, the district court must weigh the plaintiff's probability of success on the merits as well as the existence of irreparable injury and the balance of equities and public interest because the probability of success on the merits heavily influences the evaluation of the other… Read More
Chase accepted a deposit from a decedent's estate and signed an acknowledgement of the court order establishing a blocked account requiring a court order for any withdrawal from the account. The executrix was the sole authorized signer on the account. After the executrix presented the bank with the court order approving her final account, the executrix withdrew and absconded with… Read More
Attorneys representing themselves should not be afforded special consideration or the liberal pleading standard allowed other types of pro per litigants, and do not fall into the category of those “proceeding without assistance of counsel" under 9th Circuit rules. Read More
Following both Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana (2022) 142 S.Ct. 1906 and Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc. (2023) 14 Cal.5th 1104, this decision holds that the plaintiff must arbitrate PAGA claims that arise from Labor Code violations that affected him, but may pursue in court PAGA claims that arise from Labor Code violations affecting only other employees, not himself. Read More
Borrowers lacked standing to challenge the assignment of their deed of trust from the prior beneficiary to La Salle Bank as Trustee for WaMu 2006-AR19 when the correct name of the assignee was La Salle Bank as Trustee for WaMu Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates Series 2006-AR19 Trust. Whether an abbreviation of the full name or a misnomer, the incorrect designation of… Read More
In federal court, FRCivP 41(a)(1)(B) treats the second voluntary dismissal without prejudice of the same claims as a judgment on the merits. However, this decision holds that the federal rule does not give a second dismissal in federal court the force of a judgment on the merits for claim preclusion purposes if the plaintiff files a third suit on the… Read More
A debt falls within the scope of the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act even if the consumer being dunned does not actually owe the debt and did not enter into the consumer credit transaction that the debt collector is attempting to collect. Under Civ. Code, § 1788.2(f), a consumer debt is money due or owing, or alleged to be… Read More
Labor Code section 2802 requiring employers to reimburse employees for work-related expenses does not apply to government agency employers. The Labor Code imposed duty conflicts with the sovereign discretion that the Board of Trustees is granted under the Education Code to set its own equipment reimbursement policies. Read More
