The following summaries are of recent published decisions of the California appellate courts, the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. The summaries are presented without regard to whether Severson & Werson represented a party in the case.
If a qui tam False Claims Act suit rests on genuinely new and material information not publicly disclosed by a government audit, report, hearing or investigation, the suit may proceed though it arises from the same transactions as the prior public disclosure. Read More
Plaintiff is the prevailing party entitled to an award of court costs under CCP 1032 on entry of a judgment of dismissal pursuant to a settlement under which plaintiff received monetary compensation for his or her claims. Read More
Plaintiffs injured by a another manufacturer’s generic version of a brand name drug may recover from the brand name drug’s manufacturer on claims for negligent failure to warn of and negligent misrepresentation about potential adverse side effects of the drug. Read More
Alabama violated the Full Faith and Credit Clause by refusing to give binding effect to a Georgia court’s adoption decree in favor of a female partner of the children's mother. Read More
Though it bears the label "trust," a real estate investment trust is a separate legal entity which can sue and be sued; so for diversity purposes, it is a citizen of every state of which any of its members is a citizen. Read More
An unfair competition action is governed by the UCL's four-year limitations period, even when it alleges unlawful conduct under another statute that is governed by a shorter limitations period; this rule applies even when the predicate statute is federal, rather than state. Read More
