The ecclesiastical abstention doctrine did not bar a former Mormon's fraud claim against the church for falsely telling church members that the tithes they paid the church would not be used to fund the redevelopment of a shopping mall adjoining Temple Square in Salt Lake City. The fraud claim did not involve any question of the truth or validity of… Read More
The district court erred in issuing a Colorado River stay of this federal suit which sought to set aside defendants' allegedly fraudulent transfers to avoid execution of a New Jersey state court judgment in plaintiff's favor. After the federal suit was filed a New Jersey reversed the judgment in plaintiff's favor and remanded for further proceedings. Colorado River abstention or… Read More
In a single document titled only "order," the district court denied defendant's motion to dismiss as well as its motion to compel arbitration. This decision holds that while the order denying the motion to compel arbitration is appealable (9 USC 16(a)), the order on the motion to dismiss was not appealable and did not become so by being joined in… Read More
An Ins. Dept. regulation requires insurance companies who sell variable life insurance—that is, a life insurance policy that also functions as an investment vehicle—to “adopt” and “use[]” standards in order to assess whether such insurance is “suitab[le]” to recommend and issue to potential investors. (Cal. Code Regs., tit.10, §2534.2(c);1 Ins. Code, § 10506(h).) This decision holds that when the insured's… Read More
Corp. Code 5142 and 5223 provide that a director of a nonprofit corporation may sue to enjoin a breach of the charitable trust and/or to remove another director fraudulent or dishonest acts, gross abuse of authority, or breach of duty. This decision holds that since the two statutes do not use the instituted or maintained" language used in Corp. Code… Read More
State law preempts local legislation that duplicates, contradicts, or enters an area fully occupied by general law, either expressly or by legislative implication. Here, Monterey's Measure Z which banned oil and gas wastewater injection and impoundment and the drilling of new oil and gas wells throughout the County’s unincorporated areas was preempted by Pub. Resources Code 3106 which delegates to… Read More
Under Labor Code 5908.5, the Workers Compensation Appeals Board must act on a petition for rehearing within 60 days. The Board's current practice of granting rehearing for study does not comply with the statute. Though the Board says it carefully reviews petitions before granting-for-study, its grant-for-study orders do not state in detail the reasons for its order granting rehearing for… Read More
Interpreting Oregon law, the Ninth Circuit holds that a business interruption insurance policy that covered only losses due to direct physical loss or damage did not cover income lost due to COVID-19 government closure orders. To fall within the policy's coverage, the loss must be due to a physical alteration of the property, which plaintiff didn't and couldn't allege. Read More
A statement of compliance with a demand for production of documents does not need to identify which documents relate to specific items of the demand. Instead, a general statement that the party will produce the requested documents suffices. (CCP 2031.210.) However, under CCP 2031.280(a), as recently amended, when the documents are produced, the producing party must identify to which specific… Read More
A private university must comply with the common law doctrine of fair procedure by providing accused students with notice of the charges and a meaningful opportunity to be heard, but the university is not required to provide accused students the opportunity to directly or indirectly cross-examine the accuser and other witnesses at a live hearing with the accused student in… Read More
The trial court erred in denying defendant's motion for relief from default based on CCP 473(b)'s attorney error provision. The motion for relief was filed within six months after entry of judgment and was accompanied by an attorney declaration of fault. It was in proper form, or at least substantially complied with the form requirements. A motion for relief must… Read More
Evid. Code 1106 prohibits admission of specific instances of plaintiff's sexual conduct to prove the plaintiff's consent or lack of injury from alleged sexual harassment, assault or battery. A "plaintiff's sexual conduct" includes involuntary as well as voluntary sexual conduct (such as a subsequent sexual assault by a different perpetrator). While evidence of sexual conduct otherwise excludable under 1106(a) may,… Read More
A health insurance company's verification of benefits (i.e., confirmation that the patient is insured, covered, and eligible for coverage) is not an enforceable oral promise to pay for the patient's treatment by a health care provider. Here, summary judgment was properly granted against a health care provider's breach of oral and implied contract claims. It produced no evidence to show… Read More
A 2022 amendment to CCP 340.16(b)(3) revives until 2026 claims for damage resulting from sexual assault that occurred after 2008. This decision holds that the amendment revives any claim for damages arising from a sexual assault, without regard to the legal theory of the claim, and is not limited to tort claims for sexual assault or battery. However, it questions… Read More
Except when a statute granting the right to an attorney fee award itself provides a basis for federal question jurisdiction, a district court lacks jurisdiction to award the defendant attorney fees after dismissing the complaint for lack of Article III standing. Read More
While a district court may convert a motion to dismiss into a summary judgment motion in the parties submit evidence in support of the motion, FRCP 12(d), the district court cannot sua sponte convert a summary judgment motion into a motion to dismiss. Here, defendant didn't move to dismiss for lack of lack of Article III standing but raised the… Read More
Although acknowledging the issue still remains open, it decides the review the trial court's rulings on evidentiary objections on a summary judgment motion under the abuse of discretion standard which it claims is the majority position both before and after Reid v. Google, Inc. (2010) 50 Cal.4th 512 (which highlighted but did not decide the issue). Read More
This en banc decision holds that there is no implied right of action arising directly from 42 USC 1981. Instead, the substantive rights which section 1981 confers are enforced through an action under 42 USC 1983. Federation ofAfrican American Contractors v. City of Oakland (9th Cir. 1996) 96 F.3d 1204, which held to the contrary is overruled. Read More
When a defendant files an Anti-SLAPP motion, he must identify which portions of the complaint he wishes to strike and show that those portions of the complaint allege conduct that is protected under CCP 425.16(e). If the defendant moves to strike the whole complaint without identifying smaller portions of the complaint, the court may deny the motion if it finds… Read More
The district court did not err in denying defendant's motion to compel arbitration of plaintiff's claim that defendant discriminated against her in denying her a consolidation loan to combine her two existing student loans. Defendant was judicially estopped from relying on the arbitration clause in the second loan because at an earlier hearing on whether that clause was unconscionable, defendant… Read More
