Patient's lawyer's first letter to hospital was not a notice of intent to sue for medical malpractice under CCP 364; only a later letter provided that notice and extended the limitations period by 90 days. The first letter was devoted mostly to a request that the hospital preserve its records regarding the incident in which plaintiff was injured by an… Read More
The city sued Cordoba for submitting fraudulent invoices under a contract for it to provide consulting services in connection with a proposed solar energy farm. Cordoba cross-complained, alleging that the city breached the contract by disputing the invoices after the 30-day limit provided for in the contract and breached the covenant of good faith by investigating the fraud. The cross-complaint… Read More
The employer properly computed overtime pay in accordance for pay periods in which it paid plaintiff an hourly wage and a percentage bonus on sales. The employer used the method prescribed for FSLA overtime (29 CFR 778.210), applying instead the DLSE's Enforcement Manual method (section 49.2.4) would result in an improper overtime on overtime since the bonus already was computed… Read More
Plaintiff was arrested. When he was booked, the police confiscated the cash he was carrying. When plaintiff was released, the police gave him a prepaid debit card with a credit balance in the amount of cash they had confiscated at his booking. Plaintiff used the debit card shortly after his release to withdraw the full credit sum in cash. This… Read More
A summary judgment motion must be filed at least 75 days (plus added days for other than personal service) before the hearing date which must be at least 30 days before the scheduled trial date. However, if a summary judgment motion is properly filed and served 105 days (plus added days for non-personal service) before trial, the trial court must… Read More
This decision holds that an attorney's jury selection notes are not subject to absolute attorney work product protection in connection with a challenge to the jury panel or the judgment based on racial or other discriminatory use of peremptory challenges or claimed the Batson/Wheeler error. An attorney’s jury selection notes are unlikely to reveal impressions, conclusions, or opinions about the… Read More
The district court did not abuse its discretion in certifying two California and one national classes in a suit by detained immigrants against the private company that ran the detention centers. The defendant's written corporate policies required inmates to work, cleaning bathrooms and other public areas under threat of discipline, and the defendant had a policy of misclassifying inmates as… Read More
Plaintiff did not agree to a franchisor's arbitration clause, so the trial court correctly denied the franchisor's motion to compel arbitration. The arbitration clause was contained in the franchisor's "terms and conditions of service" which were available to the plaintiff only by checking an inconspicuous link on a tablet device handed to plaintiff as she appeared for her monthly massage… Read More
This decision affirms orders denying motions to vacate default and vacate the default judgment. The default was based on substitute service of the complaint on a co-resident of a gated community. There was sufficient evidence in the process server's proofs of service to support the trial court's conclusions that diligent efforts were made to serve the defendants personally before resort… Read More
The supplementary payments provision of this contractor's CGL policy provided that if the insured contractor faced liability for personal injury or property damage pursuant to an indemnity provision in one of the insured's contracts, the insurer would pay for the insured's defense but count any recovery by the indemnitee as damages against the $1 million limit on coverage. The supplementary… Read More
The federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPRA; 15 USC 6501-6506) and the FTC's implementing regulations (16 CFR 312.2) forbid collection of children's "persistent identifiers" without parental permission. Here, plaintiffs alleged solely state law claims against Google for tracking their children's internet usage of YouTube using persistent identifiers without their parents' permission. COPRA's express preemption provision (15 USC 6502(d)) preempts… Read More
The trial court correctly denied defendant's Anti-SLAPP motion to strike this malicious prosecution action, finding plaintiff had established the probable validity of the malicious prosecution claim as to two causes of action in the underlying action, for violation of a municipal ordinance governing approval of demolition projects and for violation of CEQA. The municipal ordinance claim was baseless since the… Read More
This decision holds that the trial court erred in granting one defendant summary judgment based on a statute of limitations defense. The argument and evidence on summary judgment addressed when plaintiff discovered the contracts signed by an independent contractor were void under This decision holds that the trial court erred in granting one defendant summary judgment based on a statute… Read More
This decision holds that the trial court erred in granting one defendants summary judgment based on plaintiff's failure to timely file a government claim. Plaintiff alleged facts giving supporting its arguments that the defendant had expressly and impliedly waived the government claims defense. The fact that plaintiff filed a late government claim did not defeat the implied waiver argument since… Read More
Crane died in San Diego. Jernigan claimed she was his heir by reason of her having been raised by relations, the Boodgoods, who raised Jernigan in Indiana and held her out as their daughter after she was abandoned by her natural parents. Under Prob. Code 6453 and the Uniform Parentage Act (Prob. Code, 7611), Jernigan is presumed to be the… Read More
Under Lab. Code 204(d), wages must be paid to workers paid on a weekly basis within 7 calendar days after the end of the payroll period. This decision holds that CCP 12a applies so as to extend the 7-day deadline for payment to the next business day if the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday. Read More
Under a unique virus coverage endorsement that did not require physical loss of or damage to real property, this CGL policy's business interruption policy might provide coverage for COVID-19 caused business interruption losses. Read More
An employee who engages in sales activities for the employer in a fixed location at which the employer exercises control and supervision over the employee, by requiring the employee to clock in and out and other measures is not subject to the outside salesman exemption to Labor Code wage and hour provisions. The exemption was intended to shield employers from… Read More
This decision affirms a $12 million compensatory damage judgment agaisnt J&J and Colgate for products liability and other torts arising from plaintiff's mesothelioma allegedly caused by asbestos or asbestos-like fibers in defendants' talc products. The trial court did not err in giving a jury instruction on causation patterned after Rutherford v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (1997) 16 Cal.4th 953. Other challenged jury… Read More
This decision affirms a $12 million compensatory damage judgment agaisnt J&J and Colgate for products liability and other torts arising from plaintiff's mesothelioma allegedly caused by asbestos or asbestos-like fibers in defendants' talc products. The trial court did not err in overruling objections to plaintiff's expert witnesses' opinions. There was some evidence that the World Health Organization's International Agency for… Read More
