Plaintiff was injured in an accident on his Yamaha dirt bike. He said the authorized Yamaha dealer from whom he bought the bike had installed the throttle mechanism improperly, leading it to fall off the bike, causing the accident. The jury verdict and judgment in favor of Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., the US distributor of the bike was reversed because… Read More
The trial court did not abuse its discretion in declining to apply the merger doctrine to void a driveway easement which was the only means of access to the plaintiff's property. Defendant had owned both adjoining parcels at one point, but had promptly taken out a loan on the property benefited by the easement--a loan that probably wouldn't have been… Read More
While a valid 998 offer may contain a demand for release of the claims sued upon, this 998 offer included a demand for a settlement agreement that was not attached to the 998 offer or described in detail (only some of its potential terms were mentioned) in the 998 offer. Hence, the trial court correctly concluded that the offer was… Read More
A school district is not a “person” who is in a “business, service, or professional relationship” with its students and so is not liable under Civ. Code 51.9 for sexual harassment of a student by a teacher. Read More
Under CCP 340.1(b), a plaintiff may obtain treble damages against a person whose cover up is found to be the cause of a sexual assault on a child through a concerted effort to hide evidence relating to childhood sexual assault. This decision holds that the treble damage provision does not apply retroactively. The statute espressly makes the lengthened statute of… Read More
Disagreeing with Niedermeier v. FCA US LLC (2020) 56 Cal.App.5th 1052, this decision holds that a car manufacturer may not offset the consumer's "profits" on resale or trade-in of a lemon car against the restitution amounts otherwise recoverable by a consumer as a result of the manufacturer's violation of the Song-Beverly Act. To allow an offset would contradict the clear… Read More
Though not limited by US Const. Art. III case or controversy standing requirements, California court apply prudential standing requirements. Absent a statutory grant of standing to represent the general public, a plaintiff must generally show that he has a beneficial interest in the claim he pursues. A statute like FCRA that allows for statutory damages that are intended to compensate… Read More
This decision holds that at least when the employer can and does capture time worked to the exact minute, it cannot justify not paying an employee for every minute worked by relying on a facially neutral policy of rounding time to the nearest 15 minutes. California law requires payment of employees for all time worked, and disallows any de minimus… Read More
This decision distinguishes United Riggers & Erectors, Inc. v. Coast Iron & Steel Co. (2018) 4 Cal.5th 1082 which held that a prime contractor violated a prompt payment statute (CC 8818) when it withheld payment of an undisputed progress payment to a subcontractor over a dispute about the subcontractor's additional claim for add-ons and change orders. In this case, the… Read More
Plaintiff employees acted as customer service representatives who spoke with customers by telephone operated through employer-supplied computers. This decision holds that time spent turning the computers on and booting them up was an indispensable part of the employees' principal duties and therefore was compensable work time under the FLSA, as amended by the Portal-to-Portal Act. It remands the case to… Read More
Affirming an attorney fee award of $10,000 instead of the requested $34,000 in a simple ADA case, this decision holds that the district court judge adequately explained why he used a blended hourly rate and reduced hours by 65%, finding that the case was simple, most of the work could have been done by junior attorneys or paralegals, and much… Read More
Users of Reddit, a social media platform, posted and circulated sexually explicit images and videos of minors online. Parents of those depicted sued Reddit. This opinion holds that section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (47 USC 230) immunizes Reddit. While § 230 immunity does not apply to child sex trafficking claims if the conduct underlying the claim also violates… Read More
Under B&P Code 17918, a party that regularly transacts business in California for profit under a fictitious business name may not maintain an action on a contract made in the fictitious business name until a fictitious business name statement is filed. The statute abates the action but does not invalidate the contract. This decision holds that a motion to compel… Read More
Both parts of the Discovery Act's sanctions chapter, CCP 2023.010 lists the types of discovery abuses the Legislature sought to preclude, and CCP 2023.030 lists the types of sanctions that can be awarded if authorized by a later section governing a specific discovery device, but neither of these general sections, in itself or combined with each other, authorizes imposition of… Read More
A petition to recover estate property under Probate Code 850(a)(1)(c) is not the proper vehicle for obtaining communications and documents from a temporary conservator of the plaintiff's estate; those documents are not the type of personal property interests that can properly be sought through and adjudicated in a section 850 petition. Read More
Reversing summary judgment on plaintiff's whistleblower retaliation claims under Lab. Code 1102.5, this decision holds that (a) the employee's reports to his supervisor and to the federal contracting officer that he thought he was being asked to prepare reports that violated NEPA was activity protected by section 1102.5--even though plaintiff claimed that the persons he reported to were wrong-doers. Read More
Following Van Patten v. Vertical Fitness Group, LLC (9th Cir. 2017) 847 F.3d 1037, this decision holds that a person who receives a non-consented-to robocall in violation of the TCPA has Article III standing since the claim is similar to a common law claim for invasion of privacy and is statutorily protected. Read More
This decision holds that there is a constitutional limit on aggregate statutory damage awards even if the statutory damage per violation passes constitutional muster. An aggregate damage award may exceed due process limits in extreme situations—that is, when they are “wholly disproportioned” and “obviously unreasonable” in relation to the goals of the statute and the conduct the statute prohibits. Constitutional… Read More
In these individual lawsuits arising from VW's emission defeat devices, the district court erred in reducing the juries' punitive damage awards to 4 times actual damages. Reprehensibility here was high--a years-long intentional deceit that defeated the fuel-economy and reduced emissions goals of car buyers. The high reprehensibility plus relatively low actual damages warranted punitive damages of more than 4 to… Read More
The trial court erred in granting Staples summary judgment on plaintiff's Equal Pay Act claim under Lab. Code § 1197.5. Following federal cases, this decision holds that a plaintiff can establish a prima facie case of an Equal Pay Act violation by showing she was paid less than a single male comparator. It is not a defense to show that… Read More
