A group of plaintiffs represented by law firm A filed a parallel putative class action to one filed by law firm B. B's suit was allowed to proceed. A's was stayed. When notice of a tentative settlement of B's suit was sent, A sent a letter to class members urging them to opt out. B obtained court orders sending corrective… Read More
This decision holds that CRC 2.259(c) and 8.77(d) both apply to excuse late filing of notices of appeal in appropriate circumstances. Rule 2.259(c) requires a court to deem a document filed on the day of the attempted filing if a technical problem with the court's filing system prevents the filing. Rule 8.77(d) allows a court to deem a document filed… Read More
In this case, ZF sued TAT claiming that the director TAT appointed to ZF's predecessor, ZF Micro Devices, intentionally destroyed that corporation by disparaging its management and working behind the scenes to undermine its efforts to obtain funding. This decision holds that ZF's claim is legal and must (at ZF's demand) be tried to a jury. A director's duty to… Read More
(A school district did not owe students a duty of care to prevent a teacher's husband from entering the classroom and killing her in front of her students, thus causing the students emotional distress. The husband's violent criminal behavior was not reasonably foreseeable, as he had previously visited his wife at the school without incident. Also, protecting against this sort… Read More
(The Federal Tort Claim Act's discretionary function immunity did not shield the United States from liability for the alleged conduct of its employees in maliciously instigating false state court criminal charges against plaintiff (in retaliation for her whistleblowing). The employees' alleged conduct in knowingly lying under oath, tampering with witnesses, or fabricating evidence to support the false criminal charges had… Read More
Usually, any agreement to waive the employee's right to sue under PAGA is unenforceable. But there is an exception for collective bargaining agreements that cover construction workers, provide for wages, hours and working conditions, set forth a grievance and arbitration remedy for Labor Code violations, allow the arbitrator to award all remedies authorized by the Labor Code and clearly waive… Read More
Joining Inns-by-the-Sea v. California Mutual Ins. Co. (2021) 71 Cal.App.5th 688 and many later decisions, this case holds that COVID-19 and the accompanying stay at home orders did not cause physical loss or damage to the insured's business premises and so did not give rise to business interruption coverage under its CGL policy. Read More
The settlement agreement in this case provided that defendant "shall pay" plaintiff $3 million as full and final settlement of plaintiff's cliam. The next sentence stated that payment of the $3 million "will be paid out of escrow" from a specific sale of a piece of real property. This decision holds that the settlement was not conditional and was not… Read More
The Ellis Act does not preempt San Francisco's Rent Ordinance section 37.9A which requires landlords exercising their right to remove units from the rental market to give the displaced tenants a specific notice of their right to relocation payments and to make the required relocation payments. This decision also holds that strict, not substantial compliance, is required with the ordinance's… Read More
While the primary purpose of appointing a receiver (here, to sell radio stations) is to enforce and obtain payment of a judgment, the judgment debtor cannot automatically obtain the receiver's discharge and return of its property by posting adequate security for or paying the judgment. The court retains discretion to continue the receivership thereafter to assure that the judgment debtor's… Read More
(Under FRCivP 4(k)(2), a federal court may exercise jurisdiction over a foreign defendant on a federal claim if the defendant is not subject to personal jurisdiction in any state's courts and exercising jurisdiction over the defendant comports with due process considering his contacts with the US as a whole. Here, the district court could properly exercise jurisdiction over the foreign… Read More
Probate Code 8402(a)(4) provides that to be eligible to serve as an executor or administrator of an estate, a person must be a resident of the US. This decision interprets the statute as meaning that an executor or administrator must be "domiciled" in the US--that is, reside in the US with the intention of remaining there. Here, the proposed administrator--the… Read More
The insured landlord's CGL policy excluded claims for claims arising out of actual or claimed uninhabitable conditions on the premises--and all other claims (whether or not otherwise covered) which were alleged in the same suit as claims for non-habitability. This decision holds that the exclusion was plain, clear, conspicuous, and enforceable. As a result, the exclusion relieved the insurer of… Read More
CCP 995.240 grants a trial court authority to waive any provision requiring a litigant to post a bond if the trial court finds the party that is otherwise required to post a bond is indigent and unable to obtain sufficient sureties. This decision holds that the statute applies, and grants the trial court discretion, to waive CCP 917.1's otherwise applicable… Read More
This decision reverses a JNOV and new trial order overturning a jury verdict for plaintiff in this slip and fall accident caused by liquid on the floor tile of the defendant restaurant. The plaintiff offered a reasonable explanation for how the ten foot long, ten inch wide strip of liquid got on the floor in a location leading past the… Read More
The district court properly granted defendant's Anti-SLAPP motion. Anti-SLAPP motions do not conflict with federal procedure and so may properly be brought in federal court on diversity claims governed by California law. Shady Grove Orthopedic Associates, P.A. v. Allstate Ins. Co. (2010) 559 U.S. 393 did not overrule or undermine prior 9th Circuit authority so holding. Plaintiff could not show… Read More
Over a strong dissent, this decision holds that under 1 USC 1124, when the debtor is solvent, it must pay contract interest (or interest at a rate set by state statute) on unimpaired claims of unsecured creditors, not the lower federal interest rate under 28 USC 1961. Read More
A shareholder who sues to dissolve a corporation may be forced instead to sell his shares to the other shareholders at the price set by the appraisal procedure set out in Corp. Code 2000. This decision holds that the selling shareholder is not entitled to prejudgment interest on the appraised price of the shares between the valuation date and the… Read More
To determine whether speech or other conduct falls within the scope of CCP 425.16(e)(4)'s catchall provision, the court must make a two-step analysis, first asking what public issue or issue of public interest the defendant's conduct or speech implicates, and second asking what functional relationship exists between the speech and the public conversation about that issue of public interest--i.e., whether… Read More
Under Civil Code 846, landowners are generally immune from liability for personal injuries suffered by persons entering their property for recreational use. There is an exception to that immunity if the plaintiff was "expressly invited rather than merely permitted to come upon the premises by the landowner." This decision holds that despite the statutory wording, immunity is lost if the… Read More
