California Appellate Tracker

Article I, section 8 of the Constitution empowers Congress to enact uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcy throughout the nation.  This decision holds that Congress violated the uniformity requirement when it raised US Trustee fees in 2017 because, at that time, it did not also raise the fees charged bankrupts in the six districts in Alabama and North Carolina… Read More

Arizona had personal jurisdiction over Pennsylvania Byzantime Catholic church officials whom plaintiff claimed had defamed it and interfered with plaintiff's contract with an Arizona Byzantine Catholic church.  Under Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783, 788-89 (1984), a defendant is subject to specific personal jurisdiction if he (1) commits an intentional act, (2) expressly aimed at the forum state, that (3)… Read More

To recover attorney fees under the catalyst theory and CCP 1021.5, the plaintiff must show that (1) the lawsuit was a substantial factor in the plaintiff's achieving the primary relief sought in its suit (whether by judicial decree, settlement or voluntary change), (2) the lawsuit had merit and achieved its catalytic effect by threat of victory, not by dint of… Read More

Defendant was not judicially estopped from contending that a later "forbearance agreement" fully released him from obligations under an earlier "settlement agreement." In other litigation, defendant had referred to the the "forbearance agreement" as being "brief"--which could have meant short in words, not time, but in any event there was no evidence that the court in the other case had… Read More

Malefactors unrelated to Uber obtained Uber stickers from its website and placed them on their cars.  Then they picked up women who thought the men were Uber drivers.  This decision holds that Uber is not liable for the fake drivers' rape of the women.  Uber didn't have a special relationship with the women that imposed any duty on it to… Read More

Following Lawson v. PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc. (2022) 12 Cal.5th 703, this decision pays close attention to the text of Lab. Code 1102.5, but nevertheless affirms a summary judgment for the employer.  First, the decision casts doubt on whether the employee who invokes section 1102.5 must actually believe what she reported was a violation of law so long as there… Read More

The second sentence of the FTC Holder Rule does not limit recovery of attorney fees under state statutes that render the holder liable for those fees, even on claims that can only be brought against the holder as a result of the FTC Holder Rule. Read More

The FRCivP govern procedure in federal court even in diversity cases in which state law governs on substantive issues.  This decision holds that Washington law requiring the filing of an affidavit with a medical malpractice complaint if the plaintiff elects not to engage in mediation before filing suit does not apply to a suit filed in federal court since FRCivP… Read More

California may impose a lien on a MediCal recipient's suit against a third party for injuries that were treated with services paid for by MediCal.  The federal Medicare Act and implementing regulations do not preempt state law in this respect.  However, if the recipient settles his claim with the third party defendant, the MediCal lien reaches only the amounts paid… Read More

A medical expert testifying about causation in support of the party bearing the burden of proof in a medical malpractice case must be able to express an opinion “to a reasonable medical probability,” which means more likely than not.  If the defendant tries to prove that something other than its alleged negligence caused plaintiff's injury, it bears the burden of… Read More

Assuming federal law governs the issue of waiver of the right to compel arbitration in a case to which the FAA applies, this decision holds that no showing of prejudice to the party opposing arbitration is required to support a finding that the party seeking to compel arbitration has waived the right to do so by its conduct in the… Read More

Despite CCP 1710.40'sopen-ended list of potential defenses to a sister state judgment, under the Full Faith and Credit Clause, the statute does not and cannot create an opportunity to raise defenses to the merits of the underlying claims resolved in the sister state judgment. Thus, defenses based on a contract's arbitration, forum selection and choice of law clause could not… Read More

The trial court erred in vacating entry of judgment in California on a sister state judgment rendered in Missouri where plaintiffs lived.  Missouri had personal jurisdiction over the California defendants since they had sent allegedly fraudulent communications to plaintiffs in Missouri, inducing the Missouri plaintiffs to enter into a contract for defendants' adoption services and pay defendants from Missouri.  An… Read More

Despite a broadly worded delegation clause, a court must always decide whether the parties entered into an arbitration agreement.  And, when the defendant appeals from a trial court's decision that it did not satisfy its burden of proving the existence of an arbitration agreement, the appellate court only asks whether the appellant’s evidence was (1) “uncontradicted and unimpeached” and (2)… Read More

The extra hour's penalty pay that an employer must pay a worker who has been denied a meal break is wages, and so failure to pay the hour's wage triggers the additional waiting time and insufficient wage statement penalties under Lab. Code 203 and 226.  The employee is entitled to 7% prejudgment interest on the hour's penalty wages. Read More

Under the FCRA, a furnisher of credit information must make a reasonable investigation if the consumer about whom it furnishes information to a credit reporting bureau properly protests the inaccuracy of the furnisher's information.  Furnishers, unlike credit reporting agencies, may be required to investigate the legal as well as factual bases of the information it furnishes.  Here, CitiMortgage continued to… Read More

A Delaware corporation's bylaw requiring any shareholder derivative suit be brought in Delaware Chancery Court is enforceable.  Such a forum selection clause does not offend any federal statute or public policy. Read More

CCP 340.3(a) lengthens the statute of limitations for suing a defendant convicted of a felony for the wrongful act on which the plaintiff sues.  This decision holds that section 340.3(a) does not lengthen the statute of limitations for suits against those vicariously liable for the felon's wrongful act, such as his employer in this case.  The decision also holds that… Read More

Under 28 USC 1782, a party to a proceeding in a foreign court may petition a district court to compel a deposition or production of documents from a resident of the district for use in the foreign proceeding.  This decision holds that since the only relief sought in such a proceeding is an order compelling discovery, a magistrate judge may… Read More

When a nonexempt lender charges more interest than is allowed under Cal. Const. art. XV, sec. 1, the interest provisions of the loan agreement are unenforceable.  The principal amount of the loan is deemed due on the maturity date of the loan, and all payments on the loan before then are credited against principal.  However, if the loan is not… Read More