The dormant Commerce Clause does not prohibit California from applying its labor laws to airline employees who reside or are employed predominantly in California. The airline's block time method of computing pay was similar to the pay scheme approved in Oman v. Delta Air Lines, Inc. (2020) 9 Cal.5th 762, and so did not offend California Labor Code guarantees of… Read More
A defendant can be held liable for negligent misrepresentation on two disparate theories. First, under Rest.2d Torts section 311, a defendant may be liable for negligent misrepresentation in endorsing a product that physically harms the plaintiff. (See Hanberry v. Hearst Corp. (1969) 276 Cal.App.2d 680.) Here, plaintiff suffered no physical injury and so couldn't rely on that theory to pursue… Read More
The federal Poultry and Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. §§ 451 et seq.) expressly preempts state laws that impose different or additional labeling requirements to the labels approved by the Secretary of Agriculture under the PPIA. (21 U.S.C. 467e.) This decision holds that the federal statute preempts any state law claim that the federally approved label for a poultry… Read More
Having secured a default judgment against the contractor that build a retaining wall on adjacent property which collapsed damaging plaintiff's property, plaintiff sued the contractor's general liability insurer. This decision holds that the trial court erred in entering summary judgment in the insurer's favor. The insurance policy was an occurrence policy. With a continuing loss, coverage attaches when the damage… Read More
Following n Hill v. Superior Court (2016) 244 Cal.App.4th 1281 and Kerley v. Weber (2018) 27 Cal.App.5th 1187, and disagreeing with Levin v. Winston-Levin (2019) 39 Cal.App.5th 1025, this decision holds that double damages may be awarded under Probate Code 859 without a finding of bad faith if the defendant has taken or concealed property of a dependent adult, a… Read More
Plaintiff contracted mesothelioma, allegedly from asbestos-concrete pipe manufactured by defendant, a successor to Johns Manville's asbestos-concrete business. A $15 million punitive damage award is reversed for lack of evidence that an officer, director or managing agent of defendant acted with malice, oppression or fraud or authorized or ratified any conduct. Romo v. Ford Motor Co. (2002) 99 Cal.App.4th 1115 doesn't… Read More
Brown, a teacher, complained that the electro-magnetic waves emanating from the new wi-fi system installed in her school caused her chronic pain, headaches, nausea, itching, burning sensations on her skin, ear issues, shortness of breath, inflammation, heart palpitations, respiratory complications, foggy headedness, and fatigue. She reported her symptoms to the school, which initially gave her the option of having it… Read More
A PAGA suit under Lab. Code 2988 may be brought against the employer in any county in which an aggrieved employee worked and a Labor Code violation was allegedly committed. The private plaintiff need not bring the action in the county in which he worked or where the violations against him occurred. Read More
A release that ratepayers were required to sign in order to obtain a partial rebate of illegal water charges was enforceable. The city did not fraudulently conceal facts from ratepayers. Its FAQs said the partial refund was due to the statute of limitations barring claims for any greater refund and revealed that the overcharges had been assessed for a longer… Read More
The Ninth Circuit applies the abuse of discretion standard of review to review a summary judgment in a trademark infringement case if the summary judgment is granted on equitable grounds such as unclean hands, laches or acquiescence. Read More
A student is entitled to notice and an opportunity to be heard before a written disciplinary reprimand is placed in his student file. However, the student is not entitled to a trial type hearing or to confront and cross-examine witnesses against him when such a low level of discipline is imposed. A trial-like hearing would impose too great a burden… Read More
While a trial court has broad discretion to appoint a receiver for property or a business owned by a judgment debtor, as a means of enforcing a judgment (CCP 708.620), a receiver is a harsh, expensive remedy that should be employed only based on evidence that the judgment debtors have obfuscated or frustrated the creditor’s collection efforts and that less… Read More
Summary judgment was properly entered against plaintiff on his FEHA retaliation claims. The employer introduced evidence showing it promptly investigated plaintiff's complaint about his supervisor's discriminatory conduct and moved plaintiff to a different part of the company under a different supervisor. When plaintiff was later fired, it was for poor performance, as determined by three supervisory employees who were unaware… Read More
Summary judgment was properly granted the employer on plaintiff's California Family Rights Act claims. Plaintiff introduced no evidence that he had requested medical leave. Instead, when he complained about suffering migraine headaches, and the employer asked who could replace plaintiff in supervising his staff, plaintiff said medication would cure the headache in a few hours. The employer also produced unrebutted… Read More
An order dismissing a co-defendant's cross-complaint for indemnity against another defendant is appealable even if the cross-complainant remains in the case on the plaintiff's complaint. The dismissal finally resolved all claims between the two defendants and thus was a final, appealable order. Read More
Recognizing split of authority on question of whether a defendant may challenge a good faith settlement determination on appeal from a final judgment or whether the only remedy lies in a writ petition from the good faith finding, and choosing to side with those decisions allowing a challenge on appeal from a final judgment even when the appellant did not… Read More
A defendant is not aggrieved by, and so has no standing to appeal from, an order exonerating a co-defendant from liability to the plaintiff, even if the would-be appellant has a claim for contribution or indemnity against the exonerated defendant. So, in this case, one contractor at the work site where plaintiff was injured had no standing to appeal from… Read More
Whitaker adequately alleged standing to bring a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act by alleging that the counters in Tesla's showrooms were inaccessible to him (as a wheelchair-bound person) and deterred him from returning to Tesla's showrooms. However, Whitaker's complaint was properly dismissed for failure to meet Iqbal/Twombly pleading standards as it mostly repeated the statutory elements of an… Read More
This decision reverses a preliminary injunction against the county's implementation of COVID-19 health protocols that shut down restaurants, and particularly, those like plaintiff's restaurant that provided nude or semi-nude adult entertainment with their restaurant services. The preliminary injunction violated due process in banning all restrictions on restaurants generally, when the complaint and preliminary injunction papers were limited to First Amendment… Read More
Plaintiff sought to serve her petition for issuance of a Civil Harrassment injunction on the defendant by social media since she had been unable to serve him by normal means of service of process. Though it notes that some states (New York, New Jersey and Texas) have allowed service of process by social media, this decision holds that at least… Read More
