A child molester’s “grooming” presents to the molested minor did not trigger application of Insurance Code section 11583 which tolls the statute of limitations on partial payment of compensation for injury given without notice of applicable limitations periods. Read More
Under CCP 1032(a), a prevailing party is entitled to a cost award even if it is united in interest with co-parties that did not prevail, but the trial court has discretion in awarding only those jointly incurred costs which were reasonably necessary to the prevailing party’s case. Read More
Defendant was unable to challenge domestic violence protective order on the ground that he had not consented to have a court commissioner decide the issue, because he impliedly consented to have the commissioner decide the matter by participating in the hearing and couldn’t produce an oral record of the proceedings proving he had withheld consent at that time. Read More
While Congress may elevate intangible injuries to allow standing to sue, it cannot, by granting a right to statutory damages, create Article III standing when the plaintiff has suffered no actual injury, as can be the case when the defendant violates a statute’s purely procedural requirements. Read More
A suit for pre-natal injuries caused by exposure to toxic chemicals is governed by CCP 340.4 (providing for a 6-year from birth limitations period not tolled during minority) rather than CCP 340.8 (providing for a two-year from discovery limitations period for suits for injuries from toxic chemicals, subject to tolling for minority). Read More
Service of process after amendment naming defendant in place of a fictitious defendant is properly quashed when the plaintiff knew facts giving rise to his claim against defendant when the original complaint was filed. Read More
A vexatious litigant pre-filing order under CCP 391.7 prevents appeals by plaintiffs, but not by defendants. Read More
Independent contractors hired by a governmental entity for purposes of letting public contracts are subject to the same anti-corruption prohibitions that apply to government officers and employees, who are forbidden from having any interest in public contracts that they let. Read More
Fair report privilege bars defamation and trade libel claims based on a press release issued by plaintiffs’ attorneys accurately summarizing jury verdict and proceedings in a False Claims Act suit against the defamation plaintiff. Read More
The trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting terminating sanctions after plaintiff’s attorney repeatedly disobeyed in limine orders by referring to excluded evidence in his opening statement and questioning of witnesses, prejudicing defendants because jury might think their repeated, proper objections were hiding the true facts from the jury. Read More
Res judicata did not bar current because since the current defendants who were not parties to the prior suit and were not in privity with those parties, and because the record did not show the reason why the prior suit was dismissed on the pleadings. Read More
State law claims based on manufacturer’s failure to adequately train physicians on installation of its lap-band implant is preempted by the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act since, apart from the FDCA, state law imposed no duty on a manufacturer to train physicians Read More
A parent corporation lacked standing to seek a declaratory judgment regarding coverage under an insurance policy under which only its subsidiary corporation was an insured. Read More
A 998 offer requiring the opposing party to enter into a settlement agreement is not a valid 998 offer; while cases have allowed a 998 offer to demand a release, a settlement agreement is different, more extensive and more subject to disagreement as to form and contents. Read More
Plaintiff was properly deemed a vexatious litigant because, despite the court’s warning, she filed a third meritless motion attacking a final judgment from which she had not appealed. Read More
The use of a settled statement on appeal (in lieu of a reporter's transcript) does not negate the implied findings doctrine if the parties have waived a statement of decision, since the settled statement is a record of what was said, rather than a record of the trial court's reasoning Read More
Though exempt from federal income tax under 26 USC 529, an education or tuition trust is not designed or used for retirement purposes and so is not exempt from execution on a judgment under CCP 704.115. Read More
A badly drafted settlement agreement did not condition plaintiff’s right to receive the settlement funds on plaintiff’s prior discharge of medical liens on his claim. Read More
A superior court’s branch with only one sitting judge is still part of a larger court with more than one authorized judge, so the normal rules setting the time for filing a 170.6 challenge apply, not CCP 170.6(a)(2) which sets a special rule for courts authorized to have only one judge. Read More
Mandate was denied because it was not clear that the contractual forum selection clause applied to the claims plaintiff alleged and because the only harm petitioner would suffer by raising the issue on a normal post-judgment appeal was the cost of the trial proceedings. Read More
