Assuming that it is unconstitutional to award statutory penalties for the same wrongful conduct that is also a basis for a punitive damage award, this decision holds that the jury's award of punitive damages for fraud and statutory double damages under the Song-Beverly Act did not offend that rule. The punitive damages were for misrepresentations that induced purchase of the… Read More
Four federal statutes bar discrimination on the basis of race, gender, disability or other protected characteristics by recipients of federal financial assistance; namely Title VI and IX of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Rehabilitation Act and the Affordable Care Act. None of these acts expressly grant private rights of action to victims of discrimination that violates those Acts' provisions. … Read More
Under the CLRA (Civ. Code 1792(b), no "action for damages" may be brought against a defendant that offers appropriate correction within 30 days of receiving the plaintiff's notice of violation of the statute. This decision holds that "action for damages" includes--and the subsection therefore bars--any claim for compensatory damages or for restitution under the CLRA. The decision also holds that… Read More
The trial court instructed the jury to award plaintiff defendant's profits from the false advertising the jury found only if it found that the defendant acted wilfully. This instruction was contrary to the Supreme Court's later holding in Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil Group, Inc. (2020) 140 S.Ct. 1492. So the jury verdict was reversed and remanded. However, disgorgement of… Read More
Under Civ. Code 3333.2(c)(2), noneconomic damages in a medical malpractice case are limited to $250,000 unless the defendant provided services that exceeded "the scope of services for which the provider is licensed and which are not within any restriction imposed by the licensing agency or licensed hospital." This decision holds that section 3333.2 applies to a physician's assistant who has… Read More
A jury found Ford liable to a purchaser for fraud and a CLRA violation as well as a violation of the Song-Beverly Act for selling plaintiff a Ford pickup with a Navistar engine when Ford knew the Navistar engine created unsolvable problems when put in a Ford truck. This decision holds that substantial evidence supported the jury's compensatory damage award… Read More
Defendant bought the property adjacent to plaintiff's property and improved the purchased property with a drip-irrigated walnut orchard. A strip of land on defendant's side of the fence between the two properties was actually plaintiff's property. After defendant completed the orchard improvements, plaintiff sued for trespass on that strip of land and sought an injunction requiring defendant to restore the… Read More
Oakland lacked standing to bring a price-fixing antitrust claim against Oakland Raiders and other NFL teams arising out of the Raiders' move to Las Vegas. A finding of antitrust standing requires a balancing of the nature of the plaintiff’s alleged injury, the directness of the injury, the speculative measure of the harm, the risk of duplicative recovery, and the complexity… Read More
Plaintiff insured's losses due to COVID-19-related restrictions on its business were not covered by the business interruption insurance policy defendant had issued to it. To be covered, the business interruption had to result from physical loss of or damage to property at the insured location. Instead, the business interruption resulted from county closure orders that were issued due to the… Read More
Under Civ. Code 3360 and applicable California decisions, a plaintiff who proves that defendant breached a contract is entitled to an award of nominal damages even if the plaintiff is unable to prove actual damages caused by the breach. (Sweet v. Johnson (1959) 169 Cal.App.2d 630, 632.) Two 9th Circuit opinions stating that breach of contract claims are not actionable… Read More
Under the Knox-Keene Act, health care plans must reimburse out-of-contract hospital for emergency services provided to plan members at the reasonable and customary value for those services (in the absence of a contract setting another rate). A hospital may sue a health plan in quantum meruit if if thinks the health plan has paid less than the reasonable and customary… Read More
Interpreting a nondisclosure agreement under English law, this decision holds that a clause stating that "this agreement shall terminate on a date 2 years from the date hereof" ended the entire agreement after two years, including the defendant's obligation not to disclose the trade secret information it had learned from plaintiff during the existence of the agreement. This interpretation was… Read More
Following Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions, Inc. (2011) 52 Cal.4th 541 and Pebley v. Santa Clara Organics, LLC (2018) 22 Cal.App.5th 1266, this decision holds that a plaintiff who has medical insurance but chooses to use out-of-plan doctors for his care is treated for damage purposes as if he were uninsured and may submit the doctors' bills as evidence… Read More
The trial court properly denied plaintiff prejudgment interest as the basis for computation of its damages was disputed. It sought to hold defendants jointly and severally liable for defense costs in an underlying lawsuit. It recovered much smaller several damages limited to costs of defending against claims arising from each defendant's own work. Read More
Disagreeing with Pulte Home Corp. v. CBR Electric, Inc. (2020) 50 Cal.App.5th 216, this decision holds that while an insurer's right to proceed on its insured's claim under the doctrine of equitable subrogation is an equitable claim as to which there is no right to a jury trial, if the claim to which the insurer successfully becomes subrogated is a… Read More
Narrowly interpreting and correcting Copenbarger v. Morris Cerullo World Evangelism, Inc. (2018) 29 Cal.App.5th 1, this decision holds that proof of attorney fees as damages under the tort of another doctrine follows the same rules of proof of other types of expenses as damages. The plaintiff's testimony that she received and paid the bill is sufficient prima facie proof of… Read More
In a case involving a retaliatory firing of a deputy fire marshal, the appellate court affirms the judgment finding the defendant city liable, but reverses the award of $2 million for past noneconomic damages and $1.5 million in future noneconomic damages as excessive given the slight evidence of emotional distress, the fact that plaintiff found other employment, the fact that… Read More
The Federal Housing Finance Agency's structure is unconstitutional in providing that the President can remove the head of that agency only for cause. However, that fact does not invalidate the acts taken by the FHFA's head or entitle shareholders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to damages unless they can prove that the restriction on the President's power (as opposed… Read More
In a personal injury action, a plaintiff must, before entry of a default serve the defendant with a statement of damages by the same means as the plaintiff served the summons and complaint. Here, service by publication had been authorized. Plaintiff could and did properly serve the statement of damages by publication without an additional order permitting service of the… Read More
Civ. Code 3287(b) gives the trial judge broad discretionary power to award prejudgment interest in contract cases even when the damages are not certain or capable of being made certain. Uncertainty of damages alone would not be a proper reason to deny discretionary prejudgment interest under section 3287(b), but here, the trial judge also relied on the fact that the… Read More
