The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting a letter, containing a remark showing callous indifference to worker death from asbestos, because the letter showed the employer was on notice of the risks of asbestos early, and prejudice from the callous remark was avoided by a jury instruction limiting consideration of the letter to the issue of notice… Read More
Although a governmental entity is legally required to grant a minor leave to file a late government claim, when it fails to do so, the minor must petition the superior court within a year or lose the right to sue. Read More
A company with a website for anonymous online postings about employment experiences has standing to assert the privacy and First Amendment rights of its posters, and to force disclosure of their identities, the plaintiff must first prove a prima facie claim against the poster. Read More
Summary judgment was properly granted against truck repairman plaintiff who had sued brake manufacturers and designers for asbestos exposure, since he introduced no evidence linking defendants to any products that he had used in repairing trucks. Read More
The going-and-coming exception to respondeat superior absolved defendant from liability for injuries from car crash caused by employee who was offered free bus transportation to job site but elected to drive, and who was not on the clock during the car journey. Read More
Youth soccer league owes duty of care to child participants to perform criminal background checks on adult volunteers and employees, but no duty to warn or train the children or their parents about the risk of sexual misconduct. Read More
The governmental immunity for misrepresentations does not bar a claim for business disparagement, but suit was properly dismissed anyway because the alleged slander did not specifically refer to the plaintiff's product or business. Read More
In determining whether the defendant exercised sufficient control to make the tortfeasor the defendant’s agent for purposes of respondeat superior, the jury may properly consider the degree of control which public regulations require the defendant to exercise over the tortfeasor. Read More
Due to the unique constraints of the bid process for government contracts, an unsuccessful bidder on a public contract has no cause of action against the winning bidder for interference with prospective economic advantage. Read More
Summary judgment was properly entered for city in a public nuisance suit since the city showed its conduct had not caused the sea lions to occupy near-shore rocks, fouling the air with the stench of their excrement. Read More
For purposes of the False Claims Act, plaintiff (a New York Deputy AG) did not fall within the pre-2010 definition of an “original source,” because he had only suspicions—not direct knowledge—of defendant’s fraudulent overcharging of the government for wiretaps, and he disclosed those suspicions in response to a FCC inquiry rather than voluntarily. Read More
Annoyance and discomfort damages for trespass by defendant’s setting a wildfire that burned plaintiff’s home can include compensation for plaintiff’s emotional distress even though plaintiff was not present at the fire and suffered no physical injury. Read More
The Civil Code’s treble damage multiplier for trespass or other tortious injury to trees applies to damages awarded for annoyance and discomfort as well as compensation for the actual injury to the trees Read More
A materials supplier may be held liable under Civil Code 895 for defects in newly built residences only if (a) the supplier is strictly liable in tort, or (b) the supplier contributed to the defects by its own negligent act or omission or breach of contract. Read More
Governmental immunity shielded the owner of the adjacent golf course, which had granted a trail easement to the government, from claims by a plaintiff who was injured by an errant golf ball while hiking on the trail. Read More
After an Indiana-based bus manufacturer was dismissed from the case, California law governed Chinese bus passengers’ claims against a California-based bus distributor for injuries sustained when the bus overturned in Arizona; only California had a governmental interest in application of its law. Read More
Because no statute, regulation or contract provision required defendant to use a progress charting tool known as an earned value management system, defendant did not violate the False Claims Act, as plaintiff alleged, by an implied false certification that it used that tool. Read More
Design immunity shielded city from liability for a pedestrian that a left-turning driver killed in a crosswalk since an authorized city official designed the intersection, the design was reasonable when adopted and the design was causally related to the accident. Read More
If a private relator fails to respect the 60-day statutory seal on release of information while the Attorney General reviews a False Claims Act complaint, the district court, in its discretion, may dismiss the complaint or impose other sanctions; dismissal is not mandatory. Read More
In this asbestosis case against an independent contractor that laid gas pipelines for So. Cal. Gas, plaintiff's employer, the trial court did not err in giving jury instructions about the employer's duty to provide a safe workplace for its employees, nor did it err in marking but not admitting a document used to refresh a defense witness’s recollection. Read More
