Different deadlines apply to seeking double costs and attorney fees for a frivolous appeal under Fed. R. App. P. 38; a bill of costs must be filed within 14 days after the opinion is filed, but attorney fees may be sought within 14 days after the time for seeking rehearing expires. Read More
Only damages proximately caused by the defendant’s tort are recoverable; here, that principle barred recovery for wrongful death in 2011 from a second accident to which injuries sustained due to defendant’s 2004 tort allegedly contributed. Read More
Superior court's order remanding this case to the civil service commission for its entry of additional findings and conclusions to support the discipline it imposed on a county employee was not considered “final” for appellate purposes. Read More
An award of Private Attorney General fees is barred by Joshua S. only when the non-prevailing party pursued only its own private interest, had no institutional interest in the legal principle established in the case, and was not responsible, in whole or in part, for the practice or policy that gave rise to the litigation. Read More
A narrower state law does not preempt San Francisco’s ordinance more broadly prohibiting landlords from discriminating against prospective tenants based on their receiving government assistance to pay rent. Read More
Elder or dependent adult may renew a five-year restraining order against abuse if s/he entertains a reasonable apprehension of future abuse, even if additional abuse did not occur during the initial five-year restraining period. Read More
The Ellis Act preempts a San Francisco Planning Code provision forbidding enlargement, renovation, or reconstruction of nonconforming residential units if the unit had experienced a "no-fault" eviction within the last ten years. Read More
Although “health studios” are required to have an AED on the premises, a health studio’s landlord is not required to do so. Read More
Defendant was entitled to Anti-SLAPP protection against celebrity plaintiff’s complaint alleging that defendant’s TV docu-drama misappropriated her right to publicity. Read More
Courts have the discretion to transfer venue of a case filed in the wrong venue at any time and are not bound by the time limits in the separate statute that governs mandatory venue transfers. Read More
Since a private nuisance claim involves only a question of harm to the plaintiff, not others, the trial court erred by admitting evidence of incidents of a nuisance on the property before plaintiff acquired it. Read More
A judgment resolving all issues in one consolidated case is final and appealable even though issues in other consolidated cases remain unresolved. Read More
The measure of the amount-in-controversy in a declaratory relief action over a life insurance policy is the face value of the policy. Read More
In order to claim design immunity, a public entity does not need to show that the employee who approved the challenged design actually considered the safety feature that plaintiff claims should have been included in the design and then omitted it; rather it only needs to show substantial evidence supporting the design’s reasonableness. Read More
Defendant’s 998 offer was not rendered ambiguous by its attempt to “exclude reasonable costs and attorney fees if any”; so when plaintiff refused the offer and then recovered less than the offer at trial, the trial court could award cost and fee sanctions. Read More
Although talent service companies are statutorily required to post a bond and include certain provisions in their contracts with artists, a company’s failure to comply with these requirements merely makes a contract voidable and does not grant the artist any legal remedy absent damages caused by the non-compliance. Read More
The Coastal Act bans changes in the intensity of use without a permit and so prevented an HOA from adopting a ban on short-term rentals of property within the Coastal Zone. Read More
The federal Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. 2701 et seq., permitted San Francisco to issue an administrative subpoena to the owner of a website that sought records of transactions involving short-term rentals for tax purposes. Read More
The trial court properly granted defendant landlord's Anti-SLAPP motion to strike plaintiff's claim that the landlord violated Santa Monica's anti-harassment ordinance by filing an unlawful detainer complaint against the plaintiff which supposedly lacked sufficient factual and legal support. Read More
Two final judgments confirming separate final arbitration awards do not run afoul of the “one final judgment rule,” which is intended to determine the merits of all claims between two parties in a single judgment even when, as here, one award disposes of the merits and the other disposes of fees and costs. Read More
