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A suit brought in a city’s name by a private attorney is not an enforcement action brought in the name of the People of the State of California by the Attorney General, or a district attorney or a city attorney acting as a public prosecutor and so is not exempt from the Anti-SLAPP statute.  Read More

A citizen suit against his city council was not a public interest suit exempted from Anti-SLAPP protections, since the citizen in question would have benefited personally from a decision in his favor.  Read More

Leaseholder whose lease stated he would indemnify the lessor against claims “arising out of, in connection with, or involving the use or occupancy of the leased premises” was not obligated to indemnify lessor against an injury that occurred in the common area (here, the stairs), even though injured party was a worker climbing stairs with a bucket of soapy water… Read More

In a medical malpractice action, a foreign doctor may testify as an expert on the standard of care since that standard is no longer governed by practice in the locality where the defendant doctor practiced.  Read More

An injured worker did not file a formal worker’s compensation claim until 7 years after his injury, but the insurer could not raise a successful laches defense to the claim since the worker’s employer received knowledge of his injury the day after it was sustained.  Read More

Trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting photos of cars post-accident without supporting expert testimony since they showed minimal car damages, impugning credibility of plaintiff who claimed to be injured in a car accident but had no medical confirmation.  Read More

Trial court erred in allowing suspended (and eventually dissolved) corporation relief from default judgment, since its agent for service of process was served, thus giving it actual knowledge of the suit.  Read More

A homeowners association’s post-foreclosure quiet title action stated a viable claim against the former owner who might challenge the foreclosure; hence, the former owner was not fraudulently joined and the federal courts lacked diversity jurisdiction.  Read More

Former husband of bankrupt spouse could raise his homestead exemption to oppose the bankruptcy trustee's motion to sell the property free and clear, since the former husband resided in the home at the time the former wife filed her bankruptcy petition.  Read More

Section 1983 claims are, in some instances, precluded by federal statutes containing comprehensive remedial schemes of their own; but if the statutory rights and protections diverge significantly from the constitutional ones, there is no preclusion—as here, where an ADEA action for retaliation diverges significantly enough from a 1983 action based on deprivation of First Amendment rights (due to retaliation for… Read More

Even without entry of a judgment in excess of primary policy limits, an excess insurer that has paid part of a settlement in excess of the primary insurance policy's limits may sue the primary insurer on a claim for equitable subrogation to the insured's bad faith claim against the primary insurer, for unreasonably failing to settle within policy limits.  Read More

A 998 offer is invalid and will not shift costs if it requires a release of claims beyond those pertaining to the action in which the 998 offer is made, such as, here, where the 998 offer required plaintiff to release all claims he might have against the defendant, whether or not they were connected with the incident giving rise… Read More

Plaintiff injured in an auto accident by defendant driving an ambulance was subject to the two-year limitations period for personal injury claims arising from general negligence—as opposed to the one-year period that applies to medical malpractice claims—since the act of driving the ambulance does not involve the practice of medicine.  Read More

An Anti-SLAPP motion may target allegations of protected activity that form the basis of a claim for relief even if the complaint also alleges unprotected activity as part of the same “cause of action.”  Read More

To discover the identity of a person who posted an anonymous Internet comment, plaintiff must present prima facie evidence of all elements of a defamation claim; here, plaintiff fell short as the comment was non-actionable opinion, not defamatory fact.  Read More

All orders entered by a temporary judge found biased based on a party’s unanswered statement of disqualification are void, and a marital settlement agreement tainted by those orders is unenforceable.  Read More

A borrower lacks standing to sue alleging his loan was transferred to a securitized trust after its closing date because a late transfer is voidable, not void.  Read More

A plaintiff’s discrimination and retaliation suit against the University where she was a medical resident in anesthesiology did not arise from the University's protected activity in conducting proceedings leading to her discipline and ultimate termination, but rather from the University's allegedly wrongful (and unprotected) antecedent conduct in discriminating and retaliating against plaintiff, which in turn led to the protected disciplinary… Read More

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