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A homeowners’ association was properly ordered to pay compensatory damages to the bankrupt for knowingly violating the bankruptcy discharge injunction by suing to quiet title, following non-judicial foreclosure of its lien on the bankrupt’s condo, based in part on pre-bankruptcy unpaid HOA dues.  Read More

A bankruptcy trustee may reject as an executory contract a pre-bankruptcy retainer agreement the bankrupt entered into with a lawyer in contemplation of future non-dischargeability litigation—thereby recovering for the bankrupt estate the retainer the bankrupt paid before filing his bankruptcy petition.  Read More

A settlement of claims brought by the liquidating trustee overseeing bankrupt corporation’s liquidating trust is properly approved if in entering into it the trustee has made a “good faith judgment in the best interests of the beneficiaries of the liquidating trust to maximize net recoveries”; the more demanding “fair and equitable” standard which is applied to settlements by regular bankruptcy… Read More

Parties stipulated to arbitration with each side bearing a portion of arbitration fees, but plaintiff ran out of money, defendant declined to pick up her share of the fees, and arbitration terminated without a ruling on the merits; this combination of circumstances freed plaintiff to pursue her claims in court.  Read More

Defendant church owed a duty of care to persons using its parking lot to avoid exposing them to an unreasonable risk of harm—even though the risk was from conditions on the busy road adjoining the parking lot, which the church did not own.  Read More

The Supreme Court endorses the implied false certification theory of violation of the federal False Claims Act, but only if the undisclosed facts (such as violations of law) would be material to the United States’ decision to pay the claim.  Read More

Corp. Code 1601 is interpreted to require a California corporation to allow a shareholder to inspect the corporation's records, but only at the location where those records are ordinarily maintained.  Read More

An order granting an Anti-SLAPP motion as to two of three defendants is not appealable under federal procedural law which governs a diversity case pending in federal court—even though such an order would be appealable under California law Read More

Order vacating consent judgment based on defendants’ substantial compliance is reversed because the record was insufficient to establish defendants’ compliance with all of terms of the judgment entered in favor of plaintiff, a prisoner who followed the Wiccan religion.  Read More

Service of summons and complaint on defendant was considered adequate when his father accepted substituted service at home, defendant could not establish that he had a permanent residence elsewhere, and his father gave him actual notice of the suit within three days of the substituted service.  Read More

The Supreme Court rejects the Federal Circuit’s Seagate Technology test for when to award treble damages in patent infringement suits under 35 USC 284, as too rigid and incompatible with the statute, adopting instead a “all circumstances considered” standard reviewed on appeal only for abuse of discretion.  Read More

In exercising its discretion under 17 USC 505 to award fees to the prevailing party in a copyright infringement suit, a district court should give significant, but not necessarily controlling, weight to whether the losing party advanced a reasonable claim or defense Read More

In an insurance bad faith action, Brandt legal fees that the insured incurs in his successful effort to obtain insurance benefits are actual damages which must be included with other actual damages in computing the actual to punitive ratio, even if the parties stipulate to having the trial judge set Brandt fees after the jury has awarded both other actual… Read More

District court judge did not err by reconvening jury for further deliberations to correct an error in the verdicts, since he did so within minutes of discharging them and questioned them to make sure they had not been influenced by outside sources.  Read More

11 U.S.C. 727(a)(2)—which provides that a debt may be exempted from discharge if the debtor has, within one year before filing his bankruptcy petition, made a fraudulent transfer—is not a statute of limitations and is not subject to equitable tolling.  Read More

Manufacturer of auto brake forming tools is strictly liable for worker’s injury caused by breathing asbestos dust while using the tools in the intended manner on asbestos-laced auto brakes even though manufacturer did not make the brakes.  Read More

Even though a federal defense contract required use of boxes only plaintiff made, plaintiff was not a third party beneficiary of the contract because neither contracting party intended to grant plaintiff enforceable rights under the contract.  Read More

Whether commission-paid employees were required to perform tasks not directly involved in selling, in violation of California’s minimum wage laws, was a common question permitting class certification. Read More

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