California Appellate Tracker

Corporation’s general counsel’s email to the press about its recently-filed lawsuit was not protected by the absolute litigation privilege but was protected by the privilege for fair and true reports to a publication about a judicial proceeding.  Read More

Trial court properly granted Anti-SLAPP motion filed by State of California in lawsuit brought by individual who was claiming the State threatened him with arrest or prosecution if he failed to register as a sex offender.  Read More

Fees and expenses of a receiver appointed as a provisional remedy may, in the trial court's discretion, be awarded in whole or part as costs to the prevailing party in the litigation.  Read More

A promissory note for a loan to aid defendant’s development scheme, which was not offered to the general public, is not considered a “security.”  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

It was not an abuse of discretion to deny plaintiff’s request to raise its auto insurance rates, since its advertising expenses were properly excluded from rate calculation.  Read More

A convicted criminal defendant need not demonstrate actual innocence in order to sue his attorney for malpractice in connection with civil commitment proceedings under the Sexually Violent Predator Act.  Read More

Settlement agreement signed by tenant, which contained a release of claims arising from the tenancy, was enforceable against the tenant since it was a voluntary agreement rather than a tenant waiver of rights under the city’s rent ordinance.  Read More

A federal court may exercise supplemental jurisdiction over a state-law cross-claim between nondiverse parties so long as the cross-claim remains part of an action commenced by a complaint that properly invokes diversity or federal question jurisdiction, but if the cross-claim is severed, the district court loses jurisdiction over it.  Read More

A declaratory relief claim based on equitable subrogation in a priority dispute between two home equity lines of credit is not governed by a three-year limitations period and so was wrongly dismissed.  Read More

Since a non-contingent contract for attorney fees between a lawyer and client must be in writing and signed by both parties in order to be enforceable, agreement which client never executed was not enforceable, and the statute of limitations had already passed on a quantum meruit action by the lawyer.  Read More

A plaintiff-buyer’s notice that does not satisfy the Right to Repair Act’s requirement of describing a construction defect in reasonable detail nevertheless is sufficient to trigger the builder's 14 day time period for acknowledging receipt of the notice.  Read More

District court properly denied defendant employer’s motion to compel arbitration of plaintiff workers’ wage and hour claims, since collective bargaining agreement’s arbitration clause covered only contract-related claims, not statutory claims.  Read More

A van the driver’s employer gave her for business and personal use was a non-owned vehicle furnished for the driver’s regular use and thus was excluded from coverage under the driver’s personal auto policy.  Read More

Anti-SLAPP motion to strike plaintiff actor’s complaint was properly granted in favor of defendant actor-director with respect to racial discrimination claims alleging defendant had called plaintiff the N-word on set.  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

Neither the statute of frauds nor the parol evidence rule precluded a real estate broker’s suit for her commission, as she could rely on extrinsic evidence to show that the one owner who signed her listing agreement did so as agent for the other owners.  Read More

Two nationwide classes were properly certified in a RICO suit alleging that defendants fraudulently collected reimbursement for miscalculated taxes; the plaintiff’s claim was typical as she was harmed by the same scheme as class members, and she proposed adequate methods for proving damages on a classwide basis.  Read More

The automatic stay in bankruptcy prevents a taxing authority from holding a tax sale of the debtor’s property after the bankruptcy petition is filed even if the tax lien redemption period expired before the petition was filed.  Read More