California Appellate Tracker

Here, although the claimant's complaint arguably denied a theory of liability (express easement by deed) that was potentially covered by insurance in favor of other non-covered theories (easement by prescription, etc.), the title insurer owed a duty to defend from the outset of the litigation since facts known to the insurer--an ambiguous deed referring to an easement of uncertain location… Read More

Because the title insurance policy at issue stated clearly that the insurer owed a duty to defend only litigation, this decision holds that the insurer owed no duty to pay costs that the insured incurred during a period between the end of one covered action and the commencement of another covered action.  Even though the insured incurred legal expense during… Read More

The trial court erred in dismissing the insured's bad faith claim against the title insurer which had denied the insured's tender of defense.  The complexity of facts associated with the underlying legal claim and difficulty of ascertaining whether those facts might support a claim under the policy weigh against the insurer denying a defense.  An insurer must defend against a… Read More

Employment, Wage & Hour Regulation, PAGA, Defense Costs Not Recoverable From Dept. of Industrial Relations, 1, 5 A defendant employer that has prevailed against a PAGA suit cannot recover its costs of suit from the Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, Labor & Workforce Development Agency unless the LWDA has participated in the litigation--even though the LWDA… Read More

Relief from judgment may be granted under FRCP 60(b)(6) "for any other reason that justifies relief" only when justified by "extraordinary circumstances."  That same high standard applies when the plaintiff brings a 60(b)(6) motion to set aside a judgment of dismissal in order to file an amended complaint. The plaintiff must satisfy the "extraordinary circumstances" standard to obtain relief from… Read More

Torts, Government Entity, Foreign Sovereign Immunity, Personal Jurisdiction, 5, 6 Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, personal jurisdiction exists when an exception to the usual immunity that the Act generally grants to foreign sovereigns and the foreign sovereign is served in the manner prescribed in the Act.  There is no additional requirement that the traditional factors outlined in International Shoe… Read More

Torts, Aiding and Abetting, Federal Common Law, Under federal law, to be held liable as an aider and abettor of a crime, a defendant must be shown to have taken an affirmative act in furtherance of the underlying wrong with the intent to facilitate the commission of that wrong. In other words, an aider and abettor must “participate in” a… Read More

Employment, Burden of Proof, Majority Group, Same Burden As Minorities, 5, 6 Members of a majority group need not meet any different standard or burden of proof than a member of a minority group in bringing a Title VII action for employment discrimination.  The decision specifically disapproves the 6th Circuit's requirement that majority group members present pleading and proof of… Read More

Judgment, Default, Damages Do Not Exceed Amount in Pleading If Pleading Seeks Damages as Proven at Trial, 2, 4 Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(c) provides that a default judgment “must not differ in kind from, or exceed in amount, what is demanded in the pleadings.”  This decision holds that a default judgment does not exceed the amount demanded in the… Read More

Following Badgerow v. Walters (2022) 142 S.Ct. 1310, this decision holds that the facts establishing a federal court's subject matter jurisdiction must be evident on the face of the petition to confirm an arbitration award under 9 USC 9.  As Badgerow holds, a federal court may not "look through" the petition to confirm the award to review the underlying controversy… Read More

In this case, appellants challenged judgments entered on unlawful detainer complaints, claiming that the trial court lacked jurisdiction because the complaint erroneously alleged that the two plaintiff LLCs were California LLCs whereas, in fact, they were Delaware LLCs.  Following Jo Redland Trust U.A.D. 4-6-05 v. CIT Bank, N.A. (2023) 92 Cal.App.5th 142, this decision holds that the judgments are not… Read More

JustAnswer's website was insufficient to establish that plaintiff consumers had agreed to arbitrate.  JustAnswer's website provided a link to its terms and conditions but did not require consumers to separately acknowledge that they had read the terms and conditions or agreed to them.  Instead, the website treated consumer as having agreed to the terms if they signed up or continued… Read More

Gov. Code 53165.1 prohibits local governments from promulgating and enforcing ordinances or other law that punishes landlords or tenants based on their prior contact with law enforcement--a measure designed to prohibit landlords from refusing to rend to prospective tenants who pose no safety threat but have criminal history records, including arrests without conviction.  This decision holds that a city attorney's… Read More

California's rules of court governing sealing of court records apply to actions for anti-harassment injunctions under CCP 527.6.  Here, the defendant in such a proceeding failed to present the type of proof of harm that would justify sealing the court record even though he claimed it made it more difficult for him to apply for jobs and subjected him to… Read More

Under Pub. Contracts Code 4107, a prime contractor may not substitute a subcontractor for one named in the prime contractor's bid with some exceptions and special procedures.  This decision holds that section 4107 protects subcontractors who are named by a prime contractor after acceptance of a design-build prime contract, but only if the subcontract is for more than half a… Read More

The Rooker-Feldman doctrine applies and bars a federal court from reviewing a de facto appeal from a state court's judgment only when the federal suit complains of a legal wrong allegedly committed by the state court, and seeks relief from the judgment of that court.  However, if the plaintiff complains about harm caused by the opposing party, Rooker-Feldman does not… Read More

An insurer is not required to contribute to a different insurer's defense costs if that insurer assumed the defense voluntarily.  Here, Federal had issued an umbrella policy which did not attach if there was an unexhausted primary insurance policy covering the same loss.  Truck had issued such a policy and was brought into the defense late by the insured.  As… Read More

At least when tried in federal court, a claim for actual and statutory damages under the Unruh Civil Rights Act, Civ. Code 52(a) is an action at law in which the parties have a right to a jury trial under the 7th Amendment.  The most analogous claim when the constitution was adopted and in pre-merger of law and equity decisions… Read More

A public entity (school board) violated plaintiff's First Amendment rights by blocking him from posting on the social media (Facebook) it used to communicate with constituents about public issues.  The page was a public forum.  Blocking plaintiff from using the page altogether was an overly broad restriction of his free speech.  Less restrictive measures would serve the entity's interest in… Read More

Fraud, Corporate Fraud Compensation Fund, Judgment for Fraud, 1, 5 The Corporate Fraud Compensation Fund, administered by the Secretary of State, compensates victims of corporate fraud in amounts of up to $50,000 per victim or victim couple.  Corp. Code 2280 et seq.  To obtain compensation, a victim must first obtain a final judgment in a court of competent jurisdiction against… Read More