AB-5 which codifies the ABC test of employee status is a generally applicable labor law that affects a motor carrier’s relationship with its workforce but does not bind, compel, or otherwise freeze into place the prices, routes, or services of motor carriers, we conclude that it is not preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (49 USC… Read More
An insurer may waive the insured's forfeiture of the policy through non-payment of the premium even though a loss has occurred during the period between lapse of the policy due to non-payment and reinstatement upon late payment of the premium. The loss-in-progress rule (Ins. Code 22, 250) does not prevent the insurer from waiving the forfeiture in this situation because… Read More
Following Bolger v. Amazon.com, LLC (2020) 53 Cal.App.5th 431, this decision holds that Amazon.com is strictly liable in tort for defective products sold through its website even if Amazon does not manufacture or sell the products itself. Read More
Under Probate Code 24(c) and 17200, the successor in interest to a person who has a present or future interest in a trust is a "beneficiary" with standing to request an accounting from the trustee. Here, the trial court wrongly dismissed a petition to compel an accounting at a case management conference based on the trustee's objection without giving prior… Read More
Following Langere v. Verizon Wireless Services, LLC (9th Cir. 2020) 983 F.3d 1115 and Microsoft Corp. v. Baker (2017) 137 S.Ct. 1702, this decision holds that the Court of Appeal lacks appellate jurisdiction over an appeal from a voluntary dismissal entered for the purpose of trying to appeal from an order compelling arbitration in a putative class action. It does… Read More
The IWC's wage orders setting minimum wages and the method of calculating hours of work for purposes of paying minimum wages do not apply to the University of California which is not a political subdivision of the state and does not otherwise fall within the definition of a public employer under Wage Order No. 4. Instead, the University is a… Read More
The FTC Act does not authorize the FTC to seek monetary restitution in a suit that the FTC brings in the first instance (i.e., without a prior administrative proceeding) in federal court under section 13(b) of the FTC Act. (15 USC 53(b).) The section expressly permits only injunctive relief in such an action. Furthermore, allowing restitution under section 13(b) would… Read More
Truck alleged that Federal committed fraud in prior litigation between the two insurers of a common insured, Moldex. In the prior litigation, Federal had alleged and maintained that its defense of Moldex was required under its policy. After the prior litigation settled, Federal switched positions and claimed that its policy didn't require it to defend Moldex, but that it had… Read More
Although Omnicare, Inc. v. Laborers Dist. Council Construction Ind. Pension Fund (2015) 135 S.Ct. 1318 dealt with misrepresentations under section 11 of the Securities Act (15 USC 77k(a)), this decision holds that Omnicare's rules with respect to when opinions can be deemed actionable misrepresentations apply to suits for false proxy statements under sections 14(a) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange… Read More
In a reverse confusion trademark infringement case, the senior trademark owner claims that customers are confused by the junior infringer into thinking that the senior's goods emanate from the junior because of its higher public profile. Here, IronHawk was the senior user of SmartSync for its file compression and transfer software. It claimed that Dropbox's use of Smart Sync on… Read More
In a Longshore & Harbor Workers Compensation Act case, the ALJ abused his discretion in awarding the prevailing claimant attorney fees at an hourly rate that was substantially lower than the rates that the claimant's evidence showed were prevailing rates for attorneys of equal skill in the same market area. Use of historical market rate surveys is a proper means… Read More
To state a viable ERISA claim against the trustees of an ESOP for continuing to invest in the employers' stock, the plaintiff must plead specific facts showing that an alternative existed and would have benefited the plan's beneficiaries more than continuing to buy the employer's stock. See Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer (2014) 134 S.Ct. 2459. In doing so, the… Read More
A precertification voluntary dismissal without prejudice of so-called “class claims” cannot constitute a favorable termination on the merits where, as here, the defendant agreed to pay the plaintiff a sum in exchange for the plaintiff’s dismissal of her individual claims. A class action is merely a procedure by which a plaintiff can pursue her claim, not a separate claim that… Read More
Distinguishing Monster Energy Co. v. City Beverages, LLC (9th Cir. 2019) 940 F.3d 1130 as interpreting federal, not California law, and involving a one-time litigant against a repeat player, this decision holds that in a commercial, non-consumer, arbitration, California law does not require an arbitrator to disclose his 0.1 percent interest in JAMS. Arbitrators are required to disclose their relationship… Read More
Under the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (42 USC 3604(f)), it is unlawful for a person to discriminate in the sale or rental of real property based on disability. This decision holds that to invoke the act's protection, the disabled person must show he bought or rented the premises or tried to. Rental for this purchase requires an… Read More
In 2007, Congress amended FOIA to partly overrule Buckhannon Board & Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia Dept. of Health & Human Resources (2001) 121 S.Ct. 1835 and allow the plaintiff to recover attorney fees on the catalyst theory in FOIA cases. The 2007 amendment allows a FOIA plaintiff to prove eligibility for a fee award by either (a) he… Read More
Ins. Code 533.5 provides that no insurer (no matter what the insurance policy says) owes any duty to indemnify or defend a suit by the Attorney General, a district attorney or city or county counsel to recover a fine, penalty or restitution for a violation of B&P Code 17200 or 17500. This decision holds that the statute does not violate… Read More
Using the website of the administrator hired by Northrup Grumman to manage its pension plan, plaintiffs submitted requests for the administrator to tell them the monthly pension benefit they would receive if they retired on a certain date. The administrator miscalculated the benefit because it used the requesters' wages during their second period of employment by Northrup Grumman rather than… Read More
In determining the constitutionally permissible ratio of actual to punitive damages, the court may take into account actual harm which cannot be compensated for by an award of actual damages. Here, for example, the plaintiff suffered emotional distress when her employment was terminated and her employer told her she was fired for poor performance when the real reason was that… Read More
Over a vigorous dissent, the majority holds that the adult daughter of the insureds under this homeowner's insurance policy does not have standing to sue the insurer for bad faith in regard to coverage for damage to the daughter's personal property that was damaged while in the insured premises. Only the parents were named insureds under the policy, which expressly… Read More
