California Courts of Appeal Decisions 2015
Opinions 1 - 500 of 1055
Date: December 31, 2015
Docket Number: D068464
Justia Opinion Summary: In November 2013, Amber L. arrived at a probation drug test appointment with her two-year-old daughter, A.R., and told her probation officer that she had used heroin just hours before. Amber told the officer A.R.'s…
Date: December 30, 2015
Docket Number: A144398
Justia Opinion Summary: Alejandro, a minor, admitted to being an accessory to illegal drug sales and was found to be a ward of the court. In addition to typical conditions of probation, the juvenile court imposed a condition requiring him to…
Date: December 30, 2015
Docket Number: B262360
Justia Opinion Summary: The district and its faculty entered into a collective bargaining agreement that grants part-time, temporary faculty who have taught at least five consecutive semesters a preferential reemployment status that can be…
Date: December 30, 2015
Docket Number: C078609
Justia Opinion Summary: In January 2015, pro se defendant Pharaoh Haywood filed a petition pursuant to Penal Code section 1170.181 to redesignate his 1996 felony conviction for unlawful taking or driving of a vehicle to a misdemeanor. He waived…
Date: December 30, 2015
Docket Number: C078760
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found defendant Mark Goode guilty of: burglary (count 1) for opening a metal storm door on a residence; and attempted burglary (count 2) for jiggling a window on the same residence a few seconds later. The trial…
Date: December 30, 2015
Docket Number: C079548
Justia Opinion Summary: In March 2013, when the minor (K.R.) was 13 years old, a delinquency petition was filed alleging he had committed the crimes of robbery, criminal threats, and brandishing a knife. In August 2013, Judge James Arguelles…
Date: December 30, 2015
Docket Number: D066831
Justia Opinion Summary: Samuel Heckart brought this action against A-1 Self Storage, Inc., Caster Properties, Inc., Caster Family Enterprises, Inc., Caster Group LP, and Deans & Homer (together, Defendants) for violations of the Unfair…
Date: December 30, 2015
Docket Number: H039055
Justia Opinion Summary: The Army Corps of Engineers retained JMR as general contractor for construction of a dental clinic at the Presidio of Monterey. JMR entered into separate electrical and plumbing subcontracts with EAR. SureTec issued…
Date: December 30, 2015
Docket Number: H040614
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, M’Guinness sued fellow shareholder, Johnson, for claims arising out of the operation of a small construction firm, TLC. M’Guinness also sought involuntary dissolution and appointment of a receiver. Johnson…
Date: December 29, 2015
Docket Number: A141694
Justia Opinion Summary: Goldstone and Lanz are Santa Rosa attorneys. Lanz represented Garcia-Bolio in a “Marvin” action and had a contingency fee agreement. The suit settled on the third day of trial. There was a dispute as to the value of the…
Date: December 29, 2015
Docket Number: G048680
Justia Opinion Summary: Nora Garibotti appealed an order granting Bruce Hinkle’s motion to vacate a default judgment and the revised judgment the trial court entered based on that order. Garibotti was comedian Joey Bishop’s girlfriend for over…
Date: December 28, 2015
Docket Number: C073433
Justia Opinion Summary: United Parcel Service (UPS) delivery driver, Plaintiff Stephen Moore, was injured when he lifted a box with a shipping label prepared by defendant William Jessup University that inaccurately stated the weight of the box.…
Date: December 24, 2015
Docket Number: B261625
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the denial of his resentencing petition under Penal Code section 1170.18, contending that he is entitled to resentencing because his grand theft conviction for violating section 484e, subdivision (d)…
Date: December 23, 2015
Docket Number: A143650
Justia Opinion Summary: The Alameda County Waste Management Authority imposed a $9.55 annual charge on all households for disposal of household hazardous waste, by enactment of an ordinance entitled “An Ordinance Establishing a Household…
Date: December 23, 2015
Docket Number: B259665
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of second degree murder in connection with a vehicular death. At defendant's first trial, he was convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and the jury deadlocked on the charge…
Date: December 23, 2015
Docket Number: B260573
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from a post conviction order denying his petition for resentencing as a second-strike offender under Proposition 36, the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012, Pen. Code, 1170.126. The court concluded that…
Date: December 23, 2015
Docket Number: E062867
Justia Opinion Summary: On November 4, 2014, California voters approved Proposition 47, The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act; it went into effect the following day. Penal Code section 1170.18 was added and provided that a person currently…
Date: December 23, 2015
Docket Number: E063516
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Christopher Marks appealed an order denying his petition for recall and reduction of sentence under Penal Code section 1170.18 and Proposition 47. Defendant contended that his prior convictions for violation of…
Date: December 23, 2015
Docket Number: F069343
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit after their father, Leonard Goddard, drowned in the Tuolumne River downstream from the remnant of what was once known as the Dennett Dam. Plaintiffs claimed that the State and other public entities…
Date: December 23, 2015
Docket Number: F069719
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, seeking to certify a class of those employed by defendant as nonexempt agricultural employees, either directly or through the use of farm…
Date: December 22, 2015
Docket Number: B251933
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a negligence and strict products liability action against E.F. Brady, alleging that asbestos-containing products it distributed caused Joel Hernandezcueva’s mesothelioma. On appeal, Jovana Hernandezcueva…
Date: December 22, 2015
Docket Number: B260679
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of committing lewd acts upon a child and was sentenced to prison. After he was released on parole, he committed multiple parole violations. Defendant was then arrested for failing to register as a…
Date: December 22, 2015
Docket Number: B264143
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against defendants for personal injury and property damage allegedly suffered in an automobile accident. Plaintiff seeks to vacate the trial court's order granting defendant's motion in limine. The…
Date: December 22, 2015
Docket Number: F069796
Justia Opinion Summary: In San Pablo Bay Pipeline Co. LLC v. Public Utilities Com., this court confirmed a decision of the Commission that certain truck racks and storage tanks were part of a pipeline subject to its jurisdiction as a public…
Date: December 22, 2015
Docket Number: G050284
Justia Opinion Summary: Movants-appellants Ali Fadavi, Shadi Ghazi, Pamela Bacha, Mary Roll, Jenna Pearce, Joe Pearce, Michael Ehsani, Robert Glass, and Rocheda Reid appealed an order denying their motion to intervene in the underlying lawsuit…
Date: December 22, 2015
Docket Number: G050444
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found defendant guilty of one count of pimping and one count of pandering. The court held a bench trial and found it to be true that defendant committed the offenses while out on bail. The court sentenced…
Date: December 21, 2015
Docket Number: B261303A
Justia Opinion Summary: Father appealed a jurisdictional finding and dispositional order in the dependency case of his three children, contending, among other things, that the evidence was insufficient to find he is a current abuser of…
Date: December 21, 2015
Docket Number: B266826A
Justia Opinion Summary: This petition involves a paternity and support action filed in a Zurich court in 2008, alleging that petitioner, a resident of California, is the father of Jayden. Both Jayden and his mother live in Switzerland. The…
Date: December 21, 2015
Docket Number: G049695A
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1999, defendant City of Anaheim issued a conditional use permit (CUP 4153) permitting development of two hotels (Project) by plaintiff IHG MANAGEMENT MARYLAND (IHG) on property owned by plaintiff HPT IHG-2 PROPERTIES…
Date: December 21, 2015
Docket Number: G051917A
Justia Opinion Summary: Real-party-in-interest Newport-Mesa Unified School District denied petitioner John Caldecott’s request to produce certain documents made pursuant to the California Public Records Act. Caldecott worked for defendant as…
Date: December 18, 2015
Docket Number: B258860
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose out of a payment dispute between Coast, a contractor, and United, Coast's subcontractor. On appeal, United challenged the trial court's finding in favor of Coast, arguing that the trial court erred in…
Date: December 18, 2015
Docket Number: B262306
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the trial court's restitution order requiring him to pay the City $18,878.23 in restitution for 32 incidents of graffiti. The court affirmed the order, concluding that substantial evidence supports the…
Date: December 18, 2015
Docket Number: D067787
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Chase C. (a minor) was charged with resisting, delaying, or obstructing a peace officer. An adjudication hearing was held, at which the juvenile court found the allegation against Chase to be true. The court…
Date: December 18, 2015
Docket Number: E061187
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Leroy Burton III appealed his conviction on one count of first degree murder. Defendant was charged with the first degree murder of Ja’bari Jones and the personal use of a firearm causing death. The…
Date: December 18, 2015
Docket Number: E062604
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, defendant-respondent City of Rancho Mirage passed Ordinance 1084, which amended the City’s municipal code that provided rules and regulations for renting private homes as short-term vacation rentals. Among other…
Date: December 18, 2015
Docket Number: H040919
Justia Opinion Summary: Six years after a San Jose police officer testified falsely against plaintiff during a preliminary hearing, the city agreed to pay plaintiff $150,000 and not to oppose any motion plaintiff might bring for a declaration…
Date: December 18, 2015
Docket Number: H042060
Justia Opinion Summary: A suit was filed on behalf of a minor, Jonnie, alleging that Jonnie, while a kindergartner at in the Hollister School District, was sexually molested at school by another male kindergartener on two occasions. The…
Date: December 17, 2015
Docket Number: B256744
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a former MTA employee, filed a class action against the MTA on behalf of a putative class of current and former bus and train operators. Plaintiff alleged four causes of action: (1) failure to pay minimum wage…
Date: December 17, 2015
Docket Number: C071776
Justia Opinion Summary: Seventeen-year-old driver Simone Lionudakis got into a motor vehicle accident, injuring defendants-appellants Aweia and Flora Shimon. Simone was driving a GMC pickup truck owned by and registered to her father Phillip…
Date: December 17, 2015
Docket Number: D068146
Justia Opinion Summary: M.J. and C.C. appealed orders entered following the jurisdiction and disposition hearing in the juvenile dependency case of their minor children, thirteen-year-old D.C., ten-year-old Ce.C., and nine-year-old F.C. In…
Date: December 16, 2015
Docket Number: A142299
Justia Opinion Summary: The minor approached a parked vehicle, banged on the window, and demanded that the occupants open the door. Both saw a gun. The minor demanded their wallets and cell phones. The victims complied. The minor fled. Police…
Date: December 16, 2015
Docket Number: A143990
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2000, plaintiff accepted the Gray law firm’s offer of employment as an associate attorney, including a provision requiring both parties to submit all disputes relating to the employment relationship to binding…
Date: December 15, 2015
Docket Number: A139881
Justia Opinion Summary: Following years of conflict between Wright and her former boyfriend, Green, some of it centered around their three-year-old son, Wright drove to Green’s home, waited for him to return from work, and shot him three times.…
Date: December 14, 2015
Docket Number: B259622
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed from a judgment in favor of defendants after the trial court found plaintiff had not provided required documentation and failed to carry his burden of proof with regard to entry of a default judgment…
Date: December 14, 2015
Docket Number: C074521
Justia Opinion Summary: The California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) and Papich Construction Company, Inc. appealed a trial court’s issuance of a writ of mandate to vacate the award of a public works contract to Papich. DeSilva Gates…
Date: December 14, 2015
Docket Number: G051016
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, plaintiff Harold Sturgeon successfully sued Los Angeles County. The suit concerned Los Angeles County's practice of paying fringe or "supplemental" benefits to the county's superior court judges, and how that,…
Date: December 14, 2015
Docket Number: H040102
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Monterey County charged Burnes with: possession of a firearm by a felon, evading a peace officer, possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, possession of a deadly weapon (metal knuckles), possession of…
Date: December 11, 2015
Docket Number: A142254
Justia Opinion Summary: WAC owns and operates 10 “luxury” health and fitness clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area and a sports resort in San Diego. WAC offers a range of membership levels, providing various privileges at one or more of its…
Date: December 11, 2015
Docket Number: D066404
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Adam Prue appealed a judgment in favor of defendant Brady Company/San Diego, Inc. (Brady) after the trial court granted Brady's motion for summary judgment in Prue's action against it for wrongful termination…
Date: December 11, 2015
Docket Number: F067846
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of two counts of murder, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and one count of driving with a suspended license. In the published portion of the opinion, the court…
Date: December 10, 2015
Docket Number: A144070
Justia Opinion Summary: A juvenile wardship petition alleged that Trenton committed petty theft and other crimes. Under a negotiated disposition, the juvenile court sustained amended misdemeanor allegations of second degree commercial burglary…
Date: December 10, 2015
Docket Number: B261784
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of grand theft in violation of Penal Code section 484e, subdivision (d). On appeal, defendant challenged the denial of his petition for resentencing under Proposition 47. The court concluded that…
Date: December 10, 2015
Docket Number: D068026
Justia Opinion Summary: In November 2014, 21-month-old A.A. (Child) was detained and removed from the home and care of her mother, As.A. (Mother). While in the family home, Child had been allowed to play with lit matches, exposed to heavy…
Date: December 10, 2015
Docket Number: E061140
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Court of Appeal's review was one of first impression as to whether a default judgment was void for lack of notice where the marital dissolution petition requested the court to…
Date: December 9, 2015
Docket Number: B257412
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed a judgment after the trial court's grant of defendants' motion for terminating sanctions. Chase moved for terminating sanctions based on its unsuccessful attempts to depose plaintiff's brother and…
Date: December 9, 2015
Docket Number: E060040
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-appellant Barry Schneer (father) appealed a family court order finding California lacked jurisdiction under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) to make an initial child custody…
Date: December 8, 2015
Docket Number: G048369B
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, the California Court of Appeal determined that defendant John Tirey was eligible to apply for a certificate of rehabilitation pursuant to Penal Code section 4852.01. After a rehearing, a majority reached the…
Date: December 8, 2015
Docket Number: H035260B
Justia Opinion Summary: The Santa Clara Valley Water District Act vests the Santa Clara Valley Water Management District with the power to impose groundwater extraction fees. Great Oaks Water Company, a water retailer, brought this action…
Date: December 7, 2015
Docket Number: B250771
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for assault with a deadly weapon and spousal battery, with a prior serious felony finding. In the published portion of the opinion, the court concluded that defendant did commit a…
Date: December 7, 2015
Docket Number: E061986A
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Lionel Johnson, Jr., while plainly drunk, admitted to the police that he had been driving an SUV that had just plowed into another SUV, injuring five people. In a previous appeal the Court of Appeal held, among…
Date: December 7, 2015
Docket Number: F070861
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, employed by Care Homes, filed suit against Care Homes on the basis that she did not receive off-duty meal breaks or rest periods required under Labor Code section 226.7 and Industrial Welfare Commission wage…
Date: December 7, 2015
Docket Number: G049953
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation appealed a judgment of approximately $1.1 million plus interest, costs, and attorney fees of approximately $1.8 million in favor of plaintiff-respondent Hot Rods,…
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: B261634
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a minor student, committed burglary in violation of Penal Code section 459 because he stole another student's cell phone out of a school locker. Defendant petitioned to change his juvenile felony burglary…
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: D066289
Justia Opinion Summary: In a previous decision, the Court of Appeal affirmed a judgment terminating Johneisha Kemper's parental rights to her daughter, rejecting Kemper's contention that she received ineffective assistance of her appointed…
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: G052062
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Catalina Island Yacht Club hosted social events for its members and also arranged for its members to dock their boats in Avalon Harbor. Real party in interest Timothy Beatty and petitioners Charles Boppell, V.…
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: H039149
Justia Opinion Summary: Lexington National Insurance Corporation was the surety on a $20,000 bail bond that was ordered forfeited when Edelmiro Cisneros failed to appear at a hearing in his criminal case. Lexington filed a motion to vacate the…
Date: December 3, 2015
Docket Number: A141836
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Deron Gaines was charged by amended information with second degree vehicle burglary. It was further alleged defendant had suffered seven prior convictions (six felonies and a misdemeanor), and four prior prison…
Date: December 3, 2015
Docket Number: A142634
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA) petitioned the trial court for a writ of mandate compelling production of certain records, including “pilot logs,” held by the designated port agent of the Board…
Date: December 3, 2015
Docket Number: B253464
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for second degree commercial burglary. The court concluded that the prosecutor's comment on defendant's silence constituted harmless error and therefore, the court affirmed…
Date: December 3, 2015
Docket Number: F070771
Justia Opinion Summary: Surety appealed from a summary judgment entered against it on a forfeited bail bond of $25,000. Surety claimed that summary judgment was premature and therefore improper because it was entered while Surety’s motion for…
Date: December 2, 2015
Docket Number: A144548
Justia Opinion Summary: Natasha B. appealed a juvenile court order that terminated her parental rights to her daughter, T.G. At a dispositional hearing, Natasha was bypassed for reunification services because her rights to her other children…
Date: December 2, 2015
Docket Number: B261189
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded no contest to six counts of second degree commercial burglary with intent to commit larceny. On appeal, defendant challenged the trial court's order denying his Proposition 47 petition to reduce his…
Date: December 1, 2015
Docket Number: A139892
Justia Opinion Summary: A regulation promulgated by San Francisco’s Rent Board provides that notwithstanding any changes to the terms of a tenancy under section 827, a tenant may not be evicted for violating an obligation that was not included…
Date: December 1, 2015
Docket Number: B262044
Justia Opinion Summary: Developer Defendants seek a writ of mandate directing the superior court to vacate its order approving good faith settlements between codefendants Shell and Equilon and plaintiffs, as well as the City. The settlements…
Date: December 1, 2015
Docket Number: C072368
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Tuyen Tran appealed a trial court’s denial of his motion to reduce his 2005 felony conviction for assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury to a misdemeanor. In 2005, a complaint charged…
Date: December 1, 2015
Docket Number: C076260
Justia Opinion Summary: In early 1993, defendant, then 51 years old, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine; he was also found in possession of drug paraphernalia and a loaded firearm. While on bail in 1993, defendant fired a machine…
Date: December 1, 2015
Docket Number: F070056
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit to invalidate the County's ordinance banning marijuana dispensaries, cultivation and storage of medical marijuana in all its zoning districts. Plaintiff argued that the ordinance created an…
Date: November 30, 2015
Docket Number: A131412A
Justia Opinion Summary: The Board of Trustees of the California State University appealed a writ of mandate directing it to vacate its certification of an environmental impact report (EIR) prepared with respect to plans for the expansion of the…
Date: November 30, 2015
Docket Number: C074413
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff County of San Bernardino loaned the San Bernardino County Redevelopment Agency $10 million. When the redevelopment agency was dissolved, $9 million of that money remained with the agency. When the Legislature…
Date: November 30, 2015
Docket Number: C075149
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, petitioner Byron Mason went with his wife, his two children, his dog, and friends to the Shirttail Canyon swimming hole in Foresthill for a party. It was fire season, and numerous fires had started in the…
Date: November 30, 2015
Docket Number: D065557
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Carol Guess appealed a judgment dismissing her action against defendants Mark and Ivy Bernhardson for a declaration that she still had a spousal support judgment lien against real property previously owned by…
Date: November 25, 2015
Docket Number: A142500
Justia Opinion Summary: In November 2009, County of Alameda voters approved Measures I and J levying special parcel taxes by the Albany Unified School District. Plaintiff-appellant Golden Gate Hill Development Company, Inc. was the owner of a…
Date: November 25, 2015
Docket Number: A144396
Justia Opinion Summary: Minor J.B. appealed a condition of probation that the trial court imposed after he was convicted of petty theft. On appeal to the Court of Appeal, J.B. argued the trial court unconstitutionally imposed a condition of…
Date: November 25, 2015
Docket Number: H040625
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, after the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012 went into effect, Defendant filed a petition for recall of sentence and request for resentencing under the Act. The Act created a postconviction release proceeding for…
Date: November 24, 2015
Docket Number: A141353
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Westlake Services LLC appealed a trial court order denying its motion to compel arbitration. Alfredo Ramos, and coplaintiffs (who are not parties to this appeal) sued Defendant Westlake Services LLC for causes…
Date: November 24, 2015
Docket Number: A146191
Justia Opinion Summary: The juvenile court denied reunification services to D.F., the mother of A.M., under Welfare and Institutions Code section 361.5, subdivision (b)(11), because her parental rights to another child had been permanently…
Date: November 24, 2015
Docket Number: B260549
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appealed the juvenile court's findings against her as not supported by substantial evidence. Mother used her hand or a sandal to spank her two children on the buttocks on those “rare” occasions when lesser…
Date: November 24, 2015
Docket Number: B266289
Justia Opinion Summary: Assembly Bill 2124, as enacted at Penal Code sections 1001.94-1001.99, created a “Deferral of Sentencing Pilot Program” in Los Angeles County. At issue was whether a defendant must pay the fines that a misdemeanor charge…
Date: November 24, 2015
Docket Number: C075028
Justia Opinion Summary: Pro se defendant Gerald Brooks appealed a restraining order entered against him, after a hearing, pursuant to the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (DVPA). Defendant argued to the Court of Appeal that the trial court…
Date: November 24, 2015
Docket Number: E063095
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed an order granting the petition of defendant Justin Peacock to reduce his felony conviction of a violation of Penal Code section 496d to a misdemeanor. In February 2012, defendant was charged in a…
Date: November 24, 2015
Docket Number: H039519
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants in this case were Richtek Technology Corporation, a Taiwan corporation, and Richtek USA, Inc., its California subsidiary. Respondents were James Chang, H.P. Huang and J.C. Chen, Taiwan residents and former…
Date: November 23, 2015
Docket Number: B260407
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, convicted of second degree robbery and attempted grand theft person, appealed the denial of his motion for recall and resentencing pursuant to Proposition 36, the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012, Penal Code…
Date: November 23, 2015
Docket Number: B264460
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appealed the juvenile court’s dispositional order removing her sons, Dakota and Joseph, from her physical custody and ordering suitable placement. The court concluded that the juvenile court erred by applying the…
Date: November 23, 2015
Docket Number: B265613
Justia Opinion Summary: LA Hillcreste filed a complaint in an unlawful detainer seeking to evict petitioner for the alleged non-payment of rent. The court subsequently ordered the case transferred from the Appellate Division under California…
Date: November 23, 2015
Docket Number: C070836A
Justia Opinion Summary: The 14th District Agricultural Association and its Board of Directors administers the Santa Cruz County Fairground which, since 1941, has been the venue for various events, including equestrian and livestock events and…
Date: November 23, 2015
Docket Number: D066393
Justia Opinion Summary: The Mamertos owned residential property located in Escondido, and leased the premises to George Jakubec. At some time during the tenancy, Jakubec created homemade explosives and stored explosive devices and materials on…
Date: November 20, 2015
Docket Number: A144797
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, 16 years old when the petition underlying this appeal was filed, had a troubled history. Since 1999, her family has had 36 child welfare referrals from Lake, Shasta, Siskiyou and Solano Counties; it had five…
Date: November 20, 2015
Docket Number: B257400
Justia Opinion Summary: Marlton appealed from the denial of its verified petition for peremptory writ of mandate, seeking to overturn a decision by the County denying Marlton's request for cancellation of tax penalties. The court concluded…
Date: November 20, 2015
Docket Number: B261828
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the superior court's denial of his petition for reduction of his 2012 felony conviction of attempted second degree burglary of a vehicle to a misdemeanor. The court affirmed the judgment on the basis…
Date: November 20, 2015
Docket Number: B266037
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner seeks extraordinary writ relief to compel respondent court to vacate its order granting real party in interest's petition for writ of mandate, brought pursuant to the California Public Records Act (CPRA), Gov.…
Date: November 20, 2015
Docket Number: D066715
Justia Opinion Summary: Haunted Hotel operates four Halloween attractions in San Diego County, including The Haunted Trail located in Balboa Park. The Haunted Trail operates from September through October, ending on Halloween. In October 2011…
Date: November 20, 2015
Docket Number: D067127
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Court of Appeal's review was whether a lease-back financing plan the City of San Diego (City) adopted to fund public infrastructure improvements violated state and local requirements…
Date: November 20, 2015
Docket Number: D068016
Justia Opinion Summary: Damon Lane County Park in El Cajon, owned and controlled by the County of San Diego, is a 29-acre open space park with trails for hiking, walking and equestrian use. The park has information kiosks, but does not have any…
Date: November 20, 2015
Docket Number: E060373
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal stemmed from a trial court's order that appellant Kierstin Smith pay $124,352 to claimant-respondent Cindy Smith, and $151,967, subject to a specified offset, to respondent Mark Smith. Kierstin argued that…
Date: November 20, 2015
Docket Number: G051656
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother B.O. and Father W.M. appealed a juvenile court's order terminating their parental rights to their three-year-old daughter K.M. The sole issue raised on appeal centered on Orange County Social Services' (SSA) lack…
Date: November 19, 2015
Docket Number: B263026
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was arrested and charged with camping in a prohibited public place, possession of a milk crate, and loitering under the Santa Monica Pier. At issue on appeal is whether Penal Code section 991 vests the trial…
Date: November 19, 2015
Docket Number: D066059
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a putative class action against defendant, asserting statutory violations arising from defendant unlawfully recording and/or monitoring her telephone conversations with defendant's representatives. On…
Date: November 19, 2015
Docket Number: D068213
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner seeks a writ of mandate and/or prohibition asking the superior court to vacate its order granting the petition of real party in interest, the District, for a right of entry pursuant to the Eminent Domain Law,…
Date: November 19, 2015
Docket Number: E061480
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-appellant FirstMerit Bank, N.A. sought to enforce a money judgment against defendant-respondent Diana Reese by applying for an order assigning Reese’s interest in two trusts to FirstMerit and an order…
Date: November 18, 2015
Docket Number: A142449
Justia Opinion Summary: In October 2014, the California State Lands Commission (SLC) approved the San Francisco Bay and Delta Sand Mining Project, which authorized real parties in interest Hanson Marine Operations, Inc., Morris Tug & Barge,…
Date: November 18, 2015
Docket Number: A142502
Justia Opinion Summary: Inmate Manuel Martinez filed a habeas corpus petition to challenge a December 2011 decision by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials at Pelican Bay to “validate” him as a gang associate…
Date: November 18, 2015
Docket Number: B257676
Justia Opinion Summary: The State and California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Tawney appealed a judgment in which the jury found Tawney violated 42 U.S.C. 1983 by making a constitutionally unreasonable detention and search of plaintiff and…
Date: November 18, 2015
Docket Number: B264839
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to a felony charge of grand theft from a person and agreed to admit a prior strike and receive a six-year prison sentence, in exchange for dismissal of the more serious felony charge of robbery.…
Date: November 16, 2015
Docket Number: B258151
Justia Opinion Summary: Donald T. Sterling seeks to regain ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers (Clippers), a professional basketball team Steven Ballmer purchased on August 12, 2014. A charge before the NBA’s board of governors indicated that…
Date: November 13, 2015
Docket Number: B255008
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction of assault with a deadly weapon. A jury found true an allegation that defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury on the victim, a homeless man whom defendant beat with a tire…
Date: November 13, 2015
Docket Number: B263164
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled no contest to theft in violation of Penal Code section 484(e), subdivision (d) and admitted a prior prison term under section 667.5, subdivision (b). At issue on appeal was whether Proposition 47 reduced…
Date: November 13, 2015
Docket Number: D066615M
Date: November 12, 2015
Docket Number: A143531
Justia Opinion Summary: The county seized and sold residential property that was in default on property taxes. Sale proceeds exceeded the tax delinquency. Carloss, the son of the deceased former resident of the property, made a claim under Rev.…
Date: November 12, 2015
Docket Number: A143586
Justia Opinion Summary: Patrick, age 17, burglarized a neighbor’s home with an adult cousin who was on parole. Patrick admitted to a juvenile wardship petition allegation of second degree burglary. Patrick told the probation officer who…
Date: November 12, 2015
Docket Number: B257492
Justia Opinion Summary: The DOJ appealed from a judgment in favor of Angelita Resendez and CalPERS in an action concerning reinstatement to a peace officer position following disability retirement. Resendez was employed with the DOJ as a…
Date: November 12, 2015
Docket Number: B257664
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from an order renewing a civil harassment restraining order against him under section 527.6, subdivision (j), of Code of Civil Procedure. The court held that renewal under section 527.6, subdivision…
Date: November 12, 2015
Docket Number: C070296
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Dennis Nilsson, the facilities superintendent for the Sacramento Public Library Authority (Library), was involved in several schemes to receive kickbacks for Library maintenance work provided by outside…
Date: November 12, 2015
Docket Number: C071432
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Gerardo Villasenor, a Sureno gang member, shot two rival gang members on two separate occasions. With respect to the first shooting, defendant was charged with one count of attempted murder (Count One) and one…
Date: November 12, 2015
Docket Number: D067554
Justia Opinion Summary: In December 2013, Giovanni Gonzales took two bank checks from his grandmother. He went into a Bank of America twice during regular business hours and cashed the checks. The checks were for $125 each, written payable to…
Date: November 12, 2015
Docket Number: E062111
Justia Opinion Summary: This case centered on A.O., a minor who was 12 years old at the time of detention, and her mother, who suffered from bi-polar disorder and exhibited paranoid and aggressive tendencies. The court found jurisdiction over…
Date: November 12, 2015
Docket Number: H041781
Justia Opinion Summary: Morris entered a Costco store, concealed a laptop computer under his shirt, and left the store without paying for it. The theft was discovered when a store employee found an empty laptop box. The store manager reviewed…
Date: November 10, 2015
Docket Number: A142156
Justia Opinion Summary: A class action complaint alleged that Honeywell engaged in uncompetitive and illegal conduct to increase its market share of round thermostats and to use its dominant market position to overcharge customers. In 2013, the…
Date: November 10, 2015
Docket Number: B255763
Justia Opinion Summary: The City appealed the trial court's order denying its motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict following the second trial of plaintiff’s employment claims. The court concluded that the City had a viable statute of…
Date: November 10, 2015
Docket Number: B256480
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a minor named in two Welfare and Institution Code 602 petitions, was detained in juvenile hall for 294 days while receiving services to assist him in gaining competence after being declared incompetent to…
Date: November 10, 2015
Docket Number: B258376
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband appealed the trial court's finding of a family home as community property and award of reimbursement of husband's separate property contributions under Family Code section 2640. The trial court also charged…
Date: November 9, 2015
Docket Number: B262787
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father appealed from the jurisdiction findings and disposition order declaring their infant daughter a dependent of the juvenile court and removing her from their custody after the juvenile court sustained an…
Date: November 9, 2015
Docket Number: E062947
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Scott Thornton Garness pleaded guilty to a single felony count of receiving a stolen motor vehicle. Subsequently, California voters enacted Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, which among…
Date: November 6, 2015
Docket Number: D065652
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Ramon Soto appealed an order denying his motions to: (1) vacate entry of default and default judgment; and (2) quash service of summons and dismiss. Defendant filed the motions in connection with an…
Date: November 5, 2015
Docket Number: B252710
Justia Opinion Summary: AHF sought a writ directing the Department (1) to withdraw its order rejecting and remanding an ALJ’s proposed decision on AHF’s administrative claims against the Department, and (2) to adopt as the “Final Decision”…
Date: November 5, 2015
Docket Number: B257775
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for driving while his license was suspended or revoked, arguing that the trial court did not explicitly advise him of his constitutional trial rights before accepting his stipulation to…
Date: November 5, 2015
Docket Number: B261945
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a 19-year-old heroin addict with borderline personality disorder, appealed an order denying a petition to recall her sentence for seven felony forgery convictions and for resentencing to misdemeanors pursuant…
Date: November 4, 2015
Docket Number: F070288
Justia Opinion Summary: Father appealed from a judgment entered pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26, selecting tribal customary adoption (TCA), as the permanent plan for his children. The court rejected Father's contention…
Date: November 3, 2015
Docket Number: D066918
Justia Opinion Summary: David W. appealed a postjudgment order establishing a duty of parental support to former spouse Cecilia W. for their adult child, Robert W., pursuant to Family Code section 3910.2 David contended: (1) the trial court…
Date: November 2, 2015
Docket Number: B259146
Justia Opinion Summary: After the individual respondents, truck drivers, filed wage claims against Performance, Performance petitioned to compel arbitration based on the arbitration agreements in the "Independent Contractor Agreements" with…
Date: November 2, 2015
Docket Number: B261136
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appealed the juvenile court's jurisdictional findings and disposition orders declaring her son to be a person described by Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (b), and removing the son from…
Date: November 2, 2015
Docket Number: D068942
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners were 13-year-old girls who were dependents of the juvenile court. While they were residing at the Polinsky Children's Center, they knocked over a vending machine and took items from inside it. When staff…
Date: October 30, 2015
Docket Number: B250572
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, 15-years-old at the time the crimes were committed, was convicted of first degree murder and attempted murder and sentenced to 90 years to life in prison. The court rejected defendant's contention that the…
Date: October 30, 2015
Docket Number: B261105
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, the landlord, filed an unlawful detainer action against Coolwaters, the commercial lessee. On appeal, Coolwaters challenged the trial court's order denying its special motion to strike the complaint and…
Date: October 30, 2015
Docket Number: B262028
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia allegedly caused by exposure to Safety-Kleen 105 Solvent during the course of their employment, filed suit against defendants, including Calsol, a distributor of…
Date: October 30, 2015
Docket Number: G051368
Justia Opinion Summary: In July 2014, Justin Cuen was charged with six felonies: two counts of possession of a controlled substance (counts 1, 2), one count receiving stolen property (count 3), possession of blank checks (count 4), two counts…
Date: October 29, 2015
Docket Number: A143211
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother has five children who became the subjects of dependency proceedings in 2010. In 2014, after a contested hearing spanning multiple hearing dates, the juvenile court dismissed the case and entered an order stating,…
Date: October 29, 2015
Docket Number: B262300
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with one count of violating Penal Code section 247.5, discharging a laser at an occupied aircraft, after he shined a laser at an L.A. County Sheriff's Department aircraft. The trial court granted…
Date: October 29, 2015
Docket Number: D068758
Justia Opinion Summary: California imposes criminal liability on a person aiding and abetting suicide. Plaintiffs contended Penal Code section 401 was inapplicable to physician aid-in-dying because prescribing a lethal dose of drugs a patient…
Date: October 28, 2015
Docket Number: A140050
Justia Opinion Summary: Convicted for a lewd act committed on a minor, DeLeon was released to parole, with conditions, including prohibitions against possessing pornographic material or devices for viewing sexually explicit programming. On…
Date: October 28, 2015
Docket Number: A143043
Justia Opinion Summary: Legislation, effective in 2004 requires that injured workers’ requests for medical treatment be evaluated through a process called utilization review (UR). Under the UR process, a request for treatment cannot be denied…
Date: October 28, 2015
Docket Number: A145246
Justia Opinion Summary: A single mother of five children subject to dependency proceedings sought to reverse a court order denying her further reunification services with respect to her three oldest children and to stay a hearing under Welfare…
Date: October 28, 2015
Docket Number: B257977
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against defendant alleging 13 contract and fraud-based causes of action. On appeal, defendant challenged an order granting a motion to vacate and set aside a default judgment filed by defendant. The…
Date: October 28, 2015
Docket Number: B260916
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner filed suit claiming that she suffered a workplace injury to her psyche after she sustained injuries arising out of and in the course of her employment as a registered nurse. Petitioner retained a qualified…
Date: October 28, 2015
Docket Number: C071647
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant’s vehicle collided into plaintiff’s vehicle at a busy intersection. Plaintiff sustained spinal injuries in the accident and filed suit against defendant. Eventually, plaintiff had surgery to repair a herniated…
Date: October 28, 2015
Docket Number: D067969
Justia Opinion Summary: Jan Goldsmith was the San Diego City Attorney. League of California Cities was an association of 473 California cities and their public officials, which, among other purposes, advocates to protect and restore local…
Date: October 28, 2015
Docket Number: G050730
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Tomas Vebr was employed by a painting contractor which contracted with defendants Gary and Georgia Culp to paint the interior of their home. An hour into working in the Culps’ home, Vebr fell 12 to 15 feet from…
Date: October 27, 2015
Docket Number: A143399
Justia Opinion Summary: UEBT is a healthcare employee benefits trust governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1001, and pays healthcare providers directly from its own funds for the services provided to…
Date: October 27, 2015
Docket Number: B259137
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of two counts of assault on a peace officer with force likely to produce bodily harm after he threw a metal showerhead at reinforced glass with sufficient force to shatter the glass, causing…
Date: October 27, 2015
Docket Number: E060453
Justia Opinion Summary: Valentino Bocanegra claimed that he was arrested on a warrant for a man with a similar (but not identical) name. Bocanegra repeatedly told the authorities that they had the wrong man and noted that his driver’s license,…
Date: October 27, 2015
Docket Number: F068226
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of two counts of murder in the first degree (counts 1 and 2), as well as one count of active participation in a criminal street gang (count 3). In the published portion of the opinion, the court…
Date: October 27, 2015
Docket Number: G050042
Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal, Glenn Drake challenged the trial court’s order requiring him to pay adult child support for his emancipated son, Dallas. His appeal raised two issues: (1) whether the conditions of Family Code section…
Date: October 27, 2015
Docket Number: H039910
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Nunez purchased a commercial fishing vessel built in 1944, for $1. Having no fishing or boating expertise, Nunez hired Pennisi to install a refrigeration system and work on the boat’s pumping and electrical…
Date: October 26, 2015
Docket Number: A143557
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, defendant was charged with grand theft embezzlement (Pen. Code 487(a)). While working at Bank of America (BofA), she had accessed customer accounts, changed the addresses to the address of Nation, a former BofA…
Date: October 26, 2015
Docket Number: B254490
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a class action suit against his employer, alleging various Labor Code violations and unfair business practice. Plaintiff had entered into an agreement with his employer, providing that all disputes…
Date: October 26, 2015
Docket Number: B261512
Justia Opinion Summary: After defendant stole a packaged steak from the meat department of a grocery store, he was convicted of second degree robbery and acquitted of petty theft. The jury found that defendant had two prior residential burglary…
Date: October 26, 2015
Docket Number: C077757
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Steven R., a minor, admitted a concealed weapon allegation in a section 602 petition filed in San Francisco County Juvenile Court. The court then transferred the case to Sacramento County Juvenile Court for…
Date: October 26, 2015
Docket Number: E059613
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Kimberly Mendoza was charged with four drug-related offenses. The trial court suspended imposition of sentence and placed defendant on three years’ probation in connection with the case. Nearly two…
Date: October 23, 2015
Docket Number: B254870
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal stemmed from a contract dispute between San Pasqual and the State governing San Pasqual's operation of a casino on its land. San Pasqual filed two suits against the State that were consolidated, alleging…
Date: October 23, 2015
Docket Number: D066615
Justia Opinion Summary: Pacific Trades Construction & Development, Inc. was a defendant in a lawsuit that alleged, in part, that Pacific Trades was liable for damages for construction defects caused by Pacific Trades's negligent acts or…
Date: October 23, 2015
Docket Number: D066887
Justia Opinion Summary: Inmate Steven Williams,housed at the R. J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus. Williams alleged the appeals coordinators at Donovan abused their discretion and violated…
Date: October 23, 2015
Docket Number: E062760
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Timothy Page pled guilty to several charges, including one count of unlawfully taking a vehicle in violation of Vehicle Code section 10851, subdivision (a). Subsequently, California voters enacted Proposition…
Date: October 23, 2015
Docket Number: H041136
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1976, the City of Santa Cruz sought to protect its urban forest by adopting the “Heritage Tree Ordinance,” which governs the protection of large trees and trees having other significance. The city later adopted the…
Date: October 22, 2015
Docket Number: A144149
Justia Opinion Summary: Ricardo P. appealed a juvenile court order finding that he committed first degree burglary, declaring him to be a ward of the court, and placing him on probation. One of his probation conditions required him to submit to…
Date: October 22, 2015
Docket Numbers: B256605, B256753
Justia Opinion Summary: Metro approved the Westside Subway Extension Project in May 2012, which will extend the Metro Purple Line heavy rail transit (HRT) subway system to the Westside of Los Angeles. To reach the Constellation station, the…
Date: October 22, 2015
Docket Number: B259722
Justia Opinion Summary: After an arbitrator determined that a non-compete agreement Andrew Gantman signed as a partner in SingerLewak was enforceable, the trial court denied SingerLewak's petition to confirm the award. The trial court found…
Date: October 22, 2015
Docket Number: D067836
Justia Opinion Summary: The small claims court dispute at issue here stems from a condominium lease, which contained a prevailing party attorney fee provision. After the superior court heard the small claims appeal, it entered judgment in favor…
Date: October 22, 2015
Docket Number: E063011
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant S.H. (mother) was the biological mother of C.G. (born in 2013), the child at issue here, and B.H. (born in 2011), who was C.G.’s half sibling. Both children were removed from mother’s custody, and her…
Date: October 21, 2015
Docket Number: B261172
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against Mercury for breach of contract and tortious breach of insurance contract after Mercury denied reimbursement for the cost of repair to the second story of plaintiffs' house. Mercury argued…
Date: October 20, 2015
Docket Number: A143084
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, Cueto obtained a two-year domestic violence prevention restraining order against Dozier, the father of her eight-year-old son. Shortly before the order was set to expire, Cueto sought permanent renewal of that…
Date: October 20, 2015
Docket Number: A143422
Justia Opinion Summary: Susan filed two actions challenging the disposition of the trust estate under an amendment to her mother’s trust that gave substantial gifts to her mother’s gardener, her friends, and caregivers. The probate court…
Date: October 20, 2015
Docket Number: B254489
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was hired by Touchstone as an actress to appear in the television series "Desperate Housewives." Plaintiff filed suit against Touchstone under Labor Code section 6310, alleging that she was terminated in…
Date: October 20, 2015
Docket Number: B262023
Justia Opinion Summary: While defendant was out on bail after comitting a felony narcotics offense, he committed two additional felony offenses. The trial court imposed a two-year sentencing enhancement pursuant to Penal Code section 12022.1,…
Date: October 20, 2015
Docket Number: D066741
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Grey Woods appealed after a jury convicted him of 16 counts related to sexual misconduct involving his girlfriend's underage daughter. Woods pled guilty to a 17th count, for possession of child pornography.…
Date: October 20, 2015
Docket Number: D066793
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Barry Jameson filed a complaint against Dr. Taddesse Desta asserting numerous claims stemming from Desta's allegedly negligent medical treatment of Jameson's hepatitis while Jameson was serving time at the…
Date: October 19, 2015
Docket Number: B262126
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of seven violations of Penal Code section 484e, subdivision (d) – unauthorized acquisition or retention of access card account information of another, and was sentenced to two years in county jail…
Date: October 16, 2015
Docket Number: A142808
Justia Opinion Summary: The Lakes Water System (LWS), created in the late 1800s-early 1900s, provides Vallejo with potable water. After completing a diversion dam and the Green Line for transmission, the city created two reservoirs, Lake Frey…
Date: October 16, 2015
Docket Number: A144390
Justia Opinion Summary: Rivas-Colon pled guilty to felony second degree commercial burglary (Pen. Code 459). The trial court placed him on probation. Rivas-Colon later petitioned for resentencing pursuant to section 1170.18 and section…
Date: October 16, 2015
Docket Number: B248748
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, former employees of Aurora, filed a wage and hour suit alleging, among other things, on behalf of themselves and a class of similarly situated individuals, that Aurora’s uniform practices and de facto…
Date: October 16, 2015
Docket Number: B255199
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against SCIS, alleging that it violated California meal and rest break laws and wage laws. The trial court concluded that plaintiff's claims are preempted by the federal Airline Deregulation Act, 49…
Date: October 16, 2015
Docket Number: H040032M
Justia Opinion Summary: Behm claimed that she was persuaded by the false representations of CVT's officers and directors to invest $200,000 in the company. CVT claimed to be developing a product that would measure pours of alcohol with such…
Date: October 15, 2015
Docket Number: A140328
Justia Opinion Summary: Miranda is a former employee of Anderson Enterprises; Hansen is the company’s general manager. During his employment, Miranda signed an “Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy” by which agreed to arbitrate all employment…
Date: October 15, 2015
Docket Number: A142384
Justia Opinion Summary: Chand was treated for his injuries at San Francisco General Hospital and subsequently sued the driver of the car that struck him, among others. Chand settled with the driver for $100,000 and filed a notice of partial…
Date: October 15, 2015
Docket Number: B262556
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was a juvenile court dependent from 2007 to 2015. In 2014, a petition alleging violations of Penal Code section 288, subdivision (a), for lewd or lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 was sustained…
Date: October 15, 2015
Docket Number: C077622
Justia Opinion Summary: Charlene Deluca filed a complaint alleging defendants CVS Pharmacy, Inc., and Longs Drug Stores California, LLC (CVS), had a corporate policy of automatically terminating employees who do not work any hours for 45…
Date: October 15, 2015
Docket Number: F064909
Justia Opinion Summary: Penal Code 1041(3)-1042 provides for the right to a jury trial on factual issues underlying a plea of once in jeopardy. Defendants entered pleas of once in jeopardy, based on their claim that the prosecutor at the first…
Date: October 15, 2015
Docket Number: H038422
Justia Opinion Summary: Edwards, age 17, and his friends from East Palo Alto drove to a high school house party in San José. Following an argument, members of his group fired gunshots at a crowd on the lawn in front of the house. A bullet…
Date: October 14, 2015
Docket Number: B255578
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Mehusa, her former employer, for unpaid overtime, unpaid wages, and violation of California's Equal Pay Act, Labor Code 1197.5. After plaintiff prevailed on her Equal Pay Act claim and…
Date: October 13, 2015
Docket Number: B256761
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against defendants, alleging that they had violated the duty of loyalty owed to her under the Rules of Professional Conduct by pursuing her business partner's interests in the underlying dissolution…
Date: October 13, 2015
Docket Number: F069387
Justia Opinion Summary: The DMV appealed the superior court's grant of plaintiff's petition for a writ of mandate, overturning the suspension of his driver's license. The DMV suspended the license after finding that plaintiff had violated…
Date: October 13, 2015
Docket Number: G050111
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Jill Shelton, Mobile Medical Services for Physicians and Advanced Practice Nurses, Inc. (NPS), and Mobile Medical Services for Physicians and Advanced Practice Nurses, Inc., a Nursing Corporation (MMS) filed a…
Date: October 9, 2015
Docket Number: A143031
Justia Opinion Summary: While Bikkina was in a Ph.D. program at the University of Tulsa, Mahadevan, Bikkina’s first dissertation advisor and supervisor, repeatedly charged that Bikkina falsified data in published papers and plagiarized…
Date: October 9, 2015
Docket Number: B257764
Justia Opinion Summary: The Partnership sought administrative mandamus against the City after the Commission declined to approve an eldercare facility proposed by the Partnership. The trial court denied mandamus, concluding that the…
Date: October 9, 2015
Docket Number: D066488
Justia Opinion Summary: Real-Parties-in-Interest Plaza Camino Real, LP and CMF PCR, LLC (collectively, "Westfield") proposed to renovate a shopping center originally built in the City of Carlsbad over 40 years ago. The City approved Westfield's…
Date: October 9, 2015
Docket Number: G051494
Justia Opinion Summary: Six days after F.A. (F.) was born exposed to methamphetamine, she was placed with Mr. and Mrs. S., foster parents who hoped to adopt her. Unfortunately, when F. was almost seven weeks old, the Orange County Social…
Date: October 8, 2015
Docket Number: A145052
Justia Opinion Summary: The Napa County District Attorney charged Linn with misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol. Linn successfully moved to suppress evidence, claiming she had been unlawfully detained before the police obtained…
Date: October 8, 2015
Docket Number: B257808
Justia Opinion Summary: The manufacturer sells telecommunications equipment to telephone companies, which pay for the equipment, written instructions on using the equipment, a copy of the computer software that makes the equipment work, and the…
Date: October 8, 2015
Docket Number: H040032
Justia Opinion Summary: Behm asserts that she was persuaded by the false representations to invest $200,000 in CVT, which claimed to be developing a product that would measure pours of alcohol with such precision that it would save large sums…
Date: October 7, 2015
Docket Number: A142357
Justia Opinion Summary: The Contra Costa Water District oversaw construction of a dam, requiring acquisition of 20,000 acres from about 40 owners, relocating 13 miles of road, and installing 20 miles of water pipeline and 12 miles of gas line.…
Date: October 7, 2015
Docket Number: B256748
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted, among other offenses, of felony driving under the influence. After appeal and remand, a jury found that his prior conviction of vehicular manslaughter qualifies as a strike under the Three…
Date: October 7, 2015
Docket Number: B259424
Justia Opinion Summary: Katherine Rosen filed a negligence action against defendants, alleging that they breached their duty of care by failing to adopt reasonable measures that would have protected her from another student’s foreseeable…
Date: October 7, 2015
Docket Number: G050676
Justia Opinion Summary: At trial, the prospective adoptive parents, the B.’s, "pulled out all the stops" in their effort to show that D.N. did not merit the status of a “Kelsey S. father.” D.N. tried to stop the adoption of his child, T.K., by…
Date: October 5, 2015
Docket Number: E059452
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was serving 35 years to life after a jury convicted him as an adult of attempted murder and other charges for robbing and shooting a woman in the face when he was 15 years old. In this appeal, defendant argued,…
Date: October 5, 2015
Docket Number: E059661
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found defendant-appellant Eric Wolfgang guilty of possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of ammunition by a felon. Defendant was sentenced to a total term of one year four months in state prison with…
Date: October 2, 2015
Docket Number: C074569
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved the raisins. One of the California Marketing Act of 1937's (CMA) requirements was that the Secretary of California’s Department of Food and Agriculture, in adopting a marketing order for industry…
Date: October 1, 2015
Docket Number: B258736
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of six crimes related to his kidnapping of a woman at knifepoint and then subjecting her to a series of sexual acts. Defendant was 16-years-old at the time he committed the crimes, and he was…
Date: October 1, 2015
Docket Number: B262759
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a professional basketball team in the NBA, filed an unverified petition for a writ of review against the Appeals Boards and others, challenging what it refers to as the Appeals Board's jurisdiction over a…
Date: October 1, 2015
Docket Number: F069305
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against defendant and Dr. Fanaian seeking to recover compensatory damages for retaliation in violation of Labor Code section 1102.5 and wrongful termination in violation of public policy under Tameny…
Date: October 1, 2015
Docket Number: F070914
Justia Opinion Summary: Kevin A. appeals from an order granting the Public Conservator's petition to establish conservatorship for a one-year period. The court found him to be gravely disabled under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, Welf. & Inst.…
Date: October 1, 2015
Docket Number: H040412
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was accused by his step-daughter of sexual molestation when she was between the ages of 10 and 15 years old. A jury convicted defendant of 15 felonies, including rape, forcible lewd acts upon a child,…
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: A144684
Justia Opinion Summary: The Juvenile Court found R.G., a nonminor dependent within the transition jurisdiction of the juvenile court (Welf. & Inst. Code, 450), ineligible for extended foster care support payments between January 13 and March…
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: B253538
Justia Opinion Summary: Attorney William Salzwedel appealed a $96,077.14 judgment surcharging him for excessive attorney's/trustee's fees, medical expert fees, and costs incurred while acting as the temporary trustee of the Moore Family Trust.…
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: B259792
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was charged with two violations of Vehicle Code, section 40008, subdivision (a), which increases the punishment for reckless driving and other traffic offenses committed with the intent to capture an image,…
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: D067729
Justia Opinion Summary: Christine L. appealed a placement order in the juvenile dependency case of her minor children Liam L., M.L., and Angel L. The order placed the minors with their presumed father and noncustodial parent, J.L. Christine…
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: E059103A
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants-appellants James Riley and Ryan Robinson appealed their convictions on three counts each of commercial bribery. The charges were based on the premise that Riley, who was the insurance broker for Pechanga…
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: E060022
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, defendant-respondent, City of Ontario, with the consent of defendant-respondent, City of Rancho Cucamonga, established the Greater Ontario Tourism Marketing District (the GOTMD). The GOTMD was comprised of all…
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: E061024
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found defendant-appellant Jesse Isom guilty of (1) two counts of burglary (with forgery the crime underlying the burglary convictions); and (2) one count of possessing methamphetamine. Defendant used an altered…
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: F068719
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was sentenced to state prison in two cases. In case No. 2, the term was a subordinate term imposed pursuant to Penal Code section 1170.1, subdivision (a). Execution of defendant’s aggregate sentence on the two…
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: G049773
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, J.M. did not comply with certain conditions of the Government Claims Act (Government Code, section 810 et seq.): he did not present a claim with the board of the Huntington Beach Union High School District…
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: G051197
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Evan Taylor Armogeda pleaded guilty in 2011 to felony possession of heroin. The court sentenced him to two years in state prison. In 2013, he was released to postrelease community supervision (PRCS) for a…
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: H040375
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a truck driver, filed a putative class action complaint against his employer, Rich Voss Trucking, Stevens Creek Quarry, and Richard Voss, alleging wage and hour violations. Plaintiff contended that defendants…
Date: September 29, 2015
Docket Number: A140146
Justia Opinion Summary: Romeo was living in a garage attached to the home of two probationers. Police conducted a warrantless search of the home, detaining Romeo in handcuffs during the search, and found methamphetamine in the garage. While…
Date: September 29, 2015
Docket Number: A143355
Justia Opinion Summary: Malik, age 17, and others assaulted and robbed three women near the BART station. Malik had admitted a robbery in 2012, and was on probation with a condition that he submit to search without a warrant. The Alameda County…
Date: September 29, 2015
Docket Number: B258031
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent, employed as a deputy with the Department, pled guilty to a violation of Vehicle Code section 23153, subdivision (b) for driving under the influence, while he was relieved of duty. Respondent was subsequently…
Date: September 29, 2015
Docket Number: C071090
Justia Opinion Summary: During William Danser’s service as a superior court judge, a jury convicted of conspiring to pervert or obstruct justice. The trial court suspended imposition of sentence and placed Danser on probation for three years.…
Date: September 29, 2015
Docket Number: C075414
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Christy Ann Scarbrough was granted probation after she pled no contest to possession of hydromorphone and heroin and admitted an on-bail enhancement. She subsequently violated her probation and pled no contest…
Date: September 29, 2015
Docket Number: D067634
Justia Opinion Summary: Michael B., a presumed father of infant Emma B., appealed a juvenile court order denying his motion for paternity testing. He argued the trial court had an obligation to order such a test because biological paternity was…
Date: September 29, 2015
Docket Number: G050210
Justia Opinion Summary: The trial court found the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) lacked authority to supervise defendant Charles Toussain on parole because his commitment offense, failing to register as a sex…
Date: September 29, 2015
Docket Number: G050448
Justia Opinion Summary: The parties petitioned for dissolution of marriage in 2006. Cheryl Walker filed for bankruptcy in December 2007. Cheryl's bankruptcy schedule A listed two real properties held in cotenancy, including the family home. The…
Date: September 29, 2015
Docket Number: H038220
Justia Opinion Summary: Ortega was charged with sexual penetration by force. A jury found him not guilty of the charged offense but guilty of the lesser included offense of assault with intent to commit sexual penetration by force. The court of…
Date: September 28, 2015
Docket Number: A140279
Justia Opinion Summary: Richmond Detective Bailey and a partner were investigating “recent gun violence” when he spotted Douglas in a parked car. He had arrested Douglas in 2011 for a firearms-related offense. Bailey knew Douglas was on…
Date: September 28, 2015
Docket Number: A143215
Justia Opinion Summary: After a school counselor found a bag containing 30-45 orange pills, in Erica's purse, left in the counselor's office during a meeting, the counselor took one pill and called the police. The pill tested positive for…
Date: September 28, 2015
Docket Number: B243376
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, diagnosed a paranoid schizophrenic, was convicted of murder after shooting and killing his father and three other men whom he believed were conspiring to kill him. Pursuant to a plea agreement that precluded…
Date: September 28, 2015
Docket Number: C077467
Justia Opinion Summary: In September 2003, Christopher B. entered a plea of no contest to stalking his ex-wife's former husband, and for possessing a billy club. From 2005 through 2007, Christopher B. was found to be a mentally disordered…
Date: September 28, 2015
Docket Number: D065165
Justia Opinion Summary: This action under the Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and the False Advertising Law (FAL) arose from Philip Morris USA, Inc.'s use of terms such as "Lights" and "Lowered Tar and Nicotine" in advertising Marlboro Lights, to…
Date: September 25, 2015
Docket Number: A136327
Justia Opinion Summary: Education Code (47605.8) authorizes the State Board of Education (Board) to grant (or deny) an application for a “state charter school” and directs the Board to adopt regulations. The Administrative Procedure Act (APA)…
Date: September 25, 2015
Docket Number: A141010
Justia Opinion Summary: HKS a Texas architecture firm, provided services for a luxury hotel in Mammoth Lakes under an Agreement that contained a Texas forum selection clause, requiring mediation, and a Texas choice of law provision.The…
Date: September 25, 2015
Docket Number: A141046
Justia Opinion Summary: Dahl sustained a cumulative industrial injury to her neck and right shoulder while employed by Contra Costa County as a medical records technician. The injuries resulted in surgeries and scarring. She was 49 years old…
Date: September 25, 2015
Docket Number: B255445
Justia Opinion Summary: Taxpayer brought a mandamus action to compel state officials to collect the gross premium tax from Real Parties. At issue was whether Real Parties are "insurers" under the California Constitution's gross premium tax…
Date: September 25, 2015
Docket Number: D067870
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother Mari M. appealed a juvenile court order that her son M.M., born June 2013, was a child described by Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (a). The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency…
Date: September 24, 2015
Docket Number: B261487
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed an order resentencing her to two years felony jail for receiving stolen property. The court found that the initial aggregate sentence was three years and eight months. Two years is less than that and…
Date: September 22, 2015
Docket Number: B253701
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff challenged the Appeals Board's denial of his application for a refund of property taxes paid to the County relating to a ground lease and a hangar at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport. The trial court granted…
Date: September 22, 2015
Docket Number: B256976M
Date: September 22, 2015
Docket Number: E062886
Justia Opinion Summary: Father appealed an order terminating his parental rights to his son, D.P., born in 2013, under Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26.1 Father contended the juvenile court erred in deeming him an alleged father,…
Date: September 18, 2015
Docket Number: B263146
Justia Opinion Summary: The People filed a writ petition challenging the trial court's grant of Edward Troyer's motion to dismiss a petition seeking to recommit him for an additional term under the Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVPA), Welf. &…
Date: September 17, 2015
Docket Number: A141696
Justia Opinion Summary: The controversial “8 Washington Street Project,” a plan to develop waterfront land near the San Francisco Ferry Building, includes “Seawall Lot 351,” which is currently owned by the City and County of San Francisco…
Date: September 17, 2015
Docket Number: B253610
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of criminal threats, assault with a firearm, and being a felon in possession of a gun. On appeal, defendant contends, among other things, that he should have been provided with a transcript of…
Date: September 17, 2015
Docket Numbers: B256928, B259423
Justia Opinion Summary: Lario Melendrez worked for Ameron for 24 years where he was exposed to asbestos and died of asbestos-related mesothelioma. Plaintiffs, Lario's survivors, filed a wrongful death suit against Ameron, alleging that in…
Date: September 17, 2015
Docket Number: D066514
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, San Diegans for Open Government (SanDOG) filed a Government Code section 1090 taxpayers' action on behalf of the Sweetwater Union High School District seeking to recover contract payments made to three…
Date: September 16, 2015
Docket Number: B253983
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the trial court's judgment in favor of the District in plaintiff's suit for negligent supervision. Plaintiff alleged that a teacher employed by the District sexually abused plaintiff on and off campus…
Date: September 16, 2015
Docket Number: B257660
Justia Opinion Summary: The County appealed the superior court's grant of Financial Casualty's motion to set aside summary judgment and vacate the forfeiture of a bail bond. The County argued that Financial Casualty was lawfully required to…
Date: September 15, 2015
Docket Number: B258563
Justia Opinion Summary: The trial court found that a general contractor, Jeff Tracy, Inc., doing business as Land Forms Construction, did not have a valid license while performing work on a project for City of Pico Rivera. Therefore, the court…
Date: September 15, 2015
Docket Number: E059505
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Charles and Stella Ohaeri leased space for a thrift store in a shopping center owned by plaintiff AP-Colton LLC. The thrift store was not a success, and the Ohaeris stopped paying rent. According to the…
Date: September 15, 2015
Docket Number: E061050
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Eric Scott Nelson was going through a contentious divorce. After his friend Laura Tatarzyn mentioned getting a hit man to kill her boyfriend, defendant started talking to her about having the same hit man kill…
Date: September 15, 2015
Docket Number: G049590
Justia Opinion Summary: While driving into an intersection, defendant hit a car driven by plaintiff. Defendant told the traffic collision investigator, Linda Villelli, that when he entered the intersection the light was yellow and he believed…
Date: September 14, 2015
Docket Number: E059735
Justia Opinion Summary: Four male gang members lured a 15-year-old female victim to the bedroom of a house, got her drunk, then had sex with her against her will. She awoke to find herself on a mattress in a nearby vacant apartment. DNA…
Date: September 14, 2015
Docket Number: H040488
Justia Opinion Summary: Simonelli’s May 6, 2013 administrative mandamus petition challenged the city’s February 5, 2013 approval of an application to develop a vacant lot. Her petition identified Pot D’Oro as the developer, but did not name…
Date: September 11, 2015
Docket Number: A139203
Justia Opinion Summary: Angie Rizzo met Lopez at the Mission Library when she was 16 years old and he was about 26. He helped her with homework. The relationship evolved to dating and, after turning 18, Angie began avoiding Lopez. He stopped…
Date: September 11, 2015
Docket Number: B235892
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants, owners of land along the two roads south of plaintiffs’ property, appealed from the portion of the trial court's judgment burdening their land and enjoining them from obstructing vehicular access. The trial…
Date: September 11, 2015
Docket Number: B245297A
Justia Opinion Summary: Relators filed suit under the California False Claims Act, Gov. Code, 12650 et seq., alleging that DHL overcharged and fraudulently billed the State for delivery services. The trial court concluded that the action was…
Date: September 11, 2015
Docket Number: B253271
Justia Opinion Summary: In this accounting action, plaintiff did not give notice of damages to defendants before their default was entered. Although the court agreed with cases finding that a plaintiff in an action for accounting need not give…
Date: September 11, 2015
Docket Number: C073336
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Garyon Nettles, was serving an indeterminate life sentence imposed pursuant to the three strikes law. He appealed the trial court's denial of his petition to recall his sentence and for resentencing under Penal…
Date: September 11, 2015
Docket Number: C073744
Justia Opinion Summary: Delinquent minor Albert W. timely appeals from an order committing him to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities (DJF). The minor was made a ward at age 12 based on his May 1,…
Date: September 11, 2015
Docket Number: E061840
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed an order granting defendant George Faranso a certificate of rehabilitation respecting a sex crime committed in the Michigan for which defendant had been convicted under Michigan law, placed on…
Date: September 11, 2015
Docket Number: E061954
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted defendant-appellant, Milad Anis Shenouda of committing a lewd act upon Brianna W., a 13-year-old girl. The jury acquitted defendant of felony child molestation against Brianna. The jury also acquitted…
Date: September 10, 2015
Docket Number: A142373
Justia Opinion Summary: Allison, an elderly woman, suffering from dementia, had two daughters. For several years, a team of paid caregivers, consisting of personal friends, tended to Allison, including Barker. A rift developed between…
Date: September 10, 2015
Docket Number: B256976
Justia Opinion Summary: SCOPE filed suit claiming that the acquisition of the Valenica Water Company by the Castaic Lake Water Agency was void under Government Code section 1090 and the Political Reform Act (PRA), Gov. Code 81000 et seq.,…
Date: September 10, 2015
Docket Number: B260332
Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerns requests under the California Public Records Act (PRA), Gov. Code, 6250 et seq.; Cal. Const., art. I, 3, subd. (b), seeking disclosure of the OIR’s August 2014 “Report to the City of Pasadena…
Date: September 10, 2015
Docket Number: E062244
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Cy Tapia, a teenager living with his aunt and grandmother, was driving a vehicle which crashed, inflicting severe and eventually fatal injuries on his passenger, Cory Driscoll. Before his death Driscoll and his…
Date: September 9, 2015
Docket Number: A143106
Justia Opinion Summary: The Contra Costa District Attorney charged Lewis with vehicle theft; evading a peace officer while driving with a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of others; resisting a peace officer; and possession of…
Date: September 8, 2015
Docket Number: A139388
Justia Opinion Summary: Shiffer developed mesothelioma and sued CBS, whose predecessor, Westinghouse, provided a turbine set and asbestos-containing insulation for a power plant where Shiffer worked for several months in 1969-1970. Shiffer did…
Date: September 8, 2015
Docket Number: A144315
Justia Opinion Summary: Hunter and Sullivan were indicted on murder, weapons, and gang-related charges stemming from a drive-by shooting. Each served a subpoena duces tecum on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, seeking both public and private…
Date: September 8, 2015
Docket Number: B255050
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal stems from a dispute between outdoor advertising companies and the City over certain billboards with digital displays. Plaintiff Summit Media filed a motion seeking, among other things, an order that “[a]ll…
Date: September 8, 2015
Docket Number: B259679
Justia Opinion Summary: This case stemmed from plaintiff's personal injury suit against 20 defendants where plaintiff alleged that defendants were jointly and severally liable. After plaintiff denied a settlement offer under Code of Civil…
Date: September 8, 2015
Docket Number: C072479
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Kevin Alexander Uffelman pleaded guilty to burglary, for which he was sentenced to four years in the state prison, and to pay a "penal fine" comprised of a $200 fine pursuant to Penal Code sections 672 and 1205…
Date: September 8, 2015
Docket Number: F068671
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, an inmate serving a term of 26 years to life following conviction of felonies that were not violent or serious, filed a petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.126, subdivision (b). Section…
Date: September 4, 2015
Docket Number: G050445
Justia Opinion Summary: This suit stemmed from a failed multimillion dollar investment in commercial real estate. Plaintiffs were seven investors in Southwest Corporate Center (the Property), a three-story office building in Tempe, Arizona. The…
Date: September 2, 2015
Docket Number: A140488
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to federal law, California’s Medi-Cal program requires beneficiaries to use other health coverage (OHC) they may have before accessing Medi-Cal benefits. The state Department of Health Care Services (DHCS)…
Date: September 2, 2015
Docket Number: A143671
Justia Opinion Summary: Mak owns a Berkeley rental property with four apartments. In 2012 Mak served on Burns, a tenant for 28 years, a 60-day eviction notice, asserting that Mak intended to occupy the apartment. Two months later, Mak and Burns…
Date: September 2, 2015
Docket Number: B255092
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of two counts of sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child 10 years old or younger (counts 1 & 2), oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child 10 years old or younger (count 3), lewd act…
Date: September 2, 2015
Docket Number: E060759
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-respondent Barstow Unified School District Board of Education approved closing two of its elementary schools: Thomson Elementary School and Hinkley Elementary School. Students from those schools were…
Date: September 1, 2015
Docket Number: A142485
Justia Opinion Summary: Johnson filed a products liability action, claiming that chronic exposure as an auto mechanic to benzene-containing products led him to develop acute myeloid leukemia. Defendants included U.S. Steel, which supplied a…
Date: September 1, 2015
Docket Number: B261904
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner seeks a writ of habeas corpus to overturn the Board of Parole Hearing's decision finding him unsuitable for parole. Petitioner, then 20 years old, was convicted of first degree murder. The court concluded…
Date: September 1, 2015
Docket Number: G048735
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Chris Korpi and plaintiff-respondent Julie Collier were supporters of competing candidates in a local school board election. To educate voters about the candidates he supported, Korpi registered…
Date: August 31, 2015
Docket Number: A139639
Justia Opinion Summary: Sequeira did not work on January 1, 2010, because it was a paid holiday. He was hospitalized the next day with a sudden illness and died on January 6 without returning to work. Sequeira’s widow sought benefits under a…
Date: August 31, 2015
Docket Number: A144366
Justia Opinion Summary: Campbell, a physical education instructor at John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond, was involved in a physical altercation with a student. The details are disputed. The the district attorney of Contra Costa County…
Date: August 31, 2015
Docket Number: B255131
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for residential burglary and misdemeanor trespass. The court concluded that there was sufficient evidence to establish that the residence at issue is an inhabited dwelling for the…
Date: August 31, 2015
Docket Number: B258649
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were injured when they started to cross the street after activating a pedestrian warning beacon and were struck by a vehicle. On appeal, plaintiffs challenged the trial court's order granting summary judgment…
Date: August 31, 2015
Docket Number: C071581
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Daniel Foalima appealed his conviction of first degree murder. He argued on appeal to the Court of Appeal that the trial court erred by: (1) refusing to strike a possible accomplice’s testimony after the…
Date: August 31, 2015
Docket Number: D062729
Justia Opinion Summary: Linda Brandes appealed a judgment awarding Charles Brandes a business he founded before the parties married, Brandes Investment Partners (BIP), as his separate property, and awarding the community an equitable allocation…
Date: August 31, 2015
Docket Number: D066716A
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1992, in the state of Rhode Island, Charles Herbert Holmes III was convicted of second degree child molestation. Based on the Rhode Island conviction, Holmes began registering as a sex offender in California. In 2005,…
Date: August 31, 2015
Docket Number: E058460
Justia Opinion Summary: In an attempt to curtail attrition within the Los Angeles Police Department, the City required all newly hired police officers who graduated the Los Angeles Police Academy to reimbuse the LAPD a prorated portion of the…
Date: August 31, 2015
Docket Number: E060854
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Peter Michaels and defendant Peggy Turk lived with each other from 2001 to 2006 and had one child together, a son born in 2002. For nearly a decade, they have been litigating over child custody, child support,…
Date: August 31, 2015
Docket Number: H040560
Justia Opinion Summary: Seymour was convicted by plea of one felony count of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury (Pen. Code 245(a)(1)) based on domestic violence toward his girlfriend. The trial court suspended…
Date: August 28, 2015
Docket Number: A141550
Justia Opinion Summary: Gallardo stopped paying court-ordered child support for nearly a year. His ex-wife sought an income withholding order. At a hearing, he denied he was behind on his child support payments, and held up a sheaf of…
Date: August 28, 2015
Docket Number: A142736
Justia Opinion Summary: PegaStaff is a temporary staffing agency. A large part of PegaStaff’s business was providing staffing to PG&E) The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) adopted General Order 156 (GO 156) to implement Public…
Date: August 28, 2015
Docket Number: G050552
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1989, defendant-appellant City of San Clemente created the “Beach Parking Impact Fee” because the City anticipated that substantial residential development proposed for the City’s inland areas would significantly…
Date: August 27, 2015
Docket Number: A140981
Justia Opinion Summary: California Exposition and State Fairs (Cal Expo), regulated by Food and Agriculture Code 3301, is responsible for organizing the State Fair every July and enters into an agreement every year with the University of…
Date: August 27, 2015
Docket Number: B260047
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against CSU, his former employer, alleging that CSU discriminated against him based on his national origin when it denied his application for a tenured faculty position and consequently terminated…
Date: August 27, 2015
Docket Number: C072169
Justia Opinion Summary: West Bay Builders, Inc. and Safeco Insurance Company of America (Safeco) appealed the trial court’s denial of their motion for attorney fees under Business and Professions Code section 7108.5 and Public Contract Code…
Date: August 27, 2015
Docket Number: D065843
Justia Opinion Summary: Karen Nosal-Tabor was a registered nurse who previously worked in the cardiology department at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center (Sharp). In 2011, Sharp implemented "nurse-led" cardiac stress testing in which a physician…
Date: August 27, 2015
Docket Number: F070153
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a forest ranger at Yosemite National Park, filed suit against defendant, a public entity, after he was injured by a grease fire from a skillet in his rental unit. Defendant provided plaintiff and other…
Date: August 27, 2015
Docket Number: G050158
Justia Opinion Summary: Linda Arneson worked for Pacific Mortgage, and received both salary and commission. After she left Pacific in February 2013, she claimed she was owed commissions for, among other things, certain work done by a fellow…
Date: August 27, 2015
Docket Number: G050484
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Benson appealed the denial of his motion for attorney fees and costs from respondent Southern California Auto Sales, Inc. (SCAS), after he obtained a favorable judgment based on the Consumer Legal Remedies Act…
Date: August 27, 2015
Docket Number: H039507
Justia Opinion Summary: HP sued Oracle, based on Oracle's announcement that it would no longer make software products compatible with HP hardware products. After the court found that Oracle was obligated to adapt its products to the HP systems.…
Date: August 26, 2015
Docket Number: A142430
Justia Opinion Summary: Tribeca sued after First American refunded a $1 million deposit to a real estate investor out of an escrow account that Tribeca had opened. Tribeca claimed it was entitled to the deposit and asserted claims for breach of…
Date: August 26, 2015
Docket Number: B255862
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the trial court's denial of a petition for a writ of administrative mandate, seeking to reverse a decision by the California State Board of Pharmacy subjecting his pharmacist’s license to discipline…
Date: August 26, 2015
Docket Number: B258365
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the denial of his petition for a writ of mandate against defendants, alleging that he is not subject to sex offender registration in California, Pen. Code, 290, subd. (c), 290.005. The court concluded,…
Date: August 26, 2015
Docket Number: B259909
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for attempted robbery. In the published portion of the opinion, the court addressed defendant's claim that insufficient evidence supported the trial court’s finding that a prior 2011…
Date: August 26, 2015
Docket Number: F069370
Justia Opinion Summary: Real parties filed an action against the builders of their homes for recovery of damages allegedly resulting from defects in the construction of the homes. Petitioners moved to stay the litigation until real parties…
Date: August 26, 2015
Docket Number: G051319
Justia Opinion Summary: D.B. was taken into protective custody in 2012 when he was seven years old. Mother N.B. appealed the juvenile court's order pertaining to the continued dependency of D.B. She argued that Welfare and Institutions Code…
Date: August 26, 2015
Docket Number: H041657
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, defendant was convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, sentenced to 12 years in prison, and ordered to register as a sex offender under Penal Code 290. He was released on parole in 2011, but…
Date: August 25, 2015
Docket Number: C070484
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were a group of cities in their municipal capacities and the successor agencies to several redevelopment agencies that have since been dissolved, multiple community development commissions, a private nonprofit…
Date: August 25, 2015
Docket Number: C071578
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Duarte Nursery, Inc. sold grape rootstock. It challenged mandatory assessments it had to pay to the California Grape Rootstock Improvement Commission to help fund research for pest-resistant and…
Date: August 25, 2015
Docket Number: C074655
Justia Opinion Summary: Governmental jurisdictions enter into mutual aid firefighting agreements to assist one another in fighting fires within their jurisdictions. Two such agreements are at issue here. One agreement stated(as relevant), “No…
Date: August 24, 2015
Docket Number: E060392
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Alamo Recycling, LLC and Chino Valley Recycling, LLC operated “recycling center[s]” where beverage containers sold in California may be redeemed for their “California Redemption Value.” In this action,…
Date: August 24, 2015
Docket Number: E061803
Justia Opinion Summary: The dependency petition alleged that mother "K.B." had beat X.B., her youngest son, with a belt causing welts and bruises to his chest, shoulder, arms, and legs, and that she pushed X.B.’s head into a pillow to muffle…
Date: August 21, 2015
Docket Number: A140559
Justia Opinion Summary: Irwin and Linda divorced in 1987. They are now in their early 80’s. Their marital termination agreement, which merged into a judgment, required Irwin to establish a life insurance trust for Linda, subject to certain…
Date: August 21, 2015
Docket Number: H040126
Justia Opinion Summary: Lattimore brought a wrongful death action against two doctors and Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare arising from their care and treatment of Yvonne’s father, who had gone to the hospital for a blood transfusion,…
Date: August 21, 2015
Docket Number: H040630
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, on Highway 101 in Monterey County, a bus driver lost control of the vehicle, which collided with bridge rails. The bus, carrying 34 French tourists, rolled; 18 occupants were ejected. Several were thrown over…
Date: August 20, 2015
Docket Number: A139251
Justia Opinion Summary: Diamond was injured while riding as a passenger in a taxi that was involved in a collision with another car. She settled claims against the taxi driver, the owner of the cab, and the Yellow Cab Collective. The Yellow…
Date: August 20, 2015
Docket Number: A140326
Justia Opinion Summary: In the 1960’s, Hellam worked at his grandfather’s boiler business, MBS, and was exposed to asbestos-containing products, including Crane’s, while refurbishing boilers. Hellam sued Crane and others after he developed…
Date: August 20, 2015
Docket Number: A140890
Justia Opinion Summary: The Judicial Council of California, (JCC) entered into a contract with Jacobs Facilities, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jacobs. Performance of the contract required a license under the Contractors’ State License Law.…
Date: August 20, 2015
Docket Numbers: B255909, B257633
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against defendants for false advertising on the Internet. The trial court denied defendants' Anti-SLAPP, Code of Civ. Proc. 425.16, motion, concluding that defendants had not met their threshold…
Date: August 20, 2015
Docket Number: D067605
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Timothy Sherow was originally convicted of nine counts of second degree burglary arising from offenses committed in 2007. He admitted eight prison priors and one strike prior. Sherow was sentenced to…
Date: August 19, 2015
Docket Number: B253083
Justia Opinion Summary: The union representing deputy sheriffs in the LA County Sheriff’s Department filed suit to enjoin the LA Times from publishing news reports about the Department’s hiring of officers who used to work for the County’s…
Date: August 19, 2015
Docket Number: C077166
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Malcolm Shepard, Sr. appealed an order denying his petition for a certificate of rehabilitation pursuant to Penal Code section 4852.01. In 1991, defendant pled guilty to the crime of forcible rape and admitted…
Date: August 19, 2015
Docket Number: C078257
Justia Opinion Summary: In a complaint filed in November, 2014, defendant Colette Jean Eandi allegedly failed to appear in August 2014 on a felony charge of possessing a controlled substance, and also alleged an enhancement for committing this…
Date: August 18, 2015
Docket Number: A141306
Justia Opinion Summary: Tenant was served with a three-day notice to quit that listed eight separate incidents that involved damaging the premises, disturbing neighbors and other tenants in the building, and running around naked and/or in boxer…
Date: August 18, 2015
Docket Numbers: B253268, B255441, B256894, B257021
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, various hospitals, filed these appeals to recoup financial reimbursement from the Department after their successful petition for writ of mandate to have SB 1103 invalidated. The court concluded that…
Date: August 18, 2015
Docket Number: B260326
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, an attorney, appealed from the revised judgment entered by the trial court following this court’s reversal with instructions to enter a new judgment in Chodos v. Borman. Plaintiff contended that the trial…
Date: August 18, 2015
Docket Number: C078557
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Michael Parnow, Shawn Lisenby, Bob Andrade, Gabriel Bautista, and Saiyaz Abdul filed a class action against Universal Protection Service, LP and Universal Services of America, Inc. (collectively, UPS).…
Date: August 18, 2015
Docket Number: E060421
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1994, defendant Felicia Alford, then a minor, settled a personal injury claim against certain insureds of defendant State Farm Fire. Under the settlement, State Farm Life was to deliver an annuity providing for…
Date: August 17, 2015
Docket Number: A142219
Justia Opinion Summary: Carlson sued Home Team, alleging that she was employed as Home’s office manager from February 4, 2013, until her wrongful termination on July 1, 2013. Carlson sought damages for wrongful termination, harassment, breach…
Date: August 17, 2015
Docket Number: D066943
Justia Opinion Summary: Michael C. appeals a juvenile court judgment terminating his parental rights to his minor daughter A.C., and selecting adoption as her permanent plan. Father mainly argued that no sufficient evidence supported the…
Date: August 17, 2015
Docket Number: E058020
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs-respondents The Inland Oversight Committee (IOC) and Citizens for Responsible Equitable Environmental Development (CREED), were taxpayer organizations that challenged a November 2006 settlement agreement…
Date: August 17, 2015
Docket Number: E058044
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs-respondents The Inland Oversight Committee (IOC) and Citizens for Responsible Equitable Environmental Development (CREED), were taxpayer organizations that challenged a November 2006 settlement agreement…
Date: August 17, 2015
Docket Number: E058359
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs-respondents The Inland Oversight Committee (IOC) and Citizens for Responsible Equitable Environmental Development (CREED), were taxpayer organizations that challenged a November 2006 settlement agreement…
Date: August 17, 2015
Docket Number: E060337
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-appellant Christopher J. Warner served as a municipal and then superior court judge from July 1996 until his retirement in October 2010. In November 2010, he applied for a disability retirement benefit under…
Date: August 14, 2015
Docket Number: D067137
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Spanish Inn, Inc. (Spanish Inn), Hormoz Ramy, and Nejat Kohan owned or otherwise held an interest in the Spanish Inn Hotel property in Palm Springs. In order to renovate and rehabilitate the property, Spanish…
Date: August 14, 2015
Docket Number: E060664
Justia Opinion Summary: The prior owners subdivided their land into two parcels, dedicating narrow lots “A,” “B,” and “C,” to defendant County of Riverside (County) for public road and utility purposes. The County accepted the dedication in…
Date: August 13, 2015
Docket Number: B250163
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, including Jack and Nancy Cooper, filed suit against Takeda, manufacturers of the prescription drug Actos, which is used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. The Coopers appealed the trial court's grant of…
Date: August 13, 2015
Docket Number: B254753
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a putative class action suit against MCRA, alleging that the stop sign violation for which MRCA cited him occurred on a “highway” as defined by Vehicle Code section 360, that Vehicle Code section 21 makes…
Date: August 13, 2015
Docket Numbers: B256075, B256077
Justia Opinion Summary: The Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA), Civ. Code,1 1786 et seq., and the Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA), Civ. Code 1785.1 et seq., regulate agencies that gather information on…
Date: August 12, 2015
Docket Number: B233078
Justia Opinion Summary: Darbun filed suit against Mission for breach of a lease agreement, seeking damages and specific performance. In the published portion of the opinion, the court held that, in cases involving mixed issues of equity and…
Date: August 12, 2015
Docket Number: B251230
Justia Opinion Summary: Penal Code section 1305, subdivision (a) requires the trial court to declare a forfeiture of bail when a defendant fails to appear in court without a satisfactory excuse. Once a notice of forfeiture is mailed, the surety…
Date: August 12, 2015
Docket Number: B260449
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from a Proposition 47 order resentencing him to one year county jail with credit for time served, and the imposition of supervised parole for one year. The trial court awarded 381 actual days and 380…
Date: August 12, 2015
Docket Number: C075938
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose from three separate cases: in each case the trial court granted defendant probation. In the first case, the trial court suspended execution of sentence and imposed a restitution fund fine. In the second…
Date: August 12, 2015
Docket Number: D067577
Justia Opinion Summary: Anthony B. (Father) appealed a juvenile court order terminating his parental rights to minor, Anthony B. (Anthony), and choosing adoption as the appropriate permanent plan. The San Diego County Health and Human Services…
Date: August 12, 2015
Docket Number: H035260A
Justia Opinion Summary: Great Oaks, a water retailer, challenged a groundwater extraction fee imposed on water it draws from wells on its property. The power to impose such a fee is statutorily vested in the Santa Clara Valley Water Management…
Date: August 11, 2015
Docket Number: B259021
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appealed the trial court's order terminating her parental rights with regard to her daughter. At issue on appeal is compliance with notice provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA), 25 U.S.C. 1901…
Date: August 11, 2015
Docket Number: E060218
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, defendant Albert Amaya was found guilty of attempted extortion; two strike priors were found true, and defendant was sentenced, under the then-current “Three Strikes” law to 25 years to life in prison. A gang…
Date: August 10, 2015
Docket Number: A140445
Justia Opinion Summary: After determining that Kevin, a minor, committed robbery, the juvenile court declared him a ward of the court and placed him on probation with conditions. The court of appeal affirmed as modified: there was insufficient…
Date: August 7, 2015
Docket Number: A141143
Justia Opinion Summary: The Alameda County Juvenile Court sustained the allegation that Alberto C., the presumed father, had sexually molested I.C., his four-year-old daughter. Several weeks later, the court declared I.C. a dependent child, and…
Date: August 6, 2015
Docket Number: B254910A
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of possession of cocaine base for sale. The trial court sentenced defendant to an aggregate term of 13 years in county jail. The court found an error under People v. Sanders because a juror who…
Date: August 6, 2015
Docket Number: C075960A
Justia Opinion Summary: Accredited Surety and Casualty Co., Inc., the surety on two bail bonds, appealed an order denying its Penal Code section 1305.4 motion to extend the 185-day appearance period, an order denying its Code of Civil Procedure…
Date: August 6, 2015
Docket Number: C076047
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Richard Kisling appealed a trial court’s denial of his petitions for unconditional and conditional release from his commitment as a sexually violent predator. Appointed counsel for defendant asked the Court of…
Date: August 5, 2015
Docket Number: A142854
Justia Opinion Summary: Facing felony charges for a 2005 home-invasion robbery, Calloway was found incompetent to stand trial in 2006 under Penal Code 1368. After years of confinement under Penal Code1370.1—attempts to restore him to competency…
Date: August 5, 2015
Docket Number: B252995
Justia Opinion Summary: After Secundino Medino died of asbestos-related mesothelioma, Medina's estate and his family filed suit against several defendants, including BWMT, alleging claims for negligence, strict liability, and wrongful death.…
Date: August 5, 2015
Docket Number: D067498
Justia Opinion Summary: Joshua was the 13-year-old son of Charlotte. In October 2014, Joshua was removed from his mother's care after she became intoxicated and scratched and pinched him. Police officers observed that Charlotte was "delirious"…
Date: August 5, 2015
Docket Number: E059820
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found defendant-appellant Jose Cardenas guilty of one count of robbery, and three counts of burglary. As to counts 1 and 3, the jury found true: that defendant had personally inflicted great bodily injury upon a…
Date: August 5, 2015
Docket Number: G050202
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Robert Coldren and his wife Brook sued defendants Hart, King & Coldren, Inc. (HKC) and William Hart asserting several causes of action arising out of Coldren’s departure from his law practice at HKC.…
Date: August 4, 2015
Docket Number: E061153
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant L.M. was the biological father of A.J. (child). Father appealed a juvenile court order from the Welfare and Institutions Code, section 366.261 permanency planning hearing that denied him supervised visitation…
Date: August 3, 2015
Docket Number: C070238A
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Theodore Soria appealed after a jury found him guilty of rape of an unconscious person and rape of an intoxicated person. Defendant admitted habitual criminal prior serious felony and strike conviction…
Date: July 31, 2015
Docket Number: A142963
Justia Opinion Summary: Individuals requested documents under the California Public Records Act (Gov. Code, 6250) from Newark Unified School District. The District inadvertently included 100 documents that, the District contends, are subject to…
Date: July 31, 2015
Docket Number: B250111
Justia Opinion Summary: The City appealed the trial court's judgment directing it to approve Carson Harbor Village's application to convert its mobilehome park from a rental facility to a subdivision of resident-owned lots. The court concluded…
Date: July 31, 2015
Docket Number: B256587
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Isidora appealed the trial court's issuance of a mutual restraining order against her and her husband under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (DVPA), Fam. Code, 6200 et seq., insofar as the order enjoins her…
Date: July 31, 2015
Docket Number: C078169
Justia Opinion Summary: After defendant Jesse David Perez was released on his own recognizance (OR) on a felony drug charge, he was convicted of both the drug and felony failure to appear (FTA) charges and sentenced to prison. He appealed,…
Date: July 31, 2015
Docket Number: D065153
Justia Opinion Summary: Rancho Pauma Mutual Water Company filed a petition to enforce a water rights judgment against the Yuima Municipal Water District entered about 60 years earlier. The District appealed the trial court's order, contending…
Date: July 31, 2015
Docket Number: D065201
Justia Opinion Summary: John PD Doe was a Boy Scout who attended the Mataguay Scout Ranch, which was owned and operated by San Diego-Imperial Council (formerly Desert Pacific Council) and Boys Scouts of America (together Respondents). Glenn…
Date: July 31, 2015
Docket Number: D067410
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Darius Knight was convicted by jury of robbery, and the jury found not true the special allegation that he inflicted great bodily harm on the victim. The robbery was his third strike, and as a result,…
Date: July 31, 2015
Docket Number: E061754
Justia Opinion Summary: Real-party-in-Interest Johnny Morales was sentenced to the death penalty. He requested that the trial court enter an order requiring multiple public agencies to "preserve" 22 categories of documents and other materials…
Date: July 30, 2015
Docket Number: B248227
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, truck drivers for Seacon, filed suit under Labor Code section 2802 for the reimbursement of paycheck deductions, contending that they should have been classified as employees, not independent contractors. The…
Date: July 30, 2015
Docket Number: B258054
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother challenged the juvenile court's jurisdictional and dispositional order regarding her two children. The court agreed with Mother's contention that her failure to obtain a protective order following a 2007 domestic…
Date: July 30, 2015
Docket Number: B258767
Justia Opinion Summary: Christopher Olson filed for divorce from Heather Olson, requesting joint custody of their two young children. After Heather did not respond, a default judgment of dissolution, which included a custody order, was granted.…
Date: July 30, 2015
Docket Number: C075812
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, a few months before the California legislature enacted legislation leading to the “Great Dissolution” of state redevelopment agencies, the Petaluma Community Development Commission issued bonds to fund certain…
Date: July 30, 2015
Docket Number: H041363
Justia Opinion Summary: A resident called police after seeing unfamiliar people entering a property that was under construction. Two men emerged, wearing baggy clothing, with “a lot of bulges in their pockets,” which made officers concerned…
Date: July 30, 2015
Docket Number: H041578
Justia Opinion Summary: Mary is the child of the marriage of Marion and Herbert Sanders. Marion executed a will in California, placing her separate property assets in the Trust and providing that Mary would receive the Trust income during her…
Date: July 29, 2015
Docket Number: D065729
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Tywayne Whitaker appealed a combined sentence that the trial court imposed after Whitaker committed a crime while on probation. Whitaker pled guilty to a new charge, and the trial court revoked Whitaker's…
Date: July 29, 2015
Docket Number: D067424
Justia Opinion Summary: Lois Green filed an action for violation of civil rights and the Fourteenth Amendment under 42 United States Code section 1983 and wrongful death under California law against the County of Riverside, and Riverside County…
Date: July 28, 2015
Docket Number: B255827
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit alleging claims for breach of fiduciary duty, conspiracy, and legal malpractice, and defendants moved to strike the entire complaint as to the individual plaintiffs Klotz and Spitz because…
Date: July 28, 2015
Docket Number: B255951
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon, was sentenced to a term of six years in prison, including one year for each of his two prior prison terms. He admitted one prior strike conviction under Pen.…
Date: July 27, 2015
Docket Number: C076635
Justia Opinion Summary: Under former Welfare and Institutions Code section 3200, a trial court could dismiss the criminal charges against a defendant who successfully completed a commitment to the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) and the…
Date: July 24, 2015
Docket Number: A135438
Justia Opinion Summary: Andrade was convicted of six counts of forcible oral copulation (Pen. Code, 288a (c)(2)) and seven counts of forcible rape (261(a)(2)). The jury also found true the allegation that defendant had committed the offenses…
Date: July 24, 2015
Docket Number: G049611
Justia Opinion Summary: The class action complaint at the heart of this case alleged violations of the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act of 1971 based on Dick’s alleged practice of requesting personal information from consumers during credit card…
Date: July 24, 2015
Docket Number: H040955
Justia Opinion Summary: The parties married in 1993 and separated in 2007. Their divorce was “contentious” and “highly litigated.” In 2008, both parties signed a purported marital settlement agreement, which set forth terms determining child…
Date: July 23, 2015
Docket Number: D067445
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014 California voters passed Proposition 47, which reclassified certain offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. Proposition 47 also enacted Penal Code section 1170.18, which created a procedure whereby a defendant…
Date: July 23, 2015
Docket Number: G051212
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014 California voters passed Proposition 47, which reclassified certain offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. Proposition 47 also enacted Penal Code section 1170.18, which created a procedure whereby a defendant…
Date: July 22, 2015
Docket Number: A141758
Justia Opinion Summary: Christian, age 16, was arrested for selling cocaine base. A wardship petition was filed. Immigration officials were notified. An Immigration Detainer was faxed to the juvenile hall from the Department of Homeland…
Date: July 22, 2015
Docket Number: B254639
Justia Opinion Summary: Castaic appealed a judgment dismissing its petition for writ of mandate. In the writ petition, Castaic sought to overturn certain action taken by Newhall on the ground that Newhall failed to comply with the open meeting…
Date: July 22, 2015
Docket Number: B255216
Justia Opinion Summary: Real parties in interest filed putative class claims against Safeway and Vons for violations of the Labor Code and the unfair competition law (UCL), Bus. & Prof. Code, 17200 et seq. The trial court certified a class for…
Date: July 22, 2015
Docket Number: B257429
Justia Opinion Summary: The magistrate dismissed a felony complaint against defendant alleging two counts of threatening a crime victim. Penal Code Section 140, subdivision (a) makes it a crime to threaten a crime victim with violence. Here,…
Date: July 22, 2015
Docket Number: C078345
Justia Opinion Summary: In February 2011, the 51-year-old decedent Gregory Thompson was working at High Desert State Prison in Susanville as a guard. An inmate stabbed him eight times in the neck, shoulder, and arm. This resulted in a…
Date: July 22, 2015
Docket Number: D063675
Justia Opinion Summary: Shortly after his birth in 2003, the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (the Agency) placed a dependent child named J.J. with appellant Rita Marshall. Marshall cared for J.J. for two and a half years…
Date: July 22, 2015
Docket Number: E059589
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Francis LaBlanc was currently committed for an indeterminate term of treatment as a sexually violent predator (SVP). In this appeal, LaBlanc challenged the trial court’s order pursuant to Welfare and…
Date: July 22, 2015
Docket Number: H036790
Justia Opinion Summary: Purchasers of notebook computers, manufactured by HP, filed a class action, alleging that certain notebook computers manufactured by HP contained inverters that HP knew would likely fail and cause display screens to dim…
Date: July 21, 2015
Docket Number: B256988
Justia Opinion Summary: Aeolus and Debtors owed plaintiffs over five million dollars pursuant to an arbitrator's ruling. Before plaintiffs obtained a judgment confirming the arbitration award, Aeolus entered into a security agreement with…
Date: July 21, 2015
Docket Number: C076061
Justia Opinion Summary: Surety American Contractors Indemnity appealed the entry of summary judgment in favor of El Dorado County following the forfeiture of a bail bond. American Contractors argued that the trial court entered judgment before…
Date: July 21, 2015
Docket Number: E059103
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants and appellants James William Riley and Ryan Jay Robinson appeal their convictions on three counts each of commercial bribery. The charges were based on the premise that Riley, who was the insurance broker for…
Date: July 21, 2015
Docket Number: E059579
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Law Firm of Marc Grossman represented a student of defendant Victor Elementary School in a civil action arising from an assault that took place at the school. Plaintiff, in the name of the law firm, filed a…
Date: July 21, 2015
Docket Number: G050340
Justia Opinion Summary: Eric Woolery appealed a trial court order denying his motion seeking an award of attorney fees. Woolery filed his motion after he successfully defended against the verified petition for a peremptory writ of mandate that…
Date: July 21, 2015
Docket Number: H040098
Justia Opinion Summary: Smith, a California partnership, hired attorney Moncrief to perform due diligence for its purchase of equipment from Texas Hill in Arizona. Texas Hill was represented by Clark, an Arizona attorney. Moncrief performed a…
Date: July 20, 2015
Docket Number: A140960
Justia Opinion Summary: After a police officer scanned Instagram and saw photos of appellant (then on probation) and others in possession of firearms, officers performed a probation search and found loaded firearms. The San Francisco County…
Date: July 20, 2015
Docket Number: A142907
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, when Lopes was 17 years old, she entered a plea of no contest to felony driving under the influence with injury under section 23153(a) and was detained as a ward of the court and committed to a DUI Youth Program…
Date: July 20, 2015
Docket Number: C072621
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Jose Rivas and Aaron Valadez participated with other Norteño gang members in an attack on Osvaldo Hernandez and Victor Arechiga. Gang members stole beer that Arechiga had just purchased. After the beer had…
Date: July 17, 2015
Docket Number: A141043
Justia Opinion Summary: Cowart, age 68, was charged with failing to stop at the scene and report an injury accident and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. By stipulation, the court found him incompetent. According to a neuropsychological…
Date: July 17, 2015
Docket Number: B260140
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants filed suit against defendants, alleging that they were denied service at respondents' restaurant due to their service dog. The trial court concluded that appellants could assert a claim under the Disabled…
Date: July 17, 2015
Docket Number: D065963
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-appellant Greg Dagher sued defendant-respondent Ford Motor Company alleging violations of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act. In 2009, Plaintiff bought a used Ford 2006 vehicle in a private sale, then…
Date: July 17, 2015
Docket Number: E059133M
Date: July 17, 2015
Docket Number: E061733
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, defendant-appellant Zackariah Borynack pled guilty to one count of possession of a destructive device; 39 counts of possession of a destructive device and explosive; one count of possession of substances with…
Date: July 16, 2015
Docket Number: A140540
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Sprint Telephony PCS, L.P., Sprint Spectrum L.P., Wirelessco, L.P., Nextel of California, Inc., and Nextel Boost of California, LLC (collectively referred to as Sprint or the company) filed this action seeking…
Date: July 16, 2015
Docket Number: G050922
Justia Opinion Summary: Z.V., then 15 years old and in foster care, was sexually assaulted by Riverside County social worker Birdsong in September 2009. Z.V. sought to hold Birdsong’s employer, Riverside County, responsible for the assault…
Date: July 15, 2015
Docket Number: E059890
Justia Opinion Summary: When voters chose to incorporate the City of Wildomar, voters also chose to elect city council members via by-district elections. In November 2009, voters chose to replace the by-district voting system with an at-large…
Date: July 14, 2015
Docket Number: A139463
Justia Opinion Summary: James was charged with aggravated mayhem and assault producing great bodily injury, with three prior convictions. He pled not guilty by reason of insanity. Court-appointed clinical psychologist, Dr. Griffth‘s report…
Date: July 14, 2015
Docket Number: D067411
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Joel Morales was tried by jury and found guilty of second degree murder. The jury found true the allegation that he personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon. Defendant was sentenced to fifteen…
Date: July 14, 2015
Docket Number: E060166
Justia Opinion Summary: John Carr filed a prior quiet title action against Earnest Ortiz and Anna Colón. In connection with that action, he recorded a lis pendens. However, he did not mail the lis pendens to either Ortiz or Colón; instead, he…
Date: July 13, 2015
Docket Number: B241172
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a 25-year veteran of the LAPD, was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to 27 years to life. The court concluded that the trial court did not err in denying defendant's motion to dismiss the charges…
Date: July 10, 2015
Docket Number: C075960
Justia Opinion Summary: Accredited Surety and Casualty Co., Inc., the surety on two bail bonds, appealed an order denying its Penal Code section 1305.4 motion to extend the 185-day appearance period, an order denying its Code of Civil Procedure…
Date: July 10, 2015
Docket Number: F069100
Justia Opinion Summary: After CDCR served a notice of rejection on Joseph McCauley to remove him from the position of Correctional Sergeant, McCauley filed an administrative appeal to the Board. The Board agreed with McCauley that CDCR’s notice…
Date: July 10, 2015
Docket Number: G049772
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-appellant James McKenzie appealed a trial court’s order awarding him only $28,350 of the nearly $48,000 in attorney fees he sought in this case, following the parties’ settlement of McKenzie’s claim under the…
Date: July 9, 2015
Docket Number: A139432
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, purchaser of a nine-unit building in San Francisco, filed a landlord's petition with the Rent Board seeking a determination that the unit was not subject to rent control pursuant to the Rent Board Rules and…
Date: July 9, 2015
Docket Number: A140186
Justia Opinion Summary: The California Supreme Court in People v. Harvey held that facts underlying charges dismissed as part of a negotiated plea may not, absent contrary agreement by the defendant (now called a “Harvey waiver”), be used to…
Date: July 9, 2015
Docket Number: B251250
Justia Opinion Summary: Siry filed suit against two of its former business partners for breach of fiduciary duty. After the court issued an opinion in a prior appeal in this case, but before the court's remittitur issued, the Judicial Council…
Date: July 9, 2015
Docket Number: C071489
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jason Sigur was convicted by jury on eleven counts of contacting or communicating with a monir, kidnapping for the purpose of a lewd act, first-degree burglary, lewd and lascivious acts upon a child under…
Date: July 8, 2015
Docket Number: C075814
Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Azusa, its municipal utility (Azusa Light and Water) and the successor agency to its redevelopment agency (collectively, City except as noted), appealed a judgment denying their amended mandamus petition. The…
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
