California Courts of Appeal Decisions 2022

Justia Opinion Summary: Freedom Foundation filed a petition for writ of mandate and complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief under the California Public Records Act (PRA) to compel the Department of Human Resources (CalHR) to disclose…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1990, a San Diego jury convicted petitioner Christopher Box of three counts of first degree murder, attempted premeditated murder, first degree robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, and residential burglary with…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners Geoff Cole and Admiral’s Experience, Inc. sought a writ of mandate to compel the trial court to calendar their timely motion for summary judgment for a hearing before the start of trial. The Court of Appeal…

Justia Opinion Summary: O’Connor is the parent of John. When John was 14 years old, O’Connor allegedly “supplied excessive amounts of alcohol to her son and his minor friends to the point where minors would vomit, be unable to stand, and fall…

Justia Opinion Summary: Doe alleges that she was sexually assaulted by a massage therapist during a massage at a San Rafael Massage Envy retail location. She filed suit against the Arizona-based franchisor that licenses the “Massage Envy” brand…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Lipscomb pulled his car up next to Lee and shot him three times. He was convicted of evading a police officer with willful and wanton disregard for the safety of persons and property, possession of a firearm by…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant is a repeat offender who has previously served seven separate prison terms. Facing a “Three Strikes” 25-year to-life sentence in the present case, she “cut” her best deal with the prosecutor and the trial…

Justia Opinion Summary: Golden acted as a real estate broker for a rental property owned by Banerjee's company, Arkesh. Golden found a five-year tenant. Arkesh contracted to pay a commission if the tenant bought the property. . The tenant…

Justia Opinion Summary: Monterey is an independent public agency responsible for analyzing Monterey County's water resources. Cal-Am is an investor-owned water utility providing water to over 100,000 residents on the Monterey Peninsula. …

Justia Opinion Summary: The Jenkinses bought a one-bedroom home, built in 1909, with a small accessory cottage in San Anselmo. Following conversations with an architect, contractors, and the Town Planning Director, they sought permits to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ross was charged with battery on a nonconfined person by a prisoner. Ross pleaded guilty to the administrative charge of battering the counselor. At trial, several officers and an intercepted letter corroborated the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-appellant Chris LaBarbera hired Richard Knight dba Knight Construction (Knight) to remodel a house pursuant to a contract that provided Knight would defend and indemnify LaBarbera for all claims arising out of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-appellant Robert Parsons worked for Defendant-respondent Estenson Logistics, LLC (Estenson) , and Estenson paid its employees weekly. Estenson’s pay period ran from Sunday through the following Saturday. It…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was whether Judith ("Judy") Scherber was an intestate heir of ("Decedent") Loch David Crane, who died in 2018 while living in San Diego County. Judy’s petition was based on her relationship with…

Justia Opinion Summary: John’s Grill in San Francisco was closed or operating at limited capacity during the pandemic. The restaurant was covered by Sentinel’s “Spectrum Business Owner’s Policy,” providing first-party property coverage,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, Williams was convicted of first degree-murder with true findings on a drive-by shooting special circumstance and true findings on allegations that Williams personally used a firearm and a principal was armed…

Justia Opinion Summary: In May 2006, a then-25-year old defendant Matthew White, while drunk and speeding, struck a car stopped on the shoulder of the highway with its hazard lights on, killing the driver and injuring two passengers. A jury…

Justia Opinion Summary: As a child, Schmitz applied J&J’s Baby Powder to her siblings and used it herself. She later applied the powder to her aging father and mother when she cared for them. Schmitz used Colgate’s Cashmere Bouquet on a daily…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jones was tried for a 2014 shooting death. The jury was instructed on first-degree felony murder and told that Jones could be guilty under this theory if a coparticipant committed the fatal act. The jury convicted Jones…

Justia Opinion Summary: Demo Services employs product demonstrators, who are classified as “part-time, nonexempt, hourly employees eligible for overtime pay according to state and federal law.” Demonstrators are generally assigned to a single…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, an honorably discharged veteran who suffers from a severe mental disorder, was arrested for firearms offenses. In turn, he sought admission to a mental health diversion program under Penal Code section…

Justia Opinion Summary: Casey N. sued the County of Orange (the County) and two employees of the County’s Social Services Agency (the Agency) for violating her civil rights in connection with a dependency proceeding involving Casey’s minor…

Justia Opinion Summary: Valley Hospital admitted Ann as a resident to recover from hip surgery. Weeks later, Valley discharged Ann to an assisted living facility, where she died five days later. This suit alleges that Ann, unable due to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services filed a petition alleging that the minor had been sexually abused by her father. Mother was not named as an offending parent in the petition. The juvenile court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The court appointed a guardian ad litem for two minor trust beneficiaries. A few years later, but before the beneficiaries reached 18, they sought the removal of the guardian ad litem. The guardian responded by filing a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Natomas Unified School District (the District) expelled a student, I.O., under its discretionary authority. At an expulsion hearing, the District heard evidence that I.O. brought two unloaded BB guns and a sealed bag of…

Justia Opinion Summary: John MM. Doe, by and through his guardian ad litem, C.M. (Doe’s mother), and B.S. (Doe’s father) (collectively real parties in interest), sued petitioner Victor Valley Union High School District (the district) for…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, plaintiff R. Kemp was convicted, released from prison, and placed on parole. In 2020, Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon) offered Kemp a job in Sacramento. Defendant Accurate Background LLC (Accurate) provided a…

Justia Opinion Summary: M.G. was detained in August 2022 for the 14-day confinement allowed by Welfare and Institutions Code section 5250 (Lanterman-Petris-Short Act). The 14-day period was set to expire September 4. On August 26, a Friday,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The California Constitution directs that laws be made to exclude “persons convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery, malfeasance in office, or other high crimes” from serving on juries. Former Code of Civil Procedure…

Justia Opinion Summary: This is an appeal from a family court’s self-described sua sponte sanctions order under Family Code section 271.1 The family court judge ordered Appellants (Mother) and her attorney, to each pay $10,000 to Respondent…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff City of Rocklin (City) filed an action against defendants Legacy Family Adventures-Rocklin, LLC, (LFA) and David Busch asserting 12 causes of action related to their joint undertaking involving the construction…

Justia Opinion Summary: After defendant Ishmael Carter was housed for more than 14 years in a state hospital awaiting trial, the trial court found him to be a sexually violent predator and committed him to an indeterminate term. Defendant…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Bishop’s School (the School) terminated Chad Bishop’s (Bishop) employment as a teacher after it became aware of a text exchange between Bishop and a former student. Bishop filed a lawsuit asserting a breach of…

Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Lonnie Kocontes of murdering his ex-wife for financial gain. Kocontes conceded sufficient evidence supported his conviction; he challenged numerous procedural and evidentiary rulings. Although the trial…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of State Hospitals (DSH) serves defendants found incompetent to stand trial (IST). Chunn was found incompetent to stand trial. After being ordered admitted to Napa State Hospital, he waited 75 days for…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether hearsay evidence could be admissible at a hearing on a gun violence restraining order (GVRO) under California Penal Code section 18175. The Court of Appeal held that hearsay evidence was admissible…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, at the age of 61, Sam Consiglio was committed to Coalinga State Hospital (Coalinga) as a sexually violent predator (SVP). For every subsequent year until 2021, the annual Department of State Hospitals (DSH)…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner-appellant Sharlene Allen was a former employee of the San Diego Convention Center Corporation (SDCCC). After SDCCC terminated Allen, she filed a class action lawsuit against SDCCC alleging various violations…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff pursued a claim under the Labor Code Private Attorney General Act of 2004 against Defendants Premier Valley, Inc. (doing business as Century 21 MM) and Century 21 Real Estate LLC, to enforce civil penalties for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Iris, incorporated in 1999, went public in 2007. In 2019, the SEC revoked the registration of Iris’s securities. Since its incorporation, Chin has been chairman of Iris’s three-member board of directors, its president,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Division purchased two office buildings from the city that included a short-term leaseback at below-market rent. Division alleged that the assessor failed to take the leaseback into account when valuing the buildings for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Sherman posed as an Uber driver to get Doe into his car, where he took her phone. Sherman was convicted of kidnapping, assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, and preventing or dissuading a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners W.M. (minor), and Amber G. (her prospective adoptive parent/de facto parent) sought an extraordinary writ from the juvenile court’s order removing W.M. from Amber’s care and placing her with out-of-state…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Teachers taught within the Salinas District before retiring and becoming members of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) Defined Benefit (DB) Program. Part of Teachers’ compensation was…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1992, Arellano and two others were charged with murder “with malice aforethought” (Pen. Code 187), attempted robbery (sections 664, 211, 212.5(a)), and first-degree burglary (459, 460(a)). The murder and attempted…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Burgess was charged with first-degree residential robbery, with alleged enhancements for personally discharging a firearm during the robbery, and a prior prison term. Burgess was sentenced to nine years in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant argued that the trial court erred in (1) declining to strike the prior serious felony enhancement, (2) erred in imposing the prior serious felony enhancement twice—once for the assault with a deadly weapon…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant AIDS HealthCare Foundation (AHF) challenges land use decisions by the Los Angeles City Council planning and land use management (PLUM) committee, made while two of its members allegedly were the beneficiaries…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from a judgment entered after he pleaded no contest to carrying a loaded, unregistered handgun in a vehicle. He contends a warrantless search of his vehicle, during which a police officer discovered…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appealed from the juvenile court order terminating her parental rights to her child Adrian L. pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26.1 She contends the Los Angeles County Department of Children…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-appellant Bernell Beco filed suit against his former employer, defendant Fast Auto Loans, Inc. (Fast Auto) alleging 14 causes of action relating to the termination of his employment. Plaintiff alleged causes of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Thomas Thai and defendant Newton Tran were partners in Richmond City Center, LP et al. (Richmond). Plaintiff agreed to sell defendant his 20.5 percent interest in Richmond. The parties signed a sales agreement…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, JCJIC proposed a 312-unit apartment complex on 15.45 acres of vacant land along the Petaluma River. In 2008, after starting a draft environmental impact report (DEIR), for compliance with the California…

Justia Opinion Summary: Johnson was convicted of arson of a structure (Pen. Code 451(c)), with an enhancement for using a “device designed to accelerate the fire.” The offense involved pouring whiskey onto a structure (i.e., a house’s cat…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Chapter 11) amid multiple client claims against her for fraud, embezzlement and misappropriation. After she settled the claims against…

Justia Opinion Summary: The superior court granted real party in interest Armando Rodriguez Mendez’s motion under California Penal Code section 995 and dismissed an assault with a deadly weapon charge against him. The State petitioned for a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The trial court dismissed a shareholder derivative complaint for failure to bring the action to trial within five years (Code Civ. Proc., 583.310, 583.360) and awarded attorney’s fees. The court of appeal reversed. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appeals from an order terminating her parental rights to her daughter under Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26. Mother contends the juvenile court erred when it determined the Los Angeles County…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case involves an appeal and cross-appeal following the trial court’s determination that the Department of Toxic Substances Control (the Department) acted within its authority and properly complied with the…

Justia Opinion Summary: An arbitrator determined that a borrower and lender were liable to each other for similar amounts, each roughly two and a half million dollars. He then offset the awards against each other, resolving the disputed issue…

Justia Opinion Summary: The victim’s body was found in a storage locker with multiple stab wounds. Maldonado reported witnessing the killing. Police were later unable to locate Maldonado. Maldonado subsequently told people that he was involved…

Justia Opinion Summary: Carabajal was convicted of three counts of contacting or communicating with a minor with the intent to commit a sex offense. (Pen. Code 288.3(a)) The court of appeal affirmed, rejecting Carabajal’s contention that a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, cross-defendant, and appellant Tufeld Corporation (Tufeld) is the landlord. Defendant, cross-complainant, and cross-appellant Beverly Hills Gateway L.P. (BHG) is the tenant. The subject lease, as amended, has…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with a slew of crimes largely in connection with a casino robbery he carried out alongside fellow gang members. In the published portion of this opinion, the Fifth Circuit rejected Defendant’s claim…

Justia Opinion Summary: The school's athletic stadium seats 2,008 persons and is surrounded by single-family homes. The school sought approval to add four permanent 90-foot tall outdoor light standards to enable its nighttime use. The planning…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed a restitution order imposed in connection with his conviction for battery with serious bodily injury. The trial court ordered Defendant to pay restitution to the victim, L.W., including for various…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Department of General Services and real party Joint Committee on Rules of the California State Senate and Assembly (collectively DGS) prepared an environmental impact report (EIR) to determine the environmental…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Brandon Claypool petitioned for a writ of mandate or prohibition to challenge the denial of a motion to suppress evidence and dismiss the charges. Petitioner was charged with possession of a firearm by a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Angelita Garcia DeMontoya appealed an order denying a motion under California Penal Code section 1473.7, filed in 2021, in which she sought to withdraw her guilty plea to the charge of assault with a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Stephen Salmon (Husband) and Melissa Salmon (Wife) filed competing requests for domestic violence restraining orders against each other pursuant to the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (DVPA). At the conclusion of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1984, E.M. was convicted on 15 counts, including first-degree robbery, attempted first-degree robbery, forcible oral copulation, forcible false imprisonment, forcible penetration by a foreign object, forcible rape,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, Simplified Labor Staffing Solutions, Inc. (Simplified) appealed an order denying its motion to compel arbitration of Plaintiff’s claims brought under the California Private Attorneys General Act of 2004…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1992, a jury convicted Heather Henley of: (1) murder; (2) two counts of robbery; and (3) assault with a firearm. However, the jury found not true the allegation that Henley personally used a firearm in connection with…

Justia Opinion Summary: YouTube, a video-sharing website, places “advertising restrictions” on certain videos to prevent the user who posted the video from realizing advertising revenues. Network administrators and individual subscribers can…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of attempted murder as well as various gang-related offenses. The court sentenced Defendant to 15 years to life with a minimum parole eligibility date of 7 years plus 10 years for vicarious “use…

Justia Opinion Summary: Police arrested 18-year-old high school student Ismael Avalos on a murder charge and questioned him in an interrogation room at a police station. During the interview, a forensic technician removed his shirt, pants,…

Justia Opinion Summary: On engaging services from Pacific Fertility Center, the plaintiffs signed “ ‘Informed Consent and Agreement to Perform Egg Cryopreservation” forms, providing that medical malpractice disputes were subject to arbitration.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Beasley alleged that, during the proposed class period— January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2016—Tootsie Roll manufactured, distributed, and sold products that contained artificial trans fats in the form of partially…

Justia Opinion Summary: O’Brien submitted an application in March 2011 for approval of a 315-unit residential apartment development. O’Brien’s application was deemed complete in July 2011, including 14 residential buildings, a clubhouse, a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appealed from the juvenile court’s jurisdictional finding and dispositional order as to her minor child, G.Z. First, Mother contends the evidence was insufficient to support the court’s finding that her minor…

Justia Opinion Summary: This is an appeal from an order denying Defendant’s to strike Plaintiff’s causes of action against him pursuant to the anti-SLAPP statute. The Second Appellate District reversed the trial court’s order and remanded to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, Braggs pleaded no contest to second-degree robbery and second-degree burglary. He admitted two prior strike convictions and one prior serious felony conviction; he had served two prior prison terms. He was…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Cannon pled guilty to assault with intent to commit rape and dissuading a witness. Cannon was sentenced to a term of seven years. In 2016, the district attorney filed a petition to commit Cannon under the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Blizzard Energy, Inc., appeals from an order denying its motion to declare Respondent a vexatious litigant and prohibit him “from filing any new litigation in propria persona in the California courts without first…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged in a felony complaint with attempting to dissuade a witness. At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, the magistrate denied Defendant's request to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: A 49-year-old jiu-jitsu student injured during a sparring match sued the studio where he was taking lessons as well as the national jiu-jitsu association under whose auspices the studio’s students could compete. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Following the commencement of arbitration proceedings between appellant Juanita’s Foods and Respondent, Juanita’s Foods failed to pay its share of arbitration fees within 30 days after such fees were due. Based on that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Dr. Frank Coufal and his solely owned professional corporation, La Jolla Neurological Associates (LJNA), hired an unaffiliated, third-party billing service to collect payments from patients and their insurers. Raquel…

Justia Opinion Summary: Kowalczyk was charged with felony vandalism, three felony counts of identity theft, misdemeanor petty theft of lost property, and one misdemeanor count of identity theft. The court set bail at $75,000 and denied a motion…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Balubhai Patel, DTWO & E, Inc. (DTWO), and Stuart Union, LLC (Stuart Union) (collectively, appellants) have been before this court numerous times in connection with a labor dispute with a former employee,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The California Legislature has required school children to be vaccinated for 10 diseases; COVID-19 was not yet among them. The issue here was whether a school district could require students to be vaccinated for COVID-19…

Justia Opinion Summary: Timothy W. and Julie W. were in the midst of a dissolution of their marriage. The underlying dispute here relates to Julie’s disclosure of certain facts about Timothy’s past (the sensitive information) that Julie…

Justia Opinion Summary: Police tried to conduct a traffic stop. Zarazua failed to yield. Driving with a suspended license, he led officers on a 15-minute pursuit, committing numerous traffic violations. Zarazua crashed, got out of the SUV, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Several FVF ("the Defendant") employees filed a class action lawsuit against the Defendant alleging, among other things, that the company did not pay minimum and overtime wages. They also alleged a cause of action under…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was severely injured when he fell from a significant height while working as a carpenter at a construction site. Plaintiff alleged that he fell from defective scaffolding, and he sued the general contractor…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a partition action, a trial court appointed defendant Charles Brock, a real estate broker, to determine the listing price and sell the property. Plaintiff Darrell Holt, one of the real property’s owners, brought this…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal centered whether Section 6 of the California Constitution required the state to reimburse the defendant local governments (collectively permittees or copermittees) for costs they incurred to satisfy…

Justia Opinion Summary: In May 2010, the original plaintiffs to this matter (plaintiffs) obtained a money judgment in Nevada state court against four defendants, including respondent Tiger Mynarcik (Mynarcik). In November 2010, the Sacramento…

Justia Opinion Summary: Based on a stabbing death at a party in 2007, O’Day was charged with murder and assault with a deadly weapon. The magistrate dismissed the charges at the conclusion of a preliminary hearing, citing a lack of credible…

Justia Opinion Summary: A qui tam plaintiff alleged that two banks violated the California False Claims Act (CFCA) by failing to report and deliver millions of dollars owing on unclaimed cashier’s checks to the State of California as escheated…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff and another man engaged in a fistfight at a gas station owned by defendant Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco). Defendant a Costco gas station attendant, stopped the fight by physically separating the two…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Bull Field, LLC, Barley, LLC and Colburn Hills Ranch, LLC (Appellants) appeal from a judgment denying their petition for a writ of mandate (Petition). Appellants sought an order compelling respondent Merced…

Justia Opinion Summary: Dog buyers claimed a puppy mill victimized them. They said the mill advertised online, negotiated by text, arranged parking lot meetups, insisted on cash, and sold underage puppies that sickened within one day and soon…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal concerned a particular rate known as a “base rate,” which State Compensation Insurance Fund (State Fund) used to calculate premiums for its insureds. California Insurance Code section 11664(e)(6)(A) stated:…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, based on convictions for residential robbery and false imprisonment by violence, Monroe was sentenced to a 376-month prison term, which included three firearm enhancements totaling 152 months, three one-year…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued the County of Los Angeles and other county defendants (the County) for removing her son, J.G., from her care. The County demurred. The trial court sustained the demurrer without leave to amend. It found…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arises out of a police shooting that resulted in the death of decedent. Decedent’s parents filed a complaint against police officers involved in the shooting (the officers) and their employer, the City of Santa…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case's previous trip to the Court of Appeal, the Court reversed the trial court’s judgment overturning a cleanup order issued by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region…

Justia Opinion Summary: Eight years after defendant-appellant Raymond Griffin was convicted on two murder counts, he petitioned the trial court for resentencing pursuant to California Penal Code section 1172.6. The court summarily denied his…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Pacific Grove authorized “transient use of residential property for remuneration,” subject to licensing. One-year “STR” Licenses were subject to revocation for cause. In 2016, the city capped the number of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ramirez, a self-employed contractor, was hired by a shopping center’s tenant to remove an exterior sign after the tenant vacated its space. While searching for the sign’s electrical box, he entered a cupola on the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Garcia was arrested after engaging in a physical altercation at his home, then firing a semiautomatic handgun at a responding officer. In 2018, Garcia was sentenced to 24 years after a jury found him guilty of assault…

Justia Opinion Summary: In December 2018, the juvenile court committed Jhonny to the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) for a maximum term of confinement of four years after he admitted on a petition under Welfare and Institutions Code section…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, which orginated from a marital dissolution action, the Second Appellate District affirmed the trial court's decision to award attorney's fees based on one of the party's frivolous motions to disqualify the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a premises liability claim against Defendant after she fell on an asphalt patch in front of Defendant's property. The trial court granted defendant's motion for summary judgment, finding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: La Vonya Price worked intermittently as a part-time substitute special education aide at the Victor Valley Unified School District (the District) before applying for a full-time position. She received an offer for a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was an equity partner in Dentons U.S. LLP, a law firm with offices throughout the United States. A dispute arose between them over a multimillion-dollar contingency fee from a client whom Petitioner brought to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Officers separately arrested the defendants for DUI and released each with a Notice to Appear. Each signed their respective Notice, agreeing to appear in court on a specified date more than 25 days later. Each Notice…

Justia Opinion Summary: Condominium owners alleged that a sewer service charge collected by Napa Sanitation District consists of a “capacity fee” and a “use fee” and that the latter was an unlawful tax. A challenge to the capacity fee was…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the trial court's judgment after pleading no contest to 24 counts of using a minor to pose to create media depicting sexual acts and one count of possession of matter depicting a minor engaged in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff and appellant Dedication and Everlasting Love to Animals, Inc. (DELTA) owns a vacant lot in the City of El Monte (City or El Monte). After receiving several citations for violating the municipal code, DELTA…

Justia Opinion Summary: A.C. (Mother) is the mother of E.C., now three years old. In 2020, E.C. was taken into protective custody after Mother’s domestic violence-related arrest, and, in 2021, she was made a dependent of the juvenile court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Jane Doe was the founder and owner of a company called House of Lync, which was purchased by defendant SoftwareONE Inc. As part of the acquisition, plaintiff was offered a position with defendant as “Head…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued Farmers New World Life Insurance Company (Defendant or Farmers) for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and punitive damages in connection with a policy insuring the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed from a judgment entered in favor of Defendant, on Plaintiff’s action for medical malpractice after the trial court denied her motion under Batson v. Kentucky (1986) 476 U.S. 79 (Batson) and People v.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Taska was hired by TRR in 2017 but was terminated in 2018, allegedly based on her protest against the CEO’s discriminatory comments and her reports of workplace-related legal violations. After arbitration, Taska stated…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pro se plaintiff Gary Wisner, M.D. filed a complaint alleging that defendants Dignity Health and the Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center (collectively, SJMC) falsely reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank…

Justia Opinion Summary: From August 2018 through January 2019, plaintiffs were six-year-old first grade students who attended Maple Elementary School (Maple) within the Hesperia Unified School District (the District). Pedro Martinez worked at…

Justia Opinion Summary: Amiodarone was developed in the 1960s for the treatment of angina and was released in other countries. Amiodarone is associated with side effects, including pulmonary fibrosis, blindness, thyroid cancer, and death. In…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Travelers Indemnity Company appeals the judgment entered after the superior court denied Travelers’ petition for a writ of administrative mandate challenging the Insurance Commissioner’s decision that certain…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Andrew Shouse was terminated from his employment as a captain of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO, the Department, or respondent), following an administrative hearing. Findings on the record…

Justia Opinion Summary: Under the Government Claims Act, a public entity is not liable for injury except as otherwise provided by statute; a public entity may be vicariously liable for injury caused by an act or omission of its employees acting…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997, two 14-year-old girls were walking near their school when Foster, age 21, approached them, drew a knife, and told them to get on the ground and not try to run or he would kill or stab them. He sexually assaulted…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a complaint against his former employer, Facility Solutions Group, Inc. (FSG), for disability discrimination and related causes of action under the Fair Employment & Housing Act. The same month Plaintiff…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (Department) revoked a nightclub’s liquor license after the club’s owner, GC Brothers Entertainment LLC dba The Palms (Petitioner), failed to respond to an accusation alleging…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, California enacted a Property Assessed Clean Energy program (PACE) as a method for homeowners to finance energy and water conservation improvements. A PACE debt was created by contract and secured by the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2018, Shiekh hired Davis; both signed an agreement to resolve all disputes by binding arbitration. Davis resigned after three months, claiming she was subjected to sexual harassment by her co-worker and customers. In…

Justia Opinion Summary: The trial court denied Defendant’s petition despite the parties’ stipulation to waive the resentencing hearing. Defendant contended that in doing so, the court misinterpreted the statute and violated the doctrine of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the denial of her petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1172.6. On remand, the trial court issued an order to show cause and held an evidentiary hearing. The People offered no argument in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Council for Education and Research on Toxics (CERT) brought these actions under Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) against Respondents, dozens of companies that roast, distribute, or sell coffee. CERT claimed that Respondents…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued the City for its negligence in maintaining the City-owned sidewalk in a dangerous condition. The City moved for summary judgment on the ground that the sidewalk was not a “dangerous condition”. Although…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of second-degree murder in 1984 for a gang-related stabbing petitioned for relief under Penal Code section 1172.6 (former section 1170.95), and proceeded to an evidentiary hearing. The People…

Justia Opinion Summary: A mother appeals an order terminating parental rights over her son, based on a deficient initial inquiry about Indian ancestry. The only source of information about ancestry was the mother. The Los Angeles County…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs sued Nissan, alleging the transmission in a 2013 Nissan Sentra they purchased was defective, bringing statutory claims under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (Civ. Code 1790) and a common law fraud claim…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant owned a parcel of land until 2011, when he defaulted on a secured loan. Over the next decade, Defendant frustrated the attempts of all new owners to renovate or occupy the property. He would physically block…

Justia Opinion Summary: G.I. Industries, doing business as Waste Management (WM), provided solid waste management for the City of Thousand Oaks (City). The City was considering entering into a new exclusive solid waste franchise agreement with…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-appellant Chad Defries suffered injuries while riding a Yamaha dirt bike. He sued the U.S. distributor of that dirt bike, defendant-respondent Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (Yamaha), among others, asserting…

Justia Opinion Summary: Picazo was convicted of multiple sexual offenses against children and possession of child pornography. Picazo was sentenced to a determinate prison term of 10 years and eight months consecutive to an indeterminate term…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff purchased a new pickup truck. FCA US LLC (FCA) is the manufacturer of the truck. Within 900 miles the truck engine overheated and the truck had to be towed to the dealership for repair. The dealership replaced…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs K.M., H.R., and M.L. sued the Grossmont Union High School District (the District) for negligence based on alleged sexual abuse by their high school drama teacher, James Chatham. They also asserted sexual…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff’s complaint alleged Circle K violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by failing to provide him with proper FCRA disclosures when it sought and received his authorization to obtain a consumer report about…

Justia Opinion Summary: Vought sued for the balance due on his contract for the renovation of Stock’s house, additional compensation under a disputed change order, and penalties for the violation of a prompt-payment statute, Civil Code section…

Justia Opinion Summary: M.H. (Father) and A.C. (Mother) are the parents of K.H., now 20 months old. Due to his parents’ drug use, K.H. was taken into protective custody following his birth and made a dependent of the juvenile court under…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a putative class action for unpaid wages, claiming that Home Depot’s electronic timekeeping system captured each minute worked by employees, but that due to a quarter-hour rounding policy, employees were…

Justia Opinion Summary: Father of the minor M.R. appealed a trial court’s judgment after it freed the minor from father’s custody and control, and freed the minor for adoption by the maternal great-grandmother (grandmother). Father contended…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, fifteen-year-old Davion Keel and eighteen-year-old Ariel Bolton held Barry Knight at gunpoint and robbed him of twenty dollars on the streets of San Bernardino. One of them shot and killed Knight when he…

Justia Opinion Summary: Parker’s daughters sought the appointment of a conservator of their mother’s estate. Schwarcz, a professional fiduciary, was appointed as temporary conservator of Parker’s estate. Following mediation, Parker, her…

Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Los Angeles (City) entered into a contract with defendant and respondent PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC (PWC) to modernize the billing system for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). PWC filed…

Justia Opinion Summary: LAD-T, LLC, dba Toyota of Downtown Los Angeles (LAD-T), and its parent company Lithia Motors Inc. (Lithia; collectively, Defendants) appeal from an order denying their motion to compel arbitration of Plaintiff’s claims…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant joined in an “eight against one” gang assault resulting in the victim’s death. While his cohorts used a baseball bat, a shovel, and a knife, Defendant pummeled the victim with his fists and feet. The trial…

Justia Opinion Summary: In September 2019, the Department filed a dependency petition after taking six-year-old A.H. and her younger half-siblings into emergency protective custody and placing them in foster care. The petition alleged that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (Commission) and the Committee of Credentials of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (Committee) appealed a judgment and peremptory writ of prohibition directing…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff George Sheetz challenged a $23,420 traffic impact mitigation fee (TIM fee or fee) imposed by defendant El Dorado County (County) as a condition of issuing him a building permit for the construction of a single-…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, Gerardo Vizcarra was convicted of the second degree murder of Richard Holcomb. Vizcarra and three confederates beat, kicked, and stabbed Holcomb to death after he bumped a mutual companion’s young child into a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Vigil filed a class action against Muir Medical Group, claiming that it failed to secure patients’ personal information, thereby allowing a former employee to download private medical information belonging to more than…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff began working for the defendant Employer in 2006 as a sales representative. In March 2015, she accepted a position as an Area Sales Manager, which she held until June 2017, when she was promoted to the position…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant is a self-described “watchdog association” that brings actions for injunctive relief against immigration consultants under section 22446.5, which provides a right of action against an immigration consultant to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted in 1990 of special-circumstance felony murder for a crime committed when he was 25 years old. Current law entitles anyone who commits a special-circumstance murder at age 16 or 17 is entitled to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Michael O’Connor signed up for a loyalty program when he bought a pair of shoes and socks from Road Runner Sports, Inc. and Road Runner Sports Retail, Inc. (collectively, “Road Runner”). He alleged Road Runner did not…

Justia Opinion Summary: Victor Tellez asked the Court of Appeal to vacate his conviction based on a plea of guilty to committing a lewd and lascivious act on a child under the age of 14 years. He contended his appointed counsel provided…

Justia Opinion Summary: R.A.C. Rolling Hills LP, dba ActivCare at Rolling Hills Ranch, and ActivCare Living, Inc. (together, ActivCare), appealed an order denying their petition to compel arbitration in the elder abuse lawsuit filed by Mary…

Justia Opinion Summary: The State of California appealed after a juvenile court declared defendant-respondent T.O. a ward of the court and placed him in a secure local facility for committing a sexual offense against his seven-year-old cousin.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Lucas was living at the Aranda, a residential hotel that provides supportive housing to formerly homeless individuals. The management company sought a workplace violence restraining order (Code Civ. Proc. 527.8) against…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs’ operated a mobilehome park owned by one of Plaintiff’s clients. The Department of Real Estate filed an accusation alleging Plaintiff violated various provisions of the Real Estate Law. The administrative law…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this unlawful detainer action, counsel for plaintiff Shapell Socal Rental Properties, LLC (Shapell) requested and obtained a default and default judgment against defendant Chico’s FAS, Inc. (CFI) in direct violation…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a matter of first impression for the Court of Appeal, the issue presented for review centered on whether the 45-day time period to file a motion to compel further responses to interrogatories began to run upon service…

Justia Opinion Summary: Tracy Rural County Fire Protection District (Tracy Rural), joined by the City of Tracy (City), challenged a decision made by the Local Agency Formation Commission of San Joaquin County (San Joaquin LAFCO or the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The parties to this appeal were: (1) plaintiffs in 20 separate medical malpractice lawsuits filed against two doctors and a medical spa; and (2) defendants in those lawsuits (i.e., the two doctors and the medical spa).…

Justia Opinion Summary: A.A. drove drunk and killed another driver. He was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and other offenses, with enhancements. A month later, represented by counsel, he pleaded no contest to all…

Justia Opinion Summary: Young claims her employer told her that it had received a wage garnishment order in 2019. Young then discovered the existence of a 2010 default judgment against her, in favor of Midland, for a purported debt of…

Justia Opinion Summary: After D.G. was injured in a car accident involving a rental car driven by I.M. H.A. rented the car involved in the accident from Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company of Los Angeles (ERAC-LA). I.M. was listed as an additional…

Justia Opinion Summary: A.H. (Mother) and J.H. (Father) appealed a juvenile court’s order terminating their parental rights to their two-year-old son, G.H., at the permanent plan selection and implementation hearing held under California…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Today’s IV filed a civil complaint against respondents Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Regional Connector Constructors for their “unreasonable” construction of an underground subway…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Estate of N.K (the Estate), by and through Plaintiff, appealed from the judgment after the trial court granted the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict in favor of Defendant, Glendale Adventist Medical…

Justia Opinion Summary: April Mancini owned the Jah Healing Kemetic Temple of the Divine Church, Inc. (the Church), whose adherents consume cannabis blessed by Church pastors as “sacrament.” The County of San Bernardino (the County) determined…

Justia Opinion Summary: Amy’s employs 2,500 people to manufacture vegetarian meals. It purchased comprehensive property insurance from Fireman's, with coverage extensions for communicable diseases and for loss avoidance and mitigation:…

Justia Opinion Summary: Long before the passage of California Senate Bill No. 620 in 2002, defendant Frederick Johnson pleaded no contest in two cases to various counts in connection with multiple armed robberies and, as relevant here, admitted…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mitchell was doing donuts in a parking lot and tried to hit people with her car. An officer activated his lights and siren to pursue Mitchell. Mitchell sped up and drove through a red light; she made a U-turn and drove…

Justia Opinion Summary: A client who retained Plaintiff, the Law Corporation, to represent him in a marital dissolution action. The client assigned the judgments to Musick Peeler & Garrett LLC (Musick Peeler). In October 2019, the Law…

Justia Opinion Summary: After its collective bargaining agreement with Macy’s expired, the parties were unable to agree on a new agreement. Local 39 called a strike and began picketing at Macy’s store. Macy’s filed suit, alleging that Local 39…

Justia Opinion Summary: For almost 60 years, Schnitzer has operated a scrap-metal shredding and recycling facility. The Department of Toxic Substances Control acquired regulatory authority over metal-shredding facilities in the 1980s and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The People of the State of California (People), appealed the denial of the motion for victim restitution, i.e., attorney fees and costs after Respondent was convicted by plea of felony driving with a .08 blood alcohol…

Justia Opinion Summary: California law requires notification to “a local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which the theft or loss occurred” when a gun is lost or stolen. (Penal Code 25250(a)), within five days of the time when the…

Justia Opinion Summary: While T.L. was being transported by ambulance from a crisis stabilization unit to an inpatient psychiatric facility, she suddenly unbuckled the belts strapping her to the semi-reclined gurney and stepped out of the back…

Justia Opinion Summary: Borrower took out a $5.6 million dollar bridge loan, with 8.5% interest per annum, secured by a deed of trust on real property. They defaulted on a monthly payment of $39,667, triggering late fee provisions: a one-time…

Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found defendant Noy Estul Boukes guilty of the first degree murder of victim 1, threatening victim 2, and falsely imprisoning victim 2. The jury also found true allegations that defendant intentionally murdered…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, Poway Unified School District (the District) constructed a new elementary school. The $82 million project was funded primarily by special tax bonds paid for by homeowners in local communities. Approximately four…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant is a severely disabled child whose congenital abnormalities went undetected during his mother’s pregnancy until after viability. Appellant sued various medical providers for wrongful life, settling with one in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents are a group of college students, all of which face criminal charges for marching though San Luis Obispo in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Respondents sought recusal of the San Luis Obisbo District…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-respondent Roseville Lodge No. 1293, Loyal Order of Moose, Inc. (the Lodge) hired Charlie Gelatini to move an automated teller machine (ATM) on its premises. Plaintiff and appellant Ricky Lee Miller, Jr.,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jeffrey Mayhew and Plaintiffs David Starr and Thomas Hunt formed a limited liability company to operate a shopping center. They agreed Mayhew would manage the company and Starr and Hunt would provide startup…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed claims for discrimination and retaliation against her former employer, defendant and real party in interest Centinela Skilled Nursing & Wellness Centre West, LLC. The trial court granted Defendant’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Rodriguez sued Parivar under California’s labor laws, alleging that Parivar misclassified her as an exempt employee, while she “spent the majority of her time performing the exact same duties as non-exempt employees” at…

Justia Opinion Summary: Sream manufactures water pipes (bongs). According to Sream, its packaging and labels have long included the statement that such products “should be sold, marketed or used for legal, non-prohibited use only.” Since July…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant appealed the denial of his motion to withdraw his plea and vacate his conviction pursuant to Penal Code section 1473.7, subdivision (a). The Legislature has declared that section 1473.7, as amended by Assembly…

Justia Opinion Summary: Tarrar operated “a utility consultant business” in Contra Costa County. Associated issued Tarrar a comprehensive commercial liability and property insurance policy to “pay for direct physical loss of or damage to Covered…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Neumiller & Beardslee filed a renewal request for a 2008 judgment and identified Estate Administrator Audrey Douglas as the judgment debtor without stating she was named in her role as the administrator of an…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2016, McLaughlin, the head of a business, was arrested based on an alleged domestic dispute with his former girlfriend, Olivia. In 2018, an Illinois court ordered all records in that case expunged, and the destruction…

Justia Opinion Summary: On November 4, 2016, Kernan had an External Cephalic Version (ECV) procedure to rotate her healthy 39-week fetus from a breech position. The hospital recorded the ECV as successful. Post-procedure fetal monitoring was…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant appealed from juvenile dependency jurisdiction and disposition orders concerning his daughter. The juvenile court removed Daughter from her parents’ custody; ordered Daughter suitably placed; denied Mother…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Los Angeles College Faculty Guild (Guild) represents faculty at the nine community colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District (District). The Guild appeals the trial court’s judgment of dismissal of its…

Justia Opinion Summary: Without notice to appellant A.I. (mother of the minor R.O.), the juvenile court followed its usual practice of converting what was scheduled as a contested jurisdictional confirmation hearing into an uncontested…

Justia Opinion Summary: Frank Heard was serving a sentence of 23 years plus 80 years to life for two counts of attempted willful, deliberate and premeditated murder for a drive-by shooting he committed at age 15, and one count of voluntary…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-appellant Eleni Gavriiloglou brought this action against her former employer and its alleged alter egos. She asserted, among other things: (1) individual claims for damages based on Labor Code violations; and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner filed a complaint against Comprehensive Print Group LLC and its subsidiary American Pacific Printers College, Inc. for pregnancy and gender and sex-and-gender-based harassment in violation of FEHA;…

Justia Opinion Summary: After Plaintiff-appellant David Salazar bought Target Corporation’s White Baking Morsels incorrectly thinking they contained white chocolate, he filed this class action against Target for false advertising under various…

Justia Opinion Summary: After Plaintiff-appellant David Salazar bought Walmart, Inc.’s “Great Value White Baking Chips” incorrectly thinking they contained white chocolate, he filed this class action against Walmart for false advertising under…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants are patients at medical facilities operated by respondent Centrelake Medical Group. In reliance on Centrelake’s allegedly false representations that it employed reasonable safeguards for patients’ personal…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant (mother), who appealed the order terminating parental rights to her minor child J.K. with a permanent plan of adoption contends the juvenile court erred in finding ICWA did not apply because Santa Barbara…

Justia Opinion Summary: Yaning was president of the Alumni Association; Jin was the executive vice president, and Fuzu was the vice president. To incorporate the Association as a nonprofit, Jin filed documents, listing himself as Secretary and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Oakland filed a lawsuit against the National Football League (the League or the NFL) and its 32 member clubs (collectively, Defendants) after one member club, the Raiders, relocated from Oakland to Las Vegas.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997, real party in interest and appellant Nathan Ramazzini was convicted of first degree murder with a special circumstance regarding a killing that occurred when Ramazzini was 16 years old. Pursuant to California…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Patricia Flores and Angelica Sanchez appealed after the trial court granted summary judgment in favor defendant City of San Diego (the City). Flores and Sanchez sued the City for wrongful death and negligence,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal, the State argued that a sentencing court’s discretion under California v. Tirado, 12 Cal.5th 688 (2022) was limited to imposing a lesser enhancement under Penal Code section 12022.53, so a court that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Between 2018 and 2020, Electric Frontier Foundation, Inc. (EFF) moved to unseal affidavits filed in support of executed search warrants requested by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department (the Sheriff) and issued…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this employment matter, Plaintiff appealed from the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of her former employer, Defendant and respondent Foster Poultry Farms LLC (Foster Farms), on her claims of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) Cash Handlers are supervised by Foreworkers. A labor agreement describes the selection of Foreworkers by an Evaluation Committee, comprised of three union representatives and three…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, surgeon Aram Bonni sued his employers, defendants Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center and St. Joseph Hospital of Orange, as well several other related entities and physicians (collectively, the Hospitals)…

Justia Opinion Summary: The defendants were charged with murder and kidnapping. Scott was also charged with robbery and a special circumstance of felony murder in the course of kidnapping, with a special allegation that he personally,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Sifuentes was convicted of first-degree murder under a felony-murder theory; his co-felon killed Deputy Monego during a 1998 restaurant robbery. The jury found not true the felony-murder special-circumstance…

Justia Opinion Summary: With the agreement of her supervisor, Johar, a salesperson, left work for about a week to care for a terminally ill relative. While she was away her employer (SWS) decided she had quit. Upon her return, SWS stated…

Justia Opinion Summary: Under California law, the Privette doctrine holds that there is a strong presumption that a hirer of an independent contractor delegates to the contractor all responsibility for workplace safety. SMC Contracting, Inc.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants are OS Restaurant Services, LLC and Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. Plaintiff worked there as a server. Plaintiff sued, alleging Defendants regularly failed to give Plaintiff her full uninterrupted rest periods, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Elouise Harber and Delores Williams filed cross-petitions to be appointed as guardians of two children. The trial court ordered them to exchange lists of the witnesses they intended to call, specifically including party…

Justia Opinion Summary: Thompson was convicted of first-degree murder for a San Jose shooting death (Pen. Code 187(a)) and possession of a firearm by a felon (29800(a)(1)), with a finding that he personally and intentionally discharged a…

Justia Opinion Summary: After “one of the driest years in recorded state history,” in 2015 the Water Resources Control Board issued orders to curtail water use in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The trial court concluded that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The juvenile court assumed jurisdiction over M.A. upon his admission that he had committed a felony sexual battery (Penal Code 243.4). The juvenile court granted him probation for one year. At the recommendation of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Alan Bueno, an inmate at the time of the offense at issue, arranged with a prison employee codefendant to obtain a cellular telephone. Bueno pleaded no contest to one felony count of conspiracy to violate…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-appellant Steven Rodgers, a correctional sergeant employed by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), appealed the denial of his writ petition seeking to set aside the State Personnel Board’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant made a request for pendente lite attorney fees was made early in the marriage dissolution proceedings and had been pending for over a year when the trial started. By that time, Appellant was unemployed and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Salvador, charged with sexual penetration of a person under the age of 16 by a person over 21, lewd or lascivious act on a child aged 14 or 15, felony false imprisonment, sexual battery, and annoying or molesting a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Wong was a former patient of a mental health service provider at the Veterans Home called Pathway; in 2018 he went to the facility armed and dressed for combat and took hostage three Pathway employees. After exchanging…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Federal Insurance Company (Federal) was the prevailing party in a lawsuit Cell-Crete Corporation (Cell-Crete) brought seeking to recover against Federal on a payment bond. After dismissal, the trial judge…

Justia Opinion Summary: Detective Nava obtained a search warrant for Rowland’s residence. Nava had investigated a report from Sergeant Dahl, a member of the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against ChildrenTask Force. Dahl was investigating…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a dispute between members of a limited liability company (LLC), Plaintiff alleged that the LLC’s managing member engaged in self-dealing to the detriment of both Plaintiff and the company. After the managing member,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The County of San Joaquin (County) petitioned for review of a Public Employment Relations Board (Board) decision in which the Board found the County interfered with and discriminated against the protected activity of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: J.T. (father) appealed a juvenile court’s order terminating his parental rights to Kenneth D. (minor) and adopting the recommended findings and orders of the Placer County Department of Health and Human Services…

Justia Opinion Summary: ZF Micro Solutions, Inc., the successor of now deceased ZF Micro Devices, Inc., alleged TAT Capital Partners, Ltd., murdered its predecessor by inserting a board member who poisoned it. The trial court decided the claim…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents moved to dismiss this appeal as untimely. The notice of appeal was filed with the superior court more than 60 days after notice of entry of judgment was served upon appellants. Appellants oppose dismissal on…

Justia Opinion Summary: On April 10, 2017, Cedric Anderson entered his wife’s classroom at an elementary school, which was part of the San Bernardino City Unified School District (the district). Anderson shot and killed his wife, a student, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jones established a trust, naming his daughter (Spencer) as successor trustee. The property was the trust’s principal asset. Jones later married Grays-Jones, but did not amend the trust. Jones contracted to sell the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Apple Annie operated restaurants in Marin, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara counties and had comprehensive commercial liability and property insurance through Oregon Mutual for “for direct physical loss of or damage to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Murray Plumbing and Heating Corporation (Murray) briefly employed Respondent as a journeyman pipefitter in 2019–2020. In 2020, Respondent sued for civil penalties under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA),…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1993, defendant Albert Garcia physically assaulted and stole money from an 82-year-old man, who died about an hour later from lethal cardiac arrhythmia. A jury found defendant guilty of first degree murder and…

Justia Opinion Summary: J.V. (Father) appealed a Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26 order terminating his parental rights to his then three-year-old daughter, Y.M. His sole contention was that the San Diego County Health and Human…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2016, Santa Clara County charged Nguyen with possession for sale and transportation of a controlled substance. Six months later, the DA filed a second complaint, charging Nguyen with additional controlled substance…

Justia Opinion Summary: In November 2019, Landlords served Tenants with a 120-Day Notice of Termination of Tenancy and half of the relocation assistance due under the San Francisco Rent Ordinance. Both Tenants then claimed disability status;…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ramsey Walter El Wardani died intestate in 2016 and was survived by his wife Janine and daughter from a previous marriage, Alexandria (Ali). Four years into a protracted probate dispute between Janine and Ali, the court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The plaintiffs sued West, their landlord, and her son Timothy, who was part owner of property. Judgments were entered against West, totalling $201,245.50 (including $75,000 for punitive damages); judgments against…

Justia Opinion Summary: Northfield issued a policy to insure an apartment complex. The coverage excludes liability for violations of the insured’s duty to maintain habitable premises; this exclusion also encompasses coverage for “any claim or…

Justia Opinion Summary: Wet tile at Hibachi Buffet caused Plaintiff to slip and hit the floor hard. The jury awarded damages, but the court granted Buffet’s two posttrial motions. One was for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The other, in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The plaintiffs, firefighters with California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, for the last ten years of their careers served as executive officers for the union. During that time, the plaintiffs were on…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff initiated an action for involuntary dissolution of R. R. Crane Investment Corporation, Inc. (R. R. Crane), a family-owned investment business that he shared with his brother. To avoid corporate dissolution, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Over ten years ago, Prince Kurtiss Cheatham fled criminal custody after he heard nonexistent voices that led him to believe his life was in danger. After being returned to custody, he again attempted to escape after…

Justia Opinion Summary: Bowden was driving in Novato when she struck and killed a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk in May 2019. Blood and breath samples taken at the scene indicated that Bowden had been driving under the influence of alcohol.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Manuel sued for wrongful termination after he was injured during the course of his employment with BrightView. The parties dispute whether Manuel’s employment was terminated in retaliation for his job injury or whether…

Justia Opinion Summary: Siri sued her former employer, Trinchero, for wrongful termination. Trinchero served an offer to compromise by paying Siri $500,000 in exchange for dismissal, Code of Civil Procedure section 998. During the 30-day…

Justia Opinion Summary: A Hollywood producer took his chef and executive assistant on a trip to Bora Bora. While there, the executive assistance died after consuming alcohol, cocaine, and then drowning. The chef provided the woman with the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff purchased four contiguous lots in Santa Monica in 1994. In 2004, Planitiff demolished the structures and erected four single-family homes. In 2009, Plaintiff rented one of the units to Defendant. At issue in…

Justia Opinion Summary: N.G. (Mother) appealed a juvenile court’s order terminating parental rights to her children, Ricky R. and Jayden R. Mother argued the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) failed to discharge its…

Justia Opinion Summary: 601 Main sued Frym, its tenant, to collect $145,211.29 in unpaid rent, taxes, and insurance premiums. Frym filed a cross-complaint against 601, DeCarli (601’s principal), and their attorney, Leoni, for fraud, extortion,…

Justia Opinion Summary: One of the California Board of Registered Nursing (the Board) regulations stated: “An approved nursing program shall not make a substantive change without prior board authorization,” which included changes such as a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff CAM-Carson, LLC sued the City of Carson (City), the Carson Reclamation Authority (CRA) and others for breach of contract and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Plaintiff is a commercial real…

Justia Opinion Summary: Father appealed the juvenile court’s order terminating his and Mother’s parental rights and finding that the child, J.R., was adoptable. The Second Appellate District conditionally reversed that order because the Los…

Justia Opinion Summary: D.L. (Mother) is the biological mother of four children: E.L., Child 1, now 15 years old; E.R.O., Child 2, now 11; L.O., Child 3, now 10; and E.O.O., Child 4, now 7. E.O. (Father) is the presumed father of Child 1 and…

Justia Opinion Summary: T.T. (Mother) challenged a juvenile court’s finding that the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) did not apply to the dependency proceedings concerning her son, Dominick D. She argued the juvenile court…

Justia Opinion Summary: King is Jimmy's former spouse and mother of his minor child. Jimmy was killed in a California helicopter crash. His sole heirs were his spouse, Wasdin, and his minor child. Jimmy and King were residents of Alabama. An…

Justia Opinion Summary: The boys were removed from the custody of their (married) parents by the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services in 2020, after a string of child abuse and neglect referrals stemming from repeated bouts…

Justia Opinion Summary: The issue in this appeal is whether respondent Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital (Hospital) can be held liable for the alleged negligence of its staff physician. The physician’s patient, Plaintiff, appealed the judgment…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appeals the trial court’s judgment in favor of Plaintiff on her causes of action for wrongful eviction and financial elder abuse. Defendant contends that (1) it was unfairly surprised at trial because the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Toren Nieber was convicted in 2017 for his role in the commission of a 2016 burglary and robbery during which one of the victims was shot and killed. At the preliminary hearing, the magistrate found insufficient evidence…

Justia Opinion Summary: Paredes obtained dental services from Mai Dental in 2015-2016, with the understanding that payments made by Delta Dental would satisfy in full any debt that Paredes owed. In 2018, Paredes received a check from Delta for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Chopard USA Ltd. (Chopard) appealed the trial court’s order of attorney fees and costs in favor of Plaintiff. Plaintiff, who is legally blind, alleged a single cause of action against Chopard under the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff designated his nephew as his health care agent and attorney-in-fact using an advance health care directive and power of attorney for health care decisions form developed by the California Medical Association…

Justia Opinion Summary: Victor Salgado appealed a recall and resentencing under former Penal Code section 1170 (d)(1). After Salgado shot at a rival gang member but killed another, he was charged with: one count of first degree murder; one…

Justia Opinion Summary: Guillory, convicted in 2004 of kidnapping, carjacking, robbing, and murdering Curtis, claimed she qualified for resentencing under Penal Code section 1172.6(d) (effective January 1, 2019) because the jury rejected a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (Department) suspended the license of real party in interest, Bogle Vineyards, Inc. (Bogle), for 10 days after finding that Bogle violated Business and Professions…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Jesse Orosco appeals his conviction for one count of assault on a peace officer by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury. He argued: (1) there was no substantial evidence the victim was a peace…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Lynn Gerlach and Lola Seals appealed the judgment entered in their action against defendant K. Hovnanian’s Four Seasons at Beaumont, LLC under the Right to Repair Act (the Act), concerning alleged construction…

Justia Opinion Summary: The juvenile court bypassed family reunification services for appellant S.Z. (Mother) pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 361.5 (b)(5) and (c)(3). Mother contended the court’s ruling was not supported by…

Justia Opinion Summary: Technology Credit Union (TCU) sought a workplace violence restraining order (WVRO) (Code Civ. Proc., 527.81) restraining Rafat and protecting TCU’s employee, M.L., claiming that Rafat had made a credible threat of…

Justia Opinion Summary: This litigation arose from a decision by the City of Chula Vista (the City) to reject applications by CV Amalgamated LLC, dba Caligrown (CVA) for licenses to operate retail cannabis stores in the City. In 2018, the City…

Justia Opinion Summary: At the time of his death, Farkas owned Parcels 5 and 18. His widow, McLaughlin, brought a probate petition to establish and enforce an access easement benefiting that property, naming Maleti. Maleti sold Parcel 18 to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2020, California and Santa Clara County issued public health orders intended to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, including orders restricting indoor gatherings and requiring face coverings, social distancing, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: In May 2021 the Agency received a report of general neglect of an infant. A social worker met with Mother and her partner, Anthony; both reported that there was no known Native American ancestry. The dependency petition…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Andrew Gregor, a naturalized citizen from Australia, pleaded guilty to a felony sex offense that was later reduced to a misdemeanor and dismissed after early termination of probation. After he was informed he…

Justia Opinion Summary: Bonds posted a $200,000 bail bond for Quinones-Arias. North was the surety and guaranteed the defendant’s appearance. Quinones-Arias did not appear at a plea hearing on December 17, 2018. The court declared the bond…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant appealed the order denying his motion to vacate the judgment entered against him for $251,200.13 after he failed to pay $30,000 as required pursuant to a stipulation for entry of judgment. Appellant contends…

Justia Opinion Summary: The State petitioned to commit Nicholas Needham California under the Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVPA). Preparing for trial on the petition, the district attorney retained a psychological expert to evaluate Needham…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jerry Vang was convicted by jury for multiple crimes against two different victims, including: kidnapping first degree felony murder with a special circumstance, infliction of corporal injury on a cohabitant,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Donna Fisher lived in a mobilehome located in The Groves mobilehome residential community in Irvine, California. In 2011, Fisher filed a verified assessment appeal application with the Assessment Appeals Board No. 3 (the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Cisco Systems, Inc. hired “John Doe” in September 2015 to work as an engineer. Doe was required to sign an arbitration agreement as a condition of his employment. Under the agreement, Cisco and Doe had to arbitrate “all…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Waterhouse Management Corp. is the property manager of Nomad Village Mobile Home Park (the Park), a 150- space mobile home park in Santa Barbara. Appellant Lazy Landing MHP, LLC, owns the long-term ground lease…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition; attempted robbery; conspiracy to commit robbery; and a violation of the gang conspiracy statute. After his conviction, the California…

Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Malibu formed the Broad Beach Geologic Hazard Abatement District (the District), to protect the homes on the city’s Broad Beach, threatened by longstanding shoreline erosion. The District developed a plan to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs sued Defendants asserting causes of action for professional negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. Defendants moved to compel arbitration pursuant to the Retainer Agreement and the trial court granted the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs’ son fell to his death from the steep, sloped roof of a residential building where he lived. The building was owned by Young Men’s Christian Association of Glendale, California (YMCA or Defendant). Plaintiffs’…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, who owned a 1 percent interest in a limited liability company (LLC), filed a lawsuit seeking judicial dissolution of the LLC under Corporations Code section 17707.03. Defendants, other members of the LLC who…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, as successor in interest to his brother, sought reversal of a judgment of dismissal following the successful demurrer of Cot’n Wash, Inc. (CW) to a complaint against CW alleging a single violation of the Unruh…

Justia Opinion Summary: Shao Yan Chen, Han Lin Liu, Zhi Hua Mo, Yuk Yee Cheng, Hui Zhen Hu, Ruizhao Wu, and Qi Di Wu (collectively, tenants) had a dispute with Valstock Ventures, LLC and 371 Broadway Street, LLC (together, Valstock) over which…

Justia Opinion Summary: Sonoma County received a harassment complaint lodged against the elected sheriff of the county, Mark Essick. An independent investigator, Amy Oppenheimer, prepared a written report. A local newspaper requested the County…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a mother of ten children, was accused of physically abusing several of her children. In November 2017, the court sustained allegations of a petition and ordered the children removed from the parents.…

Justia Opinion Summary: After June 30, 2021, juvenile courts were no longer able to commit juveniles to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). Jason V. was committed to DJJ prior to June 30, 2021,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Stella Grace Yeh (Yeh) attended the University of San Diego. Following a party where Yeh became highly intoxicated, a friend summoned an Uber to take Yeh back to her dorm at the University. That ride was terminated…

Justia Opinion Summary: Under California Welfare and Institutions Code, a person previously designated as a "sexually violent predator" ("SVP") may be unconditionally discharged if they no longer meet the definition under Sec. 6604.9(d).…

Justia Opinion Summary: Luis Munoz and LR Munoz Real Estate Holdings, LLC (together, Munoz) bought a hotel from a company owned and managed by Rajesh Patel and his son, Shivam. Before escrow closed, the parties negotiated a leaseback…

Justia Opinion Summary: The San Diego City Attorney brought an enforcement action under the Unfair Competition Law, Business and Professions Code sections 17200, et seq. (UCL), on behalf of the State of California against Maplebear Inc. DBA…

Justia Opinion Summary: A superior court granted diversion to real party in interest, Jessica Ortiz, on misdemeanor DUI charges pursuant to Penal Code section 1001.95. In prior writ proceedings, the appellate division of the superior court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff fell while walking on a public sidewalk in the City of Redondo Beach. More specifically, Plaintiff's back foot hit a raised sidewalk slab causing her to trip and fall forward to the ground. As a result,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Attorney Dennise Henderson violated several local court rules governing the timely service and filing of materials preparatory to trial. As a result, the trial court sanctioned her $950 under Code of Civil Procedure…

Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Board of Commissioners (collectively, Los Angeles) appealed a trial court judgment granting the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted by jury of robbery. He waived jury as to the charged enhancements and the trial court, based upon certified records, found true the allegations that he had two serious prior felony convictions and…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, a jury convicted Sadiq Saibu and Antonio Valentino for their roles in committing a robbery of a video store, two attempted robberies of a liquor store, and a murder and attempted murder in the same liquor store…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Scotlane McCune appealed an order awarding victim restitution. McCune crashed his cousin’s car into a tree, totaling the car’s front end and injuring his passenger. He pled no contest to felony hit…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was a beneficiary and trustee of a family trust. In 2018, Defendant provided Plaintiff, Defendant's daughter, and the other remainder beneficiaries with a notice stating: "[y]ou may not bring an action to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued her former employer, Wood Ranch USA, Inc. (Wood Ranch) for compensatory and punitive damages on nine different causes of action. Wood Ranch moved to compel arbitration. The trial court granted the motion…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of murder and several gang-related offenses in 1988 after pleading guilty. He was sentenced to 25 years to life. In 2017, Defendant had a parole hearing, at which he accepted responsibility for…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this appeal was whether a cross-complaint filed by Connor Callanan against Charles Menken, Steven Menken, and Grizzly Designs, LLC, dba Brotherly Love (collectively “the Menkens”) was a SLAPP suit subject to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Robert Legg pleaded guilty to committing a lewd act upon a 14- or 15-year-old child, a conviction that required him to register as a sex offender for life. A subsequent amendment to Penal Code section 290…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Reid & Hellyer, APC (Reid & Hellyer) moved for sanctions against plaintiff Transcon Financial, Inc. (Transcon) and its counsel, Ronald Talkov. Reid & Hellyer filed two motions, one under California Code of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The issue presented for the Court of Appeal's review in this case centered on whether California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1281.4 authorized the trial court to stay a plaintiff’s action on the basis of a pending…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner-mother J.J. petitioned for extraordinary relief pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 8.452, seeking review of an order denying family reunification services and setting a permanency planning hearing…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case (1) involved the legal issue of whether an employee who settled individual claims against the employer for alleged Labor Code violations was subsequently barred by claim preclusion from bringing a Private…

Justia Opinion Summary: Minor N.L. appealed an order adjudging her a ward of the court. She argued: (1) there was insufficient evidence to support the juvenile court’s finding that she willfully and maliciously committed felony arson of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Danny Beasley, who had a lengthy criminal history, was on parole from a 25-to-life sentence when he committed this first degree robbery. He used a knife in the commission of the offense, which exposed him to a maximum…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, then proceeding pro se, brought an action against Respondent, her brother, alleging he had falsely accused her of committing crimes against him and their elderly parents. Respondent emailed the attorney in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with assault with a means of force likely to cause great bodily injury (“force-likely assault”) (Pen. Code,1 Section 245, subd. (a)(4); count 1) and misdemeanor violation of a protective order…

Justia Opinion Summary: Wang sued her former attorney Nesse, alleging professional malpractice in his representation of Wang in her marital dissolution action. Following Nesse’s death, his estate moved for summary judgment on the grounds that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff worked as a sales associate at an AutoZone auto parts store operated by Defendant AutoZoners, (AutoZoners). Plaintiff filed the present suit asserting one claim under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant appealed the juvenile court’s order terminating her parental rights to her daughter. She did not challenge the basis of the termination of her rights. Her sole contention is that the Los Angeles Department of…

Justia Opinion Summary: S.A. (mother) appealed a juvenile court’s order terminating parental rights and ordering G.A. (minor) be placed for adoption. Mother contended the San Joaquin County Human Services Agency (Agency) and the juvenile court…

Justia Opinion Summary: After Royals’ father, Adams, died at age 99, Royals became the successor trustee and sole beneficiary of the Adams Trust. Lu, Adams’s second wife, was 59 years old when she married Adams, then 95. Royals alleged that…

Justia Opinion Summary: A child was declared a dependent child of the juvenile court and removed from Defendants (her parents), after the court sustained an amended petition pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivisions…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ghuman befriended the Shokers, becoming familiar with their rental properties and promising higher returns on an investment in a technology company.. Relying on his representations, the Shokers provided Ghuman with $1.5…

Justia Opinion Summary: Three defendants were tried on various charges arising from two shootings that occurred as part of a gang war. They were tried alongside two other co-defendants and ultimately convicted of multiple counts of murder and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff worked as a driver for California Transit. After California Transit terminated his employment, Evenskaas filed this wage and hour class action against California Transit; its owner, and the company that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Floyd Chodosh appealed the dismissal of his case against defendants the Commission on Judicial Performance (the Commission), the Department of Justice, and former Attorney General Xavier Becerra (together with…

Justia Opinion Summary: After defendant-appellant M.H. was convicted of a criminal offense, she was committed to the California Department of State Hospitals at Patton as a Mentally Disordered Offender (MDO) under Penal Code section 2962. While…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Thompsons own property in Sonoma County that is subject to a conservation easement (Civ. Code 815) in favor of SLT, which prohibits any impairment of the land’s conservation values. SLT sued, alleging that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: M & L Financial, Inc. (M&L) took 45 vivid yellow diamonds worth $4 million to Sotheby’s for auction on consignment. M&L told Sotheby’s it was the exclusive owner of the diamonds, but Sotheby’s later released them to a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Pravindar Prem Singh, a noncitizen legal resident, was found guilty of various illegal substance charges. After serving his sentence for these convictions he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Laura Shelly pled no contest to one count of embezzlement by an employee. Pursuant to the negotiated plea, the trial court imposed a five-year term of felony probation. The court also ordered defendant to pay…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case was the second appeal arising out of a dispute over the operation of a commercial self-storage facility (Treelake Storage) within a planned unit development in Granite Bay (Treelake Village). Silversword…

Justia Opinion Summary: This was the second time plaintiff-appellant Petrolink, Inc. returned to the Court of Appeal in its suit against Lantel Enterprises. Petrolink filed an action against defendant Lantel Enterprises (Lantel), seeking…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Matthew Mazur concocted a fraudulent investment scheme that resulted in his conviction on 35 felony charges and various sentencing enhancements. After an appeal that resulted in resentencing, and several…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Kejuan Clark was convicted by jury of rape, forced oral copulation, false imprisonment, first degree burglary, and robbery in concert inside an inhabited dwelling. The jury found true the allegations…

Justia Opinion Summary: Golden Gate, which operates a Berkeley horse racing track, sued Action, an animal rights organization, and individuals who allegedly climbed over a fence surrounding the race track, lit incendiary devices that produced…

Justia Opinion Summary: The owners of Hotel Erwin and Larry’s (a restaurant adjacent to the hotel) in Venice Beach—Marina Pacific Hotel & Suites, LLC; Venice Windward, LLC; Larry’s Venice, L.P.; and Erwin H. Sokol, as trustee of the Frances…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed a grant of probation containing a condition that he serve 180 days of confinement in county jail. Although the trial court misunderstood the imposition of custodial time as a probation condition for a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The occupants of a car shot at officers; neither was hit. Ernesto, age 16, and others were apprehended after attempting to escape. The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office filed a wardship petition with respect to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Second Appellate District resolved three appeals, referred to as the 270 Action and the other as 475 Action.   In the 270 Action, the trial court sustained special motions to strike Plaintiff’s complaint against…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mother D.S. (“Mother”) appealed the order terminating her parental rights to daughter, M.M., arguing the adoption assessment prepared by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (“Department)”…

Justia Opinion Summary: Invoking California Penal Code section 1170.95, defendant Yolanda Harden sought to vacate her conviction of first degree murder. She claimed some 20 years later (and after recent amendments to the statute) that she was…

Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found defendant Anthony Zabelle guilty of second degree robbery. It also found true the allegation he inflicted great bodily injury during the commission of the robbery. On appeal, defendant challenged his…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue is whether certain records maintained by appellant Kern High School District (“KHSD”) and pertaining to Plaintiff, a police officer formerly employed by KHSD, are subject to disclosure in response to requests…

Justia Opinion Summary: The plaintiff alleged that after being treated at the defendant’s emergency room, he was billed an evaluation and management services (EMS) fee in addition to the charges for individual items of service and treatment.…

Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found Hayden Gerson guilty of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter a lesser included offense of attempted murder; two counts of assaulting a peace officer with a semiautomatic firearm; shooting at an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Wandrey was convicted of numerous counts of sex offenses committed against the daughter of his then-girlfriend, and sentenced to consecutive aggravated prison terms totaling 756 years. He had been charged with and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The real parties in interest, two truck drivers, were injured in a single-vehicle truck accident. At the time of the accident, the injured drivers were operating a truck manufactured by Defendant. Defendant is a Delaware…

Justia Opinion Summary: In December 2019, Coastline JX Holdings LLC (Coastline), assignee of a judgment creditor’s interest in a money judgment entered against Stephen Bennett, served on Seamount Financial Group, Inc. (Seamount) a notice of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, Defendant was convicted of one count of injuring a cohabitant resulting in a traumatic condition under Penal Code section 273.5 after he entered a guilty plea to the offense. Shortly after his conviction,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff brought a medical malpractice action against her personal, treating physician, Golden Valley Health Centers, and Doctors Medical Center of Modesto (“DMC”), after suffering complications and injuries as a result…

Justia Opinion Summary: After the police saw Ayon commit two minor traffic violations, they stopped him in his car and detained him until a narcotics dog arrived, 12 minutes and 45 seconds into the stop. After the dog indicated the presence of…

Justia Opinion Summary: McNeal was exposed to asbestos from several sources. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2017. The jury found his asbestos exposure included the use of Old Spice talcum powder on a daily basis, 1958-1980, except for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Now four-year-old M.G. is fed through a G-tube due to his diagnoses of esophageal reflux, generalized intestinal dysmotility, and laryngomalacia. He is also eligible for Regional Center Services due to a developmental…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-respondent Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) was a health care service plan subject to the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 (Knox-Keene Act). It contracted with certain medical groups and…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2016, plaintiff Stephanie Hargrove filed suit against defendants-respondents San Bernardino Convalescent Operations, Inc., dba Legacy Post-Acute Rehabilitation Center (Hargrove’s former employer; SBCO), Indio Nursing…

Justia Opinion Summary: Joshi was injured while using a sauna at City Sports Club, which is owned by Fitness. Joshi filed a personal injury suit alleging premises liability based upon Fitness’s failure to maintain the sauna in a safe condition.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of multiple counts of lewd acts upon a child under the age of fourteen and additional sexual offenses and sentencing him to ninety years…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the trial court denying Defendant's petition for conditional release on the ground of restoration of sanity pursuant to Cal. Penal Code 1026.2, holding that the trial court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, driving at nearly 90 miles per hour, ran through a red light and collided with another vehicle, killing its occupants. A blood test after the accident confirmed that Defendant had 7.2 nanograms per milliliter…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed this defamation case against Defendants based on allegations that Defendants falsely told several reporters that plaintiff had provided explicit nude photographs of one of the Defendants to the National…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a no contest plea to Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivisions (b)(1) (failure to protect) and (c) (serious emotional damage) related to all three of her children. After hearing the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff California Business & Industrial Alliance appealed dismissal after a trial court sustained the demurrer of defendant Xavier Becerra, in his official capacity as Attorney General of the State of California,…

Justia Opinion Summary: G.V. (Father) appealed a juvenile court’s judgment terminating his parental rights as to his newborn daughter (E.V.) and selecting adoption as the permanent plan. He argued the court and the Orange County Social Services…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of the involuntary manslaughter of his girlfriend, holding that no violation of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), occurred in this…

Justia Opinion Summary: Southwest Airlines passenger Ilczyszyn suffered a massive pulmonary embolism while locked inside an airplane lavatory during the final stages of a flight from Oakland to Orange County. Rather than treating Ilczyszyn’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2020, while wildfires swept through portions of Sonoma County, close to many homes, Sheriff Essick met with the County Board of Supervisors, fire officials, and members of the public in a streamed town hall meeting.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant the mother of six-year-old M.B., appealed the August 31, 2021 order terminating her parental rights, contending the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services failed to adequately investigate…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant and a codefendant shot and killed another person after an altercation. Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder with a true finding of the gang special circumstance. He was also convicted of active gang…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff C. Achay was a student on a high school track team, which usually practiced after school until 5:30 p.m. One day practice ended early, so Achay and her friend walked to Starbucks and returned about 45 minutes…

Justia Opinion Summary: Turo, an Internet-based platform, allows vehicle owners to list, and customers to rent, specific passenger vehicles, processes reservations and payments and retains a percentage of the proceeds of each rental…

Justia Opinion Summary: For about 10 years Victaulic and three of its insurers, members of the American Insurance Group (AIG), have been engaged in litigation. One case is this lawsuit filed by Victaulic in 2012; in 2013, the Pillsbury law firm…

Justia Opinion Summary: BPI owned property in unincorporated Humboldt County, with eight rental units, a post office, and its own water system. LaPaille served as CEO and CFO of BPI. From 2009-2016, Laurance and Elsie (plaintiffs) performed…

Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Defendant of attempted willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder. The trial court sentenced Defendant to 32 years to life in state prison. Defendant appealed the application of gang and firearm…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant appealed the judgment after the jury found him guilty of false imprisonment by violence or menace (count 1, Pen. Code, Sections 236, 237, subd. (a)) and infliction of corporal injury on a person with whom he…

Justia Opinion Summary: The co-tenancy provision in the parties’ lease required a shopping center to have either: (1) three anchor tenants; or (2) 60 percent of the space leased, and, if it did not, Tenant-respondent JoAnn Stores, LLC was…

Justia Opinion Summary: Acting pro se, plaintiff-appellant Timothy Simms wanted to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit against defendant-respondent Bear Valley Community Healthcare District (Bear Valley). He appealed a judgment denying his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The University of California Retirement Plan (UCRP) is a defined benefit plan. In 1999, the University’s President addressed the recruitment and retention impacts of federal tax law: for employees hired after a certain…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ryan Lawhon alleged he was severely injured when an 18650 lithium-ion battery he bought from a San Diego vape shop suddenly exploded in his pants pocket. In addition to the vape shop and vape distributor, he sued LG Chem…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a journalist, petitioned to obtain the juvenile case file of a deceased child, whose adoptive mother was convicted of her torture and murder. Although the Madera County Department of Social Services/Child…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, John and Jane were students at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). On September 7, they went to a party together and then had a sexual encounter. The next day, a dispute arose about whether the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs appealed from a judgment of the superior court in their lawsuit against Southern California Edison Company (SCE) following summary judgment in SCE’s favor. Plaintiffs previously lived on a property on Knob…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA; Gov. Code 3500) requires public agencies to meet and confer (bargain) in good faith with recognized employee organizations regarding changes to wages, hours, and other terms and…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2018, Cuenca pleaded guilty to false imprisonment of his girlfriend and to a related charge of resisting arrest resulting in serious bodily injury to an officer. The court imposed a split sentence: three years of…

Justia Opinion Summary: A family who owned and operated a medical practice ("Defendants") suffered $25,000 in damages when a pipe in an adjacent office started leaking. The family hired a lawyer ("Plaintiff") to help them compel the neighboring…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Rick Fowler sought a writ of mandate against defendant Golden Pacific Bancorp, Inc. (Bancorp), to enforce his statutory rights as a director and majority shareholder to inspect corporate books and records.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner entered a no contest plea to first-degree murder. He also admitted that he acted intentionally, deliberately, and with premeditation in committing the murder. Twelve years later, Petitioner filed a petition…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (Welfare & Institutions Code 5000e) authorizes one-year conservatorships over individuals who are “gravely disabled” by a mental health disorder or chronic alcoholism. Persons subject to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants were convicted of first degree murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait, and unlawful participation in a criminal street gang ("gang enhancement"). On appeal, Defendants sought reversal of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Christopher Whitmore was convicted by jury of rape, false imprisonment and other crimes. After trial, Whitmore made a Marsden motion to replace his appointed counsel; he also moved for a new trial.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, defendants AWi Builders, Inc. (AWi), Construction Contractors Corporation, Zhirayr Robert Mekikyan, Anna Mekikyan, and Tigran Oganesian (collectively, the AWI defendants) were under criminal investigation by the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Patricia and Thomas married in 1989 and had twins in 1996. A judgment dissolving their marriage was entered in 2002. Thomas began representing himself. In 2005, the court deemed Thomas a vexatious litigant and issued an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners are truck drivers previously employed by real party in interest Haralambos Beverage Co. (Haralambos). Petitioners' filed a putative wage and hour class action alleging, among other things, that Haralambos…

Justia Opinion Summary: After having his first degree murder conviction reduced to second degree murder based on instructional error, defendant-appellant Matthew Basler filed a petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.95.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Coronado, City of Imperial Beach, City of Lemon Grove, and City of Solana Beach (collectively “the Cities”) filed a combined petition for writ of administrate mandate and complaint for injunctive and…

Justia Opinion Summary: St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company (St. Paul Fire & Marine) and multiple other appellants (collectively, the St. Paul Insurers or sometimes St. Paul) appealed a California trial court’s order staying their…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1979, the property was owned by one entity and divided into four parcels. Before 1997, the county assessor divided the property into three parcels with distinct assessor’s parcel numbers (APNs). In 1997, the owner…

Justia Opinion Summary: Johnson was convicted of multiple offenses arising from a domestic violence incident against his wife in the presence of their daughters, including two separate counts of dissuading a witness by force or threat of force…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner made Public Records Act (PRA) (Gov. Code 6251) requests seeking “all communications between” California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) President Batjer and the Governor’s staff, including “all documents,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a consolidated class action against his former employer, Pacific Bell Telephone Company ("Employer"). Plaintiff claimed Employer violated California law by failing to provide lawful meal and rest periods…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Ruman Abdul Richardson acted as the getaway driver for a robbery. During the robbery, one of his coparticipants shot the victim. Petitioner was convicted of first degree murder on a felony murder theory. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: After concluding that the project was not subject to the Housing Accountability Act (HAA) (Gov. Code 65589.5), the county denied the plaintiffs’ application o build a nearly 4,000-square-foot single-family home on a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Russo contracted to build four airport firefighting trucks for the city. The contract provided that Russo would pay the city’s attorney fees in the event of litigation involving the trucks. Under a performance bond,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2018, Flores was convicted of a series of crimes, including felony corporal injury of his former girlfriend (Pen. Code 273.5(a). The court sentenced Flores to 224 months in prison, which included the upper term of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, seven adults who claimed they were molested by a priest when they were children, brought suit against The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles and related parties ("Defendants"). The Plaintiffs' claims…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with felony counts of sale/transportation/offer to sell a controlled substance (count 1) and possession for sale of a controlled substance (count 2). He pled guilty to count 1, offer to sell…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff’s guardian ad litem filed suit against Defendants for damages resulting from personal injuries suffered by Plaintiff in connection with a bicycle accident that occurred at Defendants’ residence when Plaintiff…

Justia Opinion Summary: Smith, a single mother, was arrested in connection with the theft of cell phones and an iPad. Police also located a receipt containing the last four digits of a stolen credit card; Smith stated that she had attempted to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Arreguin pleaded guilty to human trafficking and second-degree robbery in separate cases. The court imposed a term of five years for the human trafficking offense plus a consecutive term of one year for the robbery.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with attempted carjacking. He requested and was denied, mental health diversion several times. After the last hearing and denial, Defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months in state…

Justia Opinion Summary: Parents of the two children at issue in a juvenile dependency case repeatedly denied having any American Indian heritage. The social services agency spoke with several of the parents’ relatives but never asked those…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Cristina Qualkinbush threw a pair of scissors at her 75-year-old mother and then spat on a police officer who detained her following the incident. After the trial court denied Qualkinbush’s motion for…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a previous opinion in this matter involving defendant James Bunas, the Court of Appeal conditionally reversed the judgment and the underlying convictions and remanded the matter to the trial court with directions to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant David Zuniga pled no contest to felony hit and run resulting in death or serious bodily injury. In late 2018, the court placed him on formal probation for three years. The terms and conditions of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Lynne filed suit against her mother, individually and as trustee of a family trust, and her sisters (collectively Respondents), alleging that they forged trust instruments purporting to divide her parents’ estate upon…

Justia Opinion Summary: Santa Cruz County Human Services Department filed a juvenile dependency petition, Welfare & Institutions Code section 361(c), concerning an 11-year-old girl, then residing with her father. The whereabouts of her mother…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants alleged that Respondents, Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Insurance Company (Berkshire), Cypress Insurance Company (Cypress), Zenith Insurance Company (Zenith), and others conspired to “hack” a third-party…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff executed a 2007 note for over a million dollars. She defaulted on her payments and applied for a loan modification in 2017. After a 2018 foreclosure sale, Plaintiff brought a wrongful foreclosure action against…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs appeal from a judgment of dismissal entered as to Defendants State of California, acting by and through the California Highway Patrol (CHP), and CHP Sergeant (together, the CHP defendants), after the trial…

Justia Opinion Summary: Eleven-year-old A.F. sought a domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) against her father, Jeffrey F. (Father), who held joint legal custody with her mother, Andrea F. (Mother). The petition was filed by Mother on…

Justia Opinion Summary: In March 2011, when husband Pedro Aviles and wife Jessica Vulovic got married, Jessica’s divorce from a former husband was not yet final. She later testified she was unaware of this; she discovered it only in May 2011,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Jesse Sambrano sought to reverse his attempted murder convictions because his jury was given a kill zone instruction that was erroneous under California v. Canizales, 7 Cal.5th 591 (2019). The State conceded…

Justia Opinion Summary: A trial jury disbelieved Plaintiff’s claim that a 2017 rear-end accident caused him $1.5 million in damages. The jury awarded Plaintiff nothing finding the 2017 accident with Defendant caused Plaintiff no injury.…

Justia Opinion Summary: While Samir Elali was married to Angeles Elali and lived with her in California, Samir married Mayssa Marchoud in Lebanon. After Samir attempted to terminate the Lebanese marriage, Mayssa filed a petition in California…

Justia Opinion Summary: In February 2020, following an argument by text message, Rodriguez drove his vehicle into his girlfriend’s vehicle three times while she was driving. Rodriguez was charged with assault with a deadly weapon (Penal Code…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed a summary judgment entered in favor of Defendant in her lawsuit for damages against Defendant based on his alter ego liability for a $157,370 judgment against a corporation. Plaintiff claimed that…

Justia Opinion Summary: A Surety on a $50,000 bail bond appeals from an order denying its motion to set aside a summary judgment entered on the bond. Surety contends the summary judgment entered on the bail bond is voidable and must be vacated…

Justia Opinion Summary: During a traffic stop in September 2009, police searched defendant Manual Soto and found 29.9 grams of methamphetamine in his breast pocket. According to the officer who arrested him, defendant stated he was to receive…