Entertainment & Sports, Corporate
Fender nabs former Miramax GC to head legal team
By Paula Lehman-Ewing
Michael Bayer, the former general counsel for Miramax LLC, is now leading the legal team for Fender Musical Instruments Corp.
Judges and Judiciary, Construction
Court construction projects face cutbacks, criticism
By Justin Kloczko
The state would need to identify $1.8 billion in funding to finish 17 pending courthouse construction projects.
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, Criminal
Orange County’s worst murderer sentenced to life in prison
By Meghann Cuniff
The judge who prevented the death penalty for the killer said a jury would likely have imposed it.
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit: No qualified immunity for deputy who killed teen holding toy gun
By Nicolas Sonnenburg
A Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy must face a trial for allegedly acting with unreasonable force in shooting and killing a 13-y...
Labor/Employment
Judge wants more information in California public workers’ massive longterm care lawsuit
By Matthew Blake
A judge shot down, for now, a proposal to remove the actuarial consultant from a gargantuan lawsuit regarding California publi...
Law Practice, Criminal
Court clerk sentenced to 11 years for ticket-fixing racket
By Laurinda Keys
A federal judge tacked two more years onto the prosecution’s recommendation.
Government, Civil Litigation
Judge says he will rewrite gas tax repeal ballot title, summary
By Malcolm Maclachlan
Superior Court Judge Timothy M. Frawley said Friday that he will rewrite the ballot title and summary for an initiative to rep...
State Bar & Bar Associations
State Bar executive director working without new contract
By Lyle Moran
Leah Wilson, who took on the role Sept. 7, also hasn’t gotten a pay raise.
Prosecutors dismissed their case against the last of four defendants in an 11-month San Bernardino corruption trial, electing ...
Transportation
Girl awarded $36.1M in lawsuit against school bus company
By Lila Seidman
An 11-year-old girl was awarded $36.1 million for severe injuries she suffered when a car hit her as she tried to cross the st...
Civil Litigation
No retrial of Quincy Jones v. Michael Jackson’s estate
By Steven Crighton
The judge also dismissed Jones’ request for prejudgment interest.
Nearly 60 judges and justices have joined to form The LGBT Bench Officers of California, a group advocating for further gender...
Labor/Employment
Judge, for now, moves Hewlett-Packard age bias case to an arbitrator
By Matthew Blake
A court order was either the first step in wiping out a class action against Hewlett-Packard, or it opened a can of worms that...
Intellectual Property
Defendants score significant patent venue win
By David Mendenhall
In an important follow-up to a recent U.S. Supreme Court case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Thursda...
Civil Litigation
Mercedes-Benz burned by faulty seat warmers with $80 million settlement
By Andy Serbe
A federal judge gave preliminary approval to an $80 million class action settlement between Mercedes-Benz and plaintiffs who w...
Plaintiff Denise Watkins said Avis ran a background check on her twin, violating federal law.
Civil Litigation
Investors sue data management company after stock drops following IPO
By James Getz
Disgruntled investors are suing data management and storage company Tintri as its stock price has plunged by more than half si...
A Superior Court hearing on Friday will decide the ultimate fate of a corruption trial stretching back to October 2016, which ...
Immigration, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit sides with immigrant over removal
By Nicolas Sonnenburg
An immigration judge’s failure to inform a Mexican citizen living in the United States without permission that leaving the cou...
Government, Environmental & Energy
State AG sues U.S. Department of Transportation for suspending greenhouse gas rule
By Malcolm Maclachlan
Attorney General Xavier Becerra has sued the U.S. government for blocking a rule designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions f...
A prominent Bulgarian politician and media tycoon has hired a former U.S. attorney in Los Angeles to fight an application for ...
Criminal defense attorney Donald R. Hammond started flying gliders before he could drive a car.
Labor/Employment, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit panel inclined to wait for high court to decide Uber issues
By Matthew Blake
Lawyers and an appellate panel talked past each other Wednesday about Uber drivers’ employment status and arbitration contracts.
Environmental & Energy
SF, Oakland sue oil giants to abate sea level rise
By James Getz
The cities of Oakland and San Francisco have sued five corporate oil giants, asking state court judges to order abatement fund...
UCLA’s is believed to be the first ABA-accredited law school in California to accept GRE scores.
Labor/Employment
In-house attorney sues biotech company, alleging unequal pay
By Andy Serbe
An in-house attorney has filed a lawsuit against her former employer, a biotechnology company, saying her pay was not similar ...
Criminal
Probationers’ rights to cellphone contents to be tested in court
By L.J. Williamson
A deluge of cases will soon force the state Supreme Court to address an increasingly important legal question: What privacy ri...
Judges and Judiciary, Criminal
Retired commissioner seeks leniency for racketeering court clerk
By Meghann Cuniff
The fired Orange County Superior Court clerk faces at least nine years in federal prison.
The schools says the gift from Bergener Mirejovsky is among the largest in its history.
Government, Civil Litigation
Judge tells AG to rewrite language of gas tax repeal initiative
By Malcolm Maclachlan
A Sacramento County judge has issued a tentative ruling ordering Attorney General Xavier Becerra to rewrite the title and summ...