| Case # | Name | Category | Court | Judge | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
A152455
|
People v. Rubio
Gunshots fired outside a dwelling do not justify a warrantless search inside the dwelling; the police must articulate specific facts that establish an emergency situation is occurring inside the dwelling. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
A. Tucher | Dec. 17, 2019 |
|
A154286
|
Wong v. Wong
Anti-SLAPP motion properly denied because plaintiffs' claims were premised on defendants' alleged breach of obligation to indemnify plaintiffs for liabilities, rather than defendants' prior litigation against plaintiffs. |
Anti-SLAPP |
|
J. Humes | Dec. 17, 2019 |
|
A158011
|
Modification: Ashmus v. Superior Court (San Mateo)
Trial court clearly erred in transferring habeas corpus petition to a court that was not 'the court which imposed the sentence' as Penal Code Section 1509 dictates. |
Civil Procedure |
|
M. Miller | Dec. 17, 2019 |
|
H045577
|
Kim v. County of Monterey
Triable issues exist where reasonable jury could find defendants' staging of racing event was "severe departure" from contractual obligations. |
Torts |
|
A. Danner | Dec. 17, 2019 |
|
D074474
|
Holden v. City of San Diego
City reasonably concluded that project is compatible with General Plan and Community Plan; thus, project was exempt from CEQA requirements. |
Environmental Law |
|
C. Aaron | Dec. 17, 2019 |
|
E069293
|
People v. Taylor
Counts of forcible lewd acts could not be charged in addition to counts of aggravated sexual assault because former were part of 'indivisible course of conduct.' |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
F. Menetrez | Dec. 17, 2019 |
|
H046492
|
People v. Trout-Lacy
Victim restitution orders are governed by tort law principles; when mutliple causes are not independent but act in concert, the court will apply the but-for test to decide liability. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
F. Elia | Dec. 17, 2019 |
|
09-99012
|
Andrews v. Davis
Had jury heard that petitioner was subjected to brutal abuse by state custodians at segregated 'penal colony' for African American children, there is reasonable probability that one juror would have spared his life. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
M. Murguia | Dec. 17, 2019 |
|
16-17138
|
Crawford v. City of Bakersfield
Testimony from mother of deceased as to her son's history of mental illness relevant to question of whether police officer acted reasonably in using lethal force to subdue him. |
Evidence |
|
G. Feinerman | Dec. 17, 2019 |
|
17-10275
|
U.S. v. Wang
Mail fraud convictions that include immigration or visa fraud within the larger indictment should be sentenced pursuant to United States Sentencing Guideline Section 2L2.1, not Section 2B1.1. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
M. Smith | Dec. 17, 2019 |
|
S244166
|
People v. Arredondo
Defendant's right of confrontation was violated when trial court positioned computer monitor so that witness could not see defendant and he could not see her when she testified. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
M. Chin | Dec. 17, 2019 |
|
H043723
|
Mathews v. Happy Valley Conference Center, Inc.
Although trial court erred by failing to highlight centralized control of labor relations as a critical factor in the 'integrated enterprise' test, error was harmless because substantial evidence supported that factor. |
Employment Law |
|
A. Grover | Dec. 16, 2019 |
|
A155286
|
Luke v. Sonoma County
The requirement that local governments obtain an actuarial statement before increasing pension payments is a one-time obligation; subsequent pension payments are not continuing violations that can overcome the three-year statute-of-limitations. |
Civil Procedure |
|
M. Simons | Dec. 16, 2019 |
|
G056344
|
Kiluk v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
Although Song-Beverly Act generally binds only distributors and retail sellers in sale of used goods, defendant/manufacturer stepped into that role by issuing express warranty on sale of used vehicle. |
Contracts |
|
R. Ikola | Dec. 16, 2019 |
|
A152431
|
Modification: ENA North Beach, Inc. v. 524 Union Street
Trial court erroneously granted motion for JNOV to reduce punitive damages rather than utilize Code of Civil Procedure Section 662.5, but affirmed reduction because plaintiff wished to avoid further litigation. |
Civil Procedure |
|
J. Kline | Dec. 16, 2019 |
|
D073797
|
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine v. Los Angeles Unified School Dist.
Local school districts are not compelled to eliminate processed meats from school lunch offerings absent a clear and affirmative statutory duty to do so. |
Education |
|
R. Huffman | Dec. 13, 2019 |
|
G055874
|
People v. Clark
Because crime of human trafficking of minor is defined in two separate ways -- attempted act or completed act -- existence of actual minor is not required where defendant is charged with attempt. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
R. Ikola | Dec. 13, 2019 |
|
A152431
|
ENA North Beach, Inc. v. 524 Union Street
Trial court erroneously granted motion for JNOV to reduce punitive damages rather than utilize Code of Civil Procedure Section 662.5, but affirmed reduction because plaintiff wished to avoid further litigation. |
Civil Procedure |
|
J. Kline | Dec. 13, 2019 |
|
E070926
|
People v. Vivar
Defense counsel's failure to advise a client of a plea bargain's immigration consequences is non-prejudicial if evidence suggests the defendant agreed to the plea for an independent and unrelated reason. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
M. Ramirez | Dec. 13, 2019 |
|
18-801
|
Peter v. NantKwest, Inc.
Patent Act Section 145 specifies that expenses of proceedings shall be paid by applicant; but such expenses do not include salaries of attorney and paralegal employees of Patent and Trademark Office. |
Patent Law |
|
S. Sotomayor | Dec. 12, 2019 |
|
D074343
|
People v. Royal
A six-year gap between an incident and a recorded recollection is generally too long to allow for the statement's admission under the past recollection recorded hearsay exception. |
Evidence |
|
R. Huffman | Dec. 12, 2019 |
|
17-15673
|
Amended Opinion: Salazar v. McDonald's Corp.
Because franchisor did not retain control of day-to-day aspects of work at franchises, and merely asserted quality control, franchisor was not a joint employer of franchisee. |
Employment Law |
|
S. Graber | Dec. 12, 2019 |
|
17-17334
|
Blight v. City of Manteca
Probable cause exists to search another person's home located on a larger property if there is reason to believe the defendant controls the entire parcel or criminality pervades the parcel. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
R. Gould | Dec. 12, 2019 |
|
17-71338
|
Qiu v. Barr
Agency's reasons for adverse credibility finding was not supported by substantial evidence; thus, petition for review of Board of Immigration Appeals' decision affirming denial of asylum granted. |
Immigration |
|
S. Graber | Dec. 12, 2019 |
|
17-17079
|
Murphy v. SFBSC Management
District court erroneously applied presumption of fairness to settlement agreement and failed to investigate or adequately address numerous issues apparent in the settlement. |
Civil Procedure |
|
A. Tashima | Dec. 12, 2019 |
|
E071274
|
Modification: People v. Chubbuck
A vehicle is defined by its potential to be driven on the highway; thus, a defendant who drove farm equipment capable of highway travel - even if not intended for it - cannot escape Vehicle Code Section 10851. |
Criminal Law and Procedure |
|
R. Fields | Dec. 12, 2019 |
|
18-328
|
Rotkiske v. Klemm
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act statute of limitations begins to run when the alleged FDCPA violation occurs, not when the violation is discovered. |
Civil Procedure |
|
C. Thomas | Dec. 11, 2019 |
|
B290069
|
Long Beach Unified School Dist. v. Margaret Williams, LLC
Anti-SLAPP motion properly granted by trial court due to cross-claims arising out of protected activity, and the challenged claims lacking legal sufficiency due to unconscionability of a disputed indemnity provision. |
Anti-SLAPP |
|
N. Manella | Dec. 11, 2019 |
|
B294110
|
D.W. v. Superior Court (Los Angeles)
Proposition 57 did not relieve the People of their duty to make a prima facie showing that a juvenile actually committed the charged offense when seeking transfer to adult court. |
Juveniles |
|
M. Stratton | Dec. 11, 2019 |
|
17-16948
|
Cuviello v. City of Vallejo
Although City's permit requirement for use of sound-amplifying devices furthered City's significant interests, it was not narrowly tailored because it covered substantially more speech than necessary to achieve those interests. |
Constitutional Law |
|
R. Paez | Dec. 11, 2019 |