Dan Churney News
Appeals court: Black, Latino parents can resume lawsuit vs LA schools, LA teachers union for disciminatory Covid schooling policies
An appellate panel has ruled a group of plaintiffs may continue their suit, which claimed Los Angeles school and union officials discriminated against students of color through remote-learning policies during the Covid-19 pandemic, saying that although schools are back in session, academic damage to students could remain
Appeals judges: San Jose schools violated 'bedrock' religious freedom principles in shutting down Christian club
San Jose Unified School District had claimed it revoked recognition for a Fellowship of Christian Athletes club out of concerns for anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Judges said the decision was rooted in anti-Christian bias, because the club required its leaders to agree with traditional Christian beliefs on sexuality
Appeals court: Judge wrongly denied injunction vs California open carry gun ban, needs to take another look
A federal appeals panel has told a judge to quickly reexamine her refusal to stop California from barring residents from openly carrying guns, saying the judge failed to consider the merits of a constitutional challenge to the ban.
U.S. appeals court says LA cop gets qualified immunity against suit alleging he killed man to save partner
Judges reversed earlier decision, now saying the police officers acted within their authority and out of legitimate fear for their lives
California High Court tells appeals panel to revisit whether Santa Monica's at-large voting weakens Latinos at the polls
State Supreme Court has ordered an appellate court to reexamine its decision that an activist group failed to show Santa Monica's at-large voting system "dilutes" Latino voting power, saying the lower court did not undertake a "searching" evaluation of the issue.
Appeals panel says Michael Jackson's corporations could have allegedly protected boys from singer's alleged abuse
An appellate court has ruled corporations wholly owned by late megastar Michael Jackson are on the hook for lawsuits claiming Jackson molested children, despite the corporations' assertions they were helpless to stop the alleged abuse because Jackson was the boss.
Appeals panel: Plaintiff can't 'borrow' insurer BCBS' financial loss to sue drug maker over dose sizes
A California appellate court has ruled an unscathed plaintiff cannot "borrow" an injury from his insurance company, to press a suit against a San Francisco area pharmaceutical company for allegedly selling unnecessarily large dosages of anti-cancer drugs.
California Supreme Court says Monterey County can't barrel through a ban on oil drilling
The California Supreme Court has tanked Monterey County's prohibition of oil and gas drilling, ruling the county's ban flies in the face of superseding state law that gives oversight of drilling to Sacramento.
California court says new law gives more time to lodge sex assault suits, in case vs Massage Envy franchisees
A California appeals panel has ruled a new state law extends the statute of limitations for sexual battery suits, in a case involving a group of women whose suits alleged they were molested at massage spas, but which had been dismissed because they were filed late.
Appellate court says L.A. media production company allegedly canned technician for telling city inspectors venue was unsafe
An appeals panel has ruled a jury was right to award $7 million to a technician, who claimed he was fired, because he told Los Angeles building inspectors his media company was ignoring safety at a theater where a presentation was to be staged, saying the company was "reprehensible" in disregarding the concerns.
Split court says Chinese citizens may sue Cisco for allegedly helping Communists quash Falun Gong; Dissenting judge warns of 'serious' foreign policy ramifications
A divided federal court has ruled a California-based technology company, which allegedly helped Chinese Communists crack down on a religious group, can be sued for its alleged involvement in that persecution, but a dissenting judge cautioned such a suit could imperil already tense relations between China and the United States.
California High Court says state law may shield police from lawsuits involving prosecutions, but not investigations
The California Supreme Court has ruled the state's Government Claims Act provides immunity for officials in lawsuits alleging wrongful prosecutions, not investigations, in a suit asserting Riverside County sheriff's deputies left a partially nude murder victim in public view for eight hours while they investigated.
San Diego church says gov't shows 'religious hostility' in halting meal funds for preschool kids over gender ID dictates
A San Diego area church-daycare is claiming it's unconstitutional for the federal and state governments to cut off meal subsidies for its children, because the church won't obey new gender identity mandates.
Appeals panel says San Buenaventura officials were allowed to strip historic protection status from Serra statue
An appeals court has given its blessing to the city of San Buenaventura's removal of a statue of Catholic missionary Junipero Serra, ruling the statue has no historic status that would protect against removal.
California Supreme Court says public entities can't be sued for tripled damages in sex abuse suits that involve cover ups
The California Supreme Court has ruled public bodies are exempt, under the Government Claims Act, from facing enhanced punitive damages in sex abuse suits allegedly involving cover-ups, saying compensatory damages are adequate to satisfy such plaintiffs.
Appeals court says San Bernardino Co. board can be held to single terms, pay caps
An appellate panel has ruled it is constitutional for voters to limit San Bernardino County supervisors to one-term limits and to a compensation cap, over the supervisors' objections.
Appeals panel says judge wrong to bar every AZ federal prosecutor from handling misconduct claim against one of their colleagues
An appeals court has ruled a federal judge did not "respect" the separation of powers doctrine, when he barred all 180 Arizona federal prosecutors from addressing a motion that alleges misconduct against one of the prosecutors in a case against an alleged Tucson street gang.
Appeals panel says Supreme Court ruling doesn't let alleged con artist slip out of $450M restitution
A federal appeals court has refused to let an alleged get-rich-quick operator skate on paying back $450 million to victims, saying a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that affects such Federal Trade Commission cases does not affect his.
California appeals court says cities must actively set aside zoned land for 'affordable housing' or run afoul of state housing law
A California appeals court said Clovis must do more than 'not discriminate' in approving housing projects. The judges said they found it 'extremely unlikely' that Clovis is whiter and wealthier than Fresno without discriminating against housing stock affordable for low-income minority residents
Beep! Beep! Split California appeals court says honking car horn to support political cause not protected free speech
A divided appeals panel has ruled that under California law, the only car honking allowed is to warn of danger, not show support for political causes, such as protestors outside a congressman's office