Jonathan Bilyk News
Biz groups, Dems announce deal to reform law that spawned thousands of 'shakedown' suits vs employers
Under the deal to reform the Private Attorney General Act, a coalition of business groups would agree to withdraw a ballot measure that would have largely gutted PAGA. Reports showed PAGA generated lawsuits worth $10B in payouts from employers in the past 10 years, with big money for lawyers, little real benefit for workers
Orange County Fair didn't need to competitively bid carnival contract, appeals court says
A Santa Ana appellate panel rejected a bid by a Texas-based carnival operator for an injunction blocking the Orange County Fair from continuing with its contract with Ray Cammack Amusements to run the Fair's carnival and midway, even though the Fair tailored the process to ensure only Cammack could win the bid
CA Supreme Court hands win to primary insurers in fight vs excess insurance providers over asbestos claims
The California Supreme Court said lower courts were wrong to block a primary insurer saddled with massive claims resulting from asbestos-related lawsuits vs Kaiser Gypsum from seeking additional coverage from Kaiser's excess liability insurance providers
Appeals court: CA Democrats didn't violate Constitution by tailoring AB5 to target Uber, others
An earlier court had ruled the law unconstitutional because lawmakers had demonstrated 'impermissible animus and political favoritism' in forcing Uber and similar companies to potentially face massive financial risk under a new stringent test to determine if drivers should be treated as contractors or employees, while exempting hosts of others
California to get cut of $700M deal to end states' legal action vs J&J over talc powder marketing
The settlement will end legal actions launched by 43 states accusing Johnson & Johnson of allegedly misleading consumers about the safety of its talc baby powder and body powder products. The company has denied a link between its products and cancer, as alleged in thousands of other lawsuits
Lawsuit: UCLA leaders' 'cowardice' enabled antisemitic harassment, bigotry to flourish amid protests
The lawsuit filed by three Jewish students accused UCLA of violating their constitutional and civil rights and endangered Jewish students and faculty by allowing pro-Hamas antisemitic protests and imagery to proliferate and flourish on campus this spring
CA Supreme Court clears way for UC Berkeley housing project; Law says student noise can't stop new developments
The California Supreme Court has ruled a new state law indeed pulls the rug out from under opponents of the People's Park student housing project at UC Berkeley, who had scored a win on appeal to force the school to include concerns over 'student-generated noise' in their environmental review
LA lifeguard captain says LA County Fire Dept trampled his religious rights over 'Progress Pride' flag
22-year veteran captain of L.A.'s lifeguard service, who is a 'devout Christian,' says he was mistreated by commanding officers and he and his family were threatened with harm by others after he requested an exemption from county mandate to personally raise the 'Progress Pride' flag at his lifeguard station
CA Supreme Court: LA assessor right, State Board wrong on when corporate owned properties can be reassessed
The California Supreme Court says property transfers of corporate-owned property can trigger a reassessment under Prop 13, even if the property remains essentially under the same control throughout. "Stock" refers to real ownership interests, not who controls a company, the high court says
Appeals court blocks GOP-led states from trying to stop Biden from negotiating away immigration rule
A dissenting judge said the decision is motivated by a desire to ensure the Biden administration and left-wing groups reach a deal that could undermine a rule intended to reduce illegal immigration and prevent the U.S. Supreme Court from entering the legal fight
Lawsuit: California telehealth doctor licensing rules unconstitutionally block patients from 'lifesaving' care
The Pacific Legal Foundation, a successful nonprofit constitutional law organization, has filed suit against the California Medical Board on behalf of a patient with a rare hemophilia condition and a prominent New York cancer specialist, asserting California's restrictions on out-of-state telehealth are unconstitutional
Rideshare driver stabbed by passenger can't sue Lyft for not screening passengers' criminal history
The passenger who attacked a rideshare driver had a lengthy criminal history, easily pulled in a basic background check. But a state appeals court says California law blocks Lyft and other rideshare operators from screening passengers to protect their drivers
Ex-Jurupa teacher, fired over alleged anti-faith directives, to get $360K in deal to end religious discrimination suit
Former Jurupa Valley High School teacher Jessica Tapia had sued when she was fired, allegedly after refusing to comply with school administrator's demands she stop talking about her Christian beliefs on social media and at school, and refer to transgender students by their preferred pronouns
Appeals court: CA Supreme Court ruling makes Macy's next retailer unable to escape PAGA class action
A panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said a recent ruling from the California Supreme Court makes it impossible for Macy's to escape a class action under California's controversial Private Attorney General Act, even though the lead plaintiff's "individual claims" must go to arbitration
Class action: Allstate wrongly using workers' comp benefits to reduce, deny underinsured motorist claims
The lawsuit claims Allstate has a company policy of allegedly using the payment of workers' comp benefits to deny or reduce claims for uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage for people injured while driving on the job, allegedly violating California law
Judge OKs Google location tracking class action deal to pay $42M to mostly left-wing groups
The $62M settlement ends class action accusing Google of misleading users into believing their location history had been turned off. The deal includes no money for Google users, though, only $18.6M for lawyers and big money for non-profits, which objectors said is a 'slush fund' for left-wing activism
CA Supreme Court majority: Race may need to be considered by cops when detaining 'nervous' suspects
A unanimous California Supreme Court has ruled police cannot choose to detain suspects simply because they act nervously or seek to avoid interacting with officers. But a majority on the court called for future decisions to account for black suspects' fear of police, potentially allowing them to outright flee from officers
Lawyers seek $217M+ fees for work on Google Icognito privacy settlement
The settlement, supposedly worth $5 billion, requires Google to delete billions of data files allegedly collected by Google while allegedly monitoring people's supposedly secret web browsing. But the deal doesn't include any direct payments from Google to consumers on a classwide basis
SCOTUS appears poised to undo rulings that left cities in 'straitjacket' when addressing homeless encampments
Precise contours on the eventual ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court remain cloudy, but oral arguments revealed the court's conservative majority will most likely overturn rulings from the Ninth Circuit that critics said essentially created a constitutional right for the homeless to camp in parks and other public spaces
Pre-trial jail inmates aren't entitled to minimum wage for jail kitchen work, CA Supreme Court says
A class action lawsuit claimed that, since state penal laws don't explicitly limit their earning abilities in jail, people not yet convicted of crimes should still be protected by California's minimum wage laws while working in the jail for private services vendors. Not so, California Supreme Court said.