Jonathan Bilyk News
Falconers can continue suing California over permit requiring them to submit to warrantless inspections
A federal appeals panel says a lower court judge was wrong to toss a lawsuit from a group of falconers accusing the state of violating the Fourth Amendment protections against illegal property searches by requiring falconers to agree to "unannounced warrantless inspections" as a condition of their state license
Feds file suit vs TikTok over data collection from kid users
The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice filed suit in Los Angeles federal court against the operators of TikTok, saying the massively popular video sharing platform has violated a federal law protecting children's online privacy, even after agreeing to stop in 2019
PAGA plaintiffs can't block other PAGA plaintiffs' settlement deals, CA Supreme Court says
A California Supreme Court majority says the state's controversial Private Attorney General Act, which empowers workers and their lawyers to sue employers for labor law violations in the name of the state, doesn't give them the right to stop other workers from settling similar claims, if they believe the deal is too small
Huntington Beach restaurant can be sued under ADA in CA courts, even though federal courts say no: Appeals court
A state appeals panel says a man whose wife died from an infection after undergoing surgery for a broken hip she suffered when she tripped on stairs can sue the restaurant at which the injury occurred under the Americans with Disabilities Act, because his wife's claims passed to him at her death
One racial slur could be enough to let worker sue employer for 'hostile workplace,' CA Supreme Court says
The California Supreme Court says the city of San Francisco can't escape a hostile workplace lawsuit brought by a black female SFDA employee who claims a coworker called her the N-word once and then her supervisor friend allegedly retaliated against her for reporting it
Appeals court: San Diego Unified must pay parents' legal bills after vax mandate lost in court
Appeals judges said a San Diego Superior Court judge wrongly ruled the school district didn't need to pay the lawyers representing the parents who sued the district over its "Roadmap" Covid vaccine mandate, because the district broke the law for "commendable" reasons
Prop 22 wins again; CA Supreme Court says protections for Uber, other gig services not unconstitutional
The California Supreme Court turned back an effort by labor unions to strike down Prop 22, which voters had overwhelmingly approved to prevent unions from using a new state labor law to try to force Uber and other app-based services to unionize or potentially go out of business in California
Disney can't blast Carano lawsuit from orbit; Judge says Disney's First Amendment rights not harmed
A federal judge has cleared TV and film actor Gina Carano to continue her lawsuit accusing Disney and Lucasfilm of illegally retaliating against her for expressing politically conservative statements on social media when she was fired from "The Mandalorian" in 2021
Santa Monica to pay BLM protestors $2.3M to settle wrongful arrest claims
The city of Santa Monica has agreed to pay $2.3 million to settle claims police were over-aggressive in attempting to end unrest in the wake of the death of George Floyd in late May and early June 2020. Under the deal outlined in court, about 368 people could claim a cut of $1.6M, while lawyers could get $690K
Mom seeks reversal of judge's ruling protecting school that punished first grader for 'innocent' racial drawing
An Orange County mother has asked a federal appeals court to revive her lawsuit vs an elementary school and its principal for allegedly trampling her daughter's constitutional rights by punishing her for drawing a picture of a black classmate that included the phrase "Any Life" with "Black Lives Matter"
'Keeping secrets': School district, parents challenge new CA law blocking parents from knowing about students' gender IDs
The lawsuit filed in Sacramento federal court accuses California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his Democratic allies of trampling parents' constitutional rights to direct the upbringing of their children by empowering school teachers to withhold crucial information about their children's gender identity
Spanish museum can keep painting stolen by Nazis, court rules; Case may land at SCOTUS
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reconsider an earlier decision that declared Spanish law should hold sway in a dispute over the ownership of a Pissarro painting, which was stolen from a German Jewish family by the Nazis amid the Holocaust and World War II
CA Utilities Commission wrongly flushed water companies' 'decoupling' programs, Supreme Court says
The state high court ruled the California Public Utilities Commission didn't provide proper notice before eliminating so-called rate decoupling programs. The programs allow utilities to assess surcharges to customers to cover shortfalls when customers use less water
Judge tosses class action vs Google over Youtube's kids' data collection
Plaintiffs still have work to do to show the practice of using tracking cookies to collect data from kids under the age of 13 was actually harmful and why they should get paid, in part because the parents need to show how their kids' information had any economic value to them
Non-criminal DUI records aren't protected by California's right to privacy, appeals court says
A California state appeals panel has ruled that privacy rights established under the California state constitution and the state's labor laws don't stop the DMV from disclosing information about DUI-related license suspensions to employers, insurers and others
Disney can't end antitrust suit over streaming TV price hikes
A SF federal judge said plaintiffs had done enough to back their claims Disney used its ownership of Hulu and ESPN to force streaming TV services to boost prices to maintain Disney profits at levels earned through cable and satellite TV before 'cord cutting' era
No constitutional right for 'involuntarily homeless' to camp in public spaces, Supreme Court says
The 6-3 ruling tosses out a controversial court decision that blocked communities from enforcing 'anti-camping' rules and hamstrung governments' ability to respond to myriad health and safety problems caused by homeless encampments in parks and on sidewalks and in other public spaces
'Junk science:' SF federal judge tosses expert analysis often cited to support Roundup cancer lawsuits
Northern California District Judge Vince Chhabria said "peer review" wasn't enough to persuade him to allow lawyers to use an oft-cited analysis of other studies, which the judge said was pocked by "glaring" flaws, to back their claims that a South Carolina man's lymphoma was caused by using Roundup
CA high court: Patients can accuse med makers of 'failure to warn,' even if doctors recommended treatment
The California Supreme Court imposed limits of the so-called "learned intermediary doctrine," which largely shields the makers of medication and medical devices from personal injury lawsuits accusing them of failure to warn of risks from their products, so long as doctors have been warned and still OK treatment
'Threat to direct democracy:' CA Supreme Court ruling preserves Dem power over CA taxes, fees
The California Supreme Court has kicked off the fall 2024 ballot the so-called Taxpayer Protection Act, a citizen initiative that would have required state and local governments to get voter OK before hiking taxes and fees. The court agreed with Gov. Gavin Newsom that the initiative exceeded citizen initiative power