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State Court
Synagogue shooter's hunting license wasn't valid, court rules in lawsuit against gun shop
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - Congregants at a synagogue that was the target of a 2019 fatal shooting incident can sue the gun shop that sold the assailant his gun, a California appeals court ruled, citing a statute passed after the attack that established the shooter didn’t possess a valid hunting license when he bought his gun.
State Court
Boss' blow-up after employee voices safety concerns costs him $7 million
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - An employee of a hologram production company will get to keep his $6 million punitive damages award after alleging he was retaliated against over safety concerns at a Los Angeles theater.
State Court
CA Supreme Court ruling against liability expansion in “take-home” Covid cases a big win for CA employers
The California Supreme Court has ruled employers cannot be held liable in court if a worker passes COVID-19 to a member of their household, helping answer questions that arose at the outset of the pandemic, including what is the scope of responsibility for a company to stop a highly contagious virus from spreading.
State Court
No antitrust claim for salesman fired after bad-mouthing merger
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - A title-insurance salesman who tried to win customers by warning them about the anticompetitive effects of a pending merger has no case, a California court ruled, saying he wasn’t the right party to make an antitrust claim.
State Court
Check coming due for middle-school bully in $1.75 million case of attack during touch football game
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - An eighth-grade bully who seriously injured a classmate 40 pounds lighter during a touch football game will now possibly be on the hook for some of the $1.75 million verdict.
State Court
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.
State Court
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.
State Court
Locked out, man chooses to drop from roof to balcony; Now he can sue landlord over his fall
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A California court has ruled that a man who was locked out of his apartment can sue the building's owner after he tried to scale down to his balcony from the roof but instead fell.
State Court
Court allows plaintiff to have wife/witness at deposition, as emotional support
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - A man who claims he needs his wife present at a deposition to help him deal with post-traumatic stress disorder will probably get his wish even though she could be a witness in his lawsuit against the hospital he accuses of causing his PTSD.
State Court
Calif. cities can collect soda taxes despite state law
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - California cities can collect sales taxes on soda and sugar-sweetened drinks despite a state law that would have penalized them by cutting them off from all sales taxes, an appeals court ruled, upholding a trial court decision declaring the law unenforceable.
State Court
Johnson & Johnson stuck with $344 million California judgment
Johnson & Johnson has no further avenues for challenging a $344 million judgment in California after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the case, which J&J and other said was based upon an unconstitutionally vague consumer-protection status.
State Court
Court: Losing your foot was notice of possible malpractice claim
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A man who developed gangrene and had to have his foot amputated waited too long to sue a California county for medical malpractice, an appeals court ruled, rejecting the plaintiff’s argument he only discovered he had a potential claim after visiting the Mexican consulate on another matter months after his foot was cut off.
State Court
Appeals panel revives Prop 22, says California constitution doesn't block voter initiatives regarding gig workers
The First District Court of Appeals ruled the California constitution invests voters with the same powers to govern workers' comp as the state legislature, meaning voters can overrule lawmakers and classify app-based drivers for Uber, Doordash and similar companies as independent contractors
State Court
Court: Stroke victim was in no shape to sign arbitration agreement
VENTURA, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - A California skilled nursing facility will have to fight a wrongful death lawsuit, as a state appeals court has found the patient lacked the capacity to enter into an arbitration agreement.
State Court
500 days of litigation: Delay caused by Calif. officials doesn't doom False Claims Act case
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - Defendants facing accusations they defrauded California's workers' compensation system through medical insurance fraud can't take an exit ramp to dismissal after the case failed to proceed to trial within five years.
State Court
Calif. court won't penalize company that thought it was complying with labor law
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - Good intentions have paid off for a company sued in California for failing to include reimbursement for rest breaks on wage statements for employees.
State Court
City of Hemet sues Southern California Edison over Fairview Fire damage
A Riverside County city filed a lawsuit this month vs Southern California Edison, arguing the utility’s failure to maintain its electrical infrastructure led to last year’s deadly Fairview Fire.
State Court
California sues drug companies, pharmacies over 'inflated' insulin prices; Not true, Eli Lilly says
The California Attorney General's offce said pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have engaged in deceptive business practices that have driven up the cost of insulin for California consumers.
State Court
GE's arbitration argument fails as employee pursues sexual harassment lawsuit
SANTA ANA, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - California courts are refusing to apply a 2022 federal law relating to sexual assault and harassment claims to lawsuits filed before it was signed by President Joe Biden.
State Court
Cal Supreme Court: Defendants sued under state political transparency law must show suit was 'frivolous' to net atty fees
The state high court said Redondo Beach's mayor and others who beat a lawsuit over claims they didn't properly disclose their identities when pushing a referendum over a waterfront development must do more to get $897K attorney fees from the people who sued them