Author: automatic

3rd District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Pechkis v. Trustees of California State University — Anti-SLAPP fails where retaliation claims do not arise exclusively from protected investigatory activity

automatic / March 24, 2026

Third District affirms denial of an anti-SLAPP motion in a CSU professor retaliation case, holding that claims based 'in part' on communications with another university do not arise from protected activity when other unprotected employment decisions also support the claim.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

O’Leary v. Jones — Dismissal of arbitration confirmation petition for lack of personal jurisdiction did not make defendant the prevailing party on the contract for fees

automatic / March 24, 2026

Fourth District holds that a guarantor's procedural dismissal of an arbitration confirmation petition for lack of personal jurisdiction did not make him the prevailing party on the contract for attorney fees but did entitle him to costs.

4th District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Guardian Storage Centers v. Simpson — State Fund rule applies when attorney receives privileged emails that ex-employee improperly took from former employer

automatic / March 24, 2026

Fourth District holds that the State Fund rule applies when a law firm receives privileged emails that a former executive improperly took from the company, and reverses the trial court's denial of disqualification motions.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Tzul — Murder convictions reversed because trial court erroneously excluded handwritten ‘rage note’ relevant to provocation defense

automatic / March 23, 2026

Second District reverses first and second degree murder convictions because the trial court abused its discretion in excluding under Evidence Code section 352 a contemporaneous handwritten note relevant to the defendant's provocation defense.

5th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law

City of Fresno v. Superior Court — ‘Great bodily injury’ in Penal Code section 832.7 means significant or substantial physical injury, not the narrower ‘serious bodily injury’ standard

automatic / March 23, 2026

Fifth District holds that 'great bodily injury' in Penal Code section 832.7 carries the long-established Penal Code section 12022.7 definition of significant or substantial physical injury, requiring broader disclosure of police K-9 use-of-force records under the CPRA.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Taft — Trial court retains jurisdiction under Penal Code section 1237.1 to correct presentence custody credit errors during pending appeal

automatic / March 20, 2026

Second District holds that under Penal Code section 1237.1 a trial court retains jurisdiction during a pending appeal to correct presentence custody credit errors, and modifies the judgment to award two additional days of credit.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Real Estate Law

County of Sacramento v. NKS Real Estate Holdings — Building accessory dwelling unit without a permit is a per se public nuisance enforceable by the county

automatic / March 20, 2026

Third District affirms that building and occupying an accessory dwelling unit in Sacramento County without a building permit is a public nuisance per se enforceable through injunctive relief, regardless of whether construction is complete.

4th District Court of Appeal, Insurance Law, Litigation

City of Riverside v. RLI Insurance Co. — Royal Globe joinder rule does not bar additional insured from suing both insurer and the named insured contractor in same action

automatic / March 20, 2026

Fourth District holds that the Royal Globe joinder rule does not bar an additional insured city from suing both its contractor's insurer and the contractor in the same action arising from a fatal pedestrian accident.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Perez — Police cannot order a person out of a home without a warrant or probable cause; in-home detention rule extends to officers standing outside

automatic / March 20, 2026

Fourth District holds that police violated the Fourth Amendment by ordering a man out of a residence at gunpoint without a warrant or probable cause and rejects the contrary 1985 Trudell decision.

Appellate Division (Superior Court), Civil Procedure, Real Estate Law

360 So Reeves v. Dutton — Tenant bears the burden of proving landlord’s noncompliance with Civil Code section 1962 disclosures

automatic / March 20, 2026

Los Angeles Appellate Division holds that noncompliance with Civil Code section 1962 is an affirmative defense for which the tenant bears the burden of proof in a residential unlawful detainer action.

1st District Court of Appeal, Family Law, Litigation

Sheerer v. Panas — Self-represented litigants face the same duty to verify AI-generated citations as attorneys; child support order reversed for failing to include bonus and RSU income

automatic / March 19, 2026

First District extends its warning about AI-generated fake citations to self-represented litigants and reverses a child support order for failing to include the obligor's bonus and restricted stock unit income.

6th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Perez — Vehicle impoundment to prevent unlicensed driving alone does not satisfy Fourth Amendment community caretaking requirement

automatic / March 19, 2026

Sixth District holds that impounding a suspended-license driver's minivan solely to prevent further illegal driving violates the Fourth Amendment community caretaking doctrine and orders suppression of evidence from the resulting inventory search.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

Meiner v. Superior Court — Apple Pay account is a ‘financial account’ excluded from warrantless probation searches

automatic / March 18, 2026

Fourth District holds that an Apple Pay account is a 'financial account' excluded from warrantless probation searches and orders suppression of bank evidence obtained through a warrant relying on the unlawful search.

1st District Court of Appeal, Family Law

Marriage of Jenkins — Default judgment vacated where dissolution petition listed assets only as ‘to be determined’; Code of Civil Procedure section 580 limits relief in default to what was actually pleaded

automatic / March 18, 2026

First District holds that a default dissolution judgment must be vacated under Code of Civil Procedure section 580 when the petition listed assets only as 'to be determined' and the responding spouse lacked notice of the actual property division being sought.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Healthcare Law, Litigation

Wright v. WellQuest Elk Grove — California arbitration procedural rules apply by default; trial court properly refused to compel arbitration over wrongful death and elder neglect claims

automatic / March 18, 2026

Third District holds that a memory care facility's selection of the FAA does not displace California's section 1281.2(c) procedural provisions, allowing the trial court to deny arbitration of survivor and wrongful death claims based on the risk of conflicting rulings.

4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Litigation

Dion v. Weber — Secretary of State cannot relitigate fraud claim’s merits in payment proceeding from Victims of Corporate Fraud Compensation Fund; $50,000 per claimant cap enforced

automatic / March 18, 2026

Fourth District holds that the Secretary of State cannot relitigate the merits of an underlying fraud claim in a Victims of Corporate Fraud Compensation Fund proceeding but enforces the $50,000 per claimant statutory cap on awards.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Jones — Defendant in custody in another county did not willfully fail to appear; uncertified court records were inadmissible to prove Cruz waiver violation

automatic / March 17, 2026

Second District holds that a defendant in custody in another county did not willfully fail to appear for sentencing and that uncertified records from a Fresno court were inadmissible to prove a Cruz waiver violation.

5th District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Ayala-Ventura v. Superior Court — Janitorial worker’s arbitration agreement enforced; trial courts may distinguish, but should explain departures from binding precedent

automatic / March 17, 2026

Fifth District enforces a janitorial worker's mutual arbitration agreement and explains how trial courts should distinguish, but document their departures from, binding California Court of Appeal precedent like Cook v. USC.

1st District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Dunn — No sua sponte circumstantial evidence instruction required where direct evidence supported felon-in-possession charges

automatic / March 16, 2026

First District holds that a trial court had no sua sponte duty to give a circumstantial evidence instruction in a felon-in-possession case where direct evidence linked the defendant to the cabin containing the guns and ammunition.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Clapkin v. Levin — Anti-SLAPP motion fails where claims arise from underlying business dispute, not protected litigation activity; orders denying related fee motions are not appealable

automatic / March 16, 2026

Second District affirms denial of an anti-SLAPP motion in a family corporation dispute and reaffirms that orders denying related attorney fee motions are not separately appealable, deepening a split with other appellate divisions.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Riggs — Defense counsel’s brief administrative suspension during trial does not, by itself, establish ineffective assistance of counsel

automatic / March 16, 2026

Fourth District holds that defense counsel's brief administrative suspension from the State Bar for trust account reporting noncompliance during trial does not, by itself, establish a denial of the right to effective assistance of counsel.

4th District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Litigation

Clarke v. Yu — Statute of frauds applies to oral and implied joint venture agreements that cannot be performed within one year

automatic / March 16, 2026

Fourth District holds that California's one-year statute of frauds applies to oral and implied joint venture agreements and affirms summary judgment for Scripps scientists in a biotech startup dispute with a venture capitalist.

1st District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Family Law

In re O.F. — Juvenile transfer order to adult court reversed for failure to apply heightened standards under AB 2361 and SB 545

automatic / March 13, 2026

First District reverses a juvenile court order transferring a 16-year-old murder defendant to adult court because the court did not apply the heightened amenability standards required by AB 2361 and SB 545.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Jacobs v. Papez — Successor attorney can resolve all attorney lien priorities in a single declaratory relief action against client and prior counsel

automatic / March 13, 2026

Third District holds that an attorney with a competing lien can bring a single declaratory relief action against both the client and the prior attorney to resolve the validity, amount, and priority of all attorney liens on settlement proceeds.

6th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Anderson — CalECPA does not require suppression of phone evidence when officers reasonably relied on consent from deceased suspect’s mother

automatic / March 13, 2026

Sixth District holds that even if a search of a deceased suspect's phone violated the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act, suppression is not required because officers acted in good-faith reliance on the mother's consent.