Author: automatic

2nd District Court of Appeal, Insurance Law, Litigation

Nargizyan v. State Farm — Court Revives Homeowner’s Claim Over Pipe Leak, Finding Insurer Misapplied Seepage Exclusion

automatic / May 14, 2026

The Second District reversed summary judgment for State Farm, finding triable issues on whether a pinhole pipe leak met the policy's seepage exclusion and whether the insurer acted in bad faith by reversing its own coverage determination.

6th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

People v. Superior Court (Feghhi) — Sixth District Orders Blood-Alcohol Evidence Reinstated in DUI Murder Case

automatic / May 14, 2026

The Sixth District ordered a trial court to reinstate blood-alcohol evidence in a DUI murder case, holding that a defendant's breath-test request is irrelevant to blood-draw warrant probable cause and that the implied consent statute does not override a valid warrant.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Wilmot — Murder Conviction Vacated After Jury Instruction Wrongly Added ‘Unintentionally’ to Manslaughter Definition

automatic / May 14, 2026

The Second District vacated a murder conviction because the trial court improperly added and underlined 'unintentionally' in the voluntary manslaughter jury instruction, misleading the jury about when heat of passion applies.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Litigation, Real Estate Law

Apartment Assn. v. City of Los Angeles — Court Upholds LA Eviction Threshold but Strikes Down Relocation-Assistance Mandate

automatic / May 14, 2026

The Second District upheld LA's post-COVID eviction-threshold ordinance as a valid exercise of city police power, but struck down its relocation-assistance mandate as preempted by the Costa-Hawkins Act.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law

Reges v. Cauce — Ninth Circuit Rules University Violated Professor’s First Amendment Rights Over Syllabus Land Acknowledgment Protest

automatic / May 14, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that a public university violated a professor's First Amendment rights by investigating and reprimanding him for inserting a counter-statement to a recommended land acknowledgment in his syllabus.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Bradford v. Vang — Ninth Circuit Holds Loper Bright Does Not Displace AEDPA Deference in Habeas Cases

automatic / May 14, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that Loper Bright's elimination of Chevron deference does not undermine AEDPA's deferential standard in habeas cases, reversing a district court's grant of relief to a California death-row inmate.

California Supreme Court, Intellectual Property, Litigation

J.M. v. Illuminate Education — California Supreme Court Redefines Data Breach Liability Under the CMIA

automatic / May 14, 2026

The California Supreme Court held that a CMIA breach occurs when medical data is exposed to a significant risk of unauthorized access — rejecting the prior 'actually viewed' standard and disapproving three Court of Appeal decisions.

1st District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Gibbs v. County of Humboldt — County Liable for Failing to Enroll Employee in CalPERS and Losing Personnel Records

automatic / May 13, 2026

California appeals court holds that Humboldt County can be sued for failing to enroll a 40-year court reporter in CalPERS and losing her personnel records, establishing that pension enrollment and record-keeping are mandatory duties enforceable under Government Code section 815.6.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Environmental Law

Yurok Tribe v. EPA — Ninth Circuit Orders EPA to Strengthen Regulation of Toxic Flame Retardant DecaBDE

automatic / May 13, 2026

Ninth Circuit orders EPA to strengthen regulation of decaBDE, a toxic flame retardant, holding the agency failed to justify exemptions for recycling, waste disposal, wastewater, and sewage sludge under TSCA's expedited rulemaking mandate.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Collections & Creditor Rights, Litigation

Dawadi v. Adhikari — Check Annotations Do Not Revive a Time-Barred Debt

automatic / May 12, 2026

California’s Fourth District holds that check memo-line annotations labeling payments as “loan payment” are not sufficient written acknowledgments to revive a debt already barred by the statute of limitations.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Litigation

United States v. Sanchez — Ninth Circuit Adopts ‘Heavy Presumption of Prejudice’ Standard When Racially Biased Juror Is Removed Mid-Deliberation

automatic / May 12, 2026

The Ninth Circuit holds that when a racially biased juror is discovered and removed before a verdict is accepted, courts must apply the Remmer framework’s heavy presumption of prejudice—and reverses a tax-fraud conviction because the government could not rebut that presumption.

4th District Court of Appeal, Litigation, Real Estate Law, Tax (non-estate)

Waterford Property Co. v. County of Orange — Declaratory Relief Claim Against Tax Assessor Arises from Protected Speech Under Anti-SLAPP Statute

automatic / May 11, 2026

Fourth District holds that a property company’s declaratory relief claim challenging tax assessments arose from the county assessor’s protected speech and petitioning under the anti-SLAPP statute, reversing the trial court’s denial of the county’s motion to strike.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

J.N. v. Goldberg — Sanctions Reversed Where E-Filing System Made It Impossible to Include Hearing Date in Safe Harbor Notice

automatic / May 11, 2026

Second District reverses $19,285 in sanctions because the movant’s notice of motion lacked a hearing date, holding that LA County’s electronic filing system does not excuse noncompliance with section 128.7’s mandatory safe harbor provisions.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law

Cardenas v. L.A. Unified School District — Appeal of COVID Vaccine Mandate Ruling Forfeited for Failure to Cite Record Evidence

automatic / May 11, 2026

Second District affirms summary judgment for LAUSD in a COVID-19 vaccine mandate challenge after school safety officers forfeited their appeal by failing to cite any record evidence in their opening brief.

5th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

People v. Robinson — Lifers Who Aren’t Sex Offenders Stay Eligible for SB 483 Resentencing

automatic / May 8, 2026

The Fifth District holds that Penal Code section 1172.75(f) excludes from resentencing only inmates who were both convicted of a sexually violent offense and sentenced to death or LWOP — reopening SB 483 resentencing for many lifers.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Immigration

Urquia-Yanez v. Blanche — Ninth Circuit: DHS Need Not Translate Address-Update Rules into the Alien’s Native Language

automatic / May 8, 2026

The Ninth Circuit holds that DHS is not constitutionally required to translate the entirety of a Notice to Appear — including the obligation to update one's address with the immigration court — into the alien's native language.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

United States v. Chapman — Ninth Circuit: Federal Kidnapping Can Be Committed by Deception, But Conviction Vacated for Jury Coercion

automatic / May 8, 2026

The Ninth Circuit holds that federal kidnapping under 18 U.S.C. 1201(a)(1) can be committed by deception alone, but vacates the murder-kidnapping conviction because the trial judge improperly coerced a unanimous verdict from a deadlocked jury.

1st District Court of Appeal, Family Law

In re O.M. — Appellate Court Reverses Dismissal of Malnutrition-Based Dependency Counts

automatic / May 7, 2026

California's First District Court of Appeal reversed a juvenile court's dismissal of malnutrition-based dependency counts, finding uncontradicted evidence compelled jurisdiction where parents failed to acknowledge or plan for a toddler's severe nutritional deficiencies.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Burney v. Broomfield — Ninth Circuit Affirms Habeas Denial in Death Penalty Case, Finding No Judicial Bias

automatic / May 7, 2026

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of habeas relief for a California death row inmate, finding that the trial judge's informal and at times inappropriate comments during trial did not demonstrate bias or render the proceedings fundamentally unfair.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Business Transactions, Litigation

Crain Walnut Shelling v. USDC NDCA — Ninth Circuit Clarifies Lead Plaintiff Standard in Securities Class Actions

automatic / May 7, 2026

The Ninth Circuit denied mandamus in the Super Micro Computer securities case and clarified that the standard for rebutting a presumptive lead plaintiff's adequacy under the PSLRA is preponderance of the evidence, not the lower 'genuine and serious doubt' threshold.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Collections & Creditor Rights, Litigation

Phillips v. Goldman — Ninth Circuit En Banc Clarifies Limits of Bankruptcy Trustee Immunity

automatic / May 7, 2026

The Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, held that a Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee who fails to preserve estate assets is not shielded by quasi-judicial immunity because property-management duties are administrative, not adjudicative.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Fuhr v. City of Seattle — Ninth Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to SWAT Officer Who Shot Fleeing Father Holding Infant Daughter

automatic / May 7, 2026

Ninth Circuit affirms summary judgment for a Seattle SWAT officer who shot and killed an armed, fleeing father holding his infant daughter, holding that no clearly established law put the officer on notice that deadly force in those circumstances was unconstitutional.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law

Williams v. Legacy Health — Ninth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Against COVID-Vaccine Religious-Exemption Plaintiffs Under Groff Undue-Hardship Test

automatic / May 6, 2026

The Ninth Circuit applies the Groff undue-hardship test and affirms summary judgment for a regional healthcare system that denied COVID-19 vaccination religious exemptions to nine clinical employees during the Delta-variant surge.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Business Transactions

Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians v. Blanche — Ninth Circuit Holds California Cigarette Tax and Licensing Laws Apply to a Tribe’s Cigarette Sales to Other California Tribes

automatic / May 6, 2026

The Ninth Circuit affirms placement of a southern-California tribe on ATF's PACT Act non-compliant list, holding that the tribe's remote cigarette sales to other California tribes are off-reservation activities subject to California's licensing and excise-tax laws.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Intellectual Property, Litigation

Vericool World v. Igloo Products Corp. — Ninth Circuit Holds “First to Market” Claims Not Actionable Under the Lanham Act

automatic / May 6, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that “first to market” advertising claims are not actionable as false advertising under the Lanham Act, ruling that such claims concern the origin of an idea rather than observable product characteristics.