Author: automatic

Daily Status

Courts Searched — 2026-05-07

automatic / May 7, 2026

3 case(s) published, 32 investigated but skipped, 14 court(s) searched.

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.

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.

Daily Status

Courts Searched — 2026-05-06

automatic / May 6, 2026

1 case(s) published, 2 investigated but skipped, 14 court(s) searched.

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.

5th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Criminal Law, Litigation

Myers v. Dept. of Motor Vehicles — Body-Cam Video Can Rebut Officer’s Claim of Continuous DUI Observation

automatic / May 6, 2026

The Fifth District holds that body-worn camera footage showing an officer left a DUI suspect alone in a patrol car during the required 15-minute observation period is sufficient to rebut the presumption that breath test procedures were properly followed.

Daily Status

Courts Searched — 2026-05-05

automatic / May 6, 2026

4 case(s) published, 35 investigated but skipped, 14 court(s) searched.

Daily Status

Courts Searched — 2026-05-05

automatic / May 6, 2026

4 case(s) published, 15 investigated but skipped, 14 court(s) searched.

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

Toothman v. Redwood Toxicology Laboratory — 1st District Says Direct Employer Cannot Enforce Arbitration Clause Signed with Temp Agency

automatic / May 5, 2026

First District holds that a direct employer cannot enforce an arbitration agreement the worker originally signed with a temporary staffing agency, where the worker's claims arose entirely from the direct-employment period that started after the temp placement ended.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Healthcare Law

People v. Tourville — 2nd District Says Trial Court Cannot Condition Mental-Health Treatment on a No-Contest Plea Where Defendant Is Eligible for Diversion

automatic / May 5, 2026

The Second District holds that when a trial court finds a defendant eligible and suitable for mental-health diversion under Penal Code section 1001.36, requiring a no-contest plea as the price of receiving the same treatment via probation directly conflicts with the statute's purpose.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Mijares — 2nd District Affirms Murder Conviction Where Defendant’s Attack Was a Substantial Factor in Death Despite Victim’s Preexisting Conditions

automatic / May 5, 2026

The Second District affirms a first-degree murder conviction, holding the trial court had no duty to instruct on attempted murder where the defendant's brutal attack was a substantial factor in the victim's death even though the victim had grave preexisting heart and liver disease.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Litigation

3Pak LLC v. City of Seattle — Ninth Circuit Holds State-Created Danger Doctrine Doesn’t Cover Pure Economic Loss, but Revives State Nuisance Claim Under Equitable Tolling

automatic / May 5, 2026

The Ninth Circuit publishes that the state-created danger doctrine reaches only bodily-integrity harm, not lost profits — but reverses dismissal of state-law nuisance claims to let businesses pursue equitable tolling under American Pipe.

California Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Morris — California Supreme Court Says Non-Killer Must Aid the Lethal Act, Not Just the Underlying Felony, to Be Guilty of First-Degree Felony Murder

automatic / May 4, 2026

The California Supreme Court holds that a non-killer accomplice with intent to kill is guilty of first-degree felony murder only if they aided the actual killer in the lethal act itself, not merely the underlying felony — reopening resentencing for many defendants previously denied.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Berch — 2nd District Holds Felony False Imprisonment by Menace Doesn’t Require Force Greater Than Restraint

automatic / May 4, 2026

The Second District holds that felony false imprisonment based on menace does not require a threat of force greater than necessary to effectuate restraint — a doctrinal clarification that affirms a domestic-violence conviction.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Moss — 2nd District Says Section 1172.75 Resentencing Court Can Reimpose Upper Term Without New Jury Findings on Aggravating Facts

automatic / May 4, 2026

When resentencing a defendant under section 1172.75, the trial court may reimpose an upper term using aggravating facts the defendant already stipulated to — no new jury findings required.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law

People v. Pineda — 2nd District Holds Codefendant’s Perkins-Operation Statements Are Admissible at 1172.6 Hearing as Declarations Against Penal Interest

automatic / May 4, 2026

The Second District holds that hearsay testimony from a preliminary hearing is admissible at a section 1172.6 evidentiary hearing if it qualifies as a declaration against penal interest — affirming denial of a gang-shooting resentencing petition.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Family Law

In re Parker B. — 4th District Says Unqualified WIC Section 782 Dismissal Encompasses Findings, Allowing Sealing of Section 707(b) Juvenile Records

automatic / May 4, 2026

The Fourth District holds that an unqualified Welfare and Institutions Code section 782 dismissal encompasses the underlying findings, satisfying section 786(d)'s "dismissed" condition for sealing serious juvenile offense records — but the firearm restriction survives.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Doerr v. Shinn — Ninth Circuit Amends Rhines Stay-and-Abey Order, Sends Atkins Intellectual-Disability Claim Back to District Court

automatic / May 4, 2026

The Ninth Circuit issues an amended opinion granting a Rhines stay-and-abey for an Arizona death-row petitioner's IAC-at-sentencing claim, and remands his Atkins intellectual-disability claim for the district court to address in the first instance.

1st District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Tax (non-estate)

Garcia-Rojas v. Franchise Tax Board — Court of Appeal Reverses Summary Judgment, Says Single-Activity Sole Proprietor Is Not a Unitary Business

automatic / May 1, 2026

California Court of Appeal reverses summary judgment for the Franchise Tax Board, holding that a Texas-based radiologist working remotely as a sole proprietor for one California company is not a 'unitary business' under regulation 17951-4(c).

2nd District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Vela v. Harbor Rail Services — Court of Appeal Affirms Arbitration of Railcar Repairman’s Wage Claims, Including Class Waiver

automatic / May 1, 2026

California Court of Appeal holds that a railcar repairman doing stationary maintenance work in a Wilmington rail yard is not a 'transportation worker' exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act, so his class action waiver is enforceable.