Business Transactions

2nd District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Intellectual Property, Litigation

Scott v. Ulta Beauty — Website trademark and access terms did not violate California’s Yelp Law

automatic / September 18, 2026

Ulta’s trademark-use and website-access provisions did not waive consumers’ right to criticize the company and therefore did not violate California’s Yelp Law on the pleaded facts.

1st District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Caltrans v. Herc Rentals — Cargo Shipper May Share Fault for Unsafe Loading

automatic / September 14, 2026

A cargo shipper may share negligence liability when its own loading choices create an unsafe load, despite duties imposed on the carrier and driver.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Litigation, Real Estate Law

Urban Sunrise v. Vogt — Dual Agents Defeat Fiduciary Claims Over Failed Commercial Property Deals

automatic / September 4, 2026

The Third District upheld summary judgment for dual real-estate agents because the buyer failed to produce a triable issue on the fiduciary breaches it pleaded.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Banking & Finance, Business Transactions, Litigation

Construction Laborers Pension Trust v. Funko — Risk disclosures can mislead when the warned-of harm already exists

automatic / September 2, 2026

Funko shareholders plausibly alleged fraud where risk disclosures treated existing inventory and technology failures as merely hypothetical future problems.

6th District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Srivastava v. BMW of North America — Named Manufacturer May Enforce Lease Arbitration Clause

automatic / August 27, 2026

A named vehicle manufacturer may enforce a lease arbitration clause, but the trial court must still decide whether its delegation clause is unconscionable.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Business Transactions, Constitutional Law

Rocky Patel Premium Cigars v. Bonta — California Unflavored Tobacco List Survives Injunction Challenge

automatic / August 27, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held California’s tobacco-list requirement is saved from federal preemption and presently imposes only a minimal commercial-speech burden on premium cigar makers.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Collections & Creditor Rights, Litigation

Lakeshore Investment v. Now Solutions — tripled settlement default is an unenforceable penalty

automatic / August 24, 2026

A $1.5 million stipulated judgment triggered by default on a $450,000 settlement was an unenforceable penalty without evidence supporting the estimate.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Banking & Finance, Business Transactions, Litigation

Verthelyi v. PennyMac — LIBOR Contracts May Use a Fixed Fallback Rate

automatic / August 19, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that the federal LIBOR Act does not invalidate a contract fallback merely because it produces a fixed rather than floating rate.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Business Transactions, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Devas Multimedia v. Antrix — Foreign Sovereign Cannot Avoid Arbitral Award on Forum Grounds

automatic / August 12, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that the FSIA arbitration exception supplied subject-matter jurisdiction and that exercising personal jurisdiction was reasonable even assuming Antrix could invoke Fifth Amendment protections. It also held that forum non conveniens does not defeat an action to confirm a Convention award because contracting nations must recognize covered awards and a foreign court cannot attach assets in the United States.

1st District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Litigation, Real Estate Law

Nasey v. Fell Holdings LLC — Contract addenda placed failed property-closing risks on buyer

automatic / August 10, 2026

A buyer who agreed to an all-cash, no-contingency repurchase could not use disclosure and inspection arguments to excuse missing the closing deadline.

4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Business Transactions, Environmental Law

Applied Medical Resources Corp. v. PUC — Commission may reject private microgrid tariff proposal

automatic / August 4, 2026

The PUC acted within its broad authority when it adopted utility microgrid tariffs while rejecting a manufacturer's competing proposal.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Business Transactions, Intellectual Property, Litigation

Amazon v. Perplexity AI — User-directed shopping agent likely does not “access” Amazon under hacking laws

automatic / August 4, 2026

The Ninth Circuit vacated an injunction against Perplexity's shopping assistant because users, not the AI company, likely accessed Amazon's computers.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Business Transactions, Civil Procedure

Shenzhen Zehuijin Investment Center v. Yingkui — Physical Presence Supports Personal Jurisdiction Without In-Person Service

automatic / August 3, 2026

Physical presence supports personal jurisdiction even without in-person service, and a separate service objection can be waived.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Environmental Law, Litigation

Consumer Protection Group v. Signal Brands — Proposition 65 Settlement Bars Duplicative Public-Enforcement Suit

automatic / July 31, 2026

A published California decision holds that a court-approved Proposition 65 settlement can bar a later private-enforcement suit over products covered by the consent judgment.

1st District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Litigation

Salamon v. Orchid Global — Delaware Forum Clause Cannot Reduce California Shareholder Inspection Rights

automatic / July 31, 2026

A published California decision refuses to enforce a Delaware forum clause because the corporation failed to show that Delaware litigation would preserve nonwaivable California shareholder inspection rights.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Business Transactions, Intellectual Property, Litigation

Multiple Energy Technologies v. Casden — Corporate officer keeps interference immunity despite self-interest

automatic / July 30, 2026

A corporate officer does not lose California agent immunity merely because actions benefiting the company also advance the officer’s own financial interests.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Constitutional Law, Litigation

Arterberry v. Peet’s Coffee — Yelp Law Penalties Require Enforcement or Retaliation

automatic / July 29, 2026

California consumers cannot recover Yelp-law penalties merely because unlawful non-disparagement language appears in website terms; they must allege enforcement, a threat, or retaliation.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Business Transactions, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Serenity Investments v. Sun Hung Kai — Conversion Defendants May Seek Equitable Indemnity

automatic / July 29, 2026

The Ninth Circuit predicts that California treats conversion as strict liability, allowing a conversion defendant to seek equitable indemnity from negligent joint tortfeasors.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Litigation

Law Firm of Fox & Fox v. Arteaga — A Retainer Cannot Override the Bar on Fees for Self-Represented Lawyers

automatic / July 23, 2026

A law firm that represented itself in a fee dispute could not recover contractual attorney fees by inserting a purported waiver of California's Trope rule into its retainer agreement.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Business Transactions, Intellectual Property, Litigation

Comet Technologies USA v. XP Power — Ninth Circuit Vacates $40 Million Trade Secret Verdict Over Burden-of-Proof Error

automatic / July 14, 2026

The Ninth Circuit vacated a $40 million jury verdict for semiconductor component maker Comet Technologies and ordered a new trial after finding that the district court erroneously placed the burden of proving "ready ascertainability" of alleged trade secrets on XP Power rather than on Comet, in violation of the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Litigation

Pitt v. Shefler — Russian Billionaire’s Purchase of Jolie’s California Company Subjects Him to California Jurisdiction

automatic / June 24, 2026

The Second District reverses a quashal of service, holding that Yuri Shefler — Swiss-resident billionaire and beneficial owner of SPI Group — is subject to personal jurisdiction in California because he directed, financed, and personally communicated about the purchase of Angelina Jolie's California LLC (Nouvel) in a deal governed by California law.

1st District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Litigation

Phillips v. Volvo Penta — Song-Beverly Act Limits Component Manufacturer’s Liability to the Component It Warranted

automatic / June 4, 2026

The First District held that under the Song-Beverly Act, a component manufacturer that warranties only its component is obligated to replace or reimburse only that component — not the entire consumer product in which it is incorporated.

4th District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment Law

Guild Mortgage v. CrossCountry Mortgage — Court Revives Claims Against Rival That Orchestrated Branch Defection, Rejects CUTSA Displacement

automatic / May 27, 2026

The Fourth District revives claims against a rival mortgage company that allegedly orchestrated a branch defection scheme, holding that all employees owe a duty of loyalty and that CUTSA does not displace interference or computer fraud claims.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Business Transactions, Litigation

Olson v. FCA US, LLC — Car Manufacturer Cannot Force Consumer to Arbitrate Using Dealership’s Arbitration Clause

automatic / May 21, 2026

Ninth Circuit holds that an automobile manufacturer that was not a party to a consumer's lease agreement with a dealership cannot enforce the lease's arbitration or delegation clause, reaffirming Kramer v. Toyota and applying the California Supreme Court's Ford Motor Warranty Cases decision.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Business Transactions, Litigation

Trammell v. KLN Enterprises — Ninth Circuit Revives Class Action Over “No Artificial Flavors” Claim on Licorice Packaging

automatic / May 15, 2026

The Ninth Circuit reversed dismissal of a California consumer fraud class action, holding that a licorice product's "Free of Artificial Colors & Flavors" label can mislead reasonable consumers when the product allegedly contains petroleum-derived DL malic acid as a flavoring.