Civil Procedure

1st District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Family Law

Irvine v. Irvine — A pending criminal case did not automatically require delaying a domestic-violence restraining-order hearing

automatic / September 18, 2026

A DVRO respondent facing related criminal charges is not automatically entitled to a continuance; courts must balance self-incrimination concerns against safety, delay, and statutory objectives.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Collections & Creditor Rights, Criminal Law

People v. Bankers Insurance Co. — Bail exoneration could remain conditioned on later-calculated extradition costs

automatic / September 18, 2026

A court may exonerate a bail bond subject to later-calculated extradition costs, and the expiration of the appearance period does not erase that reimbursement condition.

1st District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Adam — Witness travel and unexplained courtroom unavailability did not justify missing the misdemeanor speedy-trial deadline

automatic / September 18, 2026

The court reversed a misdemeanor conviction because witness travel ending before the last day and unexplained courtroom unavailability did not establish good cause to exceed section 1382’s deadline.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Meehan v. Aguirre — A Plaintiff’s Final Section 998 Offer Controls Cost Shifting When the Judgment Falls Between Successive Offers

automatic / September 15, 2026

A plaintiff who increases a section 998 demand cannot rely on a lower earlier offer when the judgment fails to beat the final valid offer.

1st District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Civil Procedure

Sakach v. County of Marin — Clerk’s Improper Rejection Did Not Make Administrative Appeal Late

automatic / September 14, 2026

A clerk’s unsupported rejection of a timely administrative appeal did not make the appeal late; the notice was deemed filed when first submitted.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law

United States v. Tovar-Duran — Government Must Search for Requested Brady Material

automatic / September 14, 2026

The Ninth Circuit conditionally vacated an improper-entry conviction because the government failed to search for requested impeachment evidence and relied on layered hearsay.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Insurance Law, Personal Injury & Tort

In re Kia Hyundai Vehicle Theft Litigation — Korean Manufacturers Face Suit in California

automatic / September 14, 2026

Korean automakers’ California-bound shipments and U.S.-specific designs plausibly supported personal jurisdiction in nationwide vehicle-theft litigation.

Appellate Division (Superior Court), Civil Procedure, Litigation

Southland Homes v. Lam — Appellate Division Sanctions Lawyers for Filing AI-Fabricated Authorities

automatic / September 10, 2026

An Orange County appellate division imposed sanctions and State Bar reporting obligations after lawyers filed a petition containing fabricated AI-generated cases and propositions.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Guzman v. Superior Court — Indigency Can Support Reduced Appeal Bond Despite Significant Assets

automatic / September 4, 2026

A court may reduce an appeal bond for an appellant with significant assets when the evidence shows those resources cannot support the much larger required undertaking.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Environmental Law, Litigation

Inland Empire Waterkeeper v. Corona Clay Company — Sackett Change Requires New Trial on Temescal Creek’s Federal Status

automatic / September 3, 2026

The Ninth Circuit ordered further proceedings on whether Temescal Creek remains federally covered after Sackett while holding that coverage is a merits issue, not jurisdictional.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Collections & Creditor Rights

Velocity Investments v. Nguyen — Debt buyer could not cure missing complaint documents by amending later

automatic / August 28, 2026

A debt buyer's amended complaint cannot erase liability for failing to attach consumer-specific debt documents to the original complaint.

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, Civil Procedure, Collections & Creditor Rights, Labor & Employment Law

Cabardo v. Patacsil — Bankruptcy Appeal Must Await Final Dischargeability Decision

automatic / August 27, 2026

The Ninth Circuit dismissed a creditors’ bankruptcy appeal because a remand for trial left the overall dischargeability proceeding unfinished.

1st District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Ari Law v. Autonation.com — Rescheduled Hearing Did Not Defeat Sanctions Safe Harbor

automatic / August 26, 2026

A later court-assigned hearing date did not invalidate a sanctions motion that was substantively identical to the version served before the 21-day safe harbor.

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

Hickenbottom v. Medical Solutions — New Contract Theory Did Not Permit a Second Arbitration Motion

automatic / August 26, 2026

A second motion relying on a different arbitration agreement was still a renewed motion because it sought the same order and had to comply with Code of Civil Procedure section 1008.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Patacsil v. Google — Ninth Circuit Upholds Cy Pres-Only Privacy Settlement

automatic / August 26, 2026

The Ninth Circuit upheld a $62 million cy pres-only settlement of Google location-tracking claims because direct payments to an estimated 247.7 million class members were infeasible.

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

Buchheim v. Anaya — Unsupported Belief Cannot Defeat Objective Proof of Loan Repayment

automatic / August 25, 2026

The Court of Appeal held that unsupported assertions of nonpayment could not create a triable issue against admitted escrow records showing that a consolidated real-estate loan was repaid.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Healthcare Law, Litigation

Conservatorship of K.L. — Written Notice Alone Did Not Establish a Valid Jury Waiver

automatic / August 25, 2026

A written citation mentioning the jury right did not establish that an LPS conservatee knowingly waived a jury where neither counsel nor the court explained the right.

California Supreme Court, Administrative Law, Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law

Mayor v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board — WCAB cannot toll its own 60-day reconsideration deadline

automatic / August 24, 2026

The California Supreme Court held that the WCAB cannot equitably toll its own statutory 60-day deadline to act on a reconsideration petition.

5th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Gharraee v. Trader Joe’s — timely e-filing controls despite clerk rejection

automatic / August 24, 2026

A timely electronic submission preserved Trader Joe’s appeal despite a later clerk rejection under an invalid local rule.

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

People v. Lossing — injury DUI is not a lesser included offense of vehicular manslaughter

automatic / August 24, 2026

The court held that injury DUI is not necessarily included within gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

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

Mitchell v. Lilac Solutions, Inc. — extensive court litigation waived arbitration rights

automatic / August 20, 2026

The First District held that defendants waived arbitration by extensively litigating an employment case before changing forums after an anti-SLAPP motion.

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

Rios v. City of Azusa — factual evidence disputes defeated immediate qualified-immunity appeal

automatic / August 20, 2026

The Ninth Circuit dismissed an immediate qualified-immunity appeal because it sought review of evidence sufficiency and a discovery-sanction ruling rather than a legal question.

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

Rios v. City of Azusa — Evidence Dispute Could Not Support Immediate Qualified-Immunity Appeal

automatic / August 20, 2026

The Ninth Circuit dismissed an immediate qualified-immunity appeal because the officers’ challenge concerned evidentiary sufficiency rather than a reviewable legal issue.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Family Law

In re P.C. — Juvenile Courts May Reject Pro Se Filings From Represented Parents

automatic / August 18, 2026

The Fourth District held that juvenile courts generally may reject substantive pro se filings from represented parties and upheld denial of a mother's section 388 petition.