Litigation

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

Johnson v. Adgar — Officer Violated Fourth Amendment but Receives Qualified Immunity for Foam-Round Shooting

automatic / November 2, 2026

The Ninth Circuit found unconstitutional excessive force in a foam-round shooting but granted the officer qualified immunity and certified a Bane Act question.

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

Johnson v. Adgar — Officer Used Excessive Force but Receives Qualified Immunity

automatic / November 2, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that firing the projectile at Johnson was unreasonable force under the Fourth Amendment. Johnson and nearby demonstrators were peaceful, the weapon could cause serious injury, and a generalized interest in controlling a crowd did not justify shooting someone who posed no imminent threat. The court therefore left no doubt that the conduct violated Johnson’s constitutional right.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Antitrust, Civil Procedure, Litigation

NFL Sunday Ticket Antitrust Litigation — Expert disputes go to the jury, but damages require a new trial

automatic / October 30, 2026

NFL Sunday Ticket Antitrust Litigation: Expert disputes go to the jury, but damages require a new trial.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Business Transactions, Litigation

Shared Partnership v. Meta Platforms — Section 230 bars conversion claim over removal of Facebook pages

automatic / October 30, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that Meta’s account terms preserved its editorial discretion and did not give an advertiser an independent right to keep its Facebook pages online.

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

United States v. State of California — Ninth Circuit Refuses Last-Minute Ballot Segregation Order

automatic / October 30, 2026

The Ninth Circuit refused to require California officials to segregate thousands of ballots days before the election because federal law did not clearly compel that remedy and late changes risked serious disruption.

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

Seyb v. Labrador — Ninth Circuit stays injunction against Idaho abortion law pending appeal

automatic / October 30, 2026

Ninth Circuit stays injunction against Idaho abortion law pending appeal.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Hanna Carroll Restaurant Group LLC v. Hagestad — Blanket Discovery Denial Supports Narrow Cost-of-Proof Fee Award

automatic / October 29, 2026

The Fourth District affirmed. A party answering a request for admission must admit every portion that is true and deny or qualify only the remainder. Even if the request bundled several propositions and the restaurant group did not prove every detail, Hagestad could not deny the

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

Prado v. City of Berkeley — Ninth Circuit Partly Stays Encampment Injunction During Disease Abatement

automatic / October 26, 2026

The panel granted a stay to the extent the district court’s orders prevented Berkeley from clearing and abating the Harrison encampment. Public-health evidence showed that leaving tents and vehicles in place could shelter rats and interfere with eradication measures. That created a serious risk to residents, workers, and the public, and justified allowing the city to complete work at that location while appellate review continued.

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

San Diego-Tomas v. Aspire Bakeries — FEHA Defendants Need an Express Frivolousness Finding to Recover Costs

automatic / October 23, 2026

A prevailing FEHA defendant cannot recover ordinary litigation costs without a proper motion and an express finding that the employee’s case was frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless.

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

Molina v. Triumph Residential Services — Mandatory Arbitration Agreement Unenforceable When FAA Does Not Apply

automatic / October 22, 2026

The Second District affirmed denial of arbitration. The Legislature added the FAA language in an attempt to avoid federal preemption; it protects only agreements that are actually enforceable under the federal statute. When the FAA does not apply, ordinary California contract principles remain in force, including the rule that courts will not enforce a contract that was illegal to form. A section 432.6 violation can therefore make a non-FAA arbitration agreement unenforceable.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

People v. Perkins — Prosecutors Forfeited Challenge to Renewed Romero Motion

automatic / October 20, 2026

The Court of Appeal held that prosecutors forfeited their objection to a renewed Romero motion and upheld dismissal of a prior strike.

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

USPA City Center v. Estavillo — Landlord Properly Recovered Future Rent After Tenant Default

automatic / October 19, 2026

The First District upheld a $1.2 million future-rent award because it compensated actual lease loss and the tenant did not prove greater mitigation.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

People v. Superior Court (C.M.) — Juvenile Assault Record Could Be Sealed After Probation

automatic / October 19, 2026

The Second District held that a juvenile’s assault offense was not expressly within the statutory list barring dismissal and record sealing after probation.

4th District Court of Appeal, Construction Law, Insurance Law, Litigation

Scottsdale v. California Military Department — Rescission Defeated Additional-Insured Coverage

automatic / October 14, 2026

The Fourth District held that valid rescission for a contractor’s material application misrepresentations also eliminated an additional insured’s coverage.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Litigation

Luna v. Top Dawg Entertainment — Fair-Report Privilege Defeats Doxing Claim

automatic / October 8, 2026

The Court of Appeal reversed and directed the trial court to strike the doxing claim.

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

Seeboth v. State Department of State Hospitals — Sexually Violent Predator Patients Have No Statutory Right to Unopened Mail

automatic / October 7, 2026

The Fifth District held that sexually violent predator patients are governed by regulations permitting contraband inspection, not the LPS Act's right to unopened correspondence.

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

Smith v. Burbank Unified School District — Unpaid Leave Was a Reasonable Religious Accommodation to Vaccine Mandate

automatic / October 7, 2026

The Second District held that unpaid leave reasonably accommodated a teacher's religious objection to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate where in-person work posed an undue hardship.

4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Litigation, Real Estate Law

Tina-Pacific Residents Association v. City of Stanton — Residents May Pursue Redevelopment Housing and Relocation Claims

automatic / October 7, 2026

A published California appellate decision revived residents’ claims that Stanton failed to meet affordable-housing replacement and relocation-planning duties during a long-running neighborhood acquisition project.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

People v. U.S. Fire Insurance — Surety Remains Liable After Failure to Arrange Required GPS

automatic / October 6, 2026

People v. U.S. Fire Insurance: Surety Remains Liable After Failure to Arrange Required GPS.

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

Doe v. Wells Fargo — Employer Strict Liability Requires the Harasser to Supervise the Victim

automatic / October 5, 2026

Doe v. Wells Fargo: Employer Strict Liability Requires the Harasser to Supervise the Victim.

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

Chin v. DoorDash — Employee Waived EFAA Protection by Withholding Known Harassment Claim

automatic / October 5, 2026

Chin v. DoorDash: Employee Waived EFAA Protection by Withholding Known Harassment Claim.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal Law, Litigation

United States v. So — Foreign-Evidence Tolling Covered Bribery Conspiracy Charge

automatic / October 5, 2026

United States v. So: Foreign-Evidence Tolling Covered Bribery Conspiracy Charge.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Insurance Law, Litigation

Passport 420, LLC v. Starr Indemnity — Insurer May Rescind a Policy for Undisclosed Material Facts Even Without Asking

automatic / October 1, 2026

The Second District Court of Appeal holds an insurer may rescind a policy for an applicant's concealment of a material fact even if the insurer's application never asked about it — and that a manager's knowledge of his own embezzlement can be imputed to the company he managed.

1st District Court of Appeal, Litigation

Nelson v. Nelson — Obsolete paper-contest exception cannot defeat trust no-contest statute

automatic / September 30, 2026

The Court of Appeal reversed. It held that the judicially created paper-contest exception does not apply to a trust governed by California’s current statutory scheme for no-contest clauses.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Litigation, Real Estate Law

Baker Ranches v. Burgum — McCarran Amendment permits suit to administer decreed water rights

automatic / September 30, 2026

A divided Ninth Circuit panel reversed. The majority held that the 1934 adjudication comprehensively determined the relative rights to the creek system and that the present suit seeks administration of those established rights.