Litigation

4th District Court of Appeal, Family Law, Litigation

Domestic Partnership of Campos & Munoz — $5,000 in sanctions imposed for citing AI-generated fake cases in pet custody dispute

automatic / March 5, 2026

Fourth District affirms a pet custody order but imposes $5,000 in sanctions on counsel for repeatedly citing AI-generated fake cases and reports the conduct to the State Bar of California.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Environmental Law, Litigation

Physicians for Social Responsibility v. Department of Toxic Substances Control — Losing CEQA plaintiffs not entitled to private attorney general fees on a catalyst theory

automatic / March 4, 2026

Third District holds plaintiffs who lost their CEQA challenge cannot recover catalyst-theory attorney fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5 when the agency's later action came years after final defeat in court.

4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Litigation

Harrington v. Housing Authority of Riverside County — Trial court cannot uphold Section 8 termination on grounds the agency never decided

automatic / March 4, 2026

Fourth District holds that even under independent judgment review, a trial court cannot uphold a Section 8 termination on grounds the housing authority's hearing officer never adjudicated.

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

LAOSD Asbestos Cases (Chapman v. Avon Products) — $51 million asbestos verdict against Avon affirmed; appellant’s failure to recite all evidence forfeits sufficiency challenge

automatic / March 4, 2026

Second District affirms a $51 million asbestos-talc verdict against Avon Products and holds that Avon's appellate brief forfeited its sufficiency-of-the-evidence challenge by failing to fairly summarize the trial evidence.

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

Sorokunov v. NetApp, Inc. — Arbitrator’s findings on individual wage claims preclude PAGA standing in court

automatic / March 3, 2026

First District holds that an arbitrator's merits-based finding that an employee did not suffer Labor Code violations preclusively destroys the same employee's PAGA standing in the companion court action.

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

Ehrenkranz v. San Francisco Zen Center — Ministerial exception requires actual ecclesiastical concern; Labor Code bond requirement applies only to employer entities

automatic / March 2, 2026

First District holds the First Amendment ministerial exception does not categorically bar a Zen Center worker's wage-and-hour claims, but Labor Code section 98.2's appeal bond is required only of the employing entity, not individuals also liable under section 558.1.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Woodhouse v. State Bar of California — Vexatious-Litigant Determination Affirmed; Future Pro Per Filings Require Pre-Filing Approval and Security

automatic / February 27, 2026

Second District affirms a trial-court ruling declaring an inactive California attorney a vexatious litigant and barring his future pro per suits absent pre-filing approval and posted security, in light of a long history of dismissed federal cases and frivolous filings.

4th District Court of Appeal, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Fisher v. Fisher — Wrongful-Death Verdict Affirmed Where Brothers’ False Police Report Caused Recovering-Alcoholic Brother’s Fatal Relapse

automatic / February 26, 2026

Fourth District affirms a $9.4 million wrongful-death judgment against two brothers who falsely reported their deceased mother missing to police, triggering a phone call to a recovering-alcoholic brother whose resulting relapse caused his death.

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

J.S. v. D.A. — Trial Court Again Erred by Issuing DVRO Without Addressing Incarcerated Respondent’s Request to Appear by Phone

automatic / February 25, 2026

Fourth District reverses a five-year DVRO for the second time, holding the trial court again denied the incarcerated respondent meaningful access to the courts by issuing the order without addressing his request to appear telephonically.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Litigation

Jogani v. Jogani — $6.85 Billion Verdict in Brothers’ Real-Estate Partnership Suit Conditionally Affirmed; Lost-Profits Expert Testimony Excluded

automatic / February 24, 2026

Second District conditionally affirms a $6.85 billion verdict in a five-month trial over the Jogani brothers' real-estate partnership, but orders a remittitur because Shashi Jogani's damages expert testified to an undisclosed lost-profits opinion exceeding $1.9 billion.

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

Ashirwad, LLC v. Bradbury — Tenant’s Post-Lease Payment During COVID Did Not Necessarily Create a Month-to-Month Tenancy Under Civil Code Section 1945

automatic / February 23, 2026

Fourth District affirms a bench-trial finding that commercial tenants rebutted Civil Code section 1945's presumption of month-to-month tenancy after their lease expired during COVID-19, where the tenants paid one month as a goodwill gesture and never agreed to continue.

4th District Court of Appeal, Environmental Law, Litigation

Environmental Health Advocates v. Pancho Villa’s — Substantial Compliance Governs Proposition 65 Pre-Suit Notice Requirements

automatic / February 20, 2026

Fourth District holds Proposition 65's pre-suit notice regulation is directory rather than mandatory, and that substantial compliance — not strict compliance — governs the validity of the 60-day notice for private-enforcement actions.

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

Nichols v. Alghannam — Late-Added Pain-Pump Doctor Could Not Be Sued After Statute of Limitations; No Elder-Abuse Conduct Pleaded

automatic / February 18, 2026

Third District affirms dismissal of malpractice and elder-abuse claims against a pain-management doctor added years after the patient's overdose death, holding the negligence claims were time-barred and the complaint did not allege elder-abuse-level conduct.

4th District Court of Appeal, Estate Planning, Probate and Tax Law, Litigation, Probate

Haun v. Pagano — Successful Petitioner in Financial-Elder-Abuse Case Could Recover Fees Even Though He Defended Competing Cross-Claim

automatic / February 18, 2026

Fourth District holds that a successful petitioner in a financial-elder-abuse trust dispute may recover attorney fees under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.5(a), even though he also defended against the wrongdoers' competing cross-claim for elder abuse.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

People v. T.B. — ‘Less Onerous Alternatives’ to Court-Ordered ECT Means Medical Alternatives, Not Surrogate-Consent Procedures

automatic / February 18, 2026

Fourth District affirms a trial court order authorizing electroconvulsive therapy for an incarcerated patient with treatment-resistant schizoaffective disorder, holding that 'no less onerous alternatives' under Penal Code section 2679(b) refers to medical alternatives, not surrogate-consent procedures.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

Flareau v. Superior Court — Trial Court Abused ‘Residual’ Discretion to Deny Mental-Health Diversion Without Proper Analysis

automatic / February 18, 2026

Fourth District grants writ relief, holding that a Riverside County trial court abused its 'residual' discretion under Penal Code section 1001.36 by denying mental-health diversion without proper analysis of the statute's eligibility and suitability criteria.

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

Bagby v. Davis — California Law Governs Collection in California Courts; Surrendered Life Insurance Policy Not Necessarily Exempt

automatic / February 17, 2026

Second District holds California exemption law applies to collection actions in California courts regardless of where the judgment debtor lives, and that funds rolled over from a surrendered life insurance policy into IRAs are not categorically exempt from levy.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Hatlevig v. General Motors LLC — Motion for Attorney Fees Untimely When Filed and Served More Than 180 Days After Court-Ordered Dismissal Took Effect

automatic / February 17, 2026

Fourth District affirms denial of a Song-Beverly plaintiff's attorney-fee motion as untimely, holding the motion had to be served within 180 days of the court-ordered dismissal date even though the parties had not formally filed a dismissal.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Litigation

Diaz v. Thor Motor Coach — Out-of-State Forum-Selection Clause in RV Warranty Unenforceable Against Song-Beverly Claim Even With Stipulation Preserving California Law

automatic / February 13, 2026

Second District reverses an order staying a Song-Beverly action against Thor Motor Coach, holding the warranty's Indiana forum-selection clause is unenforceable even when accompanied by a stipulation that California law would govern.

1st District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

People v. Alston — Conviction Reversed Where Trial Court Failed to Explain Reasons for Overruling Section 231.7 Objection to Peremptory Strike

automatic / February 13, 2026

First District reverses an attempted-lewd-act conviction, holding the trial court violated Code of Civil Procedure section 231.7(d)(1) by failing to explain its reasons for overruling defense counsel's objection to the prosecutor's peremptory strike of a prospective juror.

6th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Zenith Insurance Co. v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board — WCAB Lacked Jurisdiction to Grant Reconsideration After 60-Day Statutory Deadline

automatic / February 10, 2026

Sixth District reverses a Workers' Compensation Appeals Board reconsideration order, holding the Board exceeded its jurisdiction by granting reconsideration after the former section 5909 60-day deadline ran and that the narrow grounds for equitable tolling were not satisfied.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Family Law, Litigation

In re Reyna R. — Juvenile Court Must Consider Father’s Ability to Pay Before Requiring Professional Visitation Monitor at His Expense

automatic / February 9, 2026

Second District holds that a juvenile court ordering monitored visitation by a paid professional must first consider the parent's ability to pay and the availability of reasonable alternatives, where the parent has timely raised an inability-to-pay objection.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Semaan v. Mosier — Court-Appointed Receivers Are Protected by Quasi-Judicial Immunity for Discretionary Acts; Anti-SLAPP Motion Granted

automatic / February 6, 2026

Fourth District holds that a court-appointed receiver is protected by quasi-judicial immunity for discretionary acts and decisions, affirming the grant of an anti-SLAPP motion to strike claims against the receiver brought by a criminal defendant and his family.

1st District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Bartholomew v. Parking Concepts, Inc. — Collecting License Plate Data Without Required ALPR Policy Is Itself a Cognizable Harm

automatic / February 5, 2026

First District holds a parking-garage operator's collection of customers' license-plate information without the publicly available ALPR policy California law requires is itself the kind of harm that supports a private suit under the ALPR Law.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

Esparza v. Superior Court — LPS Grave-Disability Finding Is Not Equivalent to Incompetence to Testify Under Evidence Code Section 701

automatic / February 5, 2026

Fourth District grants writ relief, holding that a probate court's grave-disability finding under the LPS Act does not establish that the person is incompetent to testify under Evidence Code section 701, which requires its own determination.