Litigation

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

United States v. Nasri — Foreign forfeiture requires control over the property

automatic / September 2, 2026

Due process requires actual or constructive control over foreign property before a federal court may exercise in rem forfeiture jurisdiction.

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.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

People v. Campbell — Murder Resentencing Denied Despite Claimed Instructional Ambiguity

automatic / September 1, 2026

The Second District held that Lopez removed a procedural bar to Campbell’s instructional theory but that his jury necessarily found a still-valid form of malice.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Liu v. Kaiser Permanente Pension Plan — Substantial compliance can preserve an ERISA benefit election

automatic / August 31, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that California substantial-compliance principles can preserve an ERISA pension election despite incomplete technical steps.

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

Richards v. Newsom — Ninth Circuit Upholds Recording Rules for California Firearms Dealers

automatic / August 27, 2026

The Ninth Circuit upheld dismissal of First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment challenges to California’s audiovisual-recording mandate for firearms dealers.

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.

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.

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

County of King v. Turner — Agencies Could Not Add Sweeping Conditions to Previously Awarded Grants

automatic / August 25, 2026

The Ninth Circuit largely blocked HUD and DOT from imposing sweeping new policy conditions on previously awarded grants because the agencies lacked congressional authorization.

California Supreme Court, Administrative Law, Litigation, Real Estate Law

Town of Apple Valley v. Apple Valley Ranchos Water — courts independently review utility takeovers

automatic / August 24, 2026

The California Supreme Court held that courts independently weigh challenges to public acquisitions of privately owned utility property.

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, Constitutional Law, Healthcare Law, Litigation

Doe v. Adventist Health — health-site tracking claims may proceed as classes

automatic / August 24, 2026

A California appellate court revived class-certification efforts over tracking technology on health-risk and patient-portal pages.

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, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Litigation

Kinnucan v. NSA — congressional report held by agency remains outside FOIA

automatic / August 24, 2026

A congressional report kept and used internally by the NSA remained outside FOIA because Congress retained control over disclosure.

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

1 Community Compact v. City of Fresno — Street Renaming Did Not Compel Speech or Exceed City Power

automatic / August 21, 2026

A California Court of Appeal held that Fresno’s street renaming was government speech, did not compel residents to endorse a message, and was a valid exercise of municipal police power.

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

California v. ATF — State and Gun-Safety Group Lacked Standing to Demand Broader Ghost-Gun Regulation

automatic / August 21, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that California and a gun-safety organization lacked standing to challenge an ATF example excluding some unfinished receiver blanks from regulation.

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, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Ding v. Structure Therapeutics — Newly Discovered Harassment Claim Can Leave Arbitration

automatic / August 19, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that an employee who discovers a plausible sex-harassment claim during arbitration may invoke federal law and proceed in court.

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.

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

Nassman v. Superior Court — PREP Act Shields Deliberate COVID-19 Treatment Allocation Decisions

automatic / August 18, 2026

The Fourth District held that PREP Act immunity covers a conscious decision not to administer a COVID-19 countermeasure when the decision reflects purposeful allocation.

California Supreme Court, Criminal Law, Litigation

People v. Esquivias — Limited Habeas Relief Does Not Automatically Reopen the Entire Sentence

automatic / August 17, 2026

The California Supreme Court held that striking firearm enhancements on habeas review did not automatically require full resentencing under all later ameliorative laws.

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

Rusoff v. The Happy Group — Egg-Labeling Class Lacked Common Proof of Consumer Deception

automatic / August 17, 2026

The Ninth Circuit reversed certification of a California egg-labeling class because consumers lacked common proof that pasture raised carried a shared deceptive meaning.