Litigation

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

Brown v. Broomfield — Ninth Circuit Upholds California Death Sentence Under Deferential Habeas Review

automatic / August 14, 2026

The Ninth Circuit upheld a California death sentence, finding the state court reasonably rejected claims involving counsel, competency, and intellectual disability.

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

Surgical Instrument Service v. Intuitive Surgical — Ninth Circuit Revives Robot Aftermarket Antitrust Claims

automatic / August 13, 2026

The Ninth Circuit reversed. The special factors apply when a plaintiff cannot show power in a competitive foremarket and instead claims that a seller later exploited customers locked into a brand. They were unnecessary here because evidence directly supported a conventional claim that dominant foremarket power was leveraged into the tied aftermarket.

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

Nilsen v. University of Washington — Ninth Circuit Refines Arm-of-State Immunity Test

automatic / August 13, 2026

The panel affirmed. Its three factors remain: whether state law created a legally independent entity, whether the state is formally liable for the entity’s debts and judgments, and how much control the state exercises. The Supreme Court’s clarification makes the first factor most important and the control factor least important.

1st District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Mary D. v. McCauley — Incarcerated Civil Defendant Entitled to Meaningful Trial Access

automatic / August 12, 2026

The Court of Appeal reversed for a new trial. Once McCauley met the threshold showing governing incarcerated civil litigants, the trial court had to meaningfully consider practical measures that would permit access to court; denying additional time to secure counsel under these circumstances was an abuse of discretion and violated constitutional access rights.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Banking & Finance, Collections & Creditor Rights, Litigation

Turrey v. Vervent — Student Borrowers’ Civil RICO Verdict Was Timely

automatic / August 12, 2026

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the roughly $12 million judgment. Trial evidence permitted the jury to find that the borrowers lacked actual or constructive knowledge of their RICO injuries more than four years before filing in April 2020.

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.

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

Duralev v. United States — FTCA does not cover damages for mistaken federal work-permit denial

automatic / August 11, 2026

The FTCA did not waive sovereign immunity for an allegedly negligent federal work-authorization decision because private actors perform no comparable function.

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

Healthcare Ally v. WSP — ERISA does not preempt provider’s negligent-misrepresentation claim over benefit verification

automatic / August 11, 2026

An out-of-network provider's negligent-misrepresentation claim based on a plan administrator's benefit-verification statements was not preempted by ERISA.

California Supreme Court, Administrative Law, Litigation, Tax (non-estate)

Tesoro Refining & Marketing Co. v. City of Carson — State claims law preempts extra local tax-refund procedures

automatic / August 10, 2026

California cities may not require taxpayers to complete local refund procedures in addition to the Government Claims Act before suing for a refund.

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.

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

State of Colorado v. Meta Platforms, Inc. — Section 230 defense does not permit an immediate appeal

automatic / August 10, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that Section 230 supplies a defense to liability, not immunity from suit, so platforms ordinarily must wait for final judgment to appeal a partial denial of the defense.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal Law, Litigation

United States v. Doyle — Judges Must Personally Review Each Graphic Exhibit Before Admission

automatic / August 7, 2026

The Ninth Circuit required item-by-item judicial review of graphic evidence under Rule 403 but found the failure harmless in Doyle’s case.

California Supreme Court, Civil Procedure, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Gorobets v. Jaguar Land Rover — Section 998 offer may give the offeree two alternative settlement choices

automatic / August 6, 2026

The California Supreme Court held that a section 998 offer may contain two alternative settlement choices when they are clearly presented and at least one is independently certain.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Intellectual Property, Litigation

Koi Design v. Marron Lawyers — Professional-conduct breaches can support malpractice and fiduciary-duty claims

automatic / August 6, 2026

The Ninth Circuit revived Koi Design’s malpractice claims, holding that professional-conduct violations and evidence of failed disclosure and supervision could support breach and causation.

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

Leviss v. Madix — anti-SLAPP does not protect alleged copying and sharing of intimate videos

automatic / August 5, 2026

A public controversy did not make the alleged copying and sharing of private sexual videos protected activity under California’s anti-SLAPP statute.

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

Inland Empire Waterkeeper v. Corona Clay — Sackett requires another Clean Water Act trial

automatic / August 5, 2026

The Ninth Circuit ordered a new trial on whether Temescal Creek remains covered by the Clean Water Act after Sackett narrowed federal water jurisdiction.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

A Company Hungary KFT v. Bespalov — Unsupported accusations of judicial bias bring contempt sanction

automatic / August 4, 2026

The court held appellate counsel in contempt and imposed a $1,000 fine for repeatedly accusing the trial judge of bias without record support.

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

Farmers Insurance Exchange v. Superior Court — Timely acceptance formed binding policy-limits settlement

automatic / August 4, 2026

A claimant's policy-limits demand became a binding settlement when Farmers timely accepted and supplied the requested declarations page.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Intellectual Property, Litigation

VIP Products v. Jack Daniel’s — Dog-toy parody does not tarnish famous whiskey marks

automatic / August 4, 2026

The Ninth Circuit vacated Jack Daniel's injunction because its evidence did not show that the Bad Spaniels parody was likely to harm the reputation of its famous marks.

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.

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

Morales v. Superior Court — Narrow Employment Arbitration Clause Does Not Reach Statutory Wrongful-Termination Claims

automatic / August 3, 2026

A clause limited to disputes about an employment agreement did not cover independent FEHA, CFRA, and public-policy claims.

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

Cluck v. GEO Secure Services — Related Onboarding Agreements Made Employment Arbitration Impermissibly One-Sided

automatic / August 3, 2026

The court refused arbitration because related onboarding documents sent employee claims to arbitration while preserving GEO’s preferred claims for court.

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.

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

Saberin v. Alation, Inc. — California arrest-record protections did not cover a Utah remote worker

automatic / July 30, 2026

California employment laws restricting use of arrest records did not apply to a Utah employee whose arrest and termination decision occurred outside California.