Litigation

3rd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Litigation

Conservatorship of R.R. — LPS Conservatorship Begins on Date of Court Order, Not Expiration of Prior Conservatorship

automatic / May 20, 2026

The Third District Court of Appeal held that a renewed LPS conservatorship begins on the date the court issues its reappointment order, not retroactively on the day after the prior conservatorship expired.

4th District Court of Appeal, Collections & Creditor Rights, Family Law, Litigation

Greely v. Greely — Void Bigamous Marriage Defeats Spousal Exception for Bank Account Levies

automatic / May 20, 2026

The Fourth District held that a judgment creditor cannot use the spousal exception to levy a third party’s bank accounts without a court order when the marriage supporting the levy was bigamous and void from its inception.

Appellate Division (Superior Court), Litigation, Real Estate Law

Colonial Manor v. Reyes — Surviving Spouse Protected by Santa Monica Rent Control Despite Costa-Hawkins

automatic / May 19, 2026

The Appellate Division held that a surviving spouse who lived in a Santa Monica rent-controlled apartment with the original tenant was an implied at-will tenant protected by the city's rent control charter, and that Costa-Hawkins did not preempt those local protections.

California Supreme Court, Criminal Law, Litigation

People v. Mitchell — California Supreme Court Holds Defendants Who Agreed to Upper Term Sentences via Plea Bargain May Seek Retroactive Benefit of SB 567

automatic / May 18, 2026

The California Supreme Court unanimously held that defendants who accepted upper term sentences as part of a plea bargain may seek retroactive benefit of SB 567’s amendments to Penal Code section 1170(b), but the remedy is a remand for the defendant to waive, renegotiate, or withdraw the plea—not an automatic sentence reduction.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Litigation

Nuanmanee v. Superior Court — Court of Appeal Holds Defendant Was Not ‘Brought to Trial’ When Court Policy Prevented Jury Empanelment on Last Statutory Day

automatic / May 18, 2026

The Third District Court of Appeal granted a writ of mandate ordering dismissal of a misdemeanor DUI case after the trial court’s policy of not empaneling juries on Mondays prevented the defendant from being brought to trial on the last statutory day under Penal Code section 1382.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Immigration, Litigation

Singh v. Blanche — Ninth Circuit Applies Supreme Court’s New Substantial Evidence Standard to Asylum Claims

automatic / May 15, 2026

The Ninth Circuit applies the Supreme Court's Urias-Orellana decision, holding that the highly deferential substantial evidence standard governs the entirety of the BIA's asylum conclusions, including whether undisputed facts constitute persecution.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Business Transactions, Litigation

Trammell v. KLN Enterprises — Ninth Circuit Revives Class Action Over “No Artificial Flavors” Claim on Licorice Packaging

automatic / May 15, 2026

The Ninth Circuit reversed dismissal of a California consumer fraud class action, holding that a licorice product's "Free of Artificial Colors & Flavors" label can mislead reasonable consumers when the product allegedly contains petroleum-derived DL malic acid as a flavoring.

California Supreme Court, Intellectual Property, Litigation

J.M. v. Illuminate Education — California Supreme Court Redefines Data Breach Liability Under the CMIA

automatic / May 14, 2026

The California Supreme Court held that a CMIA breach occurs when medical data is exposed to a significant risk of unauthorized access — rejecting the prior 'actually viewed' standard and disapproving three Court of Appeal decisions.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Insurance Law, Litigation

Nargizyan v. State Farm — Court Revives Homeowner’s Claim Over Pipe Leak, Finding Insurer Misapplied Seepage Exclusion

automatic / May 14, 2026

The Second District reversed summary judgment for State Farm, finding triable issues on whether a pinhole pipe leak met the policy's seepage exclusion and whether the insurer acted in bad faith by reversing its own coverage determination.

6th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

People v. Superior Court (Feghhi) — Sixth District Orders Blood-Alcohol Evidence Reinstated in DUI Murder Case

automatic / May 14, 2026

The Sixth District ordered a trial court to reinstate blood-alcohol evidence in a DUI murder case, holding that a defendant's breath-test request is irrelevant to blood-draw warrant probable cause and that the implied consent statute does not override a valid warrant.

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

Apartment Assn. v. City of Los Angeles — Court Upholds LA Eviction Threshold but Strikes Down Relocation-Assistance Mandate

automatic / May 14, 2026

The Second District upheld LA's post-COVID eviction-threshold ordinance as a valid exercise of city police power, but struck down its relocation-assistance mandate as preempted by the Costa-Hawkins Act.

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

Gibbs v. County of Humboldt — County Liable for Failing to Enroll Employee in CalPERS and Losing Personnel Records

automatic / May 13, 2026

California appeals court holds that Humboldt County can be sued for failing to enroll a 40-year court reporter in CalPERS and losing her personnel records, establishing that pension enrollment and record-keeping are mandatory duties enforceable under Government Code section 815.6.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Collections & Creditor Rights, Litigation

Dawadi v. Adhikari — Check Annotations Do Not Revive a Time-Barred Debt

automatic / May 12, 2026

California’s Fourth District holds that check memo-line annotations labeling payments as “loan payment” are not sufficient written acknowledgments to revive a debt already barred by the statute of limitations.

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

United States v. Sanchez — Ninth Circuit Adopts ‘Heavy Presumption of Prejudice’ Standard When Racially Biased Juror Is Removed Mid-Deliberation

automatic / May 12, 2026

The Ninth Circuit holds that when a racially biased juror is discovered and removed before a verdict is accepted, courts must apply the Remmer framework’s heavy presumption of prejudice—and reverses a tax-fraud conviction because the government could not rebut that presumption.

4th District Court of Appeal, Litigation, Real Estate Law, Tax (non-estate)

Waterford Property Co. v. County of Orange — Declaratory Relief Claim Against Tax Assessor Arises from Protected Speech Under Anti-SLAPP Statute

automatic / May 11, 2026

Fourth District holds that a property company’s declaratory relief claim challenging tax assessments arose from the county assessor’s protected speech and petitioning under the anti-SLAPP statute, reversing the trial court’s denial of the county’s motion to strike.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

J.N. v. Goldberg — Sanctions Reversed Where E-Filing System Made It Impossible to Include Hearing Date in Safe Harbor Notice

automatic / May 11, 2026

Second District reverses $19,285 in sanctions because the movant’s notice of motion lacked a hearing date, holding that LA County’s electronic filing system does not excuse noncompliance with section 128.7’s mandatory safe harbor provisions.

5th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

People v. Robinson — Lifers Who Aren’t Sex Offenders Stay Eligible for SB 483 Resentencing

automatic / May 8, 2026

The Fifth District holds that Penal Code section 1172.75(f) excludes from resentencing only inmates who were both convicted of a sexually violent offense and sentenced to death or LWOP — reopening SB 483 resentencing for many lifers.

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

Phillips v. Goldman — Ninth Circuit En Banc Clarifies Limits of Bankruptcy Trustee Immunity

automatic / May 7, 2026

The Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, held that a Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee who fails to preserve estate assets is not shielded by quasi-judicial immunity because property-management duties are administrative, not adjudicative.

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

Fuhr v. City of Seattle — Ninth Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to SWAT Officer Who Shot Fleeing Father Holding Infant Daughter

automatic / May 7, 2026

Ninth Circuit affirms summary judgment for a Seattle SWAT officer who shot and killed an armed, fleeing father holding his infant daughter, holding that no clearly established law put the officer on notice that deadly force in those circumstances was unconstitutional.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Business Transactions, Litigation

Crain Walnut Shelling v. USDC NDCA — Ninth Circuit Clarifies Lead Plaintiff Standard in Securities Class Actions

automatic / May 7, 2026

The Ninth Circuit denied mandamus in the Super Micro Computer securities case and clarified that the standard for rebutting a presumptive lead plaintiff's adequacy under the PSLRA is preponderance of the evidence, not the lower 'genuine and serious doubt' threshold.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Intellectual Property, Litigation

Vericool World v. Igloo Products Corp. — Ninth Circuit Holds “First to Market” Claims Not Actionable Under the Lanham Act

automatic / May 6, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that “first to market” advertising claims are not actionable as false advertising under the Lanham Act, ruling that such claims concern the origin of an idea rather than observable product characteristics.

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

Myers v. Dept. of Motor Vehicles — Body-Cam Video Can Rebut Officer’s Claim of Continuous DUI Observation

automatic / May 6, 2026

The Fifth District holds that body-worn camera footage showing an officer left a DUI suspect alone in a patrol car during the required 15-minute observation period is sufficient to rebut the presumption that breath test procedures were properly followed.

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

Toothman v. Redwood Toxicology Laboratory — 1st District Says Direct Employer Cannot Enforce Arbitration Clause Signed with Temp Agency

automatic / May 5, 2026

First District holds that a direct employer cannot enforce an arbitration agreement the worker originally signed with a temporary staffing agency, where the worker's claims arose entirely from the direct-employment period that started after the temp placement ended.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Litigation

3Pak LLC v. City of Seattle — Ninth Circuit Holds State-Created Danger Doctrine Doesn’t Cover Pure Economic Loss, but Revives State Nuisance Claim Under Equitable Tolling

automatic / May 5, 2026

The Ninth Circuit publishes that the state-created danger doctrine reaches only bodily-integrity harm, not lost profits — but reverses dismissal of state-law nuisance claims to let businesses pursue equitable tolling under American Pipe.

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

Vela v. Harbor Rail Services — Court of Appeal Affirms Arbitration of Railcar Repairman’s Wage Claims, Including Class Waiver

automatic / May 1, 2026

California Court of Appeal holds that a railcar repairman doing stationary maintenance work in a Wilmington rail yard is not a 'transportation worker' exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act, so his class action waiver is enforceable.