California Case Summaries

Personal Injury & Tort

Secondary practice area

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.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Banking & Finance, Estate Planning, Probate and Tax Law, Personal Injury & Tort

DeVone v. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC — Elder-Abuse and Broader Fiduciary-Duty Theories Must Go to a Jury

automatic / October 29, 2026

The Second District reversed most of the judgment. Once a claim is timely under California’s delayed-discovery rule, the limitations period ordinarily determines whether the action may proceed; it does not automatically erase damages from earlier conduct that forms part of the ti

2nd District Court of Appeal, Insurance Law, Personal Injury & Tort

O’Brien v. Midway Rent-A-Car, Inc. — Federal Law Bars Owner Liability and Rental Company Had No Duty to Verify Insurance

automatic / October 29, 2026

The Second District affirmed. California Vehicle Code sections 17150 and 17151 ordinarily impose limited vicarious liability on an owner who permits another person to operate a vehicle. But the Graves Amendment expressly prevents states from imposing liability on a rental or leas

1st District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Personal Injury & Tort

K.S. v. County of Alameda — Foster-Care Negligence Claims Not Barred by Discretionary Immunity on the Pleadings

automatic / October 26, 2026

The First District reversed. Section 820.2 protects a public employee’s qualifying discretionary policy decisions, but it does not confer blanket immunity on every act connected to a program that involves judgment. Immunity requires a considered exercise of discretion at the policy level. Routine implementation, investigation, supervision, and response duties may include ministerial conduct outside that protection.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Personal Injury & Tort

John Doe N.K. v. Palm Springs Unified School District — School District Not Liable for 1978 Teacher Abuse Where No Supervisor Knew or Should Have Known of the Danger

automatic / October 21, 2026

The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for a school district on negligent hiring, supervision and retention claims over a teacher's 1978–1979 sexual abuse of a student, holding that the plaintiff offered no evidence that district supervisors knew or should have known of the danger and that the district's lack of 40-year-old records did not create a triable issue.

5th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Yzaguirre v. Clovis Unified School District — Voluntary, Team-Linked Basketball PE Class Is Covered by Primary Assumption of the Risk, and Intent-or-Recklessness Jury Instruction Was Proper

automatic / October 21, 2026

The Fifth District affirmed defense verdicts for a school district and basketball instructor, holding that primary assumption of the risk applies to an optional, vetted basketball class that satisfied a school's physical education requirement, and that the trial court correctly instructed on intentional or reckless conduct under CACI No. 471, option 1.

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