2nd District Court of Appeal

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.

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

CHP v. State Personnel Board — one-year suspension upheld despite overtime misconduct

automatic / August 5, 2026

The State Personnel Board acted within its discretion by reducing a CHP officer’s dismissal to a one-year suspension in light of mitigating circumstances.

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.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Family Law

In re Miguel J. — Domestic Violence Can Support Dependency Jurisdiction Even When the Child Is Struck Accidentally

automatic / August 3, 2026

Intentional domestic violence in a child’s presence can support dependency jurisdiction even if contact with the child was accidental.

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.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Real Estate Law

New Commune DTLA v. Redondo Beach — Builder’s remedy did not override a certified coastal plan

automatic / July 30, 2026

A proposed housing project in Redondo Beach’s coastal zone could be denied because it conflicted with the city’s Coastal Commission-certified local coastal program.

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

Glick v. City of Los Angeles — Court reinstates jury’s $13 million emotional-distress awards

automatic / July 30, 2026

A trial court could not impose an arbitrary ceiling on emotional-distress damages or disregard admissible employee testimony about future losses.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Constitutional Law, Litigation

Arterberry v. Peet’s Coffee — Yelp Law Penalties Require Enforcement or Retaliation

automatic / July 29, 2026

California consumers cannot recover Yelp-law penalties merely because unlawful non-disparagement language appears in website terms; they must allege enforcement, a threat, or retaliation.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Family Law

In re X.A. — Extensive ICWA Follow-Up Supported Termination of Parental Rights

automatic / July 27, 2026

A documented, extensive inquiry of maternal relatives satisfied California's ICWA duties despite inconsistent ancestry claims and limited family cooperation.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Election Law, Tax (non-estate)

Osborne v. Logan — School Bond Ballots Must State Tax Rates Per $100,000 of Assessed Value

automatic / July 24, 2026

A California Court of Appeal held that school bond ballot questions must express property-tax rates per $100,000 of assessed value, matching the format required in voter information materials.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Collections & Creditor Rights, Litigation, Real Estate Law

8451 Melrose Property, LLC v. Akhtarzad — Undisclosed Partners Added to an Eight-Figure Lease Judgment

automatic / July 23, 2026

A Court of Appeal upheld adding members of an undisclosed family partnership and its leasing corporation to a commercial landlord's eight-figure judgment under Code of Civil Procedure section 187.

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

Aud v. RRT Enterprises, LP — MICRA Cap Does Not Cover Nursing-Home Custodial Neglect

automatic / July 23, 2026

A nursing-home resident's neglect claims arose from custodial care rather than professional medical services, so MICRA's noneconomic-damages cap did not reduce the jury's award.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Litigation

Law Firm of Fox & Fox v. Arteaga — A Retainer Cannot Override the Bar on Fees for Self-Represented Lawyers

automatic / July 23, 2026

A law firm that represented itself in a fee dispute could not recover contractual attorney fees by inserting a purported waiver of California's Trope rule into its retainer agreement.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Criminal Law

Pipitone v. DMV — Drugs carried in a car supported mandatory license revocation

automatic / July 21, 2026

Drugs carried in a car supported mandatory license revocation.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Muradyan v. Bonta — Lifetime Sex Offender Registration for Child Luring Offense Survives Equal Protection Challenge

automatic / July 15, 2026

California's Second District Court of Appeal affirmed that placing child-luring offenders in the lifetime sex offender registration tier does not violate equal protection, because the Legislature could rationally find that the predatory, premeditated nature of luring crimes signals a higher risk of recidivism than other sex offenses.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Estate Planning, Probate and Tax Law, Family Law, Probate

Jackson v. Meyer — Trust Revocation During Divorce Proceedings Valid Despite Failure to File With Court

automatic / July 14, 2026

California's Second District Court of Appeal held that a spouse's trust revocation during pending divorce proceedings is valid even though it was never filed with the court, as long as the other spouse received actual notice of the revocation as required by the trust instrument.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Miranda — California’s Ban on Concealed Daggers Survives Second Amendment Challenge

automatic / July 13, 2026

The Second District Court of Appeal upholds California’s ban on carrying concealed dirks and daggers as facially constitutional under the Supreme Court’s Bruen text-and-history test, pointing to a robust historical tradition of concealed-weapons prohibitions.

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

Ventura Harbor Restaurant Associates v. Ventura Port District — Percentage Rent in Government Lease Is Not a Tax Under Proposition 26

automatic / July 9, 2026

California's Second District Court of Appeal holds that a percentage-of-gross-income rent clause in a public port district's commercial lease is neither a voter-approval tax under Proposition 26 nor an unconstitutional regulation of alcohol sales.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Family Law, Litigation

Marriage of Martinez & Camou — Divorce Litigants Must Promptly Invoke Same-Judge Rights When Agreeing to Bifurcation

automatic / July 9, 2026

A California Court of Appeal ruling holds that parties who stipulate to bifurcation in a dissolution case must promptly raise any same-judge objection or face Family Code section 271 sanctions — waiting eight months while attending multiple trial setting conferences is not timely.

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

Decloedt v. Radnet Management — Sexual Orientation Harassment Qualifies as Sexual Harassment Under FEHA, Blocking Arbitration

automatic / July 7, 2026

The Second District holds that harassment based on sexual orientation is "sexual harassment" under FEHA, triggering the federal EFAA's bar on mandatory arbitration of the entire case.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

In re Melson — Murder Conviction Vacated After Prosecution Failed to Correct False Eyewitness Testimony and Defense Counsel Did Not Review Police Interview Transcripts

automatic / July 2, 2026

The Second District Court of Appeal grants habeas corpus and vacates a second-degree murder conviction after finding the prosecution allowed false eyewitness testimony to stand uncorrected — and defense counsel failed to cross-examine the witnesses with their own prior contradictory police statements — in a gang-related retrial.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Family Law

In re Landon M. — Appeal Dismissed as Moot; Court Clarifies That Allowing Armed Father Access Does Not Constitute Reportable ‘Severe Neglect’ Under CACI

automatic / July 2, 2026

The Second District dismisses a mother's dependency appeal as moot after the juvenile court terminated jurisdiction and granted her sole custody, holding that allowing a father with known guns access to children constitutes 'general neglect' — not the 'severe neglect' that would trigger a reportable CACI listing.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Doe 1 v. McGrath Kavinoky LLP — Undisclosed Conflict Voids Law Firm Arbitration Agreement

automatic / June 29, 2026

A California appellate court ruled that a law firm's failure to disclose the potential conflict of interest in representing hundreds of sexual-abuse victims against the same defendant voided the entire engagement agreement — including its arbitration clause — under the state's professional responsibility rules.

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

Jung v. Acosta — Union Judicial Panel Proceedings Are “Official Proceedings” Protected by California’s Anti-SLAPP Statute

automatic / June 25, 2026

Internal union disciplinary proceedings authorized by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act are "official proceedings authorized by law" under California's anti-SLAPP statute, the Second District holds, affirming dismissal of claims arising from participation in those proceedings.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Family Law, Litigation

R.M. v. A.G. — Court Errs by Ignoring Indirect Harassment in Domestic Violence Restraining Order Hearing

automatic / June 25, 2026

A trial court abused its discretion in a domestic violence restraining order case by refusing to consider whether the respondent's humiliating social media posts and calls to the petitioner's mother constituted indirect abuse that "disturbed the peace" under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act.