3rd District Court of Appeal

3rd District Court of Appeal, Environmental Law, Litigation

People ex rel. Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District v. Defty — Cross-Complaint Challenging Validity of Underlying Agency Policy Does Not Arise From Protected Activity for Anti-SLAPP Purposes

automatic / April 27, 2026

Third District affirms denial of anti-SLAPP motion to strike a cross-complaint challenging the validity of an air quality management district's underlying interpretive policy, holding that the cross-complaint did not arise from the district's protected enforcement activities.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Environmental Law, Real Estate Law

Department of Water Resources Cases — DWR may use precondemnation entry statutes to investigate properties without first authorizing or funding the underlying water project

automatic / March 26, 2026

Third District holds that the California Department of Water Resources may use the precondemnation entry statutes to investigate properties for a potential water conveyance project without first satisfying Water Code requirements for project authorization and funding.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Pechkis v. Trustees of California State University — Anti-SLAPP fails where retaliation claims do not arise exclusively from protected investigatory activity

automatic / March 24, 2026

Third District affirms denial of an anti-SLAPP motion in a CSU professor retaliation case, holding that claims based 'in part' on communications with another university do not arise from protected activity when other unprotected employment decisions also support the claim.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Real Estate Law

County of Sacramento v. NKS Real Estate Holdings — Building accessory dwelling unit without a permit is a per se public nuisance enforceable by the county

automatic / March 20, 2026

Third District affirms that building and occupying an accessory dwelling unit in Sacramento County without a building permit is a public nuisance per se enforceable through injunctive relief, regardless of whether construction is complete.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Healthcare Law, Litigation

Wright v. WellQuest Elk Grove — California arbitration procedural rules apply by default; trial court properly refused to compel arbitration over wrongful death and elder neglect claims

automatic / March 18, 2026

Third District holds that a memory care facility's selection of the FAA does not displace California's section 1281.2(c) procedural provisions, allowing the trial court to deny arbitration of survivor and wrongful death claims based on the risk of conflicting rulings.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Jacobs v. Papez — Successor attorney can resolve all attorney lien priorities in a single declaratory relief action against client and prior counsel

automatic / March 13, 2026

Third District holds that an attorney with a competing lien can bring a single declaratory relief action against both the client and the prior attorney to resolve the validity, amount, and priority of all attorney liens on settlement proceeds.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Environmental Law, Litigation

Physicians for Social Responsibility v. Department of Toxic Substances Control — Losing CEQA plaintiffs not entitled to private attorney general fees on a catalyst theory

automatic / March 4, 2026

Third District holds plaintiffs who lost their CEQA challenge cannot recover catalyst-theory attorney fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5 when the agency's later action came years after final defeat in court.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Nichols v. Alghannam — Late-Added Pain-Pump Doctor Could Not Be Sued After Statute of Limitations; No Elder-Abuse Conduct Pleaded

automatic / February 18, 2026

Third District affirms dismissal of malpractice and elder-abuse claims against a pain-management doctor added years after the patient's overdose death, holding the negligence claims were time-barred and the complaint did not allege elder-abuse-level conduct.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law

Brown v. DMV — Driver Has No Due-Process Right to Identity of Anonymous Reporter Who Triggers Driver Reexamination

automatic / January 30, 2026

Third District affirms denial of writ relief, holding that the DMV is not required to disclose the identity of an anonymous third-party reporter whose request triggered a driver reexamination that ultimately led to license suspension.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Tavares v. Zipcar — Remote Rental-Car Company Owes No Duty to Inquire Whether App-Based Renter Is Impaired at Time of Rental

automatic / January 30, 2026

Third District affirms summary judgment for Zipcar in a serious personal-injury case, holding that a remote, app-based rental car company has no duty to inquire whether a member appears impaired at the time of rental.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Litigation

Department of Water Resources v. Metropolitan Water District — DWR’s Bond Authority for Delta Conveyance Project Fails Validation Because the ‘Delta Program’ Is Too Vaguely Defined

automatic / January 28, 2026

Third District affirms denial of validation for Department of Water Resources bond resolutions tied to the long-running Delta Conveyance Project, holding the 'Delta Program' is so loosely defined that it cannot qualify as a permitted modification of the Feather River Project unit of the State Water Project.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Viani v. Fair Oaks Estates, Inc. — Third Appeal Dismissed; Costs Judgment After Voluntary Dismissal Is Not an Appealable Final Judgment

automatic / January 28, 2026

Third District dismisses plaintiffs' third appeal in an assisted-living negligence case, holding a postjudgment costs order entered after a voluntary dismissal without prejudice does not provide a back-door route to appellate review of an underlying summary-adjudication ruling.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Randolph v. Trustees of California State University — Failure to Object to a Trial Date Past the Five-Year Deadline Is Not an Oral Stipulation to Extend

automatic / January 16, 2026

Third District affirms mandatory dismissal under Code of Civil Procedure section 583.310, holding that a defendant's failure to object when a trial date is set beyond the five-year (plus emergency-rule six-month) deadline does not amount to an oral stipulation to extend the deadline.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Environmental Law, Litigation

City of Vallejo v. City of American Canyon — Industrial Project EIR’s Water-Supply Analysis Survives CEQA Challenge

automatic / January 14, 2026

Third District affirms denial of Vallejo's CEQA writ challenge to American Canyon's certification of an EIR for a 2.6-million-square-foot warehouse complex, holding the EIR's water-supply analysis adequately addressed reasonably foreseeable demand under CEQA and the Water Code.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Sierra Pacific Industries Wage and Hour Cases — Defendant Waived Right to Compel Arbitration by Litigating for Years and Hiding Agreements

automatic / January 6, 2026

Third District affirms denial of Sierra Pacific's motion to compel arbitration in coordinated wage-and-hour class actions, finding the company waived arbitration rights by litigating for years and refusing to produce signed arbitration agreements until after class certification.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Litigation, Real Estate Law

Ruffier v. Volcano Hills Road Maintenance Association — HOA Board Could Not Quintuple Annual Assessment Without Required Member Vote

automatic / January 6, 2026

Third District holds a small road-maintenance HOA's board exceeded its authority when it raised parcel assessments fivefold without obtaining the majority-of-a-quorum member vote required by the Davis-Stirling Act and the association's governing documents.