4th District Court of Appeal

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

Meiner v. Superior Court — Apple Pay account is a ‘financial account’ excluded from warrantless probation searches

automatic / March 18, 2026

Fourth District holds that an Apple Pay account is a 'financial account' excluded from warrantless probation searches and orders suppression of bank evidence obtained through a warrant relying on the unlawful search.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Riggs — Defense counsel’s brief administrative suspension during trial does not, by itself, establish ineffective assistance of counsel

automatic / March 16, 2026

Fourth District holds that defense counsel's brief administrative suspension from the State Bar for trust account reporting noncompliance during trial does not, by itself, establish a denial of the right to effective assistance of counsel.

4th District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Litigation

Clarke v. Yu — Statute of frauds applies to oral and implied joint venture agreements that cannot be performed within one year

automatic / March 16, 2026

Fourth District holds that California's one-year statute of frauds applies to oral and implied joint venture agreements and affirms summary judgment for Scripps scientists in a biotech startup dispute with a venture capitalist.

4th District Court of Appeal, Family Law

Marriage of Hoch — Spouse cannot be sanctioned for refusing to stipulate to convert legal separation into dissolution; mutual DVROs require independent finding of primary aggressor

automatic / March 12, 2026

Fourth District reverses Family Code section 271 sanctions for refusing to convert legal separation into dissolution and reverses a mutual DVRO that lacked substantial evidence of the wife as primary aggressor.

4th District Court of Appeal, Family Law, Litigation

Domestic Partnership of Campos & Munoz — $5,000 in sanctions imposed for citing AI-generated fake cases in pet custody dispute

automatic / March 5, 2026

Fourth District affirms a pet custody order but imposes $5,000 in sanctions on counsel for repeatedly citing AI-generated fake cases and reports the conduct to the State Bar of California.

4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Litigation

Harrington v. Housing Authority of Riverside County — Trial court cannot uphold Section 8 termination on grounds the agency never decided

automatic / March 4, 2026

Fourth District holds that even under independent judgment review, a trial court cannot uphold a Section 8 termination on grounds the housing authority's hearing officer never adjudicated.

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

Fisher v. Fisher — Wrongful-Death Verdict Affirmed Where Brothers’ False Police Report Caused Recovering-Alcoholic Brother’s Fatal Relapse

automatic / February 26, 2026

Fourth District affirms a $9.4 million wrongful-death judgment against two brothers who falsely reported their deceased mother missing to police, triggering a phone call to a recovering-alcoholic brother whose resulting relapse caused his death.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Family Law, Litigation

J.S. v. D.A. — Trial Court Again Erred by Issuing DVRO Without Addressing Incarcerated Respondent’s Request to Appear by Phone

automatic / February 25, 2026

Fourth District reverses a five-year DVRO for the second time, holding the trial court again denied the incarcerated respondent meaningful access to the courts by issuing the order without addressing his request to appear telephonically.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Family Law

In re Christian V. — Amended Juvenile Restitution Statute Did Not Apply Retroactively Where Minor’s Case Became Final Before the Effective Date

automatic / February 24, 2026

Fourth District affirms a juvenile court's joint-and-several restitution order, holding the January 2025 amendment to Welfare and Institutions Code section 730.6 — which replaced joint-and-several liability with several liability based on percentage of fault — does not apply retroactively to a case that became final before the amendment took effect.

4th District Court of Appeal, Litigation, Real Estate Law

Ashirwad, LLC v. Bradbury — Tenant’s Post-Lease Payment During COVID Did Not Necessarily Create a Month-to-Month Tenancy Under Civil Code Section 1945

automatic / February 23, 2026

Fourth District affirms a bench-trial finding that commercial tenants rebutted Civil Code section 1945's presumption of month-to-month tenancy after their lease expired during COVID-19, where the tenants paid one month as a goodwill gesture and never agreed to continue.

4th District Court of Appeal, Environmental Law, Litigation

Environmental Health Advocates v. Pancho Villa’s — Substantial Compliance Governs Proposition 65 Pre-Suit Notice Requirements

automatic / February 20, 2026

Fourth District holds Proposition 65's pre-suit notice regulation is directory rather than mandatory, and that substantial compliance — not strict compliance — governs the validity of the 60-day notice for private-enforcement actions.

4th District Court of Appeal, Estate Planning, Probate and Tax Law, Litigation, Probate

Haun v. Pagano — Successful Petitioner in Financial-Elder-Abuse Case Could Recover Fees Even Though He Defended Competing Cross-Claim

automatic / February 18, 2026

Fourth District holds that a successful petitioner in a financial-elder-abuse trust dispute may recover attorney fees under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.5(a), even though he also defended against the wrongdoers' competing cross-claim for elder abuse.

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

Bishop v. SDCERA — Public Employee’s Pension Forfeiture Survives Reduction of Felony Conviction to Misdemeanor

automatic / February 18, 2026

Fourth District holds a public employee 'convicted' of a job-related felony — by guilty plea — forfeits a portion of his pension benefits under Government Code section 7522.74, and that forfeiture is not undone when the felony is later reduced to a misdemeanor under Penal Code section 17(b).

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

People v. T.B. — ‘Less Onerous Alternatives’ to Court-Ordered ECT Means Medical Alternatives, Not Surrogate-Consent Procedures

automatic / February 18, 2026

Fourth District affirms a trial court order authorizing electroconvulsive therapy for an incarcerated patient with treatment-resistant schizoaffective disorder, holding that 'no less onerous alternatives' under Penal Code section 2679(b) refers to medical alternatives, not surrogate-consent procedures.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

Flareau v. Superior Court — Trial Court Abused ‘Residual’ Discretion to Deny Mental-Health Diversion Without Proper Analysis

automatic / February 18, 2026

Fourth District grants writ relief, holding that a Riverside County trial court abused its 'residual' discretion under Penal Code section 1001.36 by denying mental-health diversion without proper analysis of the statute's eligibility and suitability criteria.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Hatlevig v. General Motors LLC — Motion for Attorney Fees Untimely When Filed and Served More Than 180 Days After Court-Ordered Dismissal Took Effect

automatic / February 17, 2026

Fourth District affirms denial of a Song-Beverly plaintiff's attorney-fee motion as untimely, holding the motion had to be served within 180 days of the court-ordered dismissal date even though the parties had not formally filed a dismissal.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Gutierrez — Tree-Mortality State of Emergency Was Not Statewide; Arson Sentence Enhancement Requires Proof Fire Was in a Designated Hazard Zone

automatic / February 17, 2026

Fourth District affirms a felony arson conviction but reverses the state-of-emergency sentencing enhancement, holding the 2015 tree-mortality emergency proclamation did not extend statewide and the prosecution failed to prove the fire was in a designated hazard zone.

4th District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Anaheim Police Dept. v. Crockett — Gun Violence Restraining Order Properly Issued Against Father Whose Son Threatened a School Shooting

automatic / February 13, 2026

Fourth District affirms a Gun Violence Restraining Order against a father whose adult son with a documented mental-health history threatened a mass shooting at a local high school, holding the order survives Second Amendment, vagueness, and overbreadth challenges.

4th District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Zapata — Confession to Undercover ‘Perkins’ Operatives Inadmissible When Suspect Had Invoked Right to Counsel

automatic / February 10, 2026

Fourth District reverses a second-degree-murder conviction, holding that statements obtained from a defendant during an undercover Perkins operation were inadmissible under Miranda because the suspect had invoked his right to counsel and a known law-enforcement officer continued to 'stimulate' the operation in a manner that amounted to custodial interrogation.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Semaan v. Mosier — Court-Appointed Receivers Are Protected by Quasi-Judicial Immunity for Discretionary Acts; Anti-SLAPP Motion Granted

automatic / February 6, 2026

Fourth District holds that a court-appointed receiver is protected by quasi-judicial immunity for discretionary acts and decisions, affirming the grant of an anti-SLAPP motion to strike claims against the receiver brought by a criminal defendant and his family.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

Esparza v. Superior Court — LPS Grave-Disability Finding Is Not Equivalent to Incompetence to Testify Under Evidence Code Section 701

automatic / February 5, 2026

Fourth District grants writ relief, holding that a probate court's grave-disability finding under the LPS Act does not establish that the person is incompetent to testify under Evidence Code section 701, which requires its own determination.

4th District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Litigation

Grant v. Chapman University — University Statements About On-Campus Education Are Not Specific Enough to Form an Implied Promise of In-Person Instruction

automatic / February 5, 2026

Fourth District affirms summary judgment for Chapman University in a COVID-19 tuition-refund case, holding that the university's general descriptions of campus facilities and 'face-to-face' contact were not specific enough to form an enforceable implied promise of in-person education.

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

Parsonage v. Wal-Mart Associates — ICRAA $10,000 Statutory Damages Available Without Proof of Concrete Injury in Employment Background-Check Cases

automatic / February 4, 2026

Fourth District reverses summary judgment for Wal-Mart, holding California's Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act allows employees to recover the $10,000 statutory damages award for ICRAA disclosure violations without proving any concrete injury such as an adverse employment decision.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Gomez — Prosecutor’s ‘Dog and Slushy’ Analogy About Circumstantial Evidence Did Not Violate the Racial Justice Act

automatic / February 4, 2026

Fourth District affirms convictions but remands for resentencing in a vehicle-theft case, holding the prosecutor's and defense counsel's use of a 'dog drinking a slushy' analogy to explain circumstantial evidence did not violate the Racial Justice Act.

4th District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Litigation

Higginson v. Kia Motors America — Trial Court Should Have Imposed Terminating Sanctions for Kia’s False Discovery Responses About Engine-Defect Records

automatic / February 3, 2026

Fourth District reverses a defense judgment in a Song-Beverly action against Kia, holding the trial court abused its discretion by accepting Kia's false verified discovery responses about engine-defect records and failing to impose terminating sanctions when the falsity was revealed.