CA Pub. Decisions

1. LOS ANGELES V. CHEROKEE
   Apr 9, 2008
   Vehicle Code Sec. 21, which allows a city or county to adopt an ordinance establishing a pilot program to implement procedures for declaring a motor vehicle to be a public nuisance when used in commission of certain crimes and for removing the vehicle--excluding forfeiture--and w…
2. CYTODYN V. AMERIMMUNE PHARMACEUTICALS
   Apr 9, 2008
   Uniform Trade Secrets Act does not authorize an award of attorney fees when a claim of misappropriation of a patent or a trademark is made in bad faith; the act applies only to trade secrets. Defendants were not entitled to attorney fees based on licensing contract's indemnif…
3. DOUDA v. CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION
   Apr 9, 2008
   Coastal Commission has the power to unilaterally designate environmentally sensitive habitat areas and thereby prevent development prior to the certification of a local coastal program. Coastal Commission has the power to prevent development on property several miles from the oce…
4. HAMMOND v. LOS ANGELES
   Apr 9, 2008
   Plaintiff raised triable issues as to timeliness of her claims of age and race discrimination in violation of Fair Employment and Housing Act by presenting evidence supporting a reasonable inference that defendant engaged in acts some within the one year limitations period each o…
5. McCANN v. WHEELER
   Apr 9, 2008
   Where long time California resident sued asbestos manufacturer based on exposure that occurred in another state before plaintiff moved here, and defendant had no office in the latter state, did not engage in tortuous conduct in that state, and did not rely on protection of that s…
6. CANISTER v. EMERGENCY AMBULANCE SERVICE
   Apr 9, 2008
   Emergency medical technicians are health care providers protected by the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act. Negligence of EMT in operating an ambulance qualifies as professional negligence when the EMT is rendering services that are identified with human health and for which…
7. TICCONI v. BLUE SHIELD OF CALIFORNIA
   Apr 9, 2008
   Trial court's denial of class certification in an unfair competition action against a health insurer for wrongful rescission of policies on basis of misrepresentations and post claims underwriting was erroneous as a matter of law; conclusion that defenses of fraud and unclean…
8. SHELLER v. FARMERS NEW WORLD LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
   Apr 9, 2008
   A modification decision.
9. JESSEN v. MENTOR CORPORATION
   Apr 9, 2008
   A modifiation decision.
10. CHAVEZ v. LOS ANGELES
    Apr 9, 2008
    In ruling on motion for attorney fees by plaintiff who prevailed in Fair Employment and Housing Act case, trial court erred in denying fees solely because plaintiff's recovery was below the $25,000 threshold for general civil jurisdiction.
11. TAHERI LAW GROUP v. EVANS
    Apr 9, 2008
    Lawsuit brought by an attorney alleging that another attorney improperly solicited his client was subject to the anti SLAPP statute as it arose out of the second attorney's communications concerning pending litigation. A cause of action arising from a lawyer's conduct, wh…
12. In re RACHEL L.
    Apr 9, 2008
    California Constitution does not guarantee parents the right to home school children. Where children were "enrolled" in a private school but were in fact taught at home by parent who was not a credentialed teacher, such schooling did not comply with compulsory education l…
13. CITIGROUP, INC v. SCHACHTER
    Feb 25, 2008
    Incentive compensation plan that allows employees the option of using a portion of their annual earnings to purchase shares in employer's stock at a price below the stock's publicly traded market price, but requires employee to forfeit both the stock and the money used to…
14. PEOPLE v. LAWRENCE
    Feb 25, 2008
    Where defendant waived his right to counsel and invoked his right to self representation after trial court adequately advised him of dangers and advised him he would be afforded no special treatment, and waiver form defendant completed notified him of his rights and warned him ab…
15. SUMPTER v. MATTESON
    Feb 25, 2008
    Jury's determination to award plaintiff $13,317 in economic damages in her suit against defendant who caused vehicle collision while high on methamphetamine rather than claimed medical bills of $131,282, based on conclusion that only a small portion of medical bills were caus…
16. McCLAIN v. OCTAGONPLAZA PART I
    Feb 25, 2008
    Lease provision asserting "any statement of size" in the lease or used to calculate rent "is an approximation which the Parties agree is reasonable and any payments based thereon are not subject to revision whether or not the actual size is more or less" did not i…
17. McCLAIN v. OCTAGONPLAZA PART II
    Feb 25, 2008
    Lease provision asserting "any statement of size" in the lease or used to calculate rent "is an approximation which the Parties agree is reasonable and any payments based thereon are not subject to revision whether or not the actual size is more or less" did not i…
18. HOLMGREN v. LOS ANGELES
    Feb 25, 2008
    Where county outsourced engineering work to private firms, engineers who were employed and paid by the firms, signed written acknowledgements that they were not employees of the county, and not entitled to any of the benefits available to county employees were not "common law…
19. GILMER v. ELLINGTON
    Feb 25, 2008
    Where defendant motorist stopped at intersection and gestured to left turning motorist to proceed, and left turning motorist did so and collided with plaintiff as he was riding his motorcycle through an intersection, defendant was not liable for negligence because defendant did n…
20. AVIVI v. CENTROMEDICOURGENTEMEDICALCENTER
    Feb 25, 2008
    On defendants' motion for summary judgment in medical malpractice action, trial court erred in excluding declaration of plaintiff's expert on ground that expert did not say he was familiar with the standard of care in Southern California; appropriate test for expert quali…