California Court of Appeal unpublished opinions (not citable under CRC 8.1115).
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P. v. Ortega CA2/7
Albert Tomas Ortega, Jr., appeals from the superior court’s order denying his petition for resentencing filed under Penal Code section 1172.6.1 We appointed counsel to represent Ortega on appeal. After reviewing the record, counsel for Ortega filed a brief pursuant to People v. D…
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P. v. Nelson CA3
A jury found defendant Carl Nelson guilty of committing forcible and non-forcible lewd acts on his daughter and forcing his adult cousin to orally copulate him. Defendant contends the prosecutor violated the Racial Justice Act (Stats. 2020, ch. 317, § 3.5; RJA) and defendant’s fe…
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P. v. Pellegrine CA1/1
MEMORANDUM OPINION1 After entering into a negotiated plea agreement, James Scott Pellegrine pleaded no contest to criminal threats (Pen. Code, § 422)2 and felony assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury (§ 245, subd. (a)(4)). The superior court then dismissed the cr…
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P. v. Wolpert CA1/3
David Alexander Wolpert appeals the denial of his motion for mental health diversion. (Pen. Code, § 1001.36, undesignated statutory references are to this code.) He argues the trial court abused its discretion by finding him unsuitable for diversion based on an insufficient treat…
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P. v. Cannon CA2/8
INTRODUCTION A jury convicted defendant Curtis Paul Cannon of two counts of felony perjury, one count of felony misappropriating public funds, and one count of felony grand theft by embezzlement of public funds. On appeal, Cannon argues: (1) insufficient evidence supports the jur…
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P. v. Martin CA2/2
THE COURT: Defendant and appellant Joel Martin (defendant) appeals from the denial of his petition for vacatur of his murder conviction and resentencing under Penal Code1 section 1172.6. 1 All further unattributed code sections are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated. Defen…
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P. v. Pelton CA5
-ooOoo- INTRODUCTION On four separate occasions, Sean Michael Pelton (appellant) and his accomplices cut holes in the perimeter fence of a commercial lot, entered the property, and stole numerous catalytic converters by cutting them from large service trucks. A jury convicted app…
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P. v. Higuera CA5
-ooOoo- * Before Hill, P. J., Meehan, J. and DeSantos, J. INTRODUCTION In 1995, appellant and defendant Fernando Duarte Higuera, a lawful permanent resident of the United States with no criminal record, entered a no contest West plea1 to one count of committing a lewd or lascivio…
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Marriage of Cervantes and Rodriguez CA4/1
Josefina Rodriguez Cervantes (Josefina) and Jose Rodriguez (Jose) divorced in 2011. They reached a marital settlement agreement, which was incorporated into the judgment of dissolution and included a handwritten order concerning the marital home. More than a decade later, the tri…
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Maldonado v. Sully III AVH CA2/2
THE COURT: It is ordered that the opinion filed herein on August 6, 2026, be modified as follows: 1. On page 6, in the sentence beginning “(H.D. Arnaiz, Ltd. v. County of San Joaquin” in the paragraph starting on page 5 beginning “We need not resolve,” insert “(H.D. Arnaiz)” afte…
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Lugo v. Hartford Fire Insurance Co. CA4/1
Teresita Lugo learned in February 2016 that her escrow agent had fraudulently transferred funds from her escrow account. Accordingly, she sued the agent, the escrow company, and Hartford Fire Insurance Company (Hartford), the issuer of an escrow bond to the company. Lugo dismisse…
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In re C.R. CA4/2
I. Defendant and appellant A.R. (Mother) is the mother of five children: eight-year- old C.F., six-year-old P.L., four-year-old M.R., three-year-old L.A., and two-year-old
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In re Sebastian M.
****** In October 2025, the juvenile court declared Sebastian M. (born December 2016) to be a person described by Welfare and Institutions Code section 300.1 Deon M. (father) requested the juvenile court immediately terminate jurisdiction and grant him physical custody of the chi…
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In re Marilyn M. CA2/1
Bryan M. (Father) appeals from the juvenile court’s jurisdictional and custody orders, contending they are unsupported by substantial evidence and the court applied an improper legal standard. We affirm.
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Hanna v. Mogu Mogu CA2/8
Bishoy Hanna, an individual business owner, sued Mogu Mogu, a corporation, for willfully interfering with Hanna’s rights to parking spaces under a commercial lease with landlord NDM Enterprise LLC. Mogu Mogu moved for judgment on the pleadings as to Hanna’s then-operative second …
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Cueto v. 2 River Labs, Inc. CA3
Plaintiff Hiram Cueto appeals from the judgment entered after a bench trial on claims arising out of his investment in and employment with defendant 2 River Labs, Inc. (2RL). Cueto challenges the ruling on his wrongful termination claim, which was based on his contention that he …
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Choy v. Ribeiro Development, Inc. CA3
Sean Choy and Joseph Oloriz are former employees of Ribeiro Development, Inc. (RDI), an entity that develops and manages commercial real estate. (Choy v. Ribeiro (Nov. 3, 2020, C080715) [nonpub. opn.] (Choy v. Ribeiro).) Choy and Oloriz sued RDI for severance pay under the terms …
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Catalan v. Super. Court CA4/3
After a preliminary hearing, the trial court held Jesus Catalan to answer on vandalism, street terrorism, firearm possession charges, and gang enhancement allegations. Catalan moved to dismiss all charges and allegations except the vandalism charge pursuant to Penal Code section …
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Business Alliance Ins. Co. v. Celis CA4/1
Reversed and remanded with directions. DorenfeldLaw, David Dorenfeld and Mazyar H. Mazarei for Cross- complainant and Appellant. Freeman Mathis & Gary and David G. Molinari for Cross-defendants and Respondents. Business Alliance Insurance Company (Business Alliance) appeals the t…
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Becker v. Artisanal Brewers Collective, LLC CA2/4
While playing darts at a bar operated by defendants Artisanal Brewers Collective, LLC and The Old Chalet (collectively, “Artisanal”), defendant Bethany McDaniel hit plaintiff Andrew Becker with a dart. Becker asked Artisanal to preserve several hours of video footage from its sur…