In a 4-3 decision, the California Supreme Court has found specific jurisdiction over the product liability claims of nonresidents against Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS), a Delaware company headquartered in New York with substantial operations in New Jersey. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court (Anderson), S221038. It was undisputed that California plaintiffs had specific jurisdiction for … Continue Reading
In a 5-2 decision, the California Supreme Court reversed the appellate court and held that the votes of city officials in favor of a public contract were a protected activity under an anti-SLAPP motion, despite allegations that they each had an improper conflict of interest. City of Montebello v. Vasquez, S219052. Through outside counsel, … Continue Reading
In Webb v Special Electric Company, Inc., the Supreme Court unanimously adopted the sophisticated intermediary doctrine in California, and then split 5-2 on how it should be applied. Webb was injured by exposure to products containing asbestos and sued the raw asbestos supplier – raising the question of what duty the raw material supplier had … Continue Reading
Now over 25 years old, Brown v. Superior Court established a significant precedent regarding medical products liability, and products liability generally. In addition to its specific holdings, Brown has been credited with articulating the three separate theories of products liability—manufacturing defect, design defect, and failure to warn—at a time when these were often lumped into … Continue Reading
Governor Jerry Brown has nominated Stanford law professor Mariano-Florentino Cuellar to fill the most recent vacancy on the California Supreme Court created by the impending retirement of Justice Marvin Baxter. Cuellar is “a renowned scholar who has served two presidents and made significant contributions to both political science and law,” Brown said. “His vast knowledge and … Continue Reading
Courts that oversee class actions can use class sampling and other statistical methods to manage litigation involving large numbers of plaintiffs and the vast amount of data associated with them. In California, however, those methods must be reliable, and cannot strip defendants of the right to litigate affirmative defenses. The California Supreme Court recently announced its … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court at least partially retreated from a long-standing reluctance to enforce many business arbitration agreements. In an opinion by Justice Goodwin Liu, a 6-1 court affirmed in most respects the decision of the Court of Appeal in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles LLC, including on the crucial point of class action … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court has announced that it will hand down its much-anticipated decision in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC this morning. According to the Court’s Pending Issues Summary, Iskanian presents the following issues: (1) Did AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion (2011) 563 U.S. __ [131 S. Ct. 1740, 179 L.Ed.2d 742] impliedly overrule … Continue Reading
According to Section 583.310 of the California Code of Civil Procedure, “An action shall be brought to trial within five years after the action is commenced against the defendant.” On the surface, it seems like a simple rule. But as with so many things, the devil is in the details. During last week’s conference, the California Supreme … Continue Reading
Fresh on the heels of signs during the Iskanian oral argument that the California Supreme Court might at least partially fall in line behind the rule of Concepcion (subscr. req.), we received a reminder that arbitration clauses continue to receive an uncertain reception in the Courts of Appeal. In Imburgia v. DirecTV, Inc., Division One of the … Continue Reading
In the only civil review grant from last week’s conference, the California Supreme Court agreed to review the Third District’s decision in Larkin v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. Larkin involves an issue of what temporary disability payments might be available to full-time, salaried peace officers. The petitioner filed a claim for temporary disability payments after he … Continue Reading
Depublication orders usually aren’t exactly the most earthshaking thing on the California Supreme Court’s weekly conference summaries. Nevertheless, I took particular notice of one on last week’s summary: Dattani v. Lee. Dattani is worthy of note for a couple of reasons. First, the Court took the unusual step of depublishing the Court of Appeal’s opinion on its own … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court has certified a question for review posed by the Ninth Circuit – Is the internet a “place of public accommodation” as described in the California Disabled Persons Act (“DPA”), Civil Code §§ 54, et seq.? The DPA provides at § 54.1(a)(1) that “[i]ndividuals with disabilities shall be entitled to full and equal … Continue Reading
With tomorrow’s oral argument before the California Supreme Court in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, our series of previews concludes with a look at the parties’ merits briefs. To read all the briefs in Iskanian, check out the National Chamber Litigation Center’s page on the case here. The argument in plaintiff’s opening brief … Continue Reading
One would have thought in the wake of Concepcion that Gentry was doomed: Concepcion expressly killed off Discover Bank; Gentry was expressly described by the Court itself as a gloss on Discover Bank; therefore, Concepcion must overturn Gentry. In the wake of the Concepcion defeat, the plaintiffs’ bar made a strategic retreat, insisting that … Continue Reading
On Thursday, the California Supreme Court will hear arguments in the highly-anticipated Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC. Iskanian has produced several inches worth of paper from a host of interested parties in the past few months, and in these final days before the argument, we’ll be taking a look at the briefing. But first, … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court has five civil cases scheduled for its April calendar, each addressing important questions of labor and insurance law. Independent Contractors or Employees – Class Actions: In Ayala v. Antelope Valley Newspapers, Inc., S206874, the court will address the determination of whether and when common issues dominate in a class action in … Continue Reading
In its second noteworthy action during Wednesday’s conference, the California Supreme Court granted a request to publish an August 2013 opinion from the Appellate Division of the Santa Clara County Superior Court in The Bank of New York Mellon v. Preciado. Preciado carries noteworthy lessons about the perils of small errors in foreclosure cases. Certain … Continue Reading
In Wednesday’s conference, the California Supreme Court agreed to review South Coast Framing v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, an unpublished decision from Division One of the Fourth District. South Coast Framing poses an interesting question: how does the legal standard for causation in a workers’ comp matter apply when an injured worker apparently dies as a … Continue Reading
Trying to have a party on a budget, albeit an underage party with alcohol, the host required a cover charge to help cover the costs of the party. Both the trial court and the Court of Appeal agreed that this was not a sale of alcohol, making the social host immune from liability for the … Continue Reading
In the second significant order to come off the civil side of the California Supreme Court’s docket in the wake of Wednesday’s conference, the Court entered a “grant-and-transfer” order in Burdick v. Superior Court (Sanderson), granting the petition for review and shipping the case back to the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three. Ordinarily, G&T orders don’t … Continue Reading
During its Wednesday conference, the California Supreme Court agreed to answer an issue certified for its decision by the Ninth Circuit: what standard should an employer use to determine whether employees are entitled a “suitable seats” during their working hours pursuant to California law? The question arises from two consolidated cases, Kilby v. … Continue Reading
In Sonic-Calabasas A, Inc. v. Moreno (Sonic II), the California Supreme Court addressed an employee’s waiver of access to an administrative hearing, in this case a Berman hearing, in an arbitration agreement imposed as a condition of employment. The unanimous court concluded that a categorical rule prohibiting such waivers is preempted by the Federal Arbitration … Continue Reading
On October 3, 2013, the California Supreme Court handed down its opinion in Kurwa v. Kislinger, S201619, confirming that under settled California practice, as codified in Code of Civil Procedure section 904.1(a), to be appealable a judgment must dispose of all causes of action pending between the parties. The Court rejected arguments submitted by the California … Continue Reading
