Few issues have sparked so much debate in so many local governments then how to regulate the medical marijuana industry. Proponents have filed numerous challenges to various attempts by cities and counties, but now the legal, if not the political issue, has been resolved. In the lead case – City of Riverside v. Inland Empire … Continue Reading
In addition to the more typical criminal issues, the oral arguments scheduled for April 3 and 4 in L.A. will also address when to compel arbitration, foreclosure sales and hospital peer review. On the April 3, the court has two arbitration cases scheduled. The Supreme Court will take a second look at Sonic-Calabasas A, Inc., … Continue Reading
In Riverisland Cold Storage, Inc., v. Fresno-Madera Prod. Credit Ass., S190581, the unanimous California Supreme Court recently overturned the widely criticized Pendergrass rule, thus restoring the full breadth of the fraud exception to the parol evidence rule. In 1935, the Court limited the fraud exception to the parole evidence rule – holding that evidence of a promise that … Continue Reading
Implicitly marking the 20th anniversary of its seminal decision in Knight v. Jewett, which established the doctrine of primary assumption of the risk, the California Supreme Court confirmed both the continuing vitality and breadth of that decision in Nalwa v. Cedar Fair (2012), S195031. In Knight, a plurality of the Supreme Court held that a … Continue Reading
Special Counsel Hall R. Marston recently published an article in the California Daily Journal on Sargon Enterprises v. USC (pdf), a new California Supreme Court opinion setting out Daubert-like standards for admissibility of expert testimony. Anticipating interest in the article, the paper’s editorial staff arranged a video interview (subscribers only) for Hall to address the … Continue Reading
On December 4, 2012, the California Supreme Court is scheduled to hold oral arguments in Los Angeles on six matters, five of which are civil matters addressing a variety of business and commercial issues. Presumably these matters will all be submitted at the close of argument, so (barring any order to vacate the submission) the … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court has unanimously voted to accept review in the matter of Valdez v. W.C.A.B. (Warehouse Demo Services) in order to address the following issue: Does Labor Code § 4616.6 exclude from evidence reports of a treating physician obtained by an applicant outside of his or her employer’s Medical Provider Network ? Two … Continue Reading
Late last month, the California Supreme Court raised the stakes for defense counsel negotiating settlements in multiple defendant cases, abolishing the common-law “release rule” in Leung v. Verdugo Hills Hospital [pdf]. Leung has gotten a good bit of attention in the news and the blogs, including stories in The Wall Street Journal, Findlaw, Plaintiff Magazine [pdf] … Continue Reading
As the summer got started, and his first year on the bench nearly completed, Justice Liu produced four unanimous opinions on wide ranging issues of California law, including arbitration, preemption work product and environmental regulations. This makes a total of six opinions by Justice Liu in civil cases. The other two, Dicon Fiberoptics, Inc. (re … Continue Reading
It is not uncommon for a deposition witness testifying regarding critical events to make somewhat inconsistent statements under direct- and cross-examination. For decades California trial courts have denied summary judgment motions on the ground that such inconsistencies create triable issues of fact that must be resolved by juries. The lower courts cite two California Supreme … Continue Reading
Last August, the California Supreme Court issued one of those once-in-a-generation opinions that cut a wide swath across many areas of tort law. A 6-1 opinion, Howell v. Hamilton Meats held that personal injury plaintiffs are limited to recovering, as medical special damages, the amount plaintiff’s private health insurer actually paid plaintiff’s medical provider in full satisfaction of … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court has issued a resounding and conclusive opinion rejecting the surging liability theory that a product manufacturer may be held liable for harmful defects in products made by third parties unless the manufacturer’s own product contributed substantially to the harm, or the manufacturer participated substantially in creating a harmful combined use of … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court heard oral argument in O’Neil v. Crane Co. The Court’s decision will likely define an important area of strict products liability law in California – specifically, it will expand or limit the duty of product manufacturers to warn about the hazards of replacement parts made by others that are subsequently incorporated by … Continue Reading
Adding its voice to a continuing national debate, the California Supreme Court has adopted the minority rule and held that tort damages for past medical expenses are limited to those amounts actually paid and accepted as full payment for the services provided, when such amounts are determined by an existing agreement with the plaintiff’s … Continue Reading
Governor Jerry Brown has acted to fill the California Supreme Court vacancy created by the retirement earlier this year of Associate Justice Carlos R. Moreno by nominating U.C. Berkley law professor Goodwin Liu to the post. Professor Liu, 40, has never been a judge, but recently garnered headlines as President Obama’s nominee for a seat … Continue Reading
Under respondeat superior, an employer is held vicariously liable for the acts of an employee when driving a vehicle within the scope of employment, irrespective of any fault by the employer. Alternatively, an employer can be directly liable for its own negligence under the theory of negligent hiring/retention or negligent entrustment. As a practical matter, … Continue Reading
Appellate Strategist’s survey of potential nominees to the California Supreme Court begins with Mariano-Florentino Cuellar. Cuellar graduated from Calexico High School in Calexico, California. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 3 years (magna cum laude, 1993), he received a Master’s degree in political science from Stanford in 1996, followed by a law degree from Yale in … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for May, including four civil cases. Brown v. Mortensen: The Court will address whether the Federal Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.) preempts causes of action for the improper disclosure of medical information under California’s Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (Civ. Code, § 56 et … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court has granted review in Ennabe v. Manosa, S189577, in which the Second District Court of Appeal upheld a summary judgment for defendant, who hosted a party at a private residence where alcoholic beverages were available and who charged uninvited party guests an entrance fee of $3 to $5. The Court of … Continue Reading
Oasis West Realty v. Goldman (S181781) – Does an attorney’s duty of loyalty owed to a former client apply when the attorney actively takes a position against the former client on the same issue for which the lawyer previously had been retained, but does so while acting on his or her own behalf, without a … Continue Reading
Insurance – In Century-National Ins. Co. v. Jesus Garcia, the court held that a fire insurance policy could not exclude coverage for innocent insureds because of the intentional acts of another insured; in this case the intentional act of the son setting fire to his parents house. The policy excluded coverage based on the intentional … Continue Reading
Before profiling potential candidates to replace Justice Moreno on the California Supreme Court, we first provide a brief profile of the remaining court – not including Justice Moreno, whose announced retirement has initiated this discussion. When choosing a new member for the high court, there is often a discussion about what is “missing” from the … Continue Reading
In Cassel v. Superior Court (Wasserman Comden Casselman & Pearson), the California Supreme Court evaluated the mediation confidentiality created by Evidence Code, § 1119, which prevents the admission of “evidence of anything said,” or any “writing” which was prepared “for the purpose of, in the course of, or pursuant to, a mediation. . . .”, … Continue Reading
After serving the California courts for twenty-four years, Associate Justice Carlos R. Moreno has announced his retirement from the court. In a recent interview, Justice Moreno said that recent changes, including the retirement of Chief Justice Ronald George and the election of Governor Jerry Brown, had prodded him to explore other possibilities. His retirement creates an … Continue Reading
