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
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
The Supreme Court has granted review to again address preemption, this time in the timely area of consumer protection and banking. In Parks v. MBNA American Bank, the Court of Appeal reversed a judgment on the pleadings, finding that Civil Code § 1748.9, a state consumer protection law which mandates specific notice requirements regarding the … Continue Reading
In Kleffman v. Vonage Holdings Corp., the Court addressed a legal question from the Ninth Circuit regarding the application of Business and Professions Code §17529.5(a)(2) to spam e-mails that were being sent from multiple domain names to avoid spam filters. While this statute bars spam which “contains or is accompanied by falsified, misrepresented, or forged … Continue Reading
[UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 1, 2010] Jury Instructions—Mitigation of Damages—Usury—Consumer Status. Did the trial court correctly submit the issue of causation in its jury instruction? Was lender’s oral agreement to pay delinquent property taxes supported by consideration? Did lender’s agreement to pay taxes amount to the provision of an escrow service thereby conferring consumer status on … Continue Reading