Properly pleading inequitable conduct claims is a challenge, a challenge that can be met with early due diligence and attention to detail in your pleading. The leading case that set forth the legal framework for inequitable...more
What happens when a policyholder seeks to bring an action against its insurer for violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq., (“UCL”)), which has a four-year statute of limitations,...more
On January 18th, the California Supreme Court in Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc. ruled that defendants sued under the Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) may no longer strike unmanageable claims. PAGA claims are...more
A pro se Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) plaintiff was engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, a California appellate court held in an unpublished decision, affirming dismissal of the action. Christopher Stone,...more
The teacher had a religious objection. The Virginia Supreme Court yesterday found in favor of a West Point public school teacher whose employment was terminated because he would not address a transgender student by the...more
On August 15, 2023, a panel of judges for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit revived a class action lawsuit against Nestle regarding its “Premier White Morsels” Toll House product. In the opinion,...more
California’s common law “business judgment rule,” as described by the courts, protects from court intervention “those management decisions which are made by directors in good faith in what the directors believe is the...more
A significant decision from a California state appeals court has shifted the legal landscape for technical Fair Credit Reporting Act claims brought in California state court in favor of defendants. Originally published in...more
We are spotlighting a published California Court of Appeal decision on rehearing for its analysis on contract and fraud claims arising out of a real estate transaction. The California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate...more
Magadia v. Wal-Mart Associates, Inc., No. 19-16184, 2021 WL 2176584 (9th Cir., May 28, 2021) - Summary: An employee lacks Article III standing to bring a PAGA claim in federal court for Labor Code violations that the...more
Plaintiffs do not have to allege prejudice caused by a violation of the Brown Act’s statutory vote reporting requirement to survive a demurrer, and it is improper to render a case moot by taking judicial notice of only one...more
Huyen Nguyen v. Karen Ellen Ford, No. H046809, 2020 Cal. App. LEXIS 411, at *1 (Ct. App. Apr. 24, 2020). Brief Summary - The court held that plaintiff's claims for legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty against her...more
Galeotti v. International Union of Operating Eng’rs Local No. 3, 2020 WL 2188995 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) John Galeotti, a former business agent for the union, alleged he was wrongfully terminated for refusing to contribute money...more
Nuño v. California State Univ., 47 Cal. App. 5th 799 (2020) - Anthony Nuño, an assistant college professor, represented himself in this lawsuit against California State University, Bakersfield, in which he alleged...more
The opinion of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in Young-Allen v. Bank of America provides both hope for lenders frustrated by borrowers who delay inevitable foreclosure sales by requiring the lender to comply with every...more
Last month a court of appeal affirmed the trial court’s sustaining of a demurrer in the case of Dumas v. Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors over Dumas’ objections that the county failed to comply with Code of Civil...more
Last November, a shareholder of OSI Systems, Inc. filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California challenging California's law imposing female director quotas on publicly traded...more
Last August, I reported on the filing of a taxpayer challenge to California's Board Gender Quota Law. Crest v. Padilla, Cal. Super. Ct. Case No. 19STCV27561. California's Secretary of State, Alex Padilla, was named as the...more
Carroll v. City & Cnty. of S.F., 41 Cal. App. 5th 805, 254 Cal. Rptr. 3d 519 (2019) - Summary: Each alleged reduction of monthly disability retirement benefit payments for discriminatory reasons was continuing violation...more
ZB, N.A. v. Super Ct. of San Diego Cty., 8 Cal. 5th 175, 252 Cal. Rptr. 3d 228 (2019) - Summary: Employee may not recover unpaid wages under Labor Code section 558 through PAGA. Facts: Plaintiff Lawson worked for...more
A trustee in charge of administering a trust has many duties. A trustee appointed pursuant to a deed of trust, however, is different. The duties of a deed of trust trustee are exceptionally narrow. A recent opinion...more
This month’s key California employment law cases involve reporting time pay and potential liability of payroll companies for wage and hour violations. ...more
Plaintiff, a Virginia prison inmate, filed a complaint under 42 U.S. C. section 1983 claiming that prison officials had violated his procedural due process rights during a prison disciplinary proceeding that resulted in a...more
In California, a holdover tenant (a tenant who remains in possession after the expiration of the written lease) has fewer rights than a tenant operating under a lease....more
Jarvis Properties is a limited partnership with two general partners. As fate would have it, the two general partners are brothers and each brother holds a 50% interest in the partnership. When one brother, James, sued for...more