First District reverses a trial-court ruling that the Mendocino Railway (operator of the Skunk Train) was not a public utility, holding that the railroad’s federal common-carrier status and demonstrated freight and passenger service make it a public utility entitled to exercise eminent domain.
Eastern District of California reverses an SSDI denial for a veteran with bipolar disorder, PTSD, and central sleep apnea, holding that the ALJ failed to support a mental residual functional capacity finding with substantial evidence and mischaracterized the claimant’s daily activities.
A magistrate judge in the Eastern District of California recommends reversing a Social Security disability denial because the administrative law judge gave no reasons for partly discrediting the claimant’s symptom testimony and never explained what ‘conservative treatment’ meant in
Eastern District of California vacates a Supplemental Security Income denial and remands, holding that the administrative law judge misread the claimant’s testimony about caring for teenage children, two-to-three-hour-per-week volunteering, sweeping with breaks, and driving as inconsistent wit
Eastern District of California denies a pro se commercial truck driver’s request for a temporary restraining order blocking the California DMV from cancelling his commercial driver’s license over his failure to produce proof of citizenship or lawful permanent resident status.
Magistrate Judge Maria Audero reversed an SSI denial for a claimant with schizoaffective disorder and depression, holding the ALJ failed to provide specific, clear, and convincing reasons to discount his subjective symptom testimony — and warned that ALJs cannot rely on isolated periods of improveme
Fourth District reverses a preliminary injunction that had blocked San Bernardino County from awarding its exclusive EMS contract to a fire-services bidder over incumbent AMR, holding the County retained discretion to weigh proposals and was not required to advance only the highest-scoring bid.
Eastern District of California vacates a Supplemental Security Income denial and remands for further administrative proceedings, holding that the Social Security Administration’s administrative law judge failed to adequately evaluate the supportability of a treating physician’s opinions
Magistrate Judge Autumn Spaeth reversed a Social Security disability denial because the ALJ summarized medical evidence without identifying which testimony she found not credible or explaining what evidence contradicted that testimony, failing the clear-and-convincing standard required by Brown-Hunt
After remand led to an award of $247,681 in past-due Social Security benefits over eight years, the magistrate judge approved $37,920 in attorney’s fees representing 15.3% of the past-due benefits, finding the resulting $1,700-per-hour effective rate reasonable in light of counsel’s risk