Fourth District holds that a property company’s declaratory relief claim challenging tax assessments arose from the county assessor’s protected speech and petitioning under the anti-SLAPP statute, reversing the trial court’s denial of the county’s motion to strike.
Fourth District reverses dismissal of civil fraud lawsuit alleging misrepresentation in connection with marital settlement stipulation, holding that the lawsuit was timely filed and should not have been dismissed under Family Code section 2122 after transfer to family law court.
Fourth District vacates judgment confirming arbitration award and remands for the trial court to determine whether the purported liquidating trustees who brought the action on behalf of an LLC had standing under the company’s operating agreement, holding that jurisdictional standing may be cha
Fourth District reverses conviction where the trial court forced the defendant to choose between asserting a valid entrapment defense and admission of decades-old sexual misconduct evidence from his teenage years, holding that the conditioning violated his constitutional right to present a defense.
Fourth District reverses summary judgment for community college district on nursing student’s sexual harassment claims, holding that the student has standing under FEHA, that her detailed pre-litigation letter substantially complied with the Government Claims Act, and that triable issues exist
Fourth District holds that the COVID-19 pandemic and related government restrictions did not cause “damage” to the Brea Mall within the meaning of Revenue and Taxation Code section 170(a)(1), and that calamity reassessment requires actual physical damage to property.
Fourth District reverses convictions in sexual assault case where the trial court failed to recognize that a peremptory challenge based on a juror’s nursing occupation was presumptively invalid under Code of Civil Procedure section 231.7, holding that defense counsel’s failure to specifi
Fourth District affirms a Gun Violence Restraining Order against a father whose adult son with a documented mental-health history threatened a mass shooting at a local high school, holding the order survives Second Amendment, vagueness, and overbreadth challenges.
Fourth District holds that a court-appointed receiver is protected by quasi-judicial immunity for discretionary acts and decisions, affirming the grant of an anti-SLAPP motion to strike claims against the receiver brought by a criminal defendant and his family.
Fourth District affirms summary judgment for Chapman University in a COVID-19 tuition-refund case, holding that the university’s general descriptions of campus facilities and ‘face-to-face’ contact were not specific enough to form an enforceable implied promise of in-person educati
Fourth District grants writ relief, holding that an Orange County trial court applied the wrong legal standard and relied on findings unsupported by substantial evidence when denying mental-health pretrial diversion to a defendant diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
Fourth District imposes $25,000 in sanctions on attorney T. Matthew Phillips for filing a frivolous writ petition that accused the trial judge of retaliation, discrimination, and acting in concert with opposing counsel — none of which was supported by evidence in the record.
Fourth District affirms denial of writ relief in a Housing-Element Law challenge, holding that subsequent draft revisions made to obtain HCD certification need not be re-noticed for public hearing or readopted by the City Council.
Fourth District holds the public-disclosure bar in California’s Insurance Frauds Prevention Act stops a qui tam plaintiff only when the suit is based on publicly disclosed allegations or transactions of fraud — not when it merely uses publicly available information.