The Ninth Circuit revived willful FCRA and CCRAA claims against Wells Fargo for pulling credit reports after opening unauthorized bank accounts, but upheld dismissal of negligence claims for insufficiently pleaded actual damages.
The Third District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court and upheld an arbitrator’s award that set aside a correctional officer’s 60-day suspension, holding that the award did not contravene any explicit public policy despite conflicting with the State Personnel Board’s earlier ruling.
The First District Court of Appeal affirmed a middle-term sentence for witness dissuasion, holding that evidence of childhood trauma alone does not trigger the lower-term presumption under Penal Code section 1170(b)(6) without sufficient evidence linking that trauma to the specific offense.
The Second District affirmed summary judgment for the City of Long Beach in an e-scooter sidewalk injury case, holding that amended interrogatory responses don’t automatically create triable issues and that the Sweetwater rule for anti-SLAPP evidence does not extend to summary judgment.
The Appellate Division of LA Superior Court affirmed judgment for a surviving spouse in an unlawful detainer action, holding she was an implied at-will tenant protected by Santa Monica rent control, and that Costa-Hawkins did not preempt the city’s 425% rent increase prohibition.
The Ninth Circuit applies the Supreme Court’s Urias-Orellana decision, holding that the highly deferential substantial evidence standard governs the entirety of the BIA’s asylum conclusions, including whether undisputed facts constitute persecution.
The Ninth Circuit reversed dismissal of a California consumer fraud class action, holding that a licorice product’s “Free of Artificial Colors & Flavors” label can mislead reasonable consumers when the product allegedly contains petroleum-derived DL malic acid as a flavoring.
The Ninth Circuit affirms that Bank of America’s right to compel arbitration under its standard Deposit Agreement is not subject to an exception for judicial reference under California CCP § 638, holding that judicial reference applies only when neither party has invoked arbitration.
The Ninth Circuit holds that Younger abstention does not apply to a class action by LA County foster youth challenging systemic failures in housing, mental health, and services, because ongoing dependency proceedings are designed to protect children—not prosecute parents.
The California Supreme Court held that a CMIA breach occurs when medical data is exposed to a significant risk of unauthorized access — rejecting the prior ‘actually viewed’ standard and disapproving three Court of Appeal decisions.