The Texas Supreme Court dismissed a nine-year challenge by cities to legislatively reduced telecom right-of-way rates, holding the cities sued the wrong defendant by naming only ‘the State of Texas’ rather than the telecom companies or a specific state agency.
The California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, holds that a juvenile court cannot assert jurisdiction under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300(e) over a child who has turned five by the time of the jurisdiction hearing, even if the severe physical abuse occurred when the child was under five.
The California Court of Appeal, First District, affirms dismissal of a second CEQA challenge to the Bay Lights 360 LED art installation on the Bay Bridge, holding that a Caltrans encroachment permit did not create a new project or restart the statute of limitations, and that issue preclusion barred relitigation.
The Thirteenth Court of Appeals conditionally granted mandamus compelling appraisal in a homeowner’s insurance dispute, holding that Germania’s outright claim denial did not preclude appraisal and that the policyholder failed to establish waiver or prejudice from any delay in demanding the process.
The Fourth Department held that a standard commercial lease attorney’s fees clause does not authorize “fees on fees” — recovery of fees incurred to collect a prior attorney’s fee award — absent unmistakably clear contractual language, and further held that failure to object to a referee’s denial of CPLR 5001 prejudgment interest waives that argument on appeal.
The Fourth Department held that Dryden Mutual’s wrongful coverage disclaimer was an anticipatory repudiation excusing the insured from forwarding suit papers, barring the insurer from challenging the $2.8 million default judgment in a § 3420 direct action, and requiring reinstatement of bad faith claims under the Pavia “gross disregard” standard.
The Fourth Department affirmed dismissal of a snow tubing personal injury claim against the State, holding that hitting a snow pile at the base of a hill was a foreseeable consequence of recreational sledding encompassed by the primary assumption of risk doctrine, and that the open and obvious snow piles did not unreasonably enhance that risk.
The Fourth Department held that res judicata bars Happy Lake House’s quiet title claim because its predecessor discontinued a prior quiet title action with prejudice in 1971, waiving all rights in the parcel, and that privity runs through the chain of title to bind the current owner.
The Fourth Department reversed the sua sponte dismissal of Syracuse University’s tax-assessment challenge, holding that RPTL 525(2)(a) is not jurisdictional and cannot be invoked after a municipality expressly waives it, and granted the University a full RPTL 420-a educational-use exemption on summary judgment.
The Fourth Department dismissed all of the City of Olean’s counterclaims against the Village of Allegany, holding that CPLR 9802’s notice-of-claim requirements apply to counterclaims and declaratory-relief theories, and that a notice limited to breach of contract cannot sustain claims premised on contract expiration, quantum meruit, or unjust enrichment.