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Litigation

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

People v. The North River Insurance Co. — Defendant’s Counsel Appearance Under Section 977 Triggers Bail Bond Exoneration; Court Retains Jurisdiction to Award Extradition Costs

Fourth District holds that a defendant’s appearance through counsel under Penal Code section 977 satisfies the appearance requirement for bail bond exoneration and that the trial court retained jurisdiction to award extradition costs after conditional exoneration.

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

AVL Test Systems v. Hensel Phelps Construction — Whether Equipment Becomes “Fixed Part of the Structure” for Contractor Licensing Exemption Is a Question of Fact

Fourth District reverses summary judgment for general contractor in $73 million emissions testing equipment dispute, holding that whether the equipment becomes a fixed part of the structure for purposes of the contractor licensing finished products exemption is a question of fact when supported by c

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

Amezcua v. Superior Court — Trial Court Cannot Condition Leave to Amend Under Section 473 on Payment of Attorney’s Fees

Fourth District grants writ of mandate striking a $25,000 attorney’s fee condition the trial court had imposed sua sponte on the plaintiff’s leave to amend her complaint, holding that Code of Civil Procedure section 473 does not authorize fee awards as conditions of amendment.

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

Bobo v. Appellate Division of Superior Court — Trial Court Cannot Deny Misdemeanor Vehicular Manslaughter Diversion Based Solely on the Inherent Elements of the Charged Offense

Fourth District grants writ of mandate ordering reconsideration of misdemeanor diversion request in vehicular manslaughter case, holding that the trial court abused its discretion by denying diversion based solely on the inherent elements of the charged offense (negligence causing death) without ind

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

People v. Sanchez — Court Correcting Clerical Sentencing Error Cannot Modify Misdemeanor Sentences and Need Not Conduct Full Resentencing

Fourth District holds that a court correcting a clerical error in an abstract of judgment is not required to conduct full resentencing or hear Romero motions, but exceeded its authority by modifying the underlying misdemeanor sentences during the correction process.

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

People v. Bradley — Stayed Sentences for Unused One Strike Circumstances and Habitual Sexual Offender Law Are Unauthorized

Fourth District affirms forcible rape and related convictions but holds that stayed sentences based on unused One Strike circumstances and the Habitual Sexual Offender law are unauthorized when the defendant is already sentenced under the One Strike law and Three Strikes law for the same offense.

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

Gonzalez v. Community Mortuary — Impracticability of Performance Is an Equitable Defense Tried to the Court, Not the Jury

Fourth District holds that impracticability of performance is an equitable defense that must be tried to the court rather than the jury and reverses a defense verdict in a breach of contract case arising from a Texas mortuary’s body mix-up that resulted in the wrong body being buried in San Di

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

Fisher v. Fisher — Wrongful-Death Verdict Affirmed Where Brothers’ False Police Report Caused Recovering-Alcoholic Brother’s Fatal Relapse

Fourth District affirms a $9.4 million wrongful-death judgment against two brothers who falsely reported their deceased mother missing to police, triggering a phone call to a recovering-alcoholic brother whose resulting relapse caused his death.

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

Ashirwad, LLC v. Bradbury — Tenant’s Post-Lease Payment During COVID Did Not Necessarily Create a Month-to-Month Tenancy Under Civil Code Section 1945

Fourth District affirms a bench-trial finding that commercial tenants rebutted Civil Code section 1945’s presumption of month-to-month tenancy after their lease expired during COVID-19, where the tenants paid one month as a goodwill gesture and never agreed to continue.

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

Haun v. Pagano — Successful Petitioner in Financial-Elder-Abuse Case Could Recover Fees Even Though He Defended Competing Cross-Claim

Fourth District holds that a successful petitioner in a financial-elder-abuse trust dispute may recover attorney fees under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.5(a), even though he also defended against the wrongdoers’ competing cross-claim for elder abuse.

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

Hatlevig v. General Motors LLC — Motion for Attorney Fees Untimely When Filed and Served More Than 180 Days After Court-Ordered Dismissal Took Effect

Fourth District affirms denial of a Song-Beverly plaintiff’s attorney-fee motion as untimely, holding the motion had to be served within 180 days of the court-ordered dismissal date even though the parties had not formally filed a dismissal.

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

Parsonage v. Wal-Mart Associates — ICRAA $10,000 Statutory Damages Available Without Proof of Concrete Injury in Employment Background-Check Cases

Fourth District reverses summary judgment for Wal-Mart, holding California’s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act allows employees to recover the $10,000 statutory damages award for ICRAA disclosure violations without proving any concrete injury such as an adverse employment decision.

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

Higginson v. Kia Motors America — Trial Court Should Have Imposed Terminating Sanctions for Kia’s False Discovery Responses About Engine-Defect Records

Fourth District reverses a defense judgment in a Song-Beverly action against Kia, holding the trial court abused its discretion by accepting Kia’s false verified discovery responses about engine-defect records and failing to impose terminating sanctions when the falsity was revealed.

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

Mustaqeem v. City of San Diego — State Sidewalk-Vendor Law Preempts Some San Diego Vending Ordinances; Preliminary Injunction Reversed

Fourth District reverses denial of a preliminary injunction by a licensed sidewalk vendor against the City of San Diego, holding that at least two of the City’s vending ordinances — covering impoundment of merchandise and operating-hour restrictions — directly conflict with state sidewalk-vend

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

Barbanell v. Lodge — Petitioner Who Wins a Court Order Appointing a New Arbitrator Is a ‘Prevailing Party’ Entitled to Fees

Fourth District holds that a party who wins a discrete court petition to appoint a new arbitrator is the prevailing party in that proceeding and is entitled to attorney fees under the underlying contract, even though the parties’ substantive disputes remained pending in arbitration and a paral

4th District Court of Appeal, Division One
Uncategorized

American Medical Response of Inland Empire v. County of San Bernardino — County Had Discretion to Pick a Different EMS Bidder Even When AMR Scored Highest

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.

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