Primary practice area
Los Angeles Appellate Division affirms an unlawful-detainer judgment against a resident manager whose tenancy was tied to her employment, holding the Tenant Protection Act’s 60-day notice and just-cause requirements do not apply where housing was provided as employment compensation under a written agreement.
First District grants writ relief in part, holding the school district is immune under Education Code section 44808 for the death damages tied to a student’s off-campus suicide during winter break, but allowing the parents’ survival claim for on-campus harm to proceed.
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 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-vendor protections.
Second District holds that California’s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act gives applicants standing to sue for $10,000 in statutory damages without proving actual harm, but Unfair Competition Law claims still require a concrete economic injury.
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.
Second District reverses denial of a domestic violence restraining order, holding the trial court applied the wrong legal standard in evaluating whether the petitioner’s ex-wife’s conduct — repeated stalking, threats, and unwanted entries — constituted abuse under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act.
Second District holds that a plaintiff who defeats an early bond motion under Corporations Code section 17709.02 is still subject to the ordinary cost-shifting rules if he ultimately loses the derivative suit on the merits.
Second District applies In re Dezi C.’s substantial-evidence review and holds that DCFS’s failure to interview the paternal grandfather did not undermine an ICWA inquiry that included both parents and seven other paternal relatives.
Second District holds that under California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, only the actual buyer has standing to sue for restitution, but a manufacturer cannot reduce its restitution by the amount of a third-party insurance payout the buyer received after the car was wrecked.