Primary practice area
Second District holds that a personal-injury client who ratifies an unauthorized settlement after firing his lawyer must pay the agreed contingency fee, not just quantum meruit, because his ratification was truly voluntary.
First District reverses summary judgment for the Salvation Army in a wage suit by adult-rehabilitation ‘work therapy’ participants, holding that the trial court applied the wrong legal standard for distinguishing a volunteer from an employee under California wage law.
Third District affirms denial of Sierra Pacific’s motion to compel arbitration in coordinated wage-and-hour class actions, finding the company waived arbitration rights by litigating for years and refusing to produce signed arbitration agreements until after class certification.
Third District holds a small road-maintenance HOA’s board exceeded its authority when it raised parcel assessments fivefold without obtaining the majority-of-a-quorum member vote required by the Davis-Stirling Act and the association’s governing documents.
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.
First District holds California courts may exercise specific personal jurisdiction over Citgo Petroleum in coordinated climate-damages litigation brought by California cities and counties, based on Citgo’s longstanding gasoline supply contracts with California retailers.
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.
Fourth District reverses a multi-count conviction because the trial court accepted, without substantial supporting evidence, the prosecution’s stated reason for striking the only Latina juror under amended Code of Civil Procedure section 231.7.