Primary practice area
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.
First District holds the automatic bankruptcy stay does not bar appellate proceedings the debtor itself brought, and affirms a defense verdict and attorney-fee award in a $1.5 million loan-related contract and fraud dispute.
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 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.
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.