Stifling Sargon
Bader v. Johnson & Johnson, No. A158868 (D1d4 Dec. 23, 2022).Another case about whether exposure to talc causes mesothelioma. This one principally concerns three challenges to plaintiff’s experts....
View Article20 Days to Move on a Consumer
Thai v. Richmond City Center, No. G060823 (D4f3 Dec. 12, 2022)One of the weird things about the Code of Civil Procedure is that there are two overlapping sets of statutes that deal with third party...
View ArticleYou Gotta Fight for Your Right to S-J!
Cole v. Superior Court, No. D081299 (D4d1 Dec. 30, 2022)Summary judgment takes a long time to brief. An MSJ needs to be heard at least 30 days before trial. Code Civ. Proc. § 437c(a)(3). And you need...
View ArticleEvidence of the Absense of Evidence
LAOSD Asbestos Cases, No.B313982 (D2d8 Jan. 23, 2023)Plaintiff in this case says she got mesotheloma because, 50 years ago, she used Avon talcum powder contaminated by asbestos. Avon moved for summary...
View ArticleKim Reigns
Piplack v. In-N-Out Burgers, No. G061098 (D4d3 Mar. 7, 2023)Galarsa v. Dolgen California, LLC, No. F082404A (D5 Feb. 24, 2023)So, like I was saying in my post on Viking River, in nuking the Iskanian...
View ArticleWith Friends Like These ....
Bassett Unified School District v. Superior Court, No. B323528 (D2d5 Mar. 14, 2023).Judge A is presiding over a employment retaliation case. The Plaintiff's lawyers are from a firm in which Judge B was...
View ArticleProceduralism
Pacific Palisades Residents’ Association v. City of L.A., No. B306658M (D2d8, as modified Mar. 27, 2023)This lengthy opinion by Justice Wiley is not about procedure so much as it is about...
View ArticlePutting in the Work
Onglyza Products Cases, No. A165387 (D1d4 Apr. 19, 2023)Plaintiffs claim they were injured by a diabetes drug. In connection with the drug’s NDA, the FDA made the manufacturer do an outcomes study on...
View Article20 Years After Zubulake III
Victor Valley Union Sch. Dist. v. Superior Court, No. E078673 (D4d2 Mar. 24, 2023)The underlying case is a lawsuit alleging that a School District was negligent in failing to prevent an on-campus...
View ArticleAixtron Is Not So Easily Evaded
McConnell v. Advantest Am., Inc., No. D080532 (D4d1 Jun. 15, 2023).Back in 2020, the Court of Appeal decided in the Aixtron case that, although arbitrators have the authority to subpoena witnesses to...
View ArticleThe High Price of Doing Business in Pennsylvania
Mallory v. Norfolk S. Railway, No. 21-1168 (U.S. Jun. 27, 2023)Like most states, Pennsylvania has statutes that require foreign corporations doing business in the state to register and designate an...
View ArticleTwo-Layer Test for Choice of Law and Forum
Schmidt v. Trinut Farm Mgmt., Inc., No F083763 (D5 Jun. 27, 2023)The published part of this opinion explains that when you have a contract that chooses both foreign law and a foreign forum, do decide...
View ArticlePay the ARB or Go to Back to Court
Cvejic v. Skyview Capital, No. B318880 (D2d8 Jun. 28, 2023)Code of Civil Procedure § 1281.98 says that in an employment or consumer case, a party that drafted an arbitration agreement is in material...
View ArticlePerjurious Priest Sinks Malicious UD
Divine Food and Catering, LLC v. Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, No. B321087 (D2d1 Jun. 28, 2023).A Church tried to evict a tenant of its banquet hall. It failed, largely...
View ArticleService Done Self Is Not Service Done Right
Braugh v. Dow, No. B311859 (D2d8 Jul. 3, 2023)In this case, the plaintiff, who is an attorney, got a default judgment. Service was based on her handing the complaint packet to the defendant. Although...
View ArticleThe Limits of the Collateral Order Doctrine in California Appellate Practice
Longobardo v. Avco Corp., No G062374 (D4d3 Jul. 11, 2023).An uncodified federal law called GARA puts an 18-year statute of repose on personal injury claims involving a general aviation aircraft from...
View ArticleStickin' It to the Man
Adolph v. Uber Techs., No. S274671 (Cal. Jul. 7, 2023)Itold you so.
View ArticleSome Anti-SLAPP Formalism
Park v. Nazari, No. B320483 (D2d5 Jul. 25, 2023)This is an anti-SLAPP case that arises in the context of a somewhat confusing collections action. So far as I can gather, Defendants owe Plaintiffs about...
View ArticleA Special Application of Evidence Code § 352
Doe v. Superior Court, No. S272166 (Cal. Jul. 27, 2023)Evidence Code § 1106(a) generally prohibits the admission of evidence of the plaintiff’s sexual conduct to prove consent or absence of injury to...
View ArticleCourt Declines to Make the Dumbest Rule in the Discovery Act Even Dumber
Pollock v. Superior Court, No. B321229 (D2d1 Jul. 31, 2023)Back in 2019, the Legislature amended Code of Civil Procedure § 2031.280 to include a requirement that a party producing documents must...
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