Advent, Inc. v. National Union Fire Ins. Co.

In this litigation between excess insurers of a prime contractor and a subcontractor whose employee was badly injured on the job and recovered a $10 million settlement, the prime contractor’s insurer failed to introduce evidence on summary judgment proving that the sub or the employee was at fault and thus that the loss was actually…

State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. United States ex rel. Rigsby

If a private relator fails to respect the 60-day statutory seal on release of information while the Attorney General reviews a False Claims Act complaint, the district court, in its discretion, may dismiss the complaint or impose other sanctions; dismissal is not mandatory.  Under 31 USC 3730(b)(2), a private relator is supposed to file a…

569 East County Boulevard LLC v. Backcountry Against The Dump, Inc.

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding $30,000 in attorney fees to a defendant that had sought $152,000 for bringing a successful Anti-SLAPP motion, since there was substantial evidence to support reduction of the claimed hourly rate and claimed hours.  The trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding only $30,000…

Salman v. United States

To establish liability under Rule 10b-5 plaintiff need not show that the person who breached a duty of trust by giving inside information to a trading relative or friend acquired a pecuniary or similarly valuable item in exchange for the information.  Rule 10b-5 prohibits undisclosed trading on inside information by persons bound by a duty…

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. v. Apple, Inc.

When a product sold to a consumer is a multi-component product and the defendant has infringed a design patent on only some of the product’s many components, the damages may be calculated as the profit on those components, rather than the entire multi-component product sold to consumers.  Under 35 USC 289, damages for infringement of…

Condon v. Daland Nissan, Inc.

The standard Law Printing car contract, which requires the buyer to proceed to a second arbitration before a three-arbitrator panel if the first arbitration before a single arbitrator results in an award exceeding $100,000, is enforceable. Under a standard Law Printing car contract, the buyer was required to proceed to a second arbitration before a three-arbitrator…

Elliott Homes, Inc. v. Superior Court

The Right to Repair Act, which requires compliance with rules requiring pre-litigation notice and opportunity to repair faulty construction prior to the filing of a suit, was intended to apply to any action for damages arising from deficiencies in new residential construction which was purchased after January 1, 2003.  Reading the Right to Repair Act…

Tidwell Enterprises, Inc. v. Financial Pacific Ins. Co., Inc.

CGL insurer owed its insured, a contractor, a duty of defense against claim that the insured’s mis-installation of a chimney caused a fire that destroyed the house; even though the fire occurred outside the policy period, the wood surrounding the chimney may have suffered progressive deterioration starting in the policy period and ultimately leading to…

Westside Estate Agency, Inc. v. Randall

A broker’s agreement to negotiate the purchase or sale of real property falls within the statute of frauds and must be in writing.  Civ. Code 1624(a)(4) requires a broker’s agreement to buy or sell real property to be in writing.  Here, plaintiff broker did not obtain a written agreement when he negotiated, for a friend,…

Lubin v. Wackenhut Corp.

In this meal and rest break action against a guard service company, the trial court erred in decertifying the class for lack of common questions of fact, because the fact that some employees may have been given adequate off-duty meal breaks went only to damages and thus did not undermine the predominance of common issues. …

Driscoll v. Granite Rock Co.

Special conditions in the concrete industry justified various alternative meal break arrangements for concrete truck drivers, since concrete can harden during a meal break if a truck is left unattended.  Judgment in employer’s favor in this meal break case is affirmed.  There was substantial evidence to support the trial court’s finding that the employer allowed…

Goles v. Sawhney

When an appraisal is conducted under Corporations Code 2000 to determine the value of shares in a closely held corporation, the trial court must either apply a value agreed upon by at least two of the three appraisers, or a value independently set by the trial court; the court cannot, as it did here, simply…