Davis-Sterling Open Meeting Act Frequently Asked Questions What Is The Open Meeting Act? The Open Meeting Act is a law that requires homeowner associations to hold open meetings and allow the members to speak publicly at those meetings. HOA boards have broad powers to affect large numbers of individuals through their decisions and actions. Hence, the Open Meeting Act requires… Read More

Plaintiff’s tenth cause of action was brought under the PAGA for alleged Labor Code Violations. Defendants argued that the Plaintiff’s failed to properly plead this cause of action because case law requires the claim to be plead as a class action, with all the protections afforded to the class certification process. Defendant’s cited Arias v. Superior Court, 153 Cal. App.… Read More

The court held that class certification should have been granted on an overtime claim and on whether a vacation policy violated California law. However, the court upheld the trial court’s decision to deny certification on a meal and rest break claim. Where it was undisputed that employee truck drivers often worked more than eight hours per day and/or more than… Read More

This recent decision from the California Court of Appeal gives warning to any apartment manager that is injured on the premises of the apartment complex whether or not the injury occurred while the apartment manager was performing a job duty. This case arises from a park ranger Marck Vaught and his wife Maria’s claim arising from Marck Vaught’s slip and… Read More

Law is a strange business indeed. I had the privilege of representing a nice fellow by the name of Sean Ryan. With the noblest of motives, Sean Ryan reported to his superiors a circumstance that he believed demonstrated a violation of law. He was terminated shortly thereafter. The sales that Sean Ryan had completed were given to one of his… Read More

This is a somewhat unusual case in that the court left a landlocked parcel landlocked reversing the trial court’s grant of an easement by necessity. It appears that the critical fact was that the land transfer arose from a federal land patent. In so reversing, the court of appeals explained that the settled California rule is that a right-of-way of… Read More

In a reversal for the defendants, the Fourth District Court of Appeals reversed an order granted by the San Diego Superior Court striking a malpractice action brought against an attorney. Indicating that the petition activity was incidental to the petition action activity, and thereby not satisfying the first inquiry in the anti-SLAPP procedure, i.e., whether the conduct complained of arose… Read More

Patricia Vignola filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and the California Franchise Tax Board (“FTB”) filed a claim for $51,770.99 for tax years 1991 and 1993. Vignola objected to the claim, but the Chapter 13 petition was dismissed before resolution of the claim objection. Vignola later filed a second Chapter 13 petition, and the FTB filed a second claim in the… Read More

This case arose involved some of the same people that founded the Farrell’s restaurant. Franchisee sued franchisor for recovery of lost profits, lost franchise fees, and consequential expenses sustained by plaintiffs when defendants unilaterally terminated their agreement to permit plaintiff to develop subfranchises, the court of appeals ruled that the award of lost profits was speculative where based on projections… Read More

In this case, the lender sued the guarantors on a loan. The trial court granted summary judgment against the guarantors, in favor of the lender. The guarantors successfully argued that their defense of usury, and that the terms of the loan had been waived, had been improperly disregarded by the trial court. Court of appeals reversed the trial court’s ruling… Read More

On August 16, 2007, the California Supreme court ruled that state defendants and agency were not immune from suit after where state defendants conduct in keeping plaintiff in jail after they knew or should have known that he was the wrong man. The decision to hold the prisoner was outside the statutory immunity, making it subject to legal redress on… Read More

Chula Vista police officers successfully avoid providing personall records to alleged juvenile offender who, in support of a motion to suppress based on an unlawful detention and pat-down search and arrest. The minor sought discovery of records pertaining to complaints that his arresting officers had made false statements in their reports or committed other acts of dishonesty. The court found… Read More

The Court of Appeals denied the challenge to the trial court’s award of costs finding that plaintiff’s pursuit of action in multiple capacities—individually, as successor-in-interest to her deceased husband, and as his legal heir—did not make her “multiple plaintiffs” for purposes of determining the validity of a settlement offer under Code of Civil Procedure Sec. 998, so single offer to… Read More

This case arose involved some of the same people that founded the Farrell’s restaurant. Franchisee sued franchisor for recovery of lost profits, lost franchise fees, and consequential expenses sustained by plaintiffs when defendants unilaterally terminated their agreement to permit plaintiff to develop subfranchises, the court of appeals ruled that the award of lost profits was speculative where based on projections… Read More

This is a somewhat unusual case in that the court left a landlocked parcel landlocked reversing the trial court’s grant of an easement by necessity. It appears that the critical fact was that the land transfer arose from a federal land patent. In so reversing, the court of appeals explained that the settled California rule is that a right-of-way of… Read More

Patricia Vignola filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and the California Franchise Tax Board (“FTB”) filed a claim for $51,770.99 for tax years 1991 and 1993. Vignola objected to the claim, but the Chapter 13 petition was dismissed before resolution of the claim objection. Vignola later filed a second Chapter 13 petition, and the FTB filed a second claim in the… Read More

The court held that class certification should have been granted on an overtime claim and on whether a vacation policy violated California law. However, the court upheld the trial court’s decision to deny certification on a meal and rest break claim. Where it was undisputed that employee truck drivers often worked more than eight hours per day and/or more than… Read More

California’s unfair competition law (UCL) is codified at California Business and Professions Code section 17200 et seq. The UCL prohibits any unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business act or practice and unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising. Read More

Buying a home can be one of the most exciting, yet nerve-wracking, purchases you will ever make. For most of us, this purchase is the single largest purchase you will ever make. And the whole process around house hunting is not an easy one either. You are potentially looking at several months or more of house tours, realtors, and negotiations,… Read More