Case Summaries

Attorney's Fees

[11/13] Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Chester, Willcox & Saxbe, LLP
In an interpleader action brought by tobacco companies against a number of attorneys, including defendants, to determine the proper recipients of four annual $125 million payments that the companies agreed to pay as part of an attorneys' fee agreement related to the 1998 tobacco settlement, an order overruling defendants' objections to other parties' claims to the proceeds of the settlement of the interpleader action is reversed and remanded where: 1) contrary to the ruling below, defendants were not judicially estopped from objecting to certain acknowledgments; and 2) a remand for further proceedings was proper.

[11/04] Ma v. Chertoff
Following an action to compel adjustment of plaintiff's status to that of a lawful permanent resident on the basis that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration erroneously denied his application, denial of plaintiff's application for attorney's fees and costs is affirmed where plaintiff was not a "prevailing party" within the meaning of the Equal Access to Justice Act.

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Banking Law

[11/14] H&R Block, Inc. v. Am. Int'l Specialty Lines Ins. Co.
Class actions filed against nationwide tax preparer H&R Block asserting a variety of statutory and common law claims arising out of H&R's Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL) program are excluded from "prior acts" coverage under professional liability "claims made" insurance policies because other class actions asserting similar claims were filed prior to the policy periods.

[11/10] Sherer v. Green Tree Servicing LLC
In a suit involving Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act claims, denial of a motion to compel arbitration is reversed where the arbitration clause in question bound plaintiff to arbitrate his dispute with defendant, even though defendant was not a signatory to the original agreement.

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Bankruptcy Law

[11/17] Busseto Foods, Inc. v. Laizure
In a bankruptcy case in which debtor had embezzled and subsequently repaid funds from his employer, and employer had later been required to return those funds to the bankruptcy estate, dismissal of employer's complaint alleging that it had a nondischargeable claim against debtor is reversed where a creditor that is required to return to the trustee a payment from the debtor made within the ninety-day preference period still maintains a claim against the debtor for a nondischargeable claim.

[11/13] In re: Lanning
For purposes of calculating the "projected disposable income" of an above-median Chapter 13 debtor under amendments to the bankruptcy code effected by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, the circuit court adopts the "forward-looking approach," wherein a Chapter 13 debtor's six-month, pre-petition "disposable income" (as defined by statute) is presumed to be the debtor's "projected disposable income" for purposes of establishing the monthly sum that the debtor must commit to repayment of unsecured creditors in order to advance a confirmable payment plan and overcome objections to it. Also, the amount of projected disposable income is rebuttable upon a showing of special circumstances at the time of plan confirmation.

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Civil Procedure

[11/17] Goldstein v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles
In a claim alleging that defendants wrongfully obtained plaintiff's conviction for murder based on their pattern and practice of misusing the testimony of jailhouse informants, grant of plaintiff's Penal Code section 924.2 petition seeking access to grand jury materials is reversed where California courts do not have a broad inherent power to order disclosure of grand jury materials to private litigants.

[11/17] Manco Contracting Co. v. Bezdikian
In an action by a Qatari company seeking to domesticate its Qatari judgment against defendant, reversal of judgment against defendant is affirmed where: 1) if a foreign nation's rule is that judgments are final even though an appeal is pending, a judgment may be recognized in California despite an appeal; and 2) if the foreign nation's rule is that judgments are not final while an appeal is pending, a judgment on appeal cannot be recognized in California.

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Commercial Law

[11/14] Cadles of Grassy Meadows II, LLC v. Goldner
Petition for panel rehearing granted, prior opinion withdrawn, and matter remanded for further proceedings in light of Kerlin v. Sauceda, 05-0653 (Tex. October 10, 2008).

[11/12] Hoopes v. Dolan
In a suit by plaintiff-commercial tenant against his landlord for exclusive parking rights under his lease, a judgment for defendants despite a jury verdict in favor of plaintiff is affirmed where: 1) the trial court erred in disregarding the jury's verdict when fashioning equitable relief founded on the same evidence and the same operative facts as the verdict; 2) however, the defense of equitable estoppel was a matter within the exclusive province of the trial judge and it raised legal and factual issues undecided by the jury; and 3) while the trial court should have considered the equitable defense first, the order of trial was within the court's discretion and did not divest the judge of his duty to determine applicability of equitable estoppel.

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Contracts

[11/17] Seals v. General Motors Corp.
In an intentional tort claim action against defendant-employer General Motors for injuries suffered at defendant's metal stamping plant, grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant is affirmed where the release form signed by plaintiff-employee barred plaintiff's claim as a matter of law.

[11/17] The Ohio Casualty Ins. Co. v. Holcim (US), Inc.
In a claim for contractual indemnification related to settlement of a tort claim, the court certified the following questions: 1) whether, under Alabama law, an indemnitee may enforce an indemnification provision and recover damages from an indemnitor resulting from the combined or concurrent fault or negligence of the indemnitee and indemnitor; and 2) whether, under Alabama law, a court may look behind (or beyond) the pleadings (in particular, the complaint) of an underlying tort action in determining the application of an indemnification provision between an indemnitor and indemnitee.

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Corporation & Enterprise Law

[11/17] Staeher v. The Hartford Fin. Svcs. Group, Inc.
In an action brought by investors against defendant-financial group alleging that plaintiff-investors acquired defendant's stock at prices that were artificially inflated due to defendants' omissions, misrepresentations, and fraudulent concealment, dismissal of the complaint as time-barred is vacated and case is remanded where the district court erred in ruling that an investor of ordinary intelligence was on inquiry notice of defendant's allegedly fraudulent conduct by July 2001.

[11/14] Perry v. Cohen
In a shareholder suit alleging misrepresentations about the financial situation of a corporation, dismissal of all claims for failure to copmly with an order granting special exceptions is reversed where the shareholders did not waive their challenge to the merits of the order sustaining the exceptions.

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Dispute Resolution & Arbitration

[11/10] Sherer v. Green Tree Servicing LLC
In a suit involving Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act claims, denial of a motion to compel arbitration is reversed where the arbitration clause in question bound plaintiff to arbitrate his dispute with defendant, even though defendant was not a signatory to the original agreement.

[11/06] Moglia v. Pac. Employers Ins. Co.
In a bankruptcy-related action in which debtor's trustee sought partial release of letters of credit issued by debtor to defendants-insurers, and defendants in turn sought to enforce an arbitration provision in the policies, trustee's appeal of a district court order compelling arbitration is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction where: 1) the trustee could be required to sign the arbitrator's hold-harmless agreement; 2) an appeal from the order to sign the agreement was interlocutory in nature, and appellate review was not available; and 3) the court could not review the order under the doctrine of pendent appellate jurisdiction.

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Evidence

[11/17] Goldstein v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles
In a claim alleging that defendants wrongfully obtained plaintiff's conviction for murder based on their pattern and practice of misusing the testimony of jailhouse informants, grant of plaintiff's Penal Code section 924.2 petition seeking access to grand jury materials is reversed where California courts do not have a broad inherent power to order disclosure of grand jury materials to private litigants.

[11/17] Bell v. Kelly
In a death-penalty case in which petitioner contended he was denied the effective assistance of counsel during the penalty phase, and sought de novo federal habeas review on the ground that his state habeas petition had not been "adjudicated on the merits" because the state courts had not properly considered new evidence he sought to introduce, the writ of certiorari is dismissed as improvidently granted.

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Judgment Enforcement

[11/17] Manco Contracting Co. v. Bezdikian
In an action by a Qatari company seeking to domesticate its Qatari judgment against defendant, reversal of judgment against defendant is affirmed where: 1) if a foreign nation's rule is that judgments are final even though an appeal is pending, a judgment may be recognized in California despite an appeal; and 2) if the foreign nation's rule is that judgments are not final while an appeal is pending, a judgment on appeal cannot be recognized in California.

[11/17] The Ohio Casualty Ins. Co. v. Holcim (US), Inc.
In a claim for contractual indemnification related to settlement of a tort claim, the court certified the following questions: 1) whether, under Alabama law, an indemnitee may enforce an indemnification provision and recover damages from an indemnitor resulting from the combined or concurrent fault or negligence of the indemnitee and indemnitor; and 2) whether, under Alabama law, a court may look behind (or beyond) the pleadings (in particular, the complaint) of an underlying tort action in determining the application of an indemnification provision between an indemnitor and indemnitee.

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Landlord Tenant

[11/14] Feemster v. BSA Ltd. P'ship
In an action alleging that defendant-landlord unlawfully refused to accept Section 8 vouchers as payment for rent, summary judgment for tenants in part is affirmed, and for landlord in part is reversed, where: 1) federal housing law prevented landlord from unilaterally declaring that the units in question were no longer being offered for rental housing, but instead required that landlord meet the requirements of local law for making such a determination; and 2) the uncontested fact that landlord refused payment via voucher, while insisting it would accept cash, made out a facial violation of the District of Columbia Human Rights Act.

[11/12] Hoopes v. Dolan
In a suit by plaintiff-commercial tenant against his landlord for exclusive parking rights under his lease, a judgment for defendants despite a jury verdict in favor of plaintiff is affirmed where: 1) the trial court erred in disregarding the jury's verdict when fashioning equitable relief founded on the same evidence and the same operative facts as the verdict; 2) however, the defense of equitable estoppel was a matter within the exclusive province of the trial judge and it raised legal and factual issues undecided by the jury; and 3) while the trial court should have considered the equitable defense first, the order of trial was within the court's discretion and did not divest the judge of his duty to determine applicability of equitable estoppel.

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Probate Trusts

[11/06] Aguilar v. Aguilar
Denial of petition to undo a wife's withdrawal of trust property brought by a remainder beneficiary of the trust is reversed and remanded where: 1) even though the property the wife sought to withdraw was her share of the community property, it was too late for her to withdraw it; 2) irrevocable trusts are binding, even on their trustors; and 3) as the life beneficiary, the wife could continue to enjoy the property as held by the trust.

[10/16] Schwartz v. Schwartz
Denial of petition for order directing distribution of trust property and granting respondent's petition to invoke the no-contest clause of the trust is affirmed where the trial court had jurisdiction to deny appellant's petition following his alleged withdrawal of the pleading.

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Remedies

[11/13] OCM Principal Opportunities Fund v. CIBC World Markets Corp.
In action alleging that defendant engaged in fraud, misrepresentation, and violations of federal and state securities law, denial of motion by defendant to vacate renewed judgment award in favor of plaintiffs is affirmed over claim that the trial court erred in denying defendant's motion to vacate the renewed judgment, which argued that the renewal improperly accorded plaintiffs compound postjudgment interest on a 2003 judgment.

[11/13] US v. Nat'l Semiconductor Corp.
In a suit over alleged underpayment of merchandise processing fees on customs entries, award of penalties and prejudgment interest are affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the court could award the maximum statutory penalty for violations involving ordinary negligence, not merely for gross negligence; but 2) prejudgment interest could not be awarded for damages that were primarily punitive in nature.

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Uniform Commercial Code

[06/25] BRASHER'S CASCADE AUTO AUCTION v. VALLEY AUTO SALES AND LEASING
The former version of the California Uniform Commercial Code requires a merchant buyer to adhere to reasonable commercial standards to obtain the status of a buyer in the ordinary course of business for purposes of section 9307.

[05/26] PROPULSION TECHS. v. ATWOOD CORP.
An agreement to manufacture boat parts is unenforceable under the Statute of Frauds as a transaction in goods with no ascertainable quantity term, thus the claim for fraud in the inducement cannot survive.

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