News
Top Headlines
[07/02]
DEA joins Michael Jackson death probe
[07/02]
As deficit grows, Calif. prepares to issue IOUs
[07/02]
Companies pledge more openness about Web tracking
[07/02]
SC governor silent as clamor grows for resignation
[07/01]
Court rulings loom on campaign funds, civil rights
More...
Real Estate
[07/01]
Florida's Climate Is Business-Friendly, Says Florida Association of Realtors(R)
[07/01]
Freddie Mac Relief Refinance Mortgage(SM) Now Available With Up to 125 Percent Loan-To-Value Ratios
[07/01]
Kristi Hirota-Schmidt Honored as One of PBN's 'Forty Under 40'
[07/01]
Rep. Dennis Cardoza Joins FHLBank San Francisco for a Habitat for Humanity Build Day at Hope Village
[07/01]
Sawbuck Launches Online Real Estate Service in Greater Los Angeles
More...
Labor
[07/02]
Euro zone unemployment hits 10-year high in May
[07/02]
June jobless rate seen rising to 9.6 percent
[07/01]
LAPD says no officers fired for May Day melee
[06/30]
Union official says Pioneer Press begins layoffs
[06/30]
Reverse discrimination ruling leaves confusion
More...
Litigation
[06/30]
Reverse discrimination ruling leaves confusion
[06/16]
Judge upholds ND's anti-corporate farming law
[06/15]
Court to determine if bankruptcy hearing needed
[06/15]
Court steps into dispute between Shell, stations
[06/11]
South Korea court rejects claims against Microsoft
More...
Business
[07/02]
Asian stocks lackluster as traders eye US job data
[07/02]
ECB keeps interest rate at 1 pct
[07/02]
Computer problems delay United flights at O'Hare
[07/02]
World stocks down ahead of key US jobs data
[07/02]
Fireworks sellers hope it's a 'backyard' Fourth
More...
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. Users may not download or reproduce a substantial portion of the AP material found on this web site. AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.
|
|
Case Summaries
Labor & Employment Law
[07/02]
Hughes v. Pair
Court of Appeals judgment for defendant in a sexual harassment action is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff's factual allegations fail to establish the severe or pervasive conduct necessary to pursue a claim of hostile environment sexual harassment under Civil Code sec. 51.9, as the conduct was not so egregious as to alter the conditions of the underlying professional relationship and could not plausibly be construed by a reasonable trier of fact as a threat to commit a sexual assault on plaintiff; and 2) the court properly granted summary judgment on plaintiff's claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress as plaintiff failed to establish either extreme or outrageous conduct by defendant or that plaintiff suffered severe or extreme emotional distress.
[06/30]
Scott v. Phoenix Schools, Inc.
In an employment termination action, trial court judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) there was substantial evidence that defendant violated public policy in dismissing plaintiff; and 2) there was insufficient evidence of malice, fraud or oppression to support the award of punitive damages.
More...
Landlord Tenant
[06/29]
Reliastar Life Ins. Co. of New York v. Home Depot U.S.A, Inc.
In an action involving payments related to a lease and recognition agreement, district court judgment in favor of plaintiff is vacated and remanded where: 1) New York's Uniform Commercial Code does not prohibit defendant from asserting constructive eviction as a defense to plaintiff's claims arising from the lease; 2) the estoppel certificate in the recognition agreement does not bar defendant's constructive eviction defense if defendant was unaware of the faulty condition of the building pad when it executed the parties' recognition agreement and its lack of awareness was reasonable at the time; and 3) if defendant was constructively evicted, the lease was terminated and defendant was relieved of its obligation to pay rent under the "hell or high water" clause of the parties' recognition agreement.
[06/25]
Kassis v. Ohio Cas. Ins. Co.
In an action seeking indemnification from an insurer regarding a slip and fall personal injury action, judgment for Defendant is reversed where a landlord is an additional insured under an insurance policy obtained by his tenant, such that the insurer is obligated to defend and indemnify the landlord in an underlying personal injury lawsuit.
More...
Property Law & Real Estate
[07/01]
Huber v. Jackson
In a dispute over church property, trial court's grant of summary judgment for the general church and its diocese is affirmed where: 1) under the California Supreme Court's holding in the Episcopal Church Cases, the local parish church holds the property in question in trust for the Episcopal Church and the Los Angeles Diocese, and by disaffiliating from the church defendants and their new parish under another church have no right in the property; 2) the court did not err in rejecting defendant's collateral estoppel argument as the case defendant relies on is distinguishable largely due to the passage of time and there is also now Supreme Court precedent on the matter; and 3) the court did not err in determining that after defendants voted for disaffiliation, their purported amendment of the articles of incorporation and bylaws to make the corporation part of the Anglican Church were a legal nullity, or ultra vires.
[07/01]
County of Butte v. Superior Court of Butte County
Petition for writ of mandate to overrule a trial court ruling regarding rights related to possession of medical marijuana is denied where the Constitution and laws of the state provide real party in interest Williams relief at law to bring a civil action based on a violation of his constitutional rights, and seek an adjudication as to whether the deputy had probable cause to order Williams to destroy his property or whether a lack of probable cause led to a violation of his constitutional rights.
More...
Banking Law
[06/29]
Cuomo v. Clearing House Ass'n., L.L.C.
In an action claiming that certain state fair-lending laws were preempted by the National Bank Act (NBA) and accompanying regulations, an injunction in favor of Plaintiffs is affirmed in part, where the state's threatened issuance of executive subpoenas was an improper exercise of "supervisory power". However, the judgment is reversed in part where a federal regulation purporting to pre-empt state law enforcement is not a reasonable interpretation of the NBA.
[06/18]
Bank of Am., N.A. v. Mukamai
In an appeal from the Bankruptcy Court's order voiding a payment made by the Debtor to Plaintiff as a preferential transfer, the order is affirmed where the payments, which were made from the Debtor's other credit card accounts for debt consolidation purposes, constituted "transfer[s] of an interest of the debtor in property" under 11 U.S.C. section 547(b).
More...
Copyright
[06/26]
Cadkin v. Loose
In an appeal from an order granting attorney's fees to Defendant following Plaintiffs' voluntary dismissal of their copyright lawsuit, the order is reversed where, because Plaintiffs remained free to refile their copyright claims, they were not "prevailing parties" and thus were not entitled to attorney's fees.
[06/05]
William A. Graham Co. v. Haughey
In an action involving an insurance firm's accrual of claims under the Copyright Act, which has a three-year statute of limitations for civil actions, district court judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the federal discovery rule, not the injury rule, governs the accrual of civil claims brought under the Copyright Act; 2) the district court erred in granting defendant's motion for a new trial and summary judgment with respect to accrual of the statute of limitations issue, as the evidence before the first jury was sufficient to support its finding that plaintiff was not on inquiry notice of defendant's infringement before the date in question; and 3) the court properly rejected defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law on the causation issue, as plaintiff met its burden to demonstrate a causal connection between the copyright infringement and defendant's profits.
More...
Trademark
[07/02]
Marilyn Nutraceuticals, Inc. v. Mucos Pharma GBMH & Co.
In a trademark infringement action involving the enzyme-based dietary supplement Wobenzym, the District Court's preliminary injunction requiring Defendant to cease selling a dietary supplement is affirmed in part, where Defendant did not meet its burden to prove that Plaintiff ceased production of the supplement; but vacated in part, where a District Court must find a substantial risk of danger to the public or other special circumstances in order to enter an interlocutory order recalling a product in a trademark infringement case.
[07/02]
Marshak v. Treadwell
In an action related to a trademark dispute involving the singing group "The Drifters," district court judgment is affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part where: 1) the court did not err in issuing contempt findings against the plaintiffs as they reassembled plaintiff's business under different names in order to evade the injunction issued by the district court judge; 2) the court erred in holding co-plaintiff Revels in contempt, as defendant never actually moved for him to be held in contempt, and he thus never obtained notice and a separate hearing; and 3) the court properly awarded defendant attorney's fees, but abused its discretion in refusing to impose any remedy other than attorney's fees, as plaintiff continued to evade the injunction and infringe the trademark. The matter is remanded for an order of accounting of plaintiff's profits.
More...
Patent
[06/26]
Garber v. Chicago Mercantile Exchange
In a patent infringement action, district court order denying plaintiff's motion for relief under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b) is reversed where the joint stipulation between the parties was filed pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1) and therefore divested the court of jurisdiction to enter any subsequent orders.
[06/10]
Ortho-McNeil Pharm., Inc. v. Mylan Labs., Inc.
In a dispute involving an award of costs stemming from a patent infringement action, district court judgment is affirmed where there is no basis to disturb the court's award of translation costs for potential trial exhibits, translation costs for privilege log documents, and other costs. District court judgment with regard to the award of costs related to jointly taken depositions is vacated and remanded as the joint discovery costs should have been apportioned between the present action and a parallel case in state court.
More...
Trade Secrets
[06/15]
FLIR Sys., Inc. v. Parrish
In an appeal from an attorney's fee order issued as a sanction for bringing a trade secret action in bad faith, the order is affirmed where: 1) there was evidence that Plaintiffs had an anticompetitive motive; and 2) the action was brought on a theory of "inevitable disclosure" not recognized by California law.
[05/29]
CDI Energy Servs., Inc. v. West River Pumps, Inc.
In a action alleging breach of loyalty, trade-secret misappropriation, and business interference, district court judgment denying plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction and dissolving the temporary restraining order is affirmed where: 1) the court did not err in finding that plaintiff failed to prove that defendants took trade-secret information or that plaintiff took reasonable steps to protect its trade secrets, and thus there is little justification for granting a preliminary injunction regarding the trade-secret claim; and 2) the court did not err in concluding that while plaintiff had a likelihood of success on its claims for statutory breach-of-loyalty, injunctive relief was not warranted, as the balancing of factors, such as irreparable harm, balance of harms, and the public interest favored defendants.
More...
|
