FindLaw Opinion Summaries - Cal App

People v. Sanchez

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence, Sentencing) Defendant's sentence for second degree robbery and the substantive offense of gang participation is affirmed, but modified to bring the judgment into compliance as Penal Code section 654 precludes multiple punishment for both: 1) gang participation, one element of which requires that the defendant have willfully promoted, furthered, or assisted in any felonious criminal conduct by members of the gang; and 2) the underlying felony that is used to satisfy this element of gang participation.

Jameson v. Desta

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Civil Procedure, Criminal Law & Procedure, Health Law, Injury And Tort Law, Professional Malpractice) In plaintiff's medical malpractice suit against defendant-doctor who treated plaintiff while he was incarcerated at a correctional facility, dismissal of the suit is reversed as the trial court erred in dismissing the action on the ground that plaintiff failed to appear telephonically at a case management conference and a at a subsequent hearing on an order to show case, as the record clearly indicates that plaintiff notified the trial court on numerous occasions that prison personnel were not allowing him to communicate telephonically with the court, yet the record does not indicate that the trial court made any inquiry into plaintiff's contentions.

People v. Zielesch

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence) Conviction of defendant for first degree murder of a CHP officer, conspiracy to commit murder of his wife's boyfriend, and other crimes is affirmed where: 1) defendant's claim that his murder conviction must be reversed because the shooting of the officer was not in furtherance of the conspiracy to kill his wife's boyfriend and "was both unforeseen and unforeseeable" fails as the jury's finding of both the conspiracy and murder is supported by substantial evidence; and 2) defendant's claim that the entire judgment must be reversed because he was denied his right to a fair trial when the judge allowed courtroom spectators to wear buttons displaying a color photograph of the officer for six days at the start of the trial are rejected also fails, as the wearing of the buttons presented no probability of deleterious effects on defendant's right to a fair trial.

Hoffman St., LLC v. City of W. Hollywood

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Constitutional Law, Construction, Environmental Law, Government Law, Property Law & Real Estate) In plaintiffs-developers' suit against the city challenging its extension of an interim ordinance restricting development in areas zoned for multifamily residential uses raising various statutory and constitutional claims, judgment denying plaintiffs' petition for a writ of mandate and denying any relief on their complaint is reversed where: 1) trial court's denial of plaintiffs' petition for a writ of mandate as to the first count was improper as the city council failed to make findings required under Gov. Code section 65858(c) upon extending the interim ordinance and the extension therefore was contrary to law and invalid; 2) although it was improper for the trial court to deny plaintiffs' petition on their first count, plaintiffs have not shown prejudicial error in the denial of relief on their Permit Streamlining Act claim, and a CEQA violation claim is moot; and 3) trial court's entry of judgment on counts four through seven is reversed as plaintiffs were not afforded an opportunity to be heard on those counts which deprived them of their right to a fair hearing.

Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions, Inc.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Civil Procedure, Injury And Tort Law, Insurance Law, Remedies) In an action arising from injuries plaintiff sustained in a vehicle accident caused by the negligent driving of defendant's employee, grant of defendant's motion to reduce by $130,286.90 a jury's special verdict award for plaintiff's past injury-related medical related expenses to $59,691.73 is reversed and remanded where in a personal injury case in which the plaintiff has private health care insurance, the negotiated rate differential is a benefit within the meaning of the collateral source rule, and thus the plaintiff may recover the amount of the differential as part her recovery of economic damages for the past medical expenses she incurred for care and treatment of her injuries.

Bader v. Anderson

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Civil Procedure, Corp. Governance, Corporation & Enterprise Law, Securities Law) In plaintiff's shareholder derivative suit against Apple, Inc., and its directors and officers challenging a cash performance bonus plan for non-directors that was approved by Apple shareholders after the dissemination of a proxy statement that plaintiff claimed was misleading, dismissal of plaintiff's complaint is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff lacked standing to assert derivative claims on behalf of Apple because of her failure to make a presuit demand on the board and her failure to allege that the making of such a demand would have been futile; and 2) the claims plaintiff purported to assert in the complaint as direct claims on behalf of herself and all similarly situated shareholders are not maintainable because the gravamen of those claims is corporate in nature and may therefore be asserted only by the corporation.

People v. Freitas

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Criminal Law & Procedure, Sentencing) Defendant's conviction for grand theft is affirmed but the probation order prohibiting defendant from "possessing stolen property" is modified to state as probation conditions that defendant "not knowingly possess property he knows is stolen" and "not knowingly own, possess or have custody or control of any firearms or ammunition."

People v. Reynolds

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence, Health Law, Sentencing) Trial courts denial of defendant's petition for unconditional release after he had been recommitted as an SVP is affirmed where: 1) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing defendant's petition where defendant did not oppose the dismissal motion and conceded there were no changed circumstances at the hearing; and 2) trial counsel provided effective assistance of counsel in not opposing motion to dismiss where there were no circumstances to support a conclusion defendant's condition had so changed he would not be a danger to others.

Gomez v. Sup. Ct.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Administrative Law, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law & Procedure, Habeas Corpus) Rejection of plaintiffs' petition challenging a county trial court's procedures as unconstitutional is affirmed where the summary denial of a prison inmate's ex parte application for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus or a writ of mandate is a subordinate judicial duty that a commissioner may perform pursuant to section 259, subdivision (a) of the Code of Civil Procedure, without violating the Constitution, because it is not the "trial" of a "cause."

Nelson v. Exxon Mobil Corp.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Civil Procedure, Environmental Law, Injury And Tort Law, Probate, Trusts & Estates, Property Law & Real Estate, Remedies) In plaintiff-trust's suit against defendant-Exxon claiming contamination of its water supply and other allegations, judgment of the trial court is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) trial court's order substituting Cook Endeavors for the Trust as plaintiff in this action is affirmed; and 2) peremptory writ of mandate is issued directing the superior court to vacate its order granting Exxon's motion for summary adjudication on plaintiff's punitive damages claim.

People v. Ochoa

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence, Sentencing) Defendant's conviction for carjacking, attempted robbery, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and other offenses is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the true findings on the gang enhancements are reversed as they were not supported by substantial evidence; 2) the prior prison terms must be stricken and the People are barred from seeking to try them upon remand; and 3) the record is sufficiently clear to order the award of custody credits as requested by defendant.

Sanchez v. State of California

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Administrative Law, Construction, Education Law, Evidence, Government Law) In a suit brought by a Unified School District, minor school children, their parents, and the Board of Education against the state over construction costs for school facilities, trial court's denial of plaintiffs' petition for writ of mandate is affirmed where: 1) the State Allocation Board (SAB) and the trial court properly construed the applicable statute and regulation; 2) substantial evidence supports the finding that the certificates of participation (COP) proceeds were not encumbered; 3) there was no abuse of discretion in SAB's conclusion that COP proceeds are the type of funds that should be included when calculating a school district's ability to make a matching contribution; 4) the SAB did not act in excess of its authority when enacting the Regulation, and by deeming money in the district's general fund to be available; 5) substantial evidence supports a finging that the district possessed the $89 million in available COP proceeds; 6) the Regulation and the Statute are not facially unconstitutional, nor unconstitutional as applied; and 7) plaintiffs' argument, that the trial court erred by not making requested findings of fact and sustaining the State's evidentiary objections while overruling plaintiffs' evidentiary objections, is rejected.

Dowell v. Pacesetter, Inc.

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Civil Procedure, Contracts, Government Law, Labor & Employment Law) In plaintiffs' suit against the defendant to enjoin it from enforcing noncompete and nonsolicitation clauses in employment agreements used in California, trial court's ruling that the clauses were facially void under Business and Professions Code section 16600 and that their use violated California's Unfair Competition Law and that defendant's unclean hands defense and its cross-complaint for unfair competition failed as a matter of law is affirmed where: 1) the trial court properly determined that the clauses were void as a matter of law, that no defense applied and that the cross-complaint failed to state a cause of action; and 2) trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying a permanent injunction and costs

Johnson v. Honeywell Int'l Inc.

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Consumer Products, Injury And Tort Law, Manufacturing, Product Liability) In plaintiff's suit against the defendants arising from injuries he sustained as an HVAC technician while working on defendants' air conditioning equipment, trial court's judgment in favor of defendants is reversed as the sophisticated user defense applies to the negligence cause of action, but not to the strict liability cause of action.

Kelly v. CB&I Constructors, Inc.

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Attorney's Fees, Civil Procedure, Government Law, Health Law, Injury And Tort Law, Property Law & Real Estate) In plaintiff's suit against the defendant for sparking a brush fire that caused a significant damage to his ranch, judgment of the trial court is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) defendant forfeited any error in the jury's verdict form; 2) jury's award of restoration damages in excess of the property's value was supported by substantial evidence and was not excessive as a matter of law; 3) the undisputed evidence established that plaintiff did not reside on the property at the time of the trespass, and his storage of personal property there was not the type of "occupancy" that would justify his recovery of annoyance and discomfort damages; 4) tree damage caused by a negligently spread fire is wrongful injury to trees caused by a trespass subject to mandatory doubling pursuant to Civil Code section 3346, notwithstanding the general provision governing fire damage in Health and Safety Code section 13007; and 5) substantial evidence supported trial court's finding that plaintiff intended to use the property for raising livestock, entitling him to an award of attorney's fees under Code of Civ. Proc. section 1021.9.