California Appellate Report

Happy post-Thanksgiving. I don't know how many people actually work the day after Thanksgiving.  That's the problem with being in ...

This is as good of an opinion as I've seen from Judge Wallace in a long time . It's crisp.  It's smart.  It's comprehensiv...

Twenty-five (!) single-spaced pages of facts .  Four pages of analysis.  Not exactly the way I'd write an opinion.  Particularly when si...

For a sense of our societal values, check this one out . The Columbia River has a number of threatened or endangered fish species, includi...

Agents from the California Department of Justice intentionally eavesdrop upon privileged attorney-client communications while the attorney a...

Here's why you should always include in your retainer agreement the line "The attorney's fees set forth above are not set by l...

I don't even understand why this one is close . Wife kills Husband.  Husband has a 401(k) account.  Wife would ordinarily get it since...

Perfect. Not too long.  Not too short.  Not overly descriptive.  Not overly normative.  Correct holding.  Concise, understandable and clear...

It's not that I find anything objectionable about this opinion .  It's just pretty strange/unusual to have an appeal that's in p...

The Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) requires the Court of Appeals to decide a case within 60 days after permission to appeal has been grant...

Here's a per curiam opinion in a high profile case -- indeed, one on remand from the Supreme Court -- that's ruthlessly accurate ...

You know it's an easy case when the Ninth Circuit only needs five paragraphs -- and no oral argument -- to reverse the district court. ...

Did you ever think that the California Supreme Court could decide an illegal immigration case unanimously?  Apparently it can . The questi...

While intoxicated, during a fight with his to-be-ex-wife, Tim Russell assaults his wife, rips the telephone wire out of the wall, tells his ...

Westlaw gets some free advertising in both the majority and concurring opinions here .  With both Judge Noonan and Judge Milan Smith using t...

I had no idea that in California, you have a right to sit on your butt, and can file a class action if your employer denies that right.   Bu...

Here's a SLAPP suit involving Yelp. It's a familiar refrain.  Commenter posts a negative review on a web site (here, yelp.com), th...

The first sentence of this opinion reads : "Octavio Reyes Cortez pleaded guilty to six counts of committing lewd acts upon a child (P...

A girlfriend breaks up with her boyfriend, and the jilted boyfriend sends her twenty-two mean e-mail and text messages.  No big deal? What...

You're living in Cool, California .  Which is cool on every possible level.  You're a local attorney.  Life's good, but making e...