An arbitrator terminated proceedings for lack of payment of fees. A party asked the superior court to confirm the “award.” The trial court denied the motion and set the matter for trial. The appellate court affirmed. Cinel v. Christopher (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 1; February 16, 2012) 203 Cal.App.4th 759, [136 Cal.Rptr.3d 763].
Volunteer Coach Unvolunteered.
Volunteer coached fourth grade basketball team in an after school program. When a problem arose with one boy, the coach tried to work things out with his parents to no avail. The parents rallied others to remove the coach, and the coach was told not to return the next year. The coach, a lawyer who […]
Emotional Distress Damages For Pet Owner Upheld.
Neighbors had a long-standing dispute. At one point, the neighbor who owned a 12-15 pound dog named Romeo heard Romeo bark, then squeal, opened the gate to his yard and saw defendant holding a baseball bat. He called out, “Why did you hit my dog?” Defendant responded: “You need to be more courteous and get […]
No Domestic Partnership Prior To Death, No Survivor Benefits.
On a Saturday morning, two people completed a notarized declaration of domestic partnership. That afternoon, one of them died. The following Monday, the survivor filed the declaration with the Office of Secretary of State. Thereafter, the survivor applied for the decedent’s state pension survivor benefits. The administrative board of the state pension system ruled the […]
Insurance Company Can Require Insured To Obtain Its Consent Before Assigning Interest In Policy.
One Fluor Corp. assigned its rights under liability policies to another Fluor Corp. when they underwent complex corporate restructuring. In a declaratory relief action, the liability insurer objected that its approval was not given pursuant to a consent to assignment provision in the policy. Fluor contended the provision was void under an 1872 statute which […]
Alleged Expanded Fraud Exception To The Continuous Ownership Rule Rejected.
Plaintiff brought a shareholder derivative action on behalf of a financial institution, a Delaware corporation, after it was acquired by a bank and merged into another corporation. The trial court affirmed defendant’s demurrer without leave to amend. Delaware’s continuous ownership rule requires a plaintiff in a shareholder derivative action to retain stock ownership for the […]
Cut Down A Tree And It Won’t Be Free.
An old Aleppo pine tree, originally on one side of a property line, straddled the line as it grew to be 70 feet high. Workers were hired to cut down the tree top on one of the properties because the owners were concerned it might topple and cause damage. Instead of cutting down just one […]
Rescue Dog Must Be Returned.
Plaintiff is a shelter that rescues animals. Spaying and neutering shelter animals is part of the organization’s mission to reduce the pet overpopulation problem, and is also required by Food and Agriculture Code §30503(a)(1). A dog named Lilly was placed with defendant, but at the time, Lilly was still too sick to be spayed. Defendant […]
Court’s Appointment Of Expert Under Evid.Code §§730 & 952 Reversed.
Pursuant to Evidence Code §§730 and 952, the trial judge appointed two experts who work for the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning to assist real parties to prepare a map designating where in the county persons required to register as sex offenders may live and comply with Penal Code §3003.5(b) which prohibits them […]
Wal-Mart Supercenter Coming Soon.
A citizens group convinced the trial judge to invalidate a city’s approval for a retail store project. The Court of Appeal reversed, finding inter alia the failure of the notice of public hearing to include the planning commission’s recommendation of approval did not require the plan be set aside. Rialto Citizens for Responsible Growth v. […]