Marilyn Monroe’s will was probated in New York which does not recognize a posthumous right of publicity. Both the federal trial and appellate courts concluded that because her executors consistently represented during the probate proceedings that she was domiciled in New York at her death to avoid paying California estate taxes, they are judicially estopped […]
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 […]
Laches Applied In Copyright Claim Based On Retired Boxer Jake La Motta In Raging Bull.
Works were registered with the Copyright Office in 1976 and assigned to a production company and then acquired by MGM who used them to make the film Raging Bull based on the life of a retired boxer, Jake LaMotta. Plaintiff acquired the renewal rights in the works and renewed the copyrights in 1991. In 2009, […]
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 […]
Catholic Church Cases Continue.
The plaintiff was born in 1975; he was 11 or 12 years old when the alleged abuse by a local parish priest occurred. He alleged he did not discover he had adult-onset psychological injuries caused by the molestations until 2008, and he brought his action in 2010. He says the statute of limitations was tolled […]
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. […]
Abuse Of Discretion To Reduce Number Of Attorney Hours When Considering Award Of Attorney Fees.
In a social security case, the lawyer requested compensation under the Equal Access to Justice Act [EAJA; 28 U.S.C. §2412(d)]. The magistrate determined the 60.5 hours the claimant’s attorney spent working on the case were excessive. He reduced the number of hours to 41.1. The Ninth Circuit reversed and stated: “We hold that it is […]
In California, Some Covenants Not To Compete Are Okay; Some Are Not.
Defendant sold his stock in Crave Entertainment Group to Handleman Company. As part of the stock purchase agreement, defendant signed a three-year covenant not to compete. At the same time, he signed an employment contract with Crave, by then owned by Handleman. The employment agreement contained a one-year covenant not to compete which would become […]
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