Jonathan Bilyk News
Judge nixes $12M deal to possibly end airline worker PAGA class action vs Delta
A federal judge demanded lawyers prove why there were owed almost $4M in fees from the deal, while the state would receive just $450K in PAGA "penalties." She further questioned if the deal shows evidence of "collusion."
Waivers don't shield Oakland, other cities from lawsuits from cyclists hurt in road races: CA Sup Ct
The California Supreme Court said the city of Oakland can't use a liability waiver to defeat a lawsuit brought by a cyclist who says he was injured while riding a course for a charity bicycle race on Oakland streets
Judge: Border Patrol must stop 'warrantless' immigration stops, arrests in Central Valley
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to severely curtail its immigration enforcement operations targeted at illegal immigrant workers in California's Central Valley, saying agents must obtain warrants or have probable cause before detaining and questioning migrants. The Trump administration said the judge was trespassing on executive branch authority
Sutter Health to pay $228M to settle antitrust suit over boosted insurer rates; Lawyers to get $75M
A $228M settlement was announced in SF federal court that would end a class action dating to 2012, which accused Sutter Health of allegedly using its market leverage to jack up payments from health insurers and health insurance costs for employers and individuals. The plaintiffs had sought $411M
'Traveling cookies?' Appeals court says Shopify, other online biz can be sued under CA privacy law
A federal appeals panel has reversed their fellow judges, finding online payment processor Shopify can be hit with a class action under California privacy law for allegedly installing tracking cookies on customers' devices when they buy online
SF Sheriff's electronic monitoring program doesn't violate accused criminals' rights, separation of powers, court says
A divided federal appeals panel said a lower court judge was wrong to block the San Francisco Sheriff's office from running an electronic monitoring program that critics said amounted to unconstitutional warrantless searches of criminal defendants. A dissenting judge said the ruling will allow the sheriff to 'coerce' judges
Appeals court: Workers can't waive meal break rights, then sue employer for missed meal breaks
A state appeals court has tossed a class action lawsuit against animal hospital chain VCA, finding ex-VCA employees can't sue the company for requiring them to work through meal breaks when they had voluntarily signed agreements waiving their rights to meal breaks when their shifts were six hours or less
Judge: Carano should get access to pay info for Disney+ Star Wars series actors
Actor Gina Carano hailed a ruling from a federal judge requiring Disney to turn over contracts and other info concerning pay for lead and supporting actors in its Star Wars TV series. Carano has sued Disney for firing her from "The Mandalorian" over her political speech
Judge melts class action vs Trader Joe's over alleged metals in dark chocolate
A San Diego federal judge followed up a ruling ending a class action vs Trader Joe's under California law, accusing the company of selling dark chocolate which allegedly contained toxic metals, by now ending claims under laws from other states, including NY and Illinois
Judge: Lawyers OK to claim $12M of $35M Apple gift card scam settlement
A federal judge said he believed lawyers who led a class action lawsuit vs Apple accusing the company of allegedly refusing to refund iTunes and App Store gift cards to alleged victims of scammers should be able to claim 33% of the settlement, despite objections from Apple
Huntington Beach OK to require voter ID in city elections, judge says
An Orange County judge rejected a petition from California Attorney General Rob Bonta seeking a court order declaring Huntington Beach's city charter rights under California's constitution don't supersede state election law, which forbids voter ID. Bonta said he will appeal
Appeals court: Chico mom should get new chance to sue school district for secretly transitioning daughter
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said a Sacramento federal judge was wrong to quickly toss a lawsuit from a mother vs the Chico Unified School District over the district's attempt to "socially" gender transition her 11-year-old daughter without ever telling the mother
Gay father can use oral agreement to block parental rights claim from surrogate mom
A state appeals court has ruled an oral agreement between a gay man and his female neighbor is enough to block the woman's attempt to claim to be legally recognized as the mother of the child she birthed with the man via artificial insemination using her own eggs
Appeals court: Apple OK to fire actor from TV series for refusing Covid vax
Actor Brent Sexton had sued Apple Studios over the decision to withdraw their offer to cast him as former President Andrew Johnson in the TV series, "Manhunt," concerning the pursuit of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth. The court said Sexton's lawsuit was an illegal attempt to punish Apple for its "speech" about vaccines.
Google to pay $100M to settle AdWords class action; Lawyers could get $33M
Google will pay $100 million to settle a class action dating back to 2011, which accused the company of misleading advertisers about the location targeting of their ads and click discounts. Plaintiffs' lawyers are expected to claim up to a third of the funds
Environmentalists can block San Diego Co. from easing 'vehicle-miles-travelled' rules to boost housing
A state appeals court agreed San Diego County didn't present enough evidence to support its decisions to exempt certain 'infill' or 'small' housing developments from onerous, costly 'climate change' driven transportation studies when building new homes
Parents can't sue pricey Sonoma County private school for failing to disclose past sex abuse of students
A state appeals panel has tossed class action vs Sonoma Academy for allegedly keeping secret sexual abuse and other misconduct committed by three staffers from 2004-2020, as the court found parents and students suffered no harm from the non-disclosure
'Middle finger to SCOTUS': Appeals court says ammo magazines aren't 'arms,' so CA ban stands
The liberal majority on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said California's ban on "large capacity magazines" used in semiautomatic weapons doesn't violate the Second Amendment, because the magazines are just "boxes." Other judges said the decision "butchered" the 2A and defied the Supreme Court
Google to pay $28M to settle claims it favored white and Asians, while 'paying lip service' to DEI
Attorneys for a "Mexican, indigenous" former Google worker announced the settlement in the discrimination case, which was approved by a Santa Clara County judge March 12. Under the deal, more than 6,600 current and former Google workers will get a share of $20M, while lawyers will get $7M.
'Not Election Week:' CA law giving mail ballots a week after Election Day to arrive is illegal, lawsuit says
San Diego U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa has joined with Judicial Watch to challenge California's election law, which requires election officials to count all ballots received by mail up to a week after Election Day. He argues it violates constitutional rights of candidates and voters and violates federal law which establishes an official Election Day