Jonathan Bilyk News
Appeals court strips approval of pesticide EPA, growers say is needed to fight 'devastating' citrus crop diseases
Environmentalists and judges agreed that the EPA needs to conduct more studies to determine if widely-used streptomycin is actually 'practically non-toxic' to bees and other pollinators, as EPA claims, before it can be used to save lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit crops in US from two ravaging bacterial diseases
Activists file suit vs EPA, claiming children have a 'fundamental right' to a 'stable climate'
The lawsuit asserts children in California and the U.S. face a future of nothing but despair if the EPA isn't forced by the courts to take action against emissions from oil, natural gas and coal, without regard for economic harm
Rampant PAGA, Prop 65 lawsuits land California courts high on list of worst U.S. 'Judicial Hellholes'
The report issued by the American Tort Reform Association says California ranks third on the annual list, thanks to its continued status as lawyers' 'laboratory' for innovative ways to increase businesses' lawsuit risk
SF residents OK to resume class action vs waste hauler Recology over bribes to secure inflated rates in 2017
A California appeals panel ruled that the class action lawsuit doesn't amount to an illegal attempt to challenge rates set by the SF Rate Board, nor is it an attempt to make Recology pay twice, after the company paid $94M to settle prosecutors' earlier enforcement action over the alleged bribes
Jury orders Bayer Monsanto to pay $332M in latest Roundup trial verdict
Bayer has pledged to appeal, and believes it can at least reduce what it called an 'unconstitutionally excessive verdict.'
California, 32 other states accuse Meta of 'exploiting, addicting,' kids, causing societal harms
The multistate lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court asserts the parent of Facebook and Instagram has misled parents and society at large about the alleged addictive and harmful properties of its social media products
Judge strikes down CA ban on 'assault weapons,' says state trampling 2nd Amendment, SCOTUS decisions
U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez said California cannot constitutionally use threat of possible mass shootings to justify criminalizing the ownership of certain firearms the state believes are "unusually dangerous"
CA 'Clean Fleet' rules challenged; Truckers say rules flout federal law, will 'wreak havoc' on economy
The California Truckers Association filed suit, seeking to block enforcement of the Advanced Clean Fleets rules they say conflict with federal law, violate the Constitution, and will hurt the economy
Appeals court says California 'large magazine' firearms ban OK to remain in effect
Dissenting judges said the decision defies last year's landmark Second Amendment decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as tramples court rules
Appeals panel: California prison officials can be sued for Covid outbreak at San Quentin
A federal appeals panel says California correctional officials can't use immunity doctrines to escape a lawsuit from the widow of an inmate who died at San Quentin Prison after a group of inmates were transferred there from another prison with an active Covid outbreak in May 2020
California quietly repeals Covid 'misinfo' law that targeted doctors' speech rights
The state of California has repealed AB2098, which would have forced doctors to provide patients only with state-approved information about Covid-19, or risk losing their medical license. The law had already lost in court, and the state faced "humiliation" before a federal appeals panel
Ninth Circuit: California minor gun ad ban unconstitutional 'muzzling of speech' rights
A federal appeals panel said AB2571, which outlaws ads designed to make guns 'attractive to minors,' is a 'straitjacket' of the First Amendment, and an unlawful attack by California Democrats on a group they wish to silence
Appeals court: More work to do before In-N-Out can top off settlement of mass actions over worker pants
A state appeals panel says a Sonoma County judge wrongly blocked lawyers for other plaintiffs from getting a seat at the table in court proceedings over a possible settlement to end PAGA actions over claims the fast food chain broke California labor law by not repaying workers for their required white work uniform pants.
Judge: 'Baffling' comparisons, lack of evidence doom suit vs Google over alleged YouTube discrimination
Black and Latino YouTubers claimed YouTube had discriminated vs non-white content creators by more harshly moderating their videos
Appeals court ends lawsuit over workplace Covid infections which threatened dangerous 'deluge' of future lawsuits
A federal appeals panel followed guidance provided by the California Supreme Court, which had ruled they couldn't allow a couple to sue a man's employer over his wife's Covid infection because the lawsuits that would follow would swamp the courts and endanger society
IBM, other employers must reimburse employees' Covid-related work-from-home expenses
A state appeals court has ruled a California state law requiring employers to pay their employees' work-related expenses wasn't negated by Gov. Newsom's 2020 Covid lockdown orders
'In a straitjacket:' Ninth Circuit ruling will leave cities powerless to confront homelessness, judges warn
The Ninth Circuit Appeals Court refused to reconsider its decision allowing a class action to continue vs Oregon city, seeking to bar enforcement of 'anti-camping' ordinances. Dissenters said the decision amounts to new constitutional right to camp anywhere
Employers can't be sued if their workers' spouses catch Covid: California Supreme Court
The state high court said allowing such lawsuits to move forward would open floodgates to potentially millions of lawsuits against every employer in the state, swamping courts and potentially crippling society in the process
Judge says California law requiring racial minority, LGBT representation on corporate boards is unconstitutional
The ruling could have implications for similar legislation or laws in other Democrat-dominated states, like Illinois, where lawmakers have considered following California's lead on increasing corporate board diversity by force of law
Adomni: Uber owes $50M + for allegedly breaking contract for cartop digital ad displays, then allegedly smearing Adomni
Las Vegas-based OOH marketing firm Adomni said Uber trespassed their deal for cartop OOH digital marketing displays, and allegedly disparaged Adomni with alleged false statements about their performance when Adomni pushed back