Jonathan Bilyk News
Split appeals panel revives big antitrust action vs Sutter Health, says judge wrongly excluded evidence
A dissenting judge said his colleagues rewrote decades of antitrust case law by now requiring juries to consider "anticompetitive purpose," as well as actual effect, while also giving trial lawyers new abilities to argue judges cannot restrict them from introducing previously inapplicable evidence "from the inception of time"
LA lifeguard captain says LA County Fire Dept trampled his religious rights over 'Progress Pride' flag
22-year veteran captain of L.A.'s lifeguard service, who is a 'devout Christian,' says he was mistreated by commanding officers and he and his family were threatened with harm by others after he requested an exemption from county mandate to personally raise the 'Progress Pride' flag at his lifeguard station
CA Supreme Court: LA assessor right, State Board wrong on when corporate owned properties can be reassessed
The California Supreme Court says property transfers of corporate-owned property can trigger a reassessment under Prop 13, even if the property remains essentially under the same control throughout. "Stock" refers to real ownership interests, not who controls a company, the high court says
Appeals court blocks GOP-led states from trying to stop Biden from negotiating away immigration rule
A dissenting judge said the decision is motivated by a desire to ensure the Biden administration and left-wing groups reach a deal that could undermine a rule intended to reduce illegal immigration and prevent the U.S. Supreme Court from entering the legal fight
Lawsuit: California telehealth doctor licensing rules unconstitutionally block patients from 'lifesaving' care
The Pacific Legal Foundation, a successful nonprofit constitutional law organization, has filed suit against the California Medical Board on behalf of a patient with a rare hemophilia condition and a prominent New York cancer specialist, asserting California's restrictions on out-of-state telehealth are unconstitutional
Rideshare driver stabbed by passenger can't sue Lyft for not screening passengers' criminal history
The passenger who attacked a rideshare driver had a lengthy criminal history, easily pulled in a basic background check. But a state appeals court says California law blocks Lyft and other rideshare operators from screening passengers to protect their drivers
Ex-Jurupa teacher, fired over alleged anti-faith directives, to get $360K in deal to end religious discrimination suit
Former Jurupa Valley High School teacher Jessica Tapia had sued when she was fired, allegedly after refusing to comply with school administrator's demands she stop talking about her Christian beliefs on social media and at school, and refer to transgender students by their preferred pronouns
Appeals court: Folsom residents can't bring class action vs city over leaking water pipes
A California state appeals panel says the differences in the condition of copper piping in homes and businesses in Folsom should flush an attempted class action lawsuit accusing the city of causing a nuisance by not properly treating its municipal water and allegedly causing a spate of "pinhole leaks" in Folsom properties in 2020
US News can't block SF City Atty from investigating hospital rankings amid concerns over payments from hospitals
U.S. News and World Report is appealing a federal judge's decision that SF City Attorney David Chiu did not trample the publisher's First Amendment rights by sending subpoenas demanding information Chiu may later use to sue them under California consumer protection laws in disagreement over U.S. News' editorial decisions
Appeals court: CA Supreme Court ruling makes Macy's next retailer unable to escape PAGA class action
A panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said a recent ruling from the California Supreme Court makes it impossible for Macy's to escape a class action under California's controversial Private Attorney General Act, even though the lead plaintiff's "individual claims" must go to arbitration
Class action: Allstate wrongly using workers' comp benefits to reduce, deny underinsured motorist claims
The lawsuit claims Allstate has a company policy of allegedly using the payment of workers' comp benefits to deny or reduce claims for uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage for people injured while driving on the job, allegedly violating California law
Judge OKs Google location tracking class action deal to pay $42M to mostly left-wing groups
The $62M settlement ends class action accusing Google of misleading users into believing their location history had been turned off. The deal includes no money for Google users, though, only $18.6M for lawyers and big money for non-profits, which objectors said is a 'slush fund' for left-wing activism
CA Supreme Court majority: Race may need to be considered by cops when detaining 'nervous' suspects
A unanimous California Supreme Court has ruled police cannot choose to detain suspects simply because they act nervously or seek to avoid interacting with officers. But a majority on the court called for future decisions to account for black suspects' fear of police, potentially allowing them to outright flee from officers
San Jose doesn't need to ask voters' permission to issue $3.5B bonds for pensions, appeals panel says
A state appeals panel has ruled that California cities' obligations to fully fund public worker pensions supersedes the constitutional rights of California taxpayers to decide if their cities should be locked into paying billions of dollars in bonds to cover future pension costs estimated by pension fund actuaries
Homeservices of America to pay $250M to settle real estate commission antitrust lawsuits
Attorneys could stand to rake in more than $80 million in fees from the new deal, meaning plaintiffs' lawyers could be in line for more than $300 million in fees from multiple settlements worth more than $940 million so far, with potentially more on the way.
Lawyers seek $217M+ fees for work on Google Icognito privacy settlement
The settlement, supposedly worth $5 billion, requires Google to delete billions of data files allegedly collected by Google while allegedly monitoring people's supposedly secret web browsing. But the deal doesn't include any direct payments from Google to consumers on a classwide basis
SCOTUS appears poised to undo rulings that left cities in 'straitjacket' when addressing homeless encampments
Precise contours on the eventual ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court remain cloudy, but oral arguments revealed the court's conservative majority will most likely overturn rulings from the Ninth Circuit that critics said essentially created a constitutional right for the homeless to camp in parks and other public spaces
Pre-trial jail inmates aren't entitled to minimum wage for jail kitchen work, CA Supreme Court says
A class action lawsuit claimed that, since state penal laws don't explicitly limit their earning abilities in jail, people not yet convicted of crimes should still be protected by California's minimum wage laws while working in the jail for private services vendors. Not so, California Supreme Court said.
Privacy class action firms jockey for control of 23andMe data breach claims; Edelson calls for new approach
Data privacy class action firm Edelson P.C. is seeking to control 40 class actions, potentially worth huge money, against 23andMe for allegedly allowing genetic info to be stolen in a data breach. In a new filing, Edelson is asking courts to reconsider how they decide which lawyers should lead
Judge: Nestle can't melt class action over white chocolate content in TollHouse white baking chips
A San Jose federal judge said a recent decision from a California state appeals court in a virtually identical case against Walmart will require Nestle to work harder to beat the class action accusing the company of misleading consumers