Jonathan Bilyk News
Ex-BART workers fired over Covid vax mandate should get $7.8M, jury says
The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District should pay at least $1.1 million to six workers who were fired in 2022 after BART repeatedly refused to grant religious exemptions and accommodations to workers who said their faith prevented them from complying with BART's Covid shot mandate
Appeals panel: U.S. can't apply Asylum Transit Rule to illegal immigrants already at the border
A federal appeals court has blocked the Biden administration from forcing illegal immigrants who already were turned away from the border to first apply for "asylum" in Mexico before requesting the same from the U.S. A dissenting judge said the ruling "twists" U.S. asylum law to extend to people who haven't even arrived in the country
Tenderloin residents, hotels cleared to move ahead with suit vs SF over drug, crime 'nuisance'
A federal judge has ruled residents and hoteliers in the Tenderloin have done enough to show the city of San Francisco's policies and actions may have exacerbated the drug, crime and homelessness problems plaguing the neighborhood
Judge won't let Disney run to appeals court to win OK to fire actors over political speech
A Los Angeles federal judge said Disney can't go to an appeals court to seek to overturn her refusal to dismiss a lawsuit from former "Mandalorian" actor Gina Carano, accusing the company of violating her rights by firing her from the show over her conservative political views, which Disney said was "offensive"
Meta, social media operators can't pull plug on states' suit over young people's 'addiction'
An Oakland federal judge said a bipartisan coalition of nearly three dozen state attorneys general had provided enough evidence to this point that Meta and other social media companies knew their products were addictive to young people and misled the public about the risks, leading to societal harms
SCOTUS ends Uber's challenge to the lingering effects of AB5, won't hear appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition to overturn an appeals court's decision that California lawmakers didn't violate the constitutional rights of Uber, Postmates and similar companies by targeting them with AB5, a labor law that would have exposed the companies to massive liability over the employment classification of drivers
SCOTUS won't review CA court's decision, clearing path for state, city lawsuits vs Uber, Lyft
The Attorney General and city attorneys for L.A., San Diego and San Francisco have sued Uber and Lyft under the controversial AB5 labor law, seeking to extract a big payday from the companies, ostensibly on behalf of workers, over claims the companies misclassified drivers as independent contractors
Stanford, Cal Tech, USC among top U.S. universities hit with class action over financial aid practices
A new class action lawsuit says some of America's top colleges and universities have for nearly two decades violated U.S. antitrust law by collectively making it harder for students to obtain need-based financial aid by forcing them to include non-custodial parent income on applications
Investors seek final OK for $60M deal to end class action vs Okta; Lawyers seek $13M
Lawyers representing investors in cybersecurity firm Okta have asked a San Francisco federal judge to sign off on a $60M deal to end their class action vs Okta over a 2022 data security breach that allegedly dropped stock 11% at the time. The lawyers want 22% of the settlement for their fees.
Polls in Bay Area, elsewhere in CA show big support for Prop 36, despite Dem leaders' opposition
Prop 36 would restore to police and prosecutors powers to address property and drug crimes that had been stripped by away 10 years ago by Prop 47, which helped to fuel California's current crime problems and was strongly supported by Kamala Harris
Appeals court: ADA doesn't nix Montana state law blocking 'vax discrimination'
The federal appeals judges said a Montana federal judge overreached in declaring that the Americans with Disabilities Act all but required health care organizations to require workers to be vaccinated against Covid and other communicable diseases to protect 'immunocompromised disabled persons'
CA lawmakers exempt Capitol Annex project from state enviro review law, can't be sued
A state appeals court said California lawmakers didn't violate the state constitution by specifically and immediately exempting the $1.2B Capitol Annex project from the state's controversial California Environmental Quality Act, in an apparent move to thwart legal challenges seeking to halt the project
Supreme Court will let SF enforce campaign donor disclosure ordinance, despite speech concerns
After the high court refused to review the ordinance on appeal, one of the co-authors of the so-called "Sunlight on Dark Money" ordinance urged governments across the country to follow San Francisco's lead. Speech advocates, however, said they believe the measure tramples free speech rights
Crypto investor Terpin cleared to sue AT&T for 'SIM swap' hack, $24M crypto theft
A federal appeals panel said AT&T can be sued for allegedly allowing hackers to use a technique known as a "SIM swap" to effectively seize control of the mobile communications of prominent cryptocurrency investor Michael Terpin. Terpin's lawyer hailed the decision as a "major" legal precedent "of national significance."
Judge blocks Newsom's new 'anti-parody' law, says it 'has no place' under First Amend
A Sacramento federal judge entered a preliminary injunction sought by online content creator known as Mr. Reagan, whose video of Kamala Harris reportedly triggered Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats to pass the new law, allegedly to combat online "deepfakes" which could deceive voters
Judge tosses class action vs Musk, Tesla over 'full self-driving' car tech claims
A San Francisco federal judge parked, for now, a class action lawsuit accusing Elon Musk and his electric car company, Tesla, of allegedly misleading investors and the public about the autonomous abilities of Tesla vehicles. The judge said the statements amounted to "puffery" or "forward-looking" projections
Tamalpais H.S. on hook for $10M owed to student sexually abused by tennis coach Burgos
A state appellate court justice agreed with his colleagues that the Tamalpais school district should owe the former student for abuse he suffered at the hands of his ex-tennis coach in 2003. But the justice said the school can't be on the hook for the full verdict, while the abuser would owe nothing
CA air board OK to ignore truckers' alternatives, public comment in setting zero emission trucks rule
A California state appeals court rejected truck engine makers' bid to undo California's so-called Advanced Clean Trucks rule, saying CARB didn't violate state law by ramming through the ACT rule with minimal regard for pleas from truck makers and the public to consider alternatives to their zero emissions mandate
SF federal judge: EPA must reevaluate acceptable fluoride levels in water
While public health officials believe water containing fluoride helps to promote dental and skeletal health in the U.S., a federal judge said EPA has been wrong to refuse to consider fluoridation's alleged and debated impact on childhood cognitive development
California, enviro activists hit ExxonMobil with lawsuits over plastics recycling
The state's new lawsuit accuses ExxonMobil of misleading Americans into believing recycling is a "cure-all" for plastic waste. ExxonMobil says the lawsuit is just an attempt by the state to absolve itself of blame for flooding landfills and the environment with plastic