Jonathan Bilyk News
Woman who suffered stroke after crash can't sue Petaluma paramedics who responded to scene
A state appeals panel has ruled a woman who suffered a stroke that left her with impaired speech and partial paralysis after falling asleep hours after a car crash can't sue the paramedics who examined her on scene, in part because she refused repeated requests to transport her to the hospital for observation
Netflix beats investors' lawsuit claiming misled about extent of 'password sharing'
A San Francisco federal judge has ruled investors can't continue their lawsuit accusing media streaming giant Netflix of misleading shareholders and the market about restraints on growth from the company's alleged failure to adequately police and account for inter-household "password sharing"
Healdsburg family settles suit vs city over alleged unconstitutional 'inclusionary zoning' fees
The city of Healdsburg will pay a local couple $30K for trying to force them to pay $20K in 'inclusionary zoning fees' to get a permit and zoning needed to build their family a new home and rent out their existing duplex. The couple and their lawyers urged everyone to fight similar 'unconstitutional' fees
Judge grants final OK to $115M Oracle data privacy class action deal; Lawyers get $28.75M
About 3.2 million class members are set to receive $25 each from the deal. The judge overruled objectors who argued the plaintiffs settled too quickly for too little
Lawsuit: San Jose State, Mountain West Conf. retaliated vs women volleyballers' complaints over transgender athlete
The lawsuit seeks an injunction blocking San Jose State University from participating in the upcoming Mountain West Conference tournament. Plaintiffs are also seeking payout from the school and conference for allegedly punishing and silencing women's volleyball players and coaches who complained or raised questions
Grand Canyon University wins appeal over feds' efforts to block return to nonprofit status
One of the country's largest Christian colleges and universities has said it has been the target of a "coordinated" campaign by federal agencies, particularly under President Biden. Federal appeals court judges said the Education Department overreached its authority under the law in denying GCU's application for nonprofit status
Price becomes latest 'progressive prosecutor' tossed from office amid anti-crime outcry
Voters appeared to deliver big wins to the efforts to recall both Alameda County D.A. Pamela Price and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, following on successful efforts elsewhere to oust other progressive leaders whose policies have been blamed for spike in crime
Property tax raising Prop 5 appears headed to defeat, per preliminary election results
As of Nov. 7, 56% of California voters had voted "No" on Proposition 5, a measure promoted by California Democratic state lawmakers to make it significantly easier for local governments to amass new debt and raise property taxes in the name of infrastructure improvement and affordable housing
Newsom, 'soft-on-crime activists rebuked: California overwhelmingly OKs Prop 36
Despite opposition from Gov. Gavin Newsom and other powerful California Democrats and left-wing activists, voters in California overwhelmingly approved Prop 36 to undo progressive criminal justice reforms and restore the ability of cops and prosecutors to address California's sustained crisis of drug and property crime
Judge: Tenderloin residents, business can't use Covid-era order to force city to address homeless camps now
A San Francisco federal judge said the settlement under which the city agreed to work to reduce homeless tents on Tenderloin sidewalks and other public spaces to "zero" expired at the same time Mayor Breed officially ended the declared Covid emergency in 2023
Alameda DA Price accused of anti-Asian, pro-black racial bias in ex-chief inspector's lawsuit
The lawsuit from Craig Chew, former chief of inspectors for the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, who is Asian says the county must pay for allowing D.A. Pamela Price to fire him and replace him with an allegedly ineligible black staffer without an investigation for apparent racial discrimination and other potential misconduct
Live Nation can't use 'mass arbitration' rules to beat class action over Ticketmaster fees, appeals court says
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said a provision in Ticketmaster's user agreement that would force customers with legal claims against the company into so-called 'mass arbitration,' in a bid to ward off trial lawyers' new costly litigation tactics, was 'unconscionable' under California law and could not be saved by federal law
CA law blocking religious schools from special ed funds violates religious freedom, appeals court says
U.S. Ninth Circuit Appeals Court said California can't show its discrimination vs religious schools is "neutral." Three devout Orthodox Jewish families can continue their suit against the state for allegedly forcing them to choose between their faith and obtaining educational services for their disabled children
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