Kerry Goff News
EBay offering internship in technology, law for Columbia Law School students
EBay will offer a 10-week 1L Summer Legal Internship Program to immerse students at Columbia Law School in a global technology company and how the law applies to it.
California judge upholds public utility's subscriber data sharing
The U.S. District Court of the Northern
District of California ordered last fall that the California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC) could hand over requested confidential subscriber information to The
Utility Reform Network (TURN) so it can research state market
competitiveness, despite the resistance from communication companies like
AT&T Mobility and other wireless carriers.
Gov. Brown appoints two judges to the 4th District Court of Appeal
SACRAMENTO – Gov. Jerry Brown recently announced the appointment of William S. Dato and Richard T. Fields to the 4th District Court of Appeal.
California may join 17 other states on ban on attorney/client sexual relationships
SAN FRANCISCO — A recent proposal has been submitted to add California to the other 17 states that ban attorneys from having consensual sexual relationships with their clients.
Berkeley dispensary off the hook after 3 years in litigation
BERKELEY, Calif. — A recently dismissed lawsuit against Berkeley Patients Group ended a three-year legal battle by the federal government to close Berkeley’s oldest marijuana dispensary.
Appeals court upholds denial of Medtronic motions in lawsuit
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld a federal-court denial of Medtronic’s motions for judgment as a matter of law and a new trial in the company's lawsuit with Pabban Development.
Multi-million-dollar Trump settlement reached before trial was best option
SAN FRANCISCO-- After spending more than six years in litigation, San Diego’s Robbins Geller Rudman and Dowd negotiated a $25 million settlement in the Trump University suit right before the actual trial in late November.
LA public firm representing Detroit suit on literacy as a constitutional right
LOS ANGELES – A lawsuit filed on Sept. 13, by Los Angeles-based Public Counsel, the nation's largest public interest law firm, is representing seven Detroit school children over the right to literacy.
Oklahoma Sooner running back awarded change of venue in civil lawsuit
SAN FRANCISCO -- Oklahoma Sooner’s running back Joe Mixon filed motions Sept. 6 to transfer venue and dismiss Amelia Molitor’s civil lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The motion was granted Oct. 13 by a federal court in San Francisco, which said the lawsuit should be moved to a federal court in Oklahoma City.
Michael Jackson's businesses accused of serving as a front for child molestation
LOS ANGELES -- A revised court complaint filed on behalf of James Safechuck, a 36-year-old father of two who starred with Michael Jackson in a Pepsi commercial at age 10, echoes claims made in a recent lawsuit by Wade Robson, which describes an official with MJJ Ventures as "a procurer or madam" of alleged child sexual abuse victims.
Mortgage loan modification service providers under fire for violating Fair Housing Act
SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit alleging that several mortgage loan modification service providers violated the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) by intentionally discriminating against Hispanic homeowners by targeting them for predatory mortgage loan modification services.
Suction dredge mining moratorium supported by Supreme Court
SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Supreme Court recently upheld a statewide moratorium on recreational suction dredge mining for gold, noting the regulations were valid for protecting water supplies, fisheries, wildlife and cultural resources.
Overseas overboard company protects its patent rights with U.S. company
SAN FRANCISCO -- Hangzhou Chic Intelligent Technology, a high-tech company known for its self-balancing scooter, also known as a “hoverboard,” is determined to protect its rights in the technologies for the hoverboard against other companies who are violating Chic’s patent.
SLS attorney joins Silicon Legal Strategy
SAN FRANCISCO -- Silicon Legal Strategy (SLS) announced this summer that James Alonso joined the firm as an associate in its San Francisco office to offer legal assistance to software startups. Alonso is a former attorney for Gunderson Dettmer and offers SLS similar expertise.
Cabela agrees to multi-million-dollar settlement in alleged customer phone recordings
SAN FRANCISCO -- A proposed $3,850,000 class-action settlement has been reached in Saunders et al. v. Cabela's Wholesale Inc. by the San Francisco County Superior Court.
Monsanto prevails in PCB pollution case, but cities plan to appeal
SAN JOSE -- A federal judge has dismissed lawsuits in which the cities of San Jose, Oakland and Berkeley sought to force Monsanto to help pay for reducing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contamination in the San Francisco Bay.
Court upholds conviction of Redondo Beach contractor regarding his "monster mansion"
REDONDO BEACH -- An appeals court has upheld the conviction of Rami Nassif, owner of the "monster mansion" on 733 Paulina Ave. in Redondo Beach. Although the house was demolished in 2015 and is now an empty lot, Nassif appealed the conviction, alleging judicial bias. A three-judge panel did not agree with his appeal and upheld the decision.
Public pushes for impeachment of judge in Brock Turner's rape case
STANFORD -- It didn’t take long for public outrage to hit social media and other digital platforms when Judge Aaron Persky handed down what some perceived to be a lenient six-month sentence to convicted rapist and former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner, whose case created considerable debate on how accountable judges should be to the public.
California court rules in favor of Plavix lawsuits proceeding
SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Supreme Court recently announced its decision that patients or their family members can sue manufacturer Bristol-Myers for falsely advertising the benefits of the cardiovascular drug Plavix, even though the company and most of the plaintiffs are based in other states.
Court maintains 'conversion therapy' ban, saying it does not affect First Amendment
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently upheld a 2012 law that prohibits licensed mental health practitioners from subjecting minors to harmful "conversion therapy" practices that attempt to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.