Whistleblower retaliation

Erhart v. BOFI HOLDING, INC., Dist. Court, SD California 2022 Sarbanes-Oxley’s whistleblower retaliation provision provides a company may not “discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or in any other manner discriminate against an employee in the terms and conditions of employment because of” protected activity. 18 U.S.C. § 1514A(a). As the statute indicates, the retaliation that […]

California’s unfair competition law

(Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.) The UCL prohibits “unfair competition,” including “any unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business act or practice and unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising.” (§ 17200.) “The UCL’s purpose is to protect both consumers and competitors by promoting fair competition in commercial markets for goods and services.” (Kasky v. […]

Personal jurisdiction and the “alter ego” doctrine

ALEXANDRIA REAL ESTATE EQUITIES, INC. v. BUGSBY PROPERTY, LLC, Cal: Court of Appeal, 2nd Appellate Dist., 2nd Div. 2021 California grants to its courts the power to assert personal jurisdiction as far as the United States Constitution allows. (Code Civ. Proc., § 410.10; Integral Development Corp. v. Weissenbach (2002) 99 Cal.App.4th 576, 583 (Integral Development) [California’s “long-arm statute […]

The effect of severance pay on unemployment benefits in California

California Employment Development Department Severance Pay, Dismissal or Separation Pay Severance pay is not wages for unemployment insurance purposes. There is no specific code section in the California Unemployment Insurance Code which declares that severance pay is not wages. We cite Section 1265 when we state that severance pay is not wages. The authority for […]

The collateral estoppel effect of unlawful detainer judgments

Because “[a]n unlawful detainer action is a summary proceeding ordinarily limited to resolution of the question of possession[,] [citation] … any judgment arising therefrom generally is given limited res judicata effect.” (Malkoskie v. Option One Mortgage Corp. (2010) 188 Cal.App.4th 968, 973 [115 Cal.Rptr.3d 821].) The approach courts take to applying collateral estoppel in this setting […]

Right of publicity

The statutory right of publicity, is based on Civil Code section 3344, which provides in relevant part as follows: “Any person who knowingly uses another’s name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness, in any manner … for purposes of advertising or selling … without such person’s prior consent, … shall be liable for any damages sustained […]

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