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 […]
Category: California
California personal jurisdiction over non-residents
SWENBERG v. DMARCIAN, INC., 68 Cal. App. 5th 280 – Cal: Court of Appeal, 1st Appellate Dist., 2nd Div. 2021 “California courts may exercise jurisdiction over nonresidents `on any basis not inconsistent with the Constitution of this state or of the United States.’ (Code Civ. Proc., § 410.10.) The statute `manifests an intent to exercise […]
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 […]
Statutes of limitation and the discovery rule
Fox v. Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., 110 P. 3d 914 – Cal: Supreme Court 2005 “Statute of limitations” is the collective term applied to acts or parts of acts that prescribe the periods beyond which a plaintiff may not bring a cause of action. (3 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (4th ed. 1996) Actions, § 405, p. 509; […]
The public trust doctrine
Center for Biological Diversity, Inc. v. FPL Group, Inc., 166 Cal. App. 4th 1349 While the public trust doctrine has evolved primarily around the rights of the public with respect to tidelands and navigable waters, the doctrine is not so limited. “[T]he public trust doctrine is not just a set of rules about tidelands, a […]
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 […]
General principles governing assumption of a real property lease
“A lease of real property is both a conveyance of an estate in land (a leasehold) and a contract. It gives rise to two sets of rights and obligations — those arising by virtue of the transfer of an estate in land to the tenant (privity of estate), and those existing by virtue of the […]