Case Summaries

Commercial Law

[05/08] Royal Ins. Co. of Am. v. Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd.
In an action brought by Ford and its cargo insurer against defendant-ocean carrier for damages arising from the loss of cargo during a transatlantic voyage, partial summary judgment for defendant and third-party defendants is reversed where the district court erroneously interpreted the bill of lading to apply Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA) instead of the Hague-Visby Rules, and additional briefing and fact-finding may be required before the liability limitation may be appropriately applied. (Amended opinion)

[05/07] Family Home & Fin. Ctr, Inc. v. Fed. Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
In mortgage broker's action raising claims against Freddie Mac for intentional interference with contract, unfair competition under California state law, and defamation, summary judgment and a related ruling for Freddie Mac are affirmed where: 1) the intentional interference claim failed as there was no admissible evidence that Freddie Mac influenced or caused another party to terminate its mortgage broker contract with plaintiff, intentionally or otherwise; 2) Freddie Mac's placement of plaintiff on its "Exclusionary List" did not constitute unfair competition; 3) for purposes of the defamation claim, plaintiff failed to show malice to defeat the Common Interest Privilege; and 4) there was no abuse of discretion in denying a request to defer ruling on summary judgment.

[05/07] B & H Med., L.L.C. v. ABP Admin., Inc.
In an antitrust case involving the legality of an agreement which established an exclusive network of preferred providers to supply types of medical equipment to enrollees in certain health-benefits plans offered to Chrysler, Ford, and state employees and retirees, a judgment and sanctions against plaintiff whose application to the network was rejected are affirmed, and appellate sanctions imposed, where: 1) plaintiff's antitrust claims lacked any conceivable merit; 2) a challenge to a discovery order failed; and 3) sanctions imposed below were not an abuse of discretion, and further, appellate sanctions were warranted.

[05/06] Pludeman v. N. Leasing Sys., Inc.
The court of appeals rules that plaintiffs sufficiently pleaded a cause of action for fraud against individually-named corporate defendants pursuant to CPLR 3016(b) where it was not unequivocal, as a matter of law, that a finder of fact could not reasonably infer the requisite knowledge or participation by the individual defendants in an act of fraud.

[04/30] Blickman Turkus, LP v. MF Downtown Sunnyvale, LLC
In a case primarily addressing whether a realtor who represented the lessee in a complex commercial lease transaction had a duty to inform the lessor, after the lease was signed but before the lessee took possession, that the lessee's ability to perform the conditions of the lease was jeopardized by its deteriorating financial condition, the judgment below is affirmed primarily as the trial court did not err: 1) in determining that the lessor failed to plead facts sufficient to establish any duty on the realtor's part; nor 2) in refusing to award attorney fees to the lessor based upon its defeat of the realtor's claims for unpaid commissions pursuant to Civil Code section 1717.

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Corporation & Enterprise Law

[05/08] In re: Straightline Invs., Inc.
A judgment under 11 U.S.C. section 549(a) avoiding the transfer to appellant of corporate bankruptcy debtor's accounts receivable which had a face value of approximately $200,600 is affirmed over appellant's claims that: 1) the transfer of accounts receivable was not an avoidable transfer because there was no depletion or diminution of debtor's estate; 2) the transfer was an outright sale of receivables in the ordinary course of business, and the defenses of recoupment and earmarking should apply to bar recovery by the trustee; and 3) even if it was avoidable, the wrong measure of recovery was awarded.

[05/06] Pludeman v. N. Leasing Sys., Inc.
The court of appeals rules that plaintiffs sufficiently pleaded a cause of action for fraud against individually-named corporate defendants pursuant to CPLR 3016(b) where it was not unequivocal, as a matter of law, that a finder of fact could not reasonably infer the requisite knowledge or participation by the individual defendants in an act of fraud.

[05/05] US v. Edwards
In a prosecution for wire fraud and related crimes, defendant's conviction is affirmed over claims that: 1) the district court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal made after he rested his defense; 2) he was denied a fair trial and the ability to confront witnesses when the district court permitted several prosecution witnesses to remain in the courtroom and listen to testimony before they took the witness stand; 3) the court erred in denying a motion to suppress certain documents submitted to the SEC during its investigation of a sale and lease-back program; and 4) the court's jury instructions constructively amended the indictment. However, defendant's sentence is vacated and remanded for a new sentencing hearing where, although defendant was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and multiple counts of wire fraud and money laundering, he only received one sentence.

[05/01] Jericho Water Dist. v. One Call Users Council, Inc.
With respect to Gen. Bus. Law section 761, which requires apportioning the costs of the "one-call notification system" among the operators of underground facilities who belong to it, but exempts "municipalities" from paying a share of the costs, the court of appeals rules that a "water district" is not a municipality for these purposes and must pay its share of the cost.

[03/11] In Re: Strack
In Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, a decision finding a particular debt dischargeable is reversed where: 1) the debt arose by reason of debtor's "defalcation," or nonfraudulent default, while he was acting in a fiduciary capacity; and 2) consequently, 11 U.S.C. section 523(a)(4) renders the debt non-dischargeable.

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Probate Trusts

[05/06] Estate of Herold
An order denying petitioner's safe harbor petition, which sought a declaration that his proposed "Petition for Information" would not amount to a will contest, is reversed and remanded where the trial court erred in finding that a no contest clause of the will was incorporated by reference into a trust.

[05/06] Estate of Coll-Monge v. Inner Peace Movement
In an action for trademark infringement and related claims, summary judgment for defendants-non-profits is reversed in part and remanded where: 1) the district court erred in holding that a non-profit corporation cannot be a related company whose use of the trademark is controlled by the mark's registrant; and 2) there remain disputed issues of fact regarding both the doctrine's applicability in this case, and the capacity in which testator registered the marks with the USPTO.

[03/31] Akira Akazawa v. Link New Tech. Int'l, Inc.
In a patent dispute, summary judgment for defendant based on lack of standing is vacated where issues of Japanese intestacy law must be resolved by the district court in order to determine whether plaintiff owned the patent at issue, and therefore possessed standing to bring the present suit.

[03/27] Estate of McDaniel
In an intestacy situation where a husband deceased before the effective date of a stipulated judgment dissolving the marital partnership, the trial court properly found that the wife was not entitled to an intestate share as a "surviving spouse" within the meaning of section 78 of the Probate Code because she was by the time of decedent's death "a party to a valid proceeding concluded by an order purporting to terminate all marital rights" within the meaning of 78(d).

[03/27] Estate of Claeyssens
In a case involving estate or inheritance tax, an order denying an executrix's petition to refund fees imposed pursuant to Government Code sections 26827 and 68087 is reversed as: 1) to the extent that these statutes authorize the fee, they were enacted in violation of the state constitution and are of no force or effect; and 2) Proposition 6 (Rev. and Tax. Code section 13301), coupled with article II section 10 of California Constitution provide that the Legislature alone may not impose an estate or inheritance tax.

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Transportation

[05/08] Air Line Pilots Ass'n v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd.
In proceedings arising after the NLRB brought a complaint alleging that, by attempting to enforce certain provisions of a collective bargaining agreement with DHL Airways, petitioner-pilots' association had committed unfair labor practices, the association's petition for review of a finding that its conduct violated the National Labor Relations Act is granted where, under the analysis of Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Jacksonville Terminal Co., 394 U.S. 369, the NLRB did not have jurisdiction over this Railway Labor Act dispute.

[05/08] Royal Ins. Co. of Am. v. Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd.
In an action brought by Ford and its cargo insurer against defendant-ocean carrier for damages arising from the loss of cargo during a transatlantic voyage, partial summary judgment for defendant and third-party defendants is reversed where the district court erroneously interpreted the bill of lading to apply Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA) instead of the Hague-Visby Rules, and additional briefing and fact-finding may be required before the liability limitation may be appropriately applied. (Amended opinion)

[05/07] Solomon Techs., Inc. v. Int'l Trade Comm'n
In proceedings involving imports and sales of certain Toyota hybrid vehicles, an order finding no violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and refusing to enter an order excluding Toyota's products is affirmed on the basis of noninfringement, although the circuit court declines to resolve the construction of a "continuously variable" limitation.

[05/01] People v. Cabrera
In a criminal case arising from a traffic accident wherein sober defendant-driver's excessive speeding claimed the lives of three passengers, conviction for criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault is reversed and dismissed where, although defendant's excessive speeding behavior was negligent and unquestionably "blameworthy", the evidence adduced at trial did not establish that circumstances surrounding the accident amounted to the kind of "morally blameworthy" component required to infer defendant's criminal negligence.

[04/29] Wang v. Valverde
Grant of a petition for writ of administrative mandate compelling the DMV to set aside its revocation of plaintiff's class C, noncommercial driver's license is affirmed where the DMV's claim that, as a matter of law, it had authority to revoke the license because it allegedly caught plaintiff cheating on the examination for a class B license, was based on an erroneous interpretation of Vehicle Code section 13359.

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