295 results for 'court:"USDC Central District of California"'.
J. Kronstadt grants $1.4 million in attorney fees to the foster youths' counsel and $11,400 in costs to the foster youths for their lawsuit alleging that Los Angeles County and others did not provide the foster youths mental health services as required by California and federal law. The foster youths' counsel spent 2,800 reasonable hours on this complex case by reviewing over 15,000 pages of documents and deposing three employees of the county, among other work.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Kronstadt, Filed On: November 13, 2023, Case #: 2:02cv5662, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Attorney Fees
J. Staton grants the $200,000 settlement for the California’s Private Attorneys General Act claim in the employee's complaint alleging that the moving services corporation improperly classified him and other employees as independent contractors to systematically fail to pay them for overtime, rest and meal periods, and business-related expenses. Although the employee does not describe what evidence he has and does not have for his misclassification claim and the penalties associated with this claim, the PAGA settlement is fair and adequate because it is based on sufficient discovery and information and it avoids serious litigation risks.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Staton, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 8:20cv2092, NOS: Other Labor Litigation - Labor, Categories: Settlements, Class Action, Labor
J. Frimpong denies in part the county's motion for summary judgment following a police shooting into a vehicle following a pursuit. Deputies shot into the car, killing an individual, while his two-year-old son was in the car. A reasonable jury could find that the unarmed individual did not pose an immediate threat that justified the use of deadly force. The deputies allege the individual backed into their car, knocking them down, and that was when they fired upon him. "Evidence could lead a jury to find the Deputies’ testimony not credible" regarding whether the individual hit the police car with his car, as there is no obvious damage to either car. Neither the on-scene investigator nor an expert witness could confirm whether a collision occurred. The deputies are not entitled to qualified immunity on the claim of excessive force.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Frimpong, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 5:20cv2468, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights
J. Kronstadt grants Mars' motion for reconsideration of a prior order and thus dismisses with prejudice the consumer's class action that Mars engaged in deceptive and false advertising of its ALTOIDS Cinnamon Mints by featuring images of cinnamon sticks and the word "CINNAMON" even though the product does not contain cinnamon. The consumer does not prove his warranty claim because the front label of the product uses the phrase "Artificially Flavored" in a smaller font next to the image of the cinnamon sticks, which lessens the chance that a consumer would genuinely believe that the product contained authentic cinnamon.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Kronstadt, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv5617, NOS: Other Fraud - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Fraud, Warranty, Class Action
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J. Carter overturns the insurance company's decision to terminate the industrial engineer's long-term disability benefits and life waiver of premium in February 2020 after the industrial engineer suffered a cardiac arrest in August 2016, which caused his multiple cardiovascular medical conditions and cognitive deficits that made it impossible for him to perform the material duties of his job. The insurance company's own hired expert corroborated testimony that the industrial engineer's cognitive impairment qualifies him as disabled, and the treadmill tests that the insurance company had him perform do not prove that the industrial engineer can tolerate occupational stress.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Carter, Filed On: November 7, 2023, Case #: 8:22cv181, NOS: Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) - Labor, Categories: Erisa, Experts
J. Selna finds in favor of the credit union regarding the California penal code claim of the Vietnamese-American communities' complaint alleging that the credit union served third-parties Kent R.E. Whitney and the Church for the Healthy Self, the former of whom served about 30 months in prison for a financial fraud conviction, who went on to defraud the communities in a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme. The communities do not present evidence that the credit union knew that the church stole the investors' funds and they do not show that the credit union knew about Whitney's prior financial fraud convictions.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Selna, Filed On: November 6, 2023, Case #: 8:22cv259, NOS: Other Fraud - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Evidence, Fraud, Class Action
J. Pregerson grants a motion from Nike and Nordstrom for terminating sanctions based on N.T.A.A.'s discovery misconduct in its litigation alleging that Nordstrom continuously branded its products with a specially designed "N" that belonged to N.T.A.A. The business owner of N.T.A.A. intentionally destroyed or attempted to destroy electronically stored information (ESI) relevant to this case, and the ESI investigation revealed the possible existence of numerous devices, accounts and user names that the business owner did not disclose.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Pregerson, Filed On: November 3, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv398, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Sanctions, Trademark, Discovery
J. Holcomb grants the father $89,200 in attorney fees and costs for his due process complaint alleging that the school district repeatedly did not provide his daughter, the student, an Individualized Education Plan to allow her to access grade-level curriculum, causing the student to fall behind on her reading and writing skills. The father's requested rates are reasonable for both his counsel and his experienced paralegal as they match the typical rates, and the hours are reasonable because the school district filed multiple motions to dismiss the complaint that required the father's counsel to prepare multiple opposition briefs and to deal with proceedings delays.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Holcomb, Filed On: October 31, 2023, Case #: 8:23cv524, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Education, Attorney Fees
J. Holcomb grants various gun rights groups' motion for preliminary injunction regarding two new statutes that ban gun shows at the Orange County Fairgrounds. The groups allege that the statutes infringe on their First and Second Amendment rights. The groups have shown that, since firearm transfers cannot occur at gun shows in California, as gun buyers can only pick up their purchases at another location following a 10-day waiting period and background check, the statute prohibits free speech by preventing sellers from informing buyers about their products. The groups will likely succeed on the merits of their complaints.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Holcomb, Filed On: October 30, 2023, Case #: 8:22cv1518, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights
J. Carney grants the Securities and Exchange Commission a preliminary injunction, including court-ordered preservation of evidence and an asset freeze, for its lawsuit alleging that the sham investment institution and others engaged in an ongoing Ponzi-like scheme that raised over $2.2 million from about 168 investors. The injunction is appropriate because the sham investment institution and others are likely to repeat their violations due to their persistent fraudulent conduct months after they received the SEC's cease-and-desist letter.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Carney, Filed On: October 30, 2023, Case #: 8:23cv1807, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Securities, Injunction
J. Walter finds that an NFT creator is entitled to recover $1.3 million of a visual artist's profits after the artist was found to have created NFTs using pointers to the original NFTs, allegedly to highlight the original NFT creator's "use of racist, neo-Nazi, and alt-right messages and imagery." After trademark infringement was established, disgorgement of the artist's profits was warranted. The NFT creator is also entitled to $200,000 in statutory damages for the artist's cybersquatting violations. The NFT creator is granted a permanent injunction against the visual artist. The NFT creator is entitled to recover reasonable attorney fees and costs as well.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Walter, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv4355, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Trademark
J. Wright denies a healthcare services company's motion to dismiss or strike class action allegations that it recorded telephone conversations without the individual's knowledge or consent. "Under California law, it is not necessary for [the company] to directly call or record the phone calls with Plaintiff to be liable for an offense...intending for the calls to be recorded without providing adequate safeguards to prevent the calls from being illegally recorded" is sufficient.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Wright, Filed On: October 23, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv4513, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Tort
J. Wu grants final approval of the $142,500 settlement for the employee's lawsuit alleging that the construction company did not pay its employees overtime wages. The settlement is fair because the overall settlement is close to the valuation of the claims presented under Virgin Islands law, which make up the majority of the original $148,000 exposure model, and it is more than the employees could expect to receive under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Wu, Filed On: October 20, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv7533, NOS: Fair Labor Standards Act - Labor, Categories: Settlements, Class Action, Labor
J. Snyder grants in part a homeowner’s motion in limine in an insurance coverage dispute regarding claims for damage caused to her home by fire, ash and rain. The insurer is precluded from arguing that a basement wall claim was the basis for the homeowner’s claim. Evidence of claims by other insureds is inadmissible. Undisclosed expert witnesses are excluded. One expert is precluded from offering engineering opinions or opinions on whether the engineering reports have merit.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Snyder, Filed On: October 20, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv172, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Experts, Discovery
J. Snyder denies in part an individual's motion for partial summary judgment in an insurance coverage dispute. The individual alleges that the insurer did not pay full coverage on her "all risk" policy for fire and ash damage to her home following the Thomas Fire, then did not pay full coverage for rain damage following significant rainfall the following month, when soot and ash clogging the gutters and drainage system caused water to flow into the home. A genuine dispute of material facts exists regarding whether the insurer was "substantially prejudiced" by the homeowner's alleged failure to disclose relevant documents and her employee's experiments.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Snyder, Filed On: October 20, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv172, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance
J. Vera finds in favor of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputies against the detainee's complaint that the deputies seized his handwritten notes while transporting the detainee from lockup to his criminal preliminary hearing, and that the confiscation of this work product prevented effective cross-examination of witnesses, forcing him to plead no contest and serve one year in prison. The deputies are protected by qualified immunity, because pre-trial detainees have limited constitutional rights to their notes and legal papers, and the detainee does not present case law to sufficiently argue that temporarily confiscating express documents during transport is a clear constitutional right violation.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Vera, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv4912, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Immunity, Police Misconduct
J. Garnett finds in favor of the insured for her claim that the insurance company terminated her and her husband's life insurance policies before he unexpectedly died without giving them a 60-day payment grace period or providing the requisite notices. The insured is entitled to contract damages, because it is undisputed that the insurance company did not give proper notice before terminating the husband's life insurance policy, and it also did not tell him of his right to designate a third party to receive notice upon pending termination.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Garnett, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 8:21cv2065, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Contract
J. Slaughter dismisses the individual’s claims against the late Detective John Vander Horck in his complaint alleging that Horck and other detectives wrongfully arrested him for a murder that he did not commit, resulting in him serving 12 years in prison before being exonerated. While Horck’s death did not extinguish the individual’s claims against him, the individual has failed multiple times to comply with the court's order to properly substitute Horck. Because less drastic sanctions are unavailable in this case, the individual's claims against Horck are dismissed with prejudice.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Slaughter, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: 2:16cv134, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Evidence, Police Misconduct
J. Fischer grants Torrance Refining Company summary judgment against the property owner's nuisance claim alleging that TORC's refinery released toxic air and subsurface emissions into the air, groundwater and soil that extended onto his private property. The property owner's expert cites unpersuasive guidelines for his argument that TORC's emissions gave him an unreasonably elevated risk of cancer, and the property owner otherwise does not prove that he suffered significant harm after his limited exposure to the air and ground emissions.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Fischer, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: 2:17cv2477, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Property, Tort
J. Scarsi dismisses the investor-backed company's complaint alleging that the software publishers company infringes on the former's patents relating to a system and method that analyzes "tags associated with a sequence of images presented to a user” to present the user with “a current interest.” The investor-backed company does not explain how its asserted claims have "specific asserted improvements in computer capabilities” instead of disclosing that “computers are invoked merely as a tool," and it also does not show that its patents have inventive concepts.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Scarsi, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv6298, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent
J. Holcomb grants the SEC's partial motion for summary judgment and dismisses an individual's motion for sanctions regarding several Freedom of Information Act requests filed by the individual and the SEC's decision to redact or withhold certain documents. The individual has not included any documents or emails that corroborate his accusations. The individual's "claims of a vast and nefarious conspiracy certainly qualify as extraordinary; regrettably, cursory references to Wikipedia, headlines, and his own book certainly do not."
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Holcomb, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: 5:21cv1637, NOS: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) - Other Suits, Categories: Public Record
J. Frimpong denies in part the county's and its employees' motion to dismiss a mother's allegations that county employees violated her Fourteenth Amendment and First Amendment rights when Department of Children and Family Services social workers allegedly misrepresented what her child said in interviews, resulting in the father, who the child had accused of sexual abuse, receiving custody. The statute of limitations does not bar the mother's claims against certain county employees. The mother has adequately pleaded claims against some county employees for violation of the right to familial association under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Frimpong, Filed On: October 10, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv6900, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights
J. Frimpong denies in part the city's motion for summary judgment regarding an individual's allegations of excessive force and false arrest. Officers went to the individual's home for a welfare check after the Veterans Crisis Hotline informed them that the individual was considering committing suicide. The individual told officers he was “OK” and asked them to leave seven times. The individual started to call 911 and the officers handcuffed him. He asked officers to change the handcuff position because he was in pain from a preexisting injury; they refused. There are disputed issues of material fact regarding the individual’s unlawful detention, excessive force and violation of due process claims. The officers are not entitled to qualified immunity because “no reasonable officer could believe that there was probable cause for the detention.”
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Frimpong, Filed On: October 6, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv7439, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Police Misconduct
J. Gutierrez partially grants the higher education institutions' motion for default judgment for their complaint alleging that the employees used their access to the institutions' trade secrets and confidential information to induce their clinical partners to use a competitor's services. The institutions seek $808,600 in compensatory damages under their misappropriation of trade secrets and fraud claims, but they do not have sufficient evidence to prove associated compensatory damages due to untraceable calculations, so they receive $681,000 in compensatory damages.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Gutierrez, Filed On: October 6, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv698, NOS: Other Fraud - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Fraud, Trade Secrets, Damages
J. Walter dismisses the investors' complaint alleging that the real estate investment company authorized false and misleading statements about its real estate assets. The investors claim that the real estate investment company made misleading statements about IRR and distribution projections because it did not disclose the SEC letter, but the SEC letter was available to the public on Jul. 31, 2018, on the SEC's Edgar database before the named investor made his initial funds investment on Sep. 23, 2019.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Walter, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv8499, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Fraud, Securities, Class Action