Legal News

Case Summaries

Elder Law

[11/12] James v. Richman
In a suit seeking Medicaid benefits, an injunction preventing defendant-Department of Public Welfare from denying benefits is affirmed where: 1) equitable relief was appropriate where plaintiff would be barred by the Eleventh Amendment from seeking monetary damages from the state; 2) plaintiff was not required to exhaust his state-level administrative remedies before seeking federal relief; and 3) a non-revocable, non-transferable annuity purchased by plaintiff's wife did not fit the statutory definition of an "available resource" for purposes of calculating Medicaid eligibility.

[10/23] People v. Slattery
Sentence of time in state prison and payment of restitution to the hospital that treated defendant's mother, for elder abuse, is stricken where the hospital is not a direct victim of the offense, as required by section 1202.4(k)(2).

[09/30] Wood v. Jamison
In a malpractice action brought by the trustee of 78-year old decedent for defendant-attorney's role in performing legal services for client who convinced decedent that he was her nephew, judgment for damages, attorney's fees and costs based on legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty and financial abuse of an elder is affirmed where: 1) defendant failed to advise decedent of a conflict of interest; 2) defendant failed to advise decedent the investment was not appropriate for her, or at least to refer her to an independent investment advisor; and 3) defendant obtained an undisclosed profit from the transaction.

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Dispute Resolution & Arbitration

[11/18] Dealer Computer Svcs., Inc. v. Dub Herring Ford
Following an arbitration decision granting award to defendant-dealerships and finding arbitration provisions found in various contracts between defendant-dealerships and plaintiff-computer software and hardware vendor did not preclude class arbitration, district court judgment in favor of defendant-dealerships is vacated and remanded with instructions to dismiss where the district court lacked jurisdiction to consider plaintiff's motion to vacate the arbitration award because the matter was not ripe for judicial review.

[11/14] In Re NEXT Fin. Group, Inc.
In a suit claiming that plaintiff was wrongfully discharged for refusing to conceal allegedly fraudulent securities transactions, petition for mandamus relief is granted where plaintiff was required to arbitrate a claim that his employer wrongfully discharged him for refusing to commit an illegal act.

[11/10] Sherer v. Green Tree Servicing LLC
In a suit involving Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act claims, denial of a motion to compel arbitration is reversed where the arbitration clause in question bound plaintiff to arbitrate his dispute with defendant, even though defendant was not a signatory to the original agreement.

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Education

[11/20] Newark Parents Ass'n v. Newark Pub. Sch.
In a putative class action by parents of students alleging that defendant-school district was failing to live up to its obligations under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA), dismissal of claims is affirmed where the notice and supplemental-education-services provisions of NCLBA did not confer a private right of action upon aggrieved individuals.

[11/20] Tucker v. Grossmont Union High Sch.
Grant of an extraordinary writ requiring defendant-school district to reemploy plaintiff in preference to new applicants for any available position with district for which plaintiff applies and for which he is qualified is affirmed where: 1) Education Code section 45298 gave employees laid-off for lack of work or lack of funds reemployment preference over new applicants; and 2) Education Code section 45308 is relevant to the rights of the individual members of a class vis-a-vis each other and is not relevant to the rights of laid-off employees versus new applicants.

[11/18] Romoland Sch. Dist. v. Inland Empire Energy Ctr., LLC
In a suit against an electric utility and an air-quality-management district under the Clean Air Act, seeking to halt the construction of a power plant, denial of a preliminary injunction and dismissal with prejudice of all claims are affirmed where: 1) plaintiffs' voluntary dismissal of some claims presented the appellate court with a final order over which it had jurisdiction; and 2) the district court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over plaintiffs' claims.

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Family Law

[11/20] Harmon v. Harmon
In a divorce case, an order regarding the division of the marital estate is remanded where the family court did not properly evaluate the statutory factor set forth in Del. Code Ann. tit. 13, section 1513(a), regarding husband's premarital assets, inheritances, and post-separation contributions.

[11/07] Choose Life Illinois, Inc. v. White
In a suit by an interest group seeking on First Amendment grounds to force the state of Illinois to issue "Choose Life" specialty license plates, judgment in favor of plaintiffs is reversed where: 1) specialty license plates implicate the speech rights of private speakers, not government speech; 2) specialty plates are a nonpublic forum; and 3) the state could enforce a content-based but viewpoint-neutral ban disallowing any abortion-related message, whether pro-life or pro-choice, to be displayed on its license plates.

[11/06] Aguilar v. Aguilar
Denial of petition to undo a wife's withdrawal of trust property brought by a remainder beneficiary of the trust is reversed and remanded where: 1) even though the property the wife sought to withdraw was her share of the community property, it was too late for her to withdraw it; 2) irrevocable trusts are binding, even on their trustors; and 3) as the life beneficiary, the wife could continue to enjoy the property as held by the trust.

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