CA Pub. Decisions

Fact that defendant misled plaintiff into believing securities were registered does not toll running of one-year statute of limitations for filing suit under Sec. 12(a)(1) of Securities Act of 1933 for sale of unregistered securities.

An attorney may verify a Department of Fair Employment and Housing complaint for his or her client.

Where evidence showed that defendant ran from police. Defendant ran around a trailer, stopped, turned around and held a pistol in shooting position but did not pull back slide to place a bullet in the chamber. Thus if he pulled the trigger, nothing would have happened. However, the officer did not follow defendant's path around trailer and instead went around the other way and approached defendant from behind after which defendant dropped his pistol. Evidence was not sufficient to support a conviction of assault but was sufficient to support a conviction for attempted murder.

Where evidence showed that defendant ran from police. Defendant ran around a trailer, stopped, turned around and held a pistol in shooting position but did not pull back slide to place a bullet in the chamber. Thus if he pulled the trigger, nothing would have happened. However, the officer did not follow defendant's path around trailer and instead went around the other way and approached defendant from behind after which defendant dropped his pistol. Evidence was not sufficient to support a conviction of assault but was sufficient to support a conviction for attempted murder.

Warrantless pat-down search of minor on school campus was reasonable where officer had ample cause to believe minor and his companions did not belong on school grounds. The officer was alone as he prepared to escort the three to an office.

Where golfer failed to confirm another person's location before teeing off, and his ball hit other person in head, doctrine of primary assumption of risk did not bar negligence claim; there were triable issues of fact as to whether golfer's conduct in failing to confirm other person's location when he teed off increased inherent risks of sport and, in turn, whether other person's conduct was comparatively negligent. Where trial court erroneously granted golfer's summary judgment motion based on doctrine of assumption of risk but then realized error and granted other person's motion for new trial and orally conveyed reasons for ruling, court's order granting new trial was defective but not void where court's minute order failed to state grounds or to specify reasons on which motion was granted and would be upheld on appeal where it accurately reflected law of assumption of risk. Defendant's typographical error in affirmative defense section of answer that referred to skiing instead of golfing was harmless error, not a fatal flaw to proper pleading of affirmative defense.

Where golfer failed to confirm another person's location before teeing off, and his ball hit other person in head, doctrine of primary assumption of risk did not bar negligence claim. There were triable issues of fact as to whether golfer's conduct in failing to confirm other person's location when he teed off increased inherent risks of sport and, in turn, whether other person's conduct was comparatively negligent. Where trial court erroneously granted golfer's summary judgment motion based on doctrine of assumption of risk but then realized error and granted other person's motion for new trial and orally conveyed reasons for ruling, court's order granting new trial was defective but not void where court's minute order failed to state grounds or to specify reasons on which motion was granted and would be upheld on appeal where it accurately reflected law of assumption of risk. Defendant's typographical error in affirmative defense section of answer that referred to skiing instead of golfing was harmless error, not a fatal flaw to proper pleading of affirmative defense.

Welfare and Institutions Code Sec. 731(b), granting juvenile court discretion to set maximum term of confinement for juvenile offender, does not apply to non-California Youth Authority confinements.

Where wife in dissolution proceedings, prior to substituting counsel, expressly authorized it to make motion on her behalf requesting that husband directly pay to it fees owed by wife, and it was attorney of record when filing motion but not when trial court ruled on motion, trial court had jurisdiction to order that husband make direct payment to former counsel for fees owed by wife.

Guilty plea, even if sentence has not been imposed, constitutes a prior conviction for purposes of Penal Code Sec. 1000(a)(1), which precludes a grant of drug diversion to a defendant previously convicted of a drug offense.

City abused discretion in determining that water credit transfer from demolished commercial building site to city--which would hold credits in reserve until architectural plans for new site were completed and then retransfer credits to developer for use at new site--was categorically exempt from California Environmental Quality Act under Class 2 exemption for replacement of an existing structure or facility where developer submitted no plans, reports, or proposals with application for water credit transfer showing a replacement structure would be built on same site as demolished building and would have same purpose and capacity as demolished building. Water district's approval of credit transfer was not supported by substantial evidence where district based approval on city's exemption determination and failed to consider cumulative impacts transfer could have on water supply as expressly required by its rules.

City abused discretion in determining that water credit transfer from demolished commercial building site to city--which would hold credits in reserve until architectural plans for new site were completed and then retransfer credits to developer for use at new site--was categorically exempt from California Environmental Quality Act under Class 2 exemption for replacement of an existing structure or facility where developer submitted no plans, reports, or proposals with application for water credit transfer showing a replacement structure would be built on same site as demolished building and would have same purpose and capacity as demolished building. Water district's approval of credit transfer was not supported by substantial evidence where district based approval on city's exemption determination and failed to consider cumulative impacts transfer could have on water supply as expressly required by its rules.

An arbitration clause in a title insurance policy is not enforceable where preliminary title report did not mention arbitration and referred to a policy that was different than that actually issued by insurer. Where preliminary report referring to an ALTA policy did not indicate policy would include arbitration clause, but title insurance company later issued a different policy that did contain an arbitration clause, latter policy's arbitration clause was not incorporated by reference into preliminary report and was not binding on insured.

Portion of Proposition 218, Right to Vote on Taxes Act, which provides that "the initiative power shall not be prohibited or otherwise limited in matters of reducing or repealing any local tax, assessment, fee or charge," grants local voters authority to adopt an initiative measure reducing local public water district's charges for delivering domestic water to existing customers but does not permit use of initiative to require voter pre-approval for future increases in those charges or for imposition of any new charge. Where proposed initiative would have combined a permissible decrease in water rates with an impermissible restraint on future increases, impermissible provision was sufficiently significant to support trial court's ruling that proposed measure could not appear on ballot.