CA Unpub Decisions

This case arises out of a wrongful death lawsuit, in which appellant Herzog, Yuhas, Ehrlich & Ardell, APC (Herzog) represented plaintiffs and respondents Silke Schulz and her four young children. Silke’s husband Rainer died when the plane he was piloting crashed just before landing at an airport in Germany. Herzog obtained a settlement of $18,125,000 from the manufacturers of the aircraft and from the providers of some of the aircraft’s systems, maps, and charts, all of whose negligence allegedly contributed to the crash.

Defendant Sherry Hackney Cade appeals from a default judgment entered in favor of plaintiffs DACM Property Management, Inc. (DACM) and Deborah Dugan in the amount of $2,501,072. We agree with defendant that the court erred in denying her motion to set aside her default and therefore reverse the judgment.

Julius Johnson appeals from a judgment in favor of Michael White after a bench trial on White’s legal malpractice complaint against Johnson and his law firm. We affirm.

In March of 2016, defendant Raymond Jones and his girlfriend were staying with Arthur Peters at his home in Willits. Peters asked Jones and his girlfriend to leave, and then left the house himself for a few hours. When he returned, Peters found Jones gone and multiple items missing from his bedroom, including an antique .32-caliber firearm. Several weeks later, Jones was stopped by police and a search found the missing firearm in his vehicle and a single bullet in his pants pocket. Jones was charged with first degree burglary, receiving stolen property, possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of ammunition by a felon. The information also alleged that Jones had two prior convictions for burglary and robbery. Jones waived his right to a jury trial on the prior convictions, and a jury found him not guilty of first degree burglary but guilty of the other charged offenses.

In March of 2016, defendant Raymond Jones and his girlfriend were staying with Arthur Peters at his home in Willits. Peters asked Jones and his girlfriend to leave, and then left the house himself for a few hours. When he returned, Peters found Jones gone and multiple items missing from his bedroom, including an antique .32-caliber firearm. Several weeks later, Jones was stopped by police and a search found the missing firearm in his vehicle and a single bullet in his pants pocket. Jones was charged with first degree burglary, receiving stolen property, possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of ammunition by a felon. The information also alleged that Jones had two prior convictions for burglary and robbery. Jones waived his right to a jury trial on the prior convictions, and a jury found him not guilty of first degree burglary but guilty of the other charged offenses.

Defendant Sherry Johnson appeals from an order denying her petition under Proposition 47 to designate her felony conviction of receipt of stolen property a misdemeanor. We affirm.

After extensive litigation, the trial court held defendant Dean Asimos in contempt for failing to comply with an injunction entered by the court. As part of the contempt judgment, the court ordered that Asimos pay to plaintiff Jason Thompson the reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred by Thompson in connection with the contempt proceedings, as determined by the court on the filing of an appropriate motion. After Thompson filed his fee motion, the court awarded him $62,785.37 in fees and costs.

Defendant Anthony James Imbronone III pleaded no contest to driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury in violation of Vehicle Code section 23153, subdivision (a) and admitted four allegations that he personally inflicted great bodily injury within the meaning of Penal Code section 12022.7, subdivision (a). In exchange, the district attorney agreed to seek dismissal of four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter (§ 191.5, subd. (a)) and associated allegations that defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury within the meaning of sections 667 and 1192.7. The trial court sentenced defendant to a 14-year prison term.

Stephen Valbuena’s medical malpractice lawsuit was ordered to arbitration. The arbitrator entered a summary judgment arbitration award in favor of orthopedic surgeon Stephen A. Mikulak, physician assistant Michael Walker, and Mikulak’s partnership, California Orthopedic Specialists Medical Group (hereafter collectively referred to in the singular as Mikulak). The trial court denied Valbuena’s motion to vacate the award, and entered a judgment confirming the arbitration award. On appeal, Valbuena challenges the ruling sending his case to arbitration. We conclude his contentions lack merit and affirm the judgment.

Defendant and appellant Vonnie D. James filed a petition pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 11361.8, subdivision (b), seeking resentencing or dismissal of his felony conviction for sale of marijuana, which the court denied because he was a registered sex offender. On appeal, defendant contends the court erred in determining that Penal Code section 290 registration, in and of itself, warrants the denial of a petition under Health and Safety Code section 11361.8, subdivision (b). We reverse.

Defendants and appellants Gilbert Roa (Roa) and Josue Avilio Ortez (Ortez), who was a minor when he committed these crimes, appeal from their convictions by separate juries. Defendants and an unidentified third male went to a park. Two of them approached a young man sitting in a vehicle and Ortez picked a fight with him. The second male joined the fight as Ortez was losing, eventually followed by the young man’s friend after he awoke from being asleep in his van. Upon finding themselves on the losing end of the fist fight Ortez had started, Ortez called on the third male, who had remained hidden, and the three males pulled out knives and stabbed the two young men. The two young men suffered serious physical and nonphysical wounds that severely affected their lives.

A.J., mother of the minors, appeals from the juvenile court’s orders terminating dependency jurisdiction and setting visitation. (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 366.3 & 395.) Mother contends (1) the juvenile court erred in terminating dependency jurisdiction while exceptional circumstances existed to continue jurisdiction, (2) the juvenile court abused its discretion by improperly delegating issues related to visitation to the legal guardian, and (3) the Sacramento County Department of Child, Family and Adult Services (Department) failed to file written orders reflecting the juvenile court’s orders at the postpermanency review hearing. Finding no error, we will affirm the juvenile court’s orders.

Objector K.H. challenges the renewal of appointment of conservatorship under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (LPS Act) (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 5350 et. seq.; unless otherwise set forth, statutory section references that follow are to the Welfare and Institutions Code). She complains the grave disability finding was not supported by substantial evidence and that the Sutter County Public Guardian’s (Public Guardian) failure to present any evidence supporting the special disabilities deprived her of due process of law.
We reverse the trial court’s order that K.H. shall not have the right to execute an affidavit of voter registration, but otherwise affirm the trial court’s order.

Defendant Ethan Obediah Sterrenberg Beene pleaded no contest to driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or greater. (Veh. Code, § 23152, subd. (b)—count two.) The trial court imposed a three-year county jail term.
On appeal, defendant contends his suppression motion was erroneously denied. Finding the officer lacked a description of defendant sufficiently particular to support the traffic stop, we shall reverse and remand for additional proceedings.