The heirs of a Grammy and Academy Award-nominated composer of a Disney movie song lost their battle for DVD royalties when a Court of Appeals reversed a Los Angeles Superior Court’s decision to give them over $1 million in jury awards and damages. In a unanimous opinion by Presiding Justice... Read More »
A federal judge has blocked a Texas order that targeted migrants after the Justice Department filed suit against the state to keep state troopers from targeting and stopping vehicles that transport migrants. Governor Gregg Abbott issued the executive order last Wednesday on the grounds that stopping vehicles that were transporting... Read More »
Remember the childhood nursery game that begins, “This little piggy went to market?” If that little piggy wants to be sold in California, regardless of where it was raised, the Ninth Circuit has ruled that its producers must meet a state law that prevents cruelty to animals that are raised... Read More »
The men’s soccer union has joined in on the U.S. women’s soccer team’s call for equal pay. Last Friday, the head of the U.S. National Soccer Team Players Association (USNSTPA), which represents players for the men’s team, filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In their... Read More »
Marlo Spaeth, who has Down Syndrome and was fired from Walmart, handily won a drawn-out legal battle against the giant retailer. Spaeth’s sister, Amy Jo Stevenson, worked with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in their lawsuit against Walmart. Walmart, the largest private employer in the US, has over... Read More »
On July 29, 2021, the California insurance law firm Gianelli & Morris filed a class action complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The case is Brenda Honeycutt v. Anthem, Inc. (Case No.: 2:21-cv-6124). The complaint seeks benefits due under the insurance policy at... Read More »
At the onset of the pandemic, a federal moratorium on evictions was put in place by the Centers for Disease Control. Last Saturday, the moratorium which had been extended several times throughout the pandemic had reached its end. President Biden explained that the moratorium would no longer be in effect... Read More »
A once-private bitter divorce between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt is making legal news. Judge John W. Ouderkirk was ordered to step down after Jolie successfully accused of him taking sides with her former husband. Pitt did not agree to remove the judge from their case. The judge handling the... Read More »
California no doubt leads the nation in protecting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) residents living in senior-care facilities. But now, one of the key provisions of a four-year-old landmark LGBT-senior protection bill has been struck down by a state appellate court. The court ruled it is... Read More »
Vacationers planning a cruise that leaves from a Florida port might want to unpack their swimsuits if they want to travel without fear of COVID-19. A new ruling from an appeals court has reinstated a law, struck down by a lower court, that said ships leaving the state can no... Read More »
California Lawmakers Consider Bill to Stop Employers from Discriminating Based on Marijuana Use. Untold Californians are currently basking in the rapidly expanding recreational marijuana industry. Pot has become so mainstream in California that dispensaries are offering home delivery and advertising on billboards. Yet some California employers are still, rightly or... Read More »
Texas’ efforts on border security have ramped up as the state has begun arresting migrants for trespassing if they cross the border. This move is part of Gov. Abbott's latest border control efforts under what has been dubbed Operation Lone Star. As part of the initiative, Abbott announced that the... Read More »
On July 19, 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland banned the use of warrants, subpoenas or court orders to seize reporters’ records from communications firms, publishers, or the reporters’ employers in attempts to discover confidential sources when leaks are being investigated. The prohibition applies to testimony, telephone records, metadata, documents,... Read More »
On July 22, 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced the seizure of 17 “manuscripts and scrolls” of community records from Jewish communities in what are now Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine. The manuscripts disappeared during the Holocaust and were assumed lost. They were... Read More »
On July 26th, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a statewide vaccine mandate for public employees. For individuals who opt-out of inoculation, weekly testing will be required. This mandate will include not only healthcare workers but other employees in “high-risk congregated settings” such as jails, nursing homes, and homeless shelters. Under California’s... Read More »
