Appellate Briefing

A recent case out of the Fourth Appellate District in Orange County affirms a finding of contempt against an attorney for his conduct during a 15-minute settlement conference, including persistent interruptions and calling opposing counsel a liar, without explanation. In the opinion, the Court draws a line between zealous advocacy and bullying tactics: "[i]nterrupting an opponent's...Read More >>

Defendant was hit with a $103k fee award under the UFTA (fraudulent transfer statutes). In fact, there is no published California authority holding there is such a right to fees under the UFTA. And out-of-state authorities say no. (https://www.calattorneysfees.com/2020/11/substantiation-of-reasonableness-of-fees-detailed-time-entries-supported-103950-fee-recovery-under-f.html.) But, trial counsel did not raise that issue in the trial court. Defendant did raise it...Read More >>

Recently on the California Appellate Law Podcast, we covered AB 3070, which imposes new procedures when making a peremptory challenge of a juror, including providing a valid reason for the challenge (which means, the challenge is no longer peremptory). Although AB 3070 does not go into effect until 2022, judicial temperaments are already strained if People v. Williams (D2d6...Read More >>

A few good tips came across my desk this week. Use in good health. 1. Via Bryan Garner's LawProse (# 351): Before launching thoughtlessly into a grab-bag of arguments, tell your reader how many arguments to expect. If it is a long list, give signposts where your arguments are going before sending your reader on...Read More >>

Many orders present an uphill climb because the appellate courts review them under the very deferential abuse-of-discretion standard, which means the order is likely within the trial court's wide latitude. In my appellate practice, however, I have seen a number of discretionary orders -- a small number, but a significant number -- that may be...Read More >>

If you are making or considering a CCP 998 offer in an employment case, note the current split of authority. In some cases, an employee making an unsuccessful overtime claim could be made to pay employer's costs under CCP 1032. That rule is adopted in the Fourth District, Div. 2. But the Second District, Div....Read More >>

Senior Judge Silberman of the DC Court of Appeals is having none of your alphabet-soup acronyms: "The Agency and thereby the parties regularly use the acronym “ILEC” for Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers, and “CLEC” for Competitive Local Exchange Carriers, but we prefer the use of the English language and deplore the practice of using acronyms...Read More >>

I have a new short video up explaining what an appellate attorney is, and why you should bring an appellate attorney on to your litigation team.Read More >>

An event operator may be liable when an event attendee dies after engaging in foreseeable illegal activity at the event -- overdosing on illegal drugs. So holds the Second Appellate District in Dix v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (D2d7 Oct. 26, 2020) B289596. Live Nation hosted a large "electronic music" festival at the Pomona Fairplex with 65,000 attendees. It...Read More >>

-- The rate of reversal in 2019 was up to 18% in civil cases, from 16% in 2018. -- About 4% of appeals are dismissed. (This should make you think about appealability and timeliness issues!) -- Last year saw the most depublished opinions in a decade. Not by a lot. But I find it noteworthy...Read More >>

At the OCBA's Appellate Section event last week, the Presiding Justices from each of the three divisions of the Fourth Appellate District provided some inside baseball on their respective divisions: Justice Judith McConnell from Division One (San Diego), Justice Manuel Ramirez from Division Two (Riverside), and Justice Kathleen O'Leary from Division Three (Santa Ana). Some...Read More >>

TVA appellate attorney Tim Kowal publishes this weekly update of legal news for trial attorneys. You may subscribe by clicking here. NOT the Schoolhouse Rock Version of Cal. Supreme Court Review.First, a chilling Third District decision says if a sheriff's deputy asks you to check on a neighbor, omits the fact the neighbor had whispered...Read More >>