Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: 🗯️Watch what you say in your appellate briefing extension. Attorneys commonly explain that they need an extension because the case is “very complex.” But if your appeal is arguing that the fee award...
Please AI responsibly: Attorneys at a major law firm are making use of ChatGPT. That's not a bad thing normally, but filling in legal cites is not what it's for. The unchecked ChatGPT cases were fake at a rate of 8 out of 9 total cases in a single brief. On this recent legal news...
Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: ChatGPT Fail: Remember last year when ChatGPT “hallucinated” leading a solo attorney to cite a couple nonexistent cases? Well, a couple of Big Law attorneys from Morgan and Morgan, “America’s largest injury law...
Your check for arbitration fees gets delayed in the mail. Under a particularly harsh pay-or-waive provision of the California Arbitration Act, if your fee is received on day 31, too bad—your arbitration rights go Poof! Or do they? There’s currently a big split among the appellate courts on this. Tim goes solo while Jeff is...
Add another entry to the split in the Court of Appeal over whether the Federal Arbitration Act preempts the California Arbitration Act’s harsh 30-day pay-or-waive deadline. Following the no-preemption side in Keeton v. Tesla, Inc. (D1d1 Jun. 26, 2024 No. A166690) (mentioned here), and closely parsing the arbitration agreement’s less-than-complete invocation of the FAA, the First District...
If you pay your arbitration fees late, there is a penalty. That penalty, under the California Arbitration Act, is that you are deemed to have waived arbitration. In a split decision last year in *Hernandez v. Sohnen Enters.* (discussed here), the Court of Appeal held that, when the parties’ agreement specifies the Federal Arbitration Act,...
My presentation Trial Mastery: Developing a Winning Strategy and Preserving Critical Issues, is now available at LawPracticeCLE available here. In the presentation I cover my Top 10 Appellate Tips for before, during, and after trial. I also offer these insights: There is a big difference between the story you tell at trial, and the record....
The San Bernardino Superior Court electronically records trial. Can Jeff use the recording as the appellate record? Short answer: no. But there’s an original writ pending in the Supreme Court on a similar issue, so watch this space. We also cover:  Appellate Specialist Jeff Lewis' biography, LinkedIn profile, and Twitter feed. Appellate Specialist Tim...
Motion-in-limine orders, like other evidentiary rulings, are not appealable. But there is one case, Brand v. 20th Century Insurance Company/21st Century Insurance Company (2004) 124 Cal.App.4th 594, where the excluded expert was a party’s former attorney and disqualified on that basis. And attorney-disqualification orders are appealable as collateral orders. But when the same thing happened recently...
Jeff is in trial, so take in a few quick summaries of recent cases and get back to billing:  Appellate Specialist Jeff Lewis' biography, LinkedIn profile, and Twitter feed. Appellate Specialist Tim Kowal's biography, LinkedIn profile, Twitter feed, and YouTube page. Sign up for Not To Be Published, Tim Kowal’s weekly legal update, or...
At the hearing on the successful defendant’s anti-SLAPP motion—but before she moved for fees—the trial court granted the motion, but denied fees. This was surprising for two reasons. One, the prevailing anti-SLAPP defendant has a right to fees. Two, and more interesting, the defendant hadn’t even made her motion yet. Reversing, Ruano v. Goldberg (D2d4...
998 loser still gets enforcement costs. Did you win your case but lose the CCP 998 bet? While your prejudgment costs are limited, you are still entitled to judgment enforcement costs. Elmi v. Related Management Company, L.P. (4D3d, Jan. 8, 2025, No. G062788). A judge’s participation at a legal conference about a case is not...
There is a small but growing number of cases holding that incivility can bite you in your attorneys’ fees motions. But are the courts serious about that? Mess around and find out, is the lesson from Madison v. Theodore (D2d7, Jan. 8, 2025, No. B310551) [nonpub. opn.]. During a long court trial, the proceedings "took...
There was a bit in an old radio show (Kevin-and-Bean KROQ old, not Little Orphan Annie old) had Ralph Garman review movies he’d never seen, based only on watching the trailers. In this episode, we review some cases we haven’t read. We discuss the cases below, which lead to some good tangents. Other items discussed...
This is why your teenagers are anxious: TikTok’s fate hangs in the balance at the Supreme Court. We discuss the recent oral arguments, and Donald Trump’s amicus brief asking the Court to sit tight and he’ll make a fantastic deal that will be fantastic and make the Court very happy and everyone will be very...
Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: File for attorneys’ fees within the appeal deadline: Remember that the deadline to file a motion for fees is the same as the deadline to appeal. That means 60 days after the notice...
Trial courts get busy sometimes. They making a ruling, but might overlook ever to enter a formal order. Sometimes it is a statement of decision (which is not appealable). Sometimes it is in a minute order that directs a party to propose a formal order (also not appealable), like the nonsuit ruling in Blauser v....
Here is our 2024 roundup, and in exchange we have a request for suggestions for 2025 content. If you are an attorney, what content do you prefer? Check out the poll. Now here’s the roundup of updates for 2025: 📅 MSJ Deadlines Are Updated: Remember 81-20-11. With the MSJ hearing as the target, motions must...
The important appellate tip in the denial-of-coverage insurance case of Saydman v. Aegis Sec. Ins. Co. (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 20, 2024 No. G063209) (nonpub. opn.) is: get a court reporter. Even when the hearing is on a routine motion for attorneys’ fees involving no testimony, expect the appellate court to affirm if you don’t...
Jackie Gardina shares dispaches from the Blue Ribbon Commission on reforming the Bar Exam, covering recent reforms, the ongoing debate about the exam’s effectiveness, and the rise of alternative pathways to legal licensure. Some takeaways: Jackie Gardina biography, LinkedIn profile, and Twitter feed. Appellate Specialist Jeff Lewis' biography, LinkedIn profile, and Twitter feed. Appellate Specialist...
Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: Do not trifle with judgment enforcement. Just because you are not a party doesn't mean you can't be in contempt. Big time sanctions awarded In Ofek Rachel, Ltd. v. Suki Ben Zion. (2D2d...
There is a 700-appellate case backlog in Los Angeles and only around 450 attorneys on the California Appellate Project—Los Angeles panel. CAP-LA attorneys Jennifer Hansen and Jennifer Peabody share how the rest of us can pitch in to assuage this gap in the administration of justice. Why work as a panel attorney? Tune in to...
CEB DailyNews has published my article, “Late Objections to RFAs Do Not Invalidate Otherwise Substantive Responses, Fourth District Holds”. When discovery objections have been waived, does serving responses that still contain objections (which have been waived) count as “substantial compliance”? Yes, says Katayama v. Cont'l Inv. Grp. (D4d3 Oct. 9, 2024 No. G063872) [published]. Deeming...
Attorneys still wrestling with Microsoft Word to finish a brief need to be acquainted with Chris Dralla’s product Typelaw, the groundbreaking tool that lets attorneys turn plain text into fully formatted, cited, hyperlinked, local rule-compliant briefs. If your practice depends on producing high-quality briefs, here is why you need Typelaw in your life: Chris Dralla’s...
Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: Judicial bias is nonwaivable, but not nonforfeitable: In N. Am. Title Co. v. The Superior Court. (Cal. Oct. 28, 2024 No. S280752), the trial judge made comments suggesting that the insurance carrier was...
In this episode, Tim and Jeff dive into the recent heated exchange between Fifth Circuit Judge Edith Jones and Georgetown Professor Stephen Vladeck at the Federalist Society’s Lawyers National Lawyers Conference. The debate centered on the tension between judicial independence and the criticism of judge shopping in high-profile cases. Tim and Jeff analyze the arguments...
My “Moneyball” lesson for trial success: get more of your evidence and arguments into the record than your opponent does. MyLawCLE has published my presentation, “Mastering Trial Strategy: Advanced Techniques, Ethical Insights, and Critical Mistakes Every Attorney Should Avoid.” The two-part presentation on federal trial strategy begins with trial attorney James Susag’s coverage of developing...
Responding to a decades-long lack of court reporters, the Los Angeles Superior Court in September 2024 ordered that electronic recordings may be made. This arguably violates a statute prohibiting the use of electronic recordings. But Erin Smith, co-founder of the Family Violence Appellate Project, explains why the lack of meaningful access to an appellate record...
When discovery objections have been waived, does serving responses that still contain objections (which have been waived) count as “substantial compliance”? Yes, says Katayama v. Cont'l Inv. Grp. (D4d3 Oct. 9, 2024 No. G063872) [published]. What happened is plaintiff failed to respond to requests for admissions. Defendant then moved to deem the requests admitted, but...
CEB Dailynews has published my article, “Prevailing on a Contract Affirmative Defense Gives Rise to Civ. Code § 1717 Fees.” The article is about what happens when you prevail on a contract, but the contract is only raised as an affirmative defense—and not as a claim. The Supreme Court previously said no: an affirmative defense...
