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March 23, 2022
Three Mistakes to Avoid in Your Notice of Appeal

The appellant in In re Marriage of Critzer (D6 Mar. 11, 2022 no. H047809) 2022 WL 736174 (nonpub. opn.) made not one, not two, but three mistakes in his notice of appeal. And he lost his appeal because of those mistakes. Here is what he did wrong: First, the appellant was appealing two things: a...

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March 22, 2022
Victoria Fuller on Family Law Appeals: Episode 27 of the California Appellate Law Podcast

When we covered some of the tips and pitfalls of family-law appeals on episode 6 of the California Appellate Law Podcast, it became one of our most popular episodes. So we invited Victoria Fuller, a certified appellate specialist focusing on family law, to join us for another installment. Walking practitioners through various procedural issues in...

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March 21, 2022
Why unpublished opinions probably should remain non citable

In defense of the prohibition on citing unpublished opinions, attorney Ryan McCarl notes to Jeff Lewis and me that, so long as California appellate judges continue “nonpublishing” opinions on the assumption practitioners not understand them to be real judicial decisions, we’d have to change their assumption before we change our understanding. Watch the clip here.  This...

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March 17, 2022
Beware Challenging Arbitration Award: $38K Frivolous Appeal Sanctions Because Mere Arbitrator Error Is Not Reversible

Some recent cases have suggested appellate courts might be more receptive to challenges to arbitration awards than in the past. But the Second District Court of Appeal swung hard in the other direction in *McQueen v. Huang* (D2d8 Mar. 4, 2022 no. B304645) 2022 WL 630606. The court sanctioned the appellant and his counsel over...

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March 16, 2022
Use of Audio & Video at Trial Affirmed on Appeal

Here is a memorable case that illustrates how to get audio and video footage into evidence, how to challenge admission of that evidence—and how not to challenge it. A crossbow-wielding defendant at trial cleverly attempted to prevent admission of audio and video footage proving he fired arrows into the plaintiff’s law office. Although unrepresented at...

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March 15, 2022
“Prophet Without Honor”: Sean Brady on Judge VanDyke’s Controversial 2nd Amendment Prediction

“I’m not a prophet,” Judge Lawrence VanDyke wrote in his controversial concurring opinion in McDougall v. County of Ventura. Second Amendment attorney Sean Brady disagrees. Joining appellate attorneys Tim Kowal and Jeff Lewis, Sean says Judge VanDyke will be proven correct: the Ninth Circuit in the last several years has granted en banc review of...

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March 14, 2022
Order Granting Withdrawal of Attorney Is Not Appealable

No wonder the attorney in Elias v. Jensen (D4d3 Mar. 3, 2022 no. G060098) 2022 WL 620013 (nonpub. opn.) moved to withdraw: her client had “demoted [her] to co-counsel,” the client was filing documents under his own name, and the client had filed a State Bar complaint against her. So it is no wonder the...

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March 10, 2022
A Request for a Statement of Decision That Failed to Identify the Issues Held Inadequate

Whether you win or lose a bench trial, by the time you’ve finished you want the judge to give a written explanation for the decision. And the rules say you are entitled to one. But beware: The rule only says you are entitled to a “tentative” decision. Do not be misled into thinking that “tentative”...

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March 8, 2022
Published Opinions Are Well-Thought-Out: Shouldn't They All Be?

In their article calling for relaxation of the no-citation rule, appellate attorneys David Ettinger and Dean Bochner point to this interesting quote explaining how much effort goes into a published appellate opinion: it “is an exacting and extremely time-consuming task” and “few, if any, appellate courts have the resources to write precedential opinions in every...

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March 7, 2022
A Clever Rhetorical Device Closing Argument Avoided a “Golden Rule” Violation and Earned an $18M Verdict

An impassioned and personal closing argument is often your chance to persuade the jury. But get too personal and you could commit a “golden rule” violation (i.e., you cannot ask the jury to “put yourself in my client’s shoes”). So hats off to the plaintiff’s attorney in Chen v. Herschel (D2d2 Mar. 2, 2022 no....

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March 3, 2022
Proper and improper ways to get around the no-citation rule

Here are two ideas for getting round the “no-citation rule” that prohibits California attorneys from citing unpublished cases. But careful! Only one of them is actually a good idea. First, I ask appellate attorneys David Ettinger and Dean Bochner if attorneys may reference an unpublished case the same way a recent published case did: by naming the appellate district...

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March 2, 2022
Appellate Court Ducks Question Whether Probate Court Loses Jurisdiction to Award Fees Pending Appeal of Judgment

Here is a question I did not realize had not been answered about appellate stays and attorney-fee awards. When the losing party appeals an order that gives rise to a motion for fees, does the appellate stay deprive the court of jurisdiction to award fees? In civil cases, the answer is no. But in probate...

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March 1, 2022
The “Speedy” in Speedy Trial Becomes Relative, and the Limits of Scientology Arbitration: A Review of Jan. 2022 Cases on Ep. 25 of the Cal.App.Law.Pod.

Reviewing some 9th Circuit and California appellate cases of note from early 2022, appellate specialists Tim Kowal and Jeff Lewis discuss these juicy issues: Can the 6th Amendment right to speedy trial be indefinitely postponed due to Covid? (Yes, if the defendant is not incarcerated, says the 9th Circuit in United States v. Olsen.) Can...

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February 28, 2022
How the No Citation Rule Is Routinely Violated

Did you know you are forbidden to cite unpublished cases — even when urging the Cal. Supreme Court in a petition for review that there is a split of authority? Appellate attorneys David Ettinger and Dean Bochner note that this use of unpublished cases are routinely employed, but it violates California Rules of Court rule...

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February 25, 2022
Why you should include more white space in your briefs

Legal academic-turned-practitioner Ryan McCarl has some writing tips for lawyers, including one you haven’t heard before: Add more white space to your briefs. And remove clutter generally. And this surprised co-hosts Jeff Lewis and Tim Kowal: those vertical lines on your pleading paper? Get rid of them. They’re unnecessary and they make the reader feel crowded. (Disclosure: I...

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February 24, 2022
Premature Appeal May Be Saved, But Get the Judgment Entered

Sometimes appeals are filed prematurely. Some classic examples are appeals taken from on order sustaining a demurrer (you need to wait for the dismissal), or from an order granting summary judgment (you need to wait for the judgment). The Court of Appeal may choose to “save” your premature appeal at treat it as taken from...

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February 23, 2022
Attorney Sanctions for Violating Appellate Stay (But the Stay Was Probably Void)

This recent case involving the underappreciated topic of appellate stays has me heartened on one point, but dismayed on another. What is heartening: Appellate stays have teeth. In Stupp v. Schilders (D1d2 Jan. 25. 2022 no. A161177) 2022 WL 213774 (nonpub. opn.), the trial court imposed a rather large discovery sanction against Stupp totaling over...

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February 22, 2022
Family Law Judgment Reversed for Failure to Provide a Statement of Decision

A statement of decision is the court’s formal explanation of the factual and legal basis for its decision. In some cases, the court is required to give a statement of decision. And in San Francisco v. Hale (D1d2 Feb. 17, 2022 no. A161503) 2022 WL 483925, the failure to provide a statement of decision was...

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February 21, 2022
Two Proposals to Amend the No-Citation Rule

Attorneys are prohibited under CRC rule 8.1115 from citing unpublished cases for any reason. But not even the Supreme Court takes the rule seriously. Practitioners routinely cite unpublished cases in petitions for review to demonstrate the existence of splits of authority, even though rule 8.1115 clearly prohibits this practice. Attorneys David Ettinger and Dean Bochner join hosts Tim Kowal and Jeff Lewis to...

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February 16, 2022
Denial of Motion to Vacate Default Was Res Judicata, Not Subject to a Second Challenge

When a defendant fails to answer a complaint, the next step is entry of default. At that point, the defendant may move to vacate the default. But usually, the defendant will wait until after the judgment is entered, and then move to vacate the judgment. Technically, you can do both. But don’t. That is what...

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February 16, 2022
Preliminary Injunction Is Not Appealable If Issued by an Arbitrator

Nosing out whether an order is appealable can be difficult. But we know injunctions are appealable because they are listed explicitly in Code of Civil Procedure section 904.1, the appealability statute. But a preliminary injunction issued by an arbitrator is not. They are not a final “award,” and thus not appealable. That is the holding...

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February 15, 2022
Elegant Legal Writing, with Ryan McCarl

Attorney and author Ryan McCarl joins Tim and Jeff to discuss his forthcoming book, Elegant Legal Writing, and his career through academia into private practice. Ryan tells Tim and Jeff the most common mistakes in attorneys’ briefs, which include legalese (why are you still using legalese?), and providing too little white space on the page...

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February 10, 2022
Nonsuit of Punitive Damages Reversed on Appeal

A nonsuit is one of the few exceptions to the ordinary presumptions to affirm on appeal. And so it bore out in *Newnes v. F&M Trust Co. of Long Beach* (D2d1 Jan. 11, 2022 no. B303725) 2022 WL 98179 (nonpub. opn.). Newnes’ claim for punitive damages was dismissed on nonsuit after opening argument at trial...

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February 9, 2022
Law Is What Courts Do, Not What They Say

Appellate expert Myron Moskovitz explains why unpublished opinions are a sleight of hand. Courts do one thing in one case, and the opposite in another case, and then tell you only the first case is “precedent” because the second was not “published.” But ALL cases are published online. We can all read what the court...

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February 9, 2022
Waiting for a Formal Judgment Before Filing an Attorney Fee Motion Rendered the Motion Untimely

If you won your case and you have a right to recover attorney fees, mind the deadlines. The prevailing parties in Wallace v. Alameda Cnty. Mgmt. Emps. Ass'n (D1d5 Jan. 25, 2022) Case No. A162044 (nonpub. opn.) blew the deadline. The petitioners, who had won a writ of mandate in the trial court, actually had...

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February 8, 2022
Appeal by Client of Sanctions Against Attorney Dismissed: Attorney Should Have Appealed

Appealing a sanctions order? If sanctions were awarded against the attorney, be sure the appeal is made out in the attorney’s name. The appeal on behalf of the clients in Lafferty v. Fleetwood Motor Homes of Cal., Inc. (D3 Jan. 26, 2022) no. C059562, was dismissed because the attorney was not listed in the notice...

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February 3, 2022
A Trap for the Unwary: Order on a Post-Settlement Fee Motion May Be Unappealable

CEB has published my short article, “A Trap for the Unwary: Order on a Post-Settlement Fee Motion May Be Unappealable.” (The article was originally published on my blog here.) The article covers the published opinion in Sanchez v. Westlake Services, LLC (D2d7 Jan. 18, 2022 No. B308435) 2022 WL 1522087. The parties settled a consumer...

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February 2, 2022
Right to Speedy Trial Under 6th Amendment May Be Suspended Indefinitely During Covid, Holds 9th Circuit in Denying En Banc Review

What do judges think about the Covid impacts on court proceedings? Jury trials were put on hold in the early months, and only resumed in fits and starts. In-person appearances began again last year, but are being tabled again. At least as it concerns criminal jury trials, you can get a good sampling of judges’...

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February 1, 2022
Rejected Arguments for Lack of Citation, and Other Recent Cases, on Ep. 23 of the California Appellate Law Podcast

Jeff Lewis and I round up some recent appellate cases, and briefly discuss why California still does not make audio recordings of proceedings like federal courts do. Here are the cases we discuss: Singman v. IMDB.com, bookmark this published opinion holding that legal propositions in a brief without a citation will be ignored. Center Street...

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February 1, 2022
Judge Applied Wrong Legal Standard, Leading to Reversal of $680,000 Fee Award

In “lemon law” cases under the Song-Beverly Act, the “prevailing party” is entitled to attorney fees. But what is a “prevailing party”? Is a plaintiff who recovered $1 in nominal damages a prevailing party entitled to attorney fees (and over $680,000 in fees at that)? In a published opinion, the Court of Appeal in Duff...

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