California Case Summaries New California Civil Cases by Monty A. McIntyre, Esq. Monty A. McIntyre, Esq. is the publisher of California Case Summaries™ which provides short summaries, organized by legal topic, of every new published civil and family law case helping California lawyers easily master the new case law in their practice areas, get better results and referrals, and grow their law practice (https:// cacasesummaries.com). Monthly, quarterly and annual subscriptions are available, as well as annual Practice Area subscriptions in the areas of Employment, Family Law, Real Property and Torts. Monty has been a California civil trial lawyer since 1980 and a member of ABOTA since 1995. He currently works as a full-time mediator, arbitrator and referee with ADR Services, Inc. conducing Zoom hearings throughout California (to use Monty contact his case manager Haward Cho, haward@adrservices. com, (619) 233-1323). Monty also helps lawyers improve their skills and practices with his Lawyer Master Mentoring™ services (for info visit Monty’s web at https:// montymcintyre-law.com).
CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT Medical Malpractice Lopez v. Ledesma (2022) _ Cal.5th _ , 2022 WL 553421: The California Supreme Court, affirming the decisions of the Court of Appeal and the trial court, held that Code of Civil Procedure, section 3333.2, which limits non-economic damages to $250,000 in a medical malpractice case, applies to a physician assistant who has a legally enforceable agency relationship with a supervising physician and provides services within the scope of that agency relationship, even if the physician violates his or her obligation to provide adequate supervision. (February 24, 2022.)
Torts Sheen v. Wells Fargo Bank (2022) _ Cal.5th _ , 2022 WL 664722: The California Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s order sustaining defendant’s demurrer to plaintiff’s cause of action alleging negligence in defendant’s responses to plaintiff’s loan modification requests. The California Supreme Court ruled that a lender does not owe the borrower a tort duty sounding in general negligence principles to process, review and respond carefully and completely to a borrower’s loan modification application, such that upon a breach of
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Attorney Journals San Diego | Volume 225, 2022
this duty the lender may be liable for the borrower’s economic losses—i.e., pecuniary losses unaccompanied by property damage or personal injury. This type of claim is barred by the economic loss doctrine, a judicially created doctrine that bars recovery in negligence for pure economic losses when such claims would disrupt the parties’ private ordering, render contracts less reliable as a means of organizing commercial relationships, and stifle the development of contract law. (March 7, 2022.)
CALIFORNIA COURTS OF APPEAL Appeals Meinhardt v. City of Sunnyvale (2022) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2022 WL 702912: The Court of Appeal dismissed petitioner’s appeal of the trial court’s denial of his petition for writ of administrative mandate seeking to overturn a forty-four (44) hour suspension against him for engaging in speech that was critical of policies implemented by the new Department Chief. The appeal was dismissed because it was not timely filed after the trial court’s original decision denying his writ petition. While the original decision was labeled an “order,” under Dhillon v. John Muir Health (2017) 2 Cal.5th 1109, 1113, it was actually a final judgment. When a court has entered a ruling on a writ petition that constitutes a
