Daily Recorder

GUEST COLUMNS

When 'substantial completion' is not enough: Purchase agreements for newly constructed buildings

Purchase agreements for buildings still under construction must precisely allocate the risk of delay--distinguishing between a building's readiness for use and its readiness for legal closing--to protect buyers with firm business deadlines and prevent disputes over what "ready" really means.

Lessons from a major whistleblower retaliation verdict

California Labor Code Section 1102.5 is a strong weapon for employees, and a recent major verdict shows why employers faced with whistleblower retaliation claims should proceed carefully.

Can California tax options and restricted stock after you move away?

Leaving California may not end California tax obligations for residents with stock options or other equity compensation.

Another exit from arbitration, but how wide is the door?

The 9th Circuit's Ding decision allows employees who discover a viable sexual harassment claim after arbitration begins to invoke the EFAA and move their case to court, while limiting that option to circumstances where the claim was not previously known or withheld.

The driver is gone. The duty is not.

California negligence law already knows how to allocate responsibility when technology replaces the person behind the wheel.

Courts should stop rescuing unlawful arbitration agreements

Can courts still enforce pre-dispute employee arbitration agreements that do not meet the Armendariz requirements?

Good morning, AI: Robin Williams' family fights back

AI has made it easier than ever to imitate a celebrity. A four-step strategy can give celebrities and their families the best chance of maintaining control over their identities.

3 reasons litigation will rise in the Inland Empire over the next decade

Population, industrial and trucking growth are converging to make the Inland Empire an increasingly consequential center for civil litigation in California.

When is it 'too old' to drive?

Age alone is not enough to take away an elderly driver's license, but California has safeguards to determine when someone should be reexamined--or not driving at all.

One bad Cheerio shouldn't spoil the sentence

The Court of Appeal's decision in People v. Cruz improperly expands resentencing relief by eliminating enhancements based on conduct already admitted or proved, giving defendants an unwarranted sentencing windfall and undermining culpability-based punishment.

No end run around the Constitution

North Carolina's high court struck down a condemnation that failed the Constitution's public use requirement, offering a lesson for courts elsewhere, including California.

Downey's new distribution hub is a truck safety test

Large logistics projects bring investment, jobs and delivery capacity, along with truck routing, school-zone safety and carrier-accountability issues that belong in the planning process before the first serious crash.

Towards a more perfect partition

California's 2023 partition law was well intentioned, but it overlooked how California property law actually works. A 2026 update can fix those oversights and create a more perfect partition.

AI chatbots are showing up in discovery: Courts can't agree on what to do about it

Early court rulings are divided over whether AI-generated litigation materials are protected by privilege or the work-product doctrine, while judges are increasingly restricting the use of public AI tools in discovery over confidentiality and data privacy concerns.

How California's anti-lapse statute defeated a trust's survivorship provision

In re Tung Trust held that a generic survivorship clause does not override California's anti-lapse statute, underscoring the need for estate planners to explicitly condition gifts on survival and clearly specify alternative dispositions.

A lis pendens is only as good as the pleading behind it

A lis pendens can be a powerful tool in family law, but California courts require attorneys to specifically identify the property and plead a claim affecting its title or possession before recording the notice, or risk expungement and attorney fees.

The state of college sports: When passion transitions to business

With NIL valuations and endorsements influencing every stakeholder in college sports--from the players and coaches to a school's administration--it's time to embrace the new reality and help student-athletes make informed decisions or step aside.

9th Circuit tosses $40M trade secrets verdict over trial errors

Comet's $40 million trade secret verdict unraveled on appeal, illustrating how midtrial claim changes, jury instructions, and an all-or-nothing damages strategy combined to turn "remarkable" evidence of misappropriation into reversible error.

San Francisco shields workers from certain out-of-state criminal records

San Francisco's expanded Fair Chance Ordinance prohibits employers from basing adverse employment decisions on out-of-state convictions or unresolved arrests for conduct lawful in California in four categories.

California's Proposition 45 does not cover data centers

A recent debate over California's Proposition 45 has raised a surprisingly basic question: "Are data centers eligible for the measure's streamlined review process?"

For fine art transactions, it's best to read the fine print

California art transactions sit within ordinary commercial law, but art-specific statutes can displace familiar assumptions about freedom of contract, remedies and risk allocation--making a generic commercial-sales form an imperfect fit.

9th Circuit clarifies unfair advertising law

The 9th Circuit has narrowed the Lanham Act's false advertising reach, holding that allegedly false claims about a product idea's creative origin are not actionable under the statute.

Shock gloves at the MDC: A new tool meets old standards

ICE's planned use of electric-shock G.L.O.V.E. devices raises serious legal and accountability questions about whether deploying them against protesters can satisfy constitutional use-of-force standards without clearer rules, stronger justification and meaningful oversight.

Is an algorithmic feed 'speech'? Courts are about to decide

As courts grapple with whether algorithmically generated feeds are "expressive," the answer may determine the extent of social media platforms' First Amendment rights in the age of AI.

Weighing California's medical malpractice cap increase

Nearly 50 years after MICRA's enactment, California's medical malpractice landscape is evolving in ways that affect both injured patients and the practice of law.

Storm water rules make a splash in Los Angeles

A new regional storm water permit expands compliance obligations to previously unregulated Los Angeles County facilities, requiring operators to evaluate storm water and potentially address pollutants draining from their properties.

Need a Workplace Violence Restraining Order? Here's how to get one fast

California employers and unions can obtain workplace violence restraining orders quickly, yet few use them. Understanding the streamlined process can help protect employees from recurring threats, violence and harassment.

Federal approval, state authority and the future of California landlines

AT&T's effort to retire traditional landline service in California presents a classic federalism dispute over the boundary between federal authority and state regulation of essential communications infrastructure.

The safety tool retailers keep leaving on the shelf

Workplace Violence Restraining Orders under CCP § 527.8 offer retailers a far more effective way to stop recurring violence, threats and harassment than toothless trespass warnings, with more than 90% of respondents complying once served.

Geofence warrants after Chatrie: new limits, same old constitutional duty

The Supreme Court's decision in Chatrie v. United States holds that geofence warrants seeking Google location data constitute Fourth Amendment searches, requiring California law enforcement to satisfy probable cause and particularity when using the increasingly common investigative tool.

Payment of benefits does not excuse unreasonable delay

A recent appellate decision makes clear that an insurer's unreasonable delay in paying benefits can trigger bad faith liability--even when the insurer eventually pays the claim in full.

Bias is implicit in all AI, even legal AI

Attorneys who use AI must do so with their eyes wide open, understanding its limitations and recognizing that their work is just beginning whenever AI has been used.

The safety valves are failing as ordinary cases produce extraordinary verdicts

Two verdicts, one summer: What Byrne v. Ameris Bank and Glick v. City of Los Angeles should teach every employment lawyer, mediator and GC.

Four steps for lawyers to harness AI without the risks

AI is reshaping legal practice, but attorneys must use it competently and ethically to avoid becoming the next cautionary headline.

Pardon me but Fauci may have a point

A Senate contempt finding against Dr. Anthony Fauci for invoking the Fifth Amendment raises complex constitutional questions about presidential pardons, potential state prosecution, and whether his testimony waiver arguments are legally sufficient.

Laying up or going for the green? Maniago and the risks of aggressive appellate strategy

Appellate strategy, like golf, rewards patience over shortcuts. In Maniago, the California Supreme Court reminds litigants that the quickest path to review may forfeit it altogether.

No box for robot

When a driverless car breaks the law in California, the violation now goes to the manufacturer's regulator instead of to a driver. That works until someone dies, because homicide still requires a mind, and the law has spent two thousand years looking for one.

Navigating the hazy boundaries of public employee speech

The Ninth Circuit's Theis decision clarifies public employees' workplace speech protections, holding that when employees speak as part of their jobs, employers -- not employees -- control the message.

Employment settlement claims: Should you sign IRS Form 4669?

IRS Form 4669 serves a legitimate purpose in worker-classification disputes but requiring it in employment settlements may be both inappropriate and premature.

Can AI reduce the work it creates?

Purpose-built AI tools that catch curable defects before filing and flag issues during court review--from pleadings and default judgments to class and PAGA settlements--could be developed to help alleviate the added caseload pressure AI itself is expected to create.

The license lie that sank a contractor

A contractor that lied about its workers' comp coverage to save its license ended up losing $1.55 million in fees and its ability to sue for payment -- proof that in litigation, the client's own conduct often decides the case.

Do I have a conflict? Case law reveals some practical ways to know

A recent California decision reinforces that a lawyer's move to a new firm does not automatically create a disqualifying conflict if effective ethical safeguards are in place.

Uber background checks, criminal records and passenger assault claims in California

How rideshare screening actually works, when a driver's criminal record matters and what a passenger injured by an Uber driver has to prove in a California negligence case.

Appellate algebra alert!

You thought there'd be no math?!

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