OPINION KRUGER , J. — The California Constitution, as amended by a series of voter initiatives, places limitations on the authority of state and local governments to collect revenue through taxes, fees, charges, and other types of levies. (Cal. Const., arts. XIII A, XIII C, XIII D.) This case concerns the application of these constitutional limitations to a particular kind of local government charge: a statutorily authorized "ground water charge" imposed on well operators by a local water...
OPINION CHIN , J. — Section 632 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1 provides that "upon the trial of a question of fact by the court," the court "shall issue a statement of decision explaining the factual and legal basis for its decision as to each of the principal controverted issues at trial upon the request of any party appearing at the trial." We granted review in this case to decide whether a court's error in failing to issue a statement of decision as this section requires is...
OPINION LIU , J. — In 1975, the Legislature enacted the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975 (ALRA; Lab. Code, 1140 et seq.) "to encourage and protect the right of agricultural employees to full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, to negotiate the terms and conditions of their employment, and to be free from the interference, restraint, or coercion of employers of labor." (Lab. Code,...
OPINION CHIN , J. — Real parties in interest, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) of the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD) of the County of Los Angeles (collectively, real parties), employ automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology in order to locate vehicles linked to crimes under investigation. The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California (ACLU) and Electronic Frontier Foundation (collectively, petitioners) filed a...
OPINION CHIN , J. — In 2012, plaintiff, Latrice Rubenstein, filed a claim with defendant Doe No. 1 (defendant), a public entity, alleging that from 1993 to 1994, when she was a high school student, her cross-country and track coach, who was defendant's employee, sexually molested her. When the claim was denied, she commenced the instant action against defendant and defendants Does Nos. 2-20. She alleged that latent memories of the sexual abuse resurfaced in early 2012, when she was about...
OPINION CU LLAR , J. — Here we consider the interplay of two constitutional provisions. First, sections 8 and 11 of article II of the state Constitution contain the people's initiative power, which we have described as "`one of the most precious rights of our democratic process.'" ( Associated Home Builders etc., Inc. v. City of Livermore (1976) 18 Cal.3d 582 , 591 [ 135 Cal.Rptr. 41 , 557 P.2d 473 ] ( Associated Home Builders ); Cal. Const., art. II (article II), 8 [statewide power]...
OPINION CORRIGAN , J. — In the November 2016 election California voters approved Proposition 66, the Death Penalty Reform and Savings Act of 2016. (Gen. Elec. (Nov. 8, 2016) 1.) The measure's various provisions are intended to facilitate the enforcement of judgments and achieve cost savings in capital cases. Petitioner Ron Briggs seeks writ relief from this court, challenging the constitutionality of certain aspects of the proposition. Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General...
OPINION KRUGER , J. — To establish liability for the tort of malicious prosecution, a plaintiff must demonstrate, among other things, that the defendant previously caused the commencement or continuation of an action against the plaintiff that was not supported by probable cause. We have held that if an action succeeds after a hearing on the merits, that success ordinarily establishes the existence of probable cause (and thus forecloses a later malicious prosecution suit), even if the...
OPINION CANTIL-SAKAUYE , C. J. — In this case we decide whether federal law, the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) Termination Act of 1995 (Pub.L. No. 104-88 (Dec. 29, 1995) 109 Stat. 803) (ICCTA; see 49 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.), preempts application of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; Pub. Resources Code, 21000 et seq.) to a railroad project that has been undertaken by a state public entity, defendant North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA), along with lessee real party...
OPINION LIU , J. — The Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) is California's prescription drug monitoring program. By statute, every prescription of a schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance must be logged in CURES, along with the patient's name, address, telephone number, gender, date of birth, drug name, quantity, number of refills, and information about the prescribing physician and pharmacy. (Health & Saf. Code, 11165, subd. (d); all undesignated...
OPINION WERDEGAR , J. — This is a representative action seeking civil penalties on behalf of the State of California and aggrieved employees statewide for alleged wage and hour violations. (See Lab. Code, 2698 et seq.; the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004; hereafter PAGA.) In the course of discovery, plaintiff Michael Williams sought contact information for fellow California employees. When the defendant employer, Marshalls of CA, LLC, resisted, Williams filed a...
OPINION LIU , J. — The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; Pub. Resources Code, 21000 et seq.) requires that public agencies assess the environmental impacts of projects requiring government permits. The law is intended "`to alert the public and its responsible officials to environmental changes before they have reached ecological points of no return.'" ( Laurel Heights Improvement Assn. v. Regents of University of California (1988) 47 Cal.3d 376 , 392 [ 253 Cal.Rptr. 426 ,...
OPINION CANTIL-SAKAUYE , C. J. — Pursuant to an agreement between Southern California Edison (SCE) and defendant City of Santa Barbara (the City), SCE includes on its electricity bills to customers within the City a separate charge equal to 1 percent of SCE's gross receipts from the sale of electricity within the City, and transfers the revenues to the City. The City contends this separate charge, together with another charge equal to 1 percent of SCE's gross receipts that SCE includes...
OPINION CORRIGAN , J. — Here we consider whether the County of Los Angeles can impose a documentary transfer tax on a written instrument that transfers beneficial ownership of real property from one person to two others. We hold that the tax may be imposed if the document reflects a sale: that is, an actual transfer of legal beneficial ownership made for consideration. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURE A. Transactions Involving the Building This case arises from a series of transactions among...
OPINION CU LLAR , J. — Section 663 of the Code of Civil Procedure allows an aggrieved party in a civil case to move the trial court to vacate its final judgment. The question in this case is whether an order denying one of those motions is appealable even if it raises issues that could have been litigated via an appeal of the judgment. We answered yes to this question over a century ago. (See Bond v. United Railroads (1911) 159 Cal. 270, 273 [113 P. 366] ( Bond ).) Bond held that the...
OPINION KRUGER , J. — In Gion v. City of Santa Cruz (1970) 2 Cal.3d 29 [ 84 Cal.Rptr. 162 , 465 P.2d 50 ], this court held that private owners of certain coastal property who allowed the public to use the property for recreational purposes over a period of years thereby impliedly dedicated property rights to the public. In response to that decision, the Legislature enacted Civil Code section 1009, which limits the circumstances in which courts may find implied dedication of private...
OPINION CORRIGAN , J. — This taxpayer action arises from claims of elephant abuse at the Los Angeles Zoo, in alleged violation of various Penal Code provisions. An earlier appeal resulted in the reversal of a ruling that the complaint raised nonjusticiable issues of public policy. The case proceeded to trial, and plaintiff was awarded injunctive and declaratory relief. This second appeal presents two issues: (1) Did the Court of Appeal's earlier decision establish law of the case, barring...
OPINION WERDEGAR , J. — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has asked this court to resolve unsettled questions concerning the construction of the state's day of rest statutes, Labor Code sections 550 to 558.1. 1 ( Mendoza v. Nordstrom, Inc. (9th Cir. 2015) 778 F.3d 834 ; see Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.548.) These statutes prohibit an employer from "caus[ing] his employees to work more than six days in seven" ( 552), but do not apply "when the total hours of employment do not...
OPINION WERDEGAR , J. — To combat lawsuits designed to chill the exercise of free speech and petition rights (typically known as strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPPs), the Legislature has authorized a special motion to strike claims that are based on a defendant's engagement in such protected activity. (See Code Civ. Proc., 425.16, subd. (a).) 1 We consider a question that has generated uncertainty in the Courts of Appeal: What nexus must a defendant show between...
OPINION WERDEGAR , J. — Is the defendant in an action arising out of contract entitled to an award of attorney fees under Civil Code section 1717 (section 1717) by virtue of having obtained a dismissal from a California court on the ground that the agreement at issue contained a forum selection clause specifying the courts of another jurisdiction In the circumstances of this case, we conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that defendants were not prevailing...
