Civil Appeals

Civil Appeals

Sometimes the trial courts get it wrong.  They either read the applicable law incorrectly, fail to resolve evidentiary issues fairly, or rely on law that’s in itself problematic.  The California state court system is structured something like a pyramid.  At the bottom are the trial courts; then the court of appeal with six separate districts; and finally, the California Supreme Court at the top.  The Second Appellate District includes Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties.  It has eight divisions, each with four permanently assigned justices. 

Obviously, if every trial court appealable judgment or order were actually appealed, the court of appeal would be overwhelmed.  In fact, only about 15% to 20% of the trial court contested civil cases are appealed to the Court of Appeal, and most of these are unsuccessful.  Similarly, the California Supreme Court grants review roughly in five percent of the cases in which Petitions for Review of decisions from the Court of Appeal are filed.  Les has had two wins before the Court of Appeal and one before the Supreme Court.  And no losses. 

In Wilder v. the MTA, the Court of Appeal for the 2nd District held, as Les had argued, that the California Public Records Act can also be invoked by attorneys as an alternative and more expeditious way of obtaining documents.

In Silva v. the State of California, the Court of Appeal for the 2nd District held, as Les had urged in oral argument, that the California Highway Patrol is not immunized from lawsuits where the CHP officer or sergeant has caused injury or death because of his/her reckless driving.  The CHP, which is an agency of the State of California, is responsible for the poor driving habits of its officers the same as any employer is responsible for the bad driving of its employees while behind the wheel in the course and scope of their employment.

In Dora Leon v. the County of Riverside, the California Supreme Court held, as Les had argued as a “friend of the court” in 2023, that law enforcement no longer enjoys immunity from being sued for injuries inflicted through either inattentiveness or malevolence while conducting official investigations.  Several decisions from the Court of Appeal going back many years had given law enforcement a pass for injuries to reputation, loss of property, loss of one’s job, emotional distress, etc., inflicted upon witnesses, suspects, and/or crime victims on the theory that officers and detectives can’t be sued while investigating crime, no matter how malevolent their conduct.   With the Dora Leon decision, 41 years of bad decisions from the Courts of Appeal finally came to an end; and the civil right to sue law enforcement for injuries perpetrated by the local police, the CHP, etc., during their investigations was restored to the people.