The following is our summary of the Supreme Court’s actions on petitions for review in civil cases from the Court’s conference on July 12, 2017. The summary includes those civil cases in which (1) review has been granted, (2) review has been denied but one or more justices has voted for review, or (3) the Court has ordered depublished an opinion of the Court of Appeal.
Review Granted
Gerard v. Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center, S241655– Review Granted– July 12, 2017
This is an action by health care workers sued their hospital employer for alleged Labor Code violations. It presents the following questions: (1) Did Senate Bill 327 constitute a change in the law or a clarification in the law? (2) Is the Industrial Wage Commission (IWC) Wage Order No. 5, section 11(D) partially invalid to the extent it authorizes health care workers to waive their second meal periods on shifts exceeding 12 hours? (3) To what extent, if any, does the language of Labor Code section 516 regarding the “health and welfare of those workers” affect the analysis? In a published opinion, Gerard v. Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center (2017) 9 Cal.App.5th 1204, the Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division Three, held the IWC wage order was valid.
Voris v. Lampert, S241812–Review Granted– July 12, 2017
This case presents the following question: Is conversion of earned but unpaid wages a valid cause of action? In an unpublished opinion, Voris v. Lampert, Case No. B265747, the Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Three, concluded that unpaid wages do not give rise to a cause of action for conversion.
In re Priscilla A., S241995–Review Granted and Held– July 12, 2017
In this juvenile dependency case, a father challenged the juvenile court’s jurisdiction and disposition orders. The Supreme Court ordered briefing deferred pending decision in In re R.T., S226416, which presents the following issue: Does Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (b)(1), authorize dependency jurisdiction without a finding that parental fault or neglect is responsible for the failure or inability to supervise or protect the child?
Wilson v. Cable News Network, Inc., S239686–Briefing Ordered–July 12, 2017
The Court ordered briefing in this case, in which briefing previously had been deferred pending decision in Park v. Board of Trustees of California State University (2017) 2 Cal.5th 1057. This case presents the following issue: In deciding whether an employee’s claims for discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, and defamation arise from protected activity for purposes of an anti-SLAPP motion to strike (Code of Civ. Proc., § 425.16), what is the relevance of an allegation that the employer acted with a discriminatory or retaliatory motive?
Review Denied (with dissenting justices)
None.
Depublished
Applied Medical Corporation v. Thomas, S241879– Depublished Court of Appeal Opinion– July 12, 2017
After defendant was removed from the board of plaintiff corporation, the corporation exercised its right to repurchase shares of its stock issued to defendant. The defendant objected to the repurchase price. The issues on appeal were: (1) whether the trial court erred in holding the corporation’s conversion claim failed, and (2) whether the trial court correctly ruled the corporation’s fraud claims were barred by the applicable statute of limitations. The Court of Appeal, First District, Division Five, held in a published opinion, Applied Medical Corporation v. Thomas (2017) 10 Cal.App.5th 927, that the trial court did err on issue (1) and that such a claim may be based on either ownership or the right to possession at the time of conversion. The court held the corporation’s claims were barred by the applicable statute of limitations. The Supreme Court ordered the opinion depublished.
