On Monday morning, the Supreme Court will file three opinions in cases argued on the late-May calendar: Kim v. Toyota Motor Corporation, Citizens for Fair REU Rates v. City of Redding, and People v. Gonzales. (Briefs here; oral argument videos here, here, and here.) The unusual triple filing day is a function of the 90-day rule.
Kim involves the issue whether the trial court committed reversible error in admitting, as relevant to the risk-benefit test for design defect, evidence of industry custom and practice related to the alleged defect. Fourth District, Division One, Court of Appeal Justice William Dato is the pro tem. [Disclosure: Horvitz & Levy filed an amicus curiae brief in this case.]
The Citizens case raises these questions: (1) Is a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) transferred from the city utility to the city general fund a “tax” under Proposition 26 (Cal. Const., art. XIII C, § 1, subd. (1)(e))? (2) Does the exception for “reasonable costs to the local government of providing the service or product” apply to the PILOT (Cal. Const., art. XIII C, § 1, subd. (1)(e)(2))? (3) Does the PILOT predate Proposition 26? Sixth District Justice Nathan Mihara is the pro tem.
Gonzales is another Proposition 47 case. The court granted review on its own motion. When it did so, it limited the issue to this: “What relationship, if any, must exist between convictions for forgery and identity theft in order to exclude a forgery conviction from sentencing as a misdemeanor under Penal Code section 473, subdivision (b)?” Fourth District, Division Three, Justice Eileen Moore is the pro tem.
The three opinions can be viewed Monday starting at 10:00 a.m.
