Helmer v. Bingham Toyota Isuzu, 129 Cal. App. 4th 1121 (2005)
Kevin Helmer alleged that Bingham Toyota Isuzu and Bob Clark, his former supervisor, fraudulently induced him to leave a prior job based on false promises made to him by Clark. A jury awarded Helmer $450,913 in compensatory damages (for future lost income) and $1.5 million in punitive damages, which the trial court later
Smith v. City of Jackson, 544 U.S. 228, 125 S. Ct. 1536 (2005)
A group of police officers older than 40 challenged the decision of the City of Jackson, Mississippi to raise the starting salaries of officers with less than five years of seniority in order to bring starting salaries up to the regional average. Since officers with less than five years of seniority
Ampex Corp. v. Cargle, 128 Cal. App. 4th 1569 (2005)
Ampex Corporation and its president and chairman of the board, Edward J. Bramson, sued an anonymous poster to an Internet message board (Scott Cargle, a former employee of iNEXTV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ampex) for defamation after Cargle posted messages critical of Ampex and Bramson. Cargle responded to the defamation action with a motion
Blakemore v. Superior Court, 129 Cal. App. 4th 36 (2005)
In this class action, Raven Blakemore and several other women who sold Avon beauty products as independent sales representatives alleged, among other things, a violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL). The representatives alleged that Avon would “stuff” unwanted or unordered merchandise in with products they did order and would then refuse to credit
Boyer v. Jensen, 129 Cal. App. 4th 62 (2005)
Holly Boyer was in an automobile accident with Russell Jensen, who was employed by Valley Mechanical Services at the time of the accident. Jensen sued Boyer for negligence shortly before the expiration of the statute of limitations. Approximately five months later, Boyer cross complained against Jensen; six months after that, Boyer amended her cross complaint
Woods v. Fox Broadcasting, 129 Cal. App. 4th 344 (2005)
Mel Woods and Stan Golden, former shareholders of Fox Family Worldwide, Inc. (a joint venture between Saban Entertainment and Fox Entertainment and affiliates) sued Fox Entertainment, et al., after the sale of Fox Family to the Walt Disney Company. Woods and Golden alleged that as part of the deal with Disney, Fox insisted that
Gober v. Ralphs Grocery Co., 128 Cal. App. 4th 648 (2005)
The jury awarded Dianne Gober and five other employees of Ralphs a total of $550,000 in compensatory damages and punitive damages in the amount of $30 million as a result of sexual harassment they suffered in the workplace. The trial court conditionally granted a new trial on the amount of punitive damages as
McRae v. Dep’t of Corrections, 127 Cal. App. 4th 779 (2005)
Dr. Margie McRae filed a lawsuit against her employer, the California Department of Corrections, and four individual defendants, seeking damages for discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The trial court granted summary judgment to the four individual defendants, and the case proceeded to trial against the
SEC v. Gemstar-TV Guide Int’l, 401 F.3d 1031 (9th Cir. 2005) (en banc)
As part of its announced plans to restructure its management and corporate governance, Gemstar-TV Guide entered into negotiations for termination agreements with its CEO and CFO. The CEO’s termination agreement provided for a “termination fee” of $22.45 million, an additional $7.03 million in unpaid salary, bonuses, and unused vacation and millions
Lutz v. Glendale Union High School, 403 F.3d 1061 (9th Cir. 2005)
Claudette Lutz, a longtime teacher and assistant principal at schools in Glendale, Arizona, alleged that she was fired in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Lutz filed her case in Arizona state court, and the school district removed the action to federal court. Lutz then had 10 days during which