Case Summaries

Family Law

[07/22] In re Esmeralda S.
Juvenile court's order terminating defendant-mother's parental rights to her child is affirmed over claims of error that: 1) defendant's due process rights were violated when the juvenile court appointed her a guardian ad litem; and 2) the juvenile court did not properly inquire into her and the minor's father's possible American Indian ancestry for purposes of complying with Indian Child Welfare Act.

[05/29] In re Marriage of Gong
An appeal from an order to pay child support and related obligations is dismissed as frivolous and monetary sanctions are imposed on appellant who pursued every possible avenue to evade his support obligations, even when ordered to do so by the court, and prosecuted a meritless appeal solely for the purpose of taking advantage of the delay in discharging his payment obligations.

[05/29] U.S. v. Dedman
In a prosecution arising from a marriage between defendant's adopted daughter/cousin and defendant's adoptive father as part of a plan to collect his military pension, her conviction for conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Department of Defense and making material false statements to a federal agent is affirmed where: 1) the government could not rely on its sham-marriage theory because the district court did not instruct the jury as to such argument; 2) the district court correctly decided that the marriage was void under Arkansas state law; 3) even if the Arkansas marriage statute were unconstitutional, it was not plain error for the district court to apply it; 4) sufficient evidence supported the convictions; 5) a jury instruction regarding Arkansas law was not plainly erroneous; and 6) withheld taxes are properly considered part of the government's loss under U.S.S.G. section 2B1.1.

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Elder Law

[05/13] Cao v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
In an action wherein plaintiff sought recovery under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 for alleged constitutional violations along with several state law causes of action after she was removed from her home, made to undergo a psychological evaluation, and placed in a state institution for the elderly, dismissal of plaintiff's complaint is affirmed where: 1) the district court properly dismissed plaintiff's section 1983 claim as untimely; and 2) with no federal cause of action remaining, the district court acted within its discretion in declining to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over remaining state law claims.

[05/05] Miller v. Am. Airlines, Inc.
In a suit against American Airlines under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) a collective bargaining agreement did not require that plaintiffs be offered positions of comparable pay past the retirement age; 2) a claim, that a supplement to the collective bargaining agreement governing the retirement of flight engineers was facially discriminatory, was not properly raised before the EEOC.

[03/11] Budnick v. Town of Carefree
In an action raising, inter alia, a claim that defendant-town violated the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (FHAA) by denying plaintiffs a Special Use Permit (SUP) to build a multi-level continuing-care retirement community in the town, summary judgment against plaintiffs on the FHAA claim is affirmed where plaintiff failed to establish a discrimination claim under any of the theories of disparate treatment, disparate impact, or a failure to make reasonable accommodations. Potential residents of a retirement community do not presently qualify as disabled under the FHAA simply because some of them will become disabled as they age.

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Property Law & Real Estate

[07/22] Estate of Bonanno
Judgment granting estranged wife's petition to have her share of her deceased husband's estate pass to her without administration and to be confirmed as property belonging to her as surviving spouse is reversed where she was estopped from asserting her statutory rights to have her share of decedent's property pass to her without administration, as doing so would be unfair and inequitable to decedent's daughter-estate administrator and the estate's attorney.

[07/22] US v. De La Mata
In a case where the government obtained defendants' promises to convey certain interests in property to the United States, in lieu of a forfeiture trial and sentence, an order granting the government's motion for a "final order of forfeiture" is affirmed in part and vacated in part where: 1) individual defendants and corporate defendants were properly before the court of appeals; 2) the circuit court rejects individual defendants' argument that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the government's motion sought relief in a criminal case via amended sentences; but 3) corporate defendants were not parties to individual defendants' agreements and thus retained certain property interests.

[06/20] Urban Habitat v. City of Pleasanton
In an action against a city involving, inter alia, certain of its local land use decisions, dismissal of non-profit organization's petition for writ of mandate and complaint pursuant to defendants' demurrer is reversed in part where the trial court: 1) misconstrued the applicable statute of limitations set out in Government Code section 65009 and Code of Civil Procedure section 338 related to City's compliance in providing low-cost housing (a); and 2) misapplied ripeness doctrine.

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