The case involved Darren Brew, who was convicted by a jury of two counts of robbery and one count of grand theft by larceny after an incident at a drug store where he took money from a cash register by approaching a cashier closely and causing her to step back in fear, then struggling with a store manager. Brew appealed, arguing insufficient evidence of force or fear for one robbery conviction and that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury on grand theft by larceny as a lesser included offense of robbery. The court found sufficient evidence to support the robbery finding based on the circumstances creating fear or intimidation but reversed the robbery conviction against the cashier due to the instructional error on the lesser offense, vacated the grand theft conviction as a lesser included offense of the other robbery, and affirmed the remaining robbery conviction.
In this case, Pam Nightingale sued Hyundai Motor America under California's Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act after her new car repeatedly failed to perform properly despite multiple repair attempts, resulting in a jury verdict for compensatory damages and statutory penalties. Hyundai appealed only the trial court's award of $113,853 in attorney fees to Nightingale's counsel. The Court of Appeal modified the fee award downward to $75,648, holding that fees are recoverable only to the extent they were actually incurred by the buyer under the statute, which in this instance meant only the $120 hourly rate Nightingale was obligated to pay rather than the higher rates her attorney later charged other clients.
The case concerned an inmate's challenge to a 10 percent surcharge imposed by San Quentin prison on purchases of handicraft materials through its program, with the proceeds deposited in the Inmate Welfare Fund. The superior court had enjoined prison officials from collecting the surcharge, but the Court of Appeal vacated that order. The court held that Penal Code sections 5005, 5006, and 2813 authorize the surcharge as a means to make prison programs self-supporting and to fund the IWF, which covers costs such as equipment, maintenance, and operations for the handicraft program that directly benefit participants. It rejected the inmate's claims that the surcharge was unlawful, finding it consistent with statutory directives and supported by evidence of program expenses despite one audit showing profits.
In Moores v. Walsh, appellants who bought a landlocked 40-acre parcel in Mendocino County sued for declaratory and injunctive relief to establish an easement across respondent's surrounding property for access, including logging. The trial court entered judgment for respondent, and the Court of Appeal affirmed. The court held there was no easement by implication because no evidence showed an obvious, permanent use of the claimed route before the parcels were divided in 1873. It also rejected an easement by necessity, reasoning that any such right arising from federal ownership was extinguished once the servient land passed to private owners, as the state then had eminent domain power to obtain access.
The case concerned American President Lines' challenge to additional registration fees assessed by the California DMV for its fleet of truck trailers under the International Registration Plan and Permanent Interstate Trailer System program for the years 1989-1991. APL had entered a special agreement with the DMV allowing a 20-month enrollment period and use of a vehicle-day calculation method instead of mileage to determine apportioned fees. The court held that the DMV incorrectly assessed fees for 1989 and 1990 under the agreement and miscomputed them for 1991, while affirming APL's right to pursue administrative mandamus procedures and its entitlement to prejudgment interest but vacating an award of attorney fees; it also directed termination of a parallel tax refund action. The reasoning centered on interpreting the agreement's terms regarding enrollment timing, base fleet calculations, audit rights, and the absence of penalties or interest for additional fees found due.
This case was a class action by credit card customers against First Interstate Bank challenging late fees and overlimit fees assessed for missed payments or exceeded credit limits. The trial court found the fees invalid as liquidated damages under Civil Code section 1671(d) and awarded plaintiffs over $13 million, but the appellate court modified the judgment by reducing it by approximately $9 million. The reduction represented net finance charges the bank collected on delinquent and overlimit balances, which the court held the bank could retain because the credit card agreements allowed contractual interest to continue after breach and such charges did not offset the bank's actual damages. The court upheld the remaining award based on evidence that the fees exceeded the bank's actual costs from the breaches and did not meet the requirements for valid liquidated damages in consumer contracts.