January, 2003
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REAL ESTATE
Wasatch Property Management v. Degrate
S112386 (D039656); 103 Cal.App.4th 913
Petition for review after reversal of judgment. Question presented: Does Civil Code §1954.535, which deals with the termination of a contract with a government agency, apply to the termination of a tenant's Section 8 Voucher Lease Agreement? Does that statute apply to the termination of a tenancy that is not governed by residential rent control? 1/29/03

CIVIL LITIGATION
Hagberg v. California Federal Bank FSB
S105909 (B146368); unpublished
Petition for review after affirmance of judgment. Question presented: Did the litigation privilege stated in Civil Code §47(b) apply to bar an Unruh Civil Rights Act claim against a defendant who, allegedly as an act of race-based discrimination, provided an erroneous report to police? 1/29/03

TORTS
Casa Herrera, Inc. v. Beydoun
S111998 (D038326); 103 Cal.App.4th 83
Petition for review after affirmance in part and reversal in part of judgment. Question presented: After a lawsuit was terminated based on application of the parole evidence rule, did that dismissal qualify as a 'favorable termination" allowing the former defendant to sue the former plaintiff for malicious prosecution? 1/22/03

EMPLOYMENT LAW
Salazar v. Diversified Paratransit, Inc.
S111876 (H02380); 103 Cal.App.4th, 131
Petition for review after affirmance in part and reversal in part of judgment. Question presented: Can an employer be found liable under the Fair Employment and Housing Act for sexual harassment of an employee by a customer or client of the employer? 1/22/03

FAMILY LAW
In re S.B.
S112260 (B154825); 103 Cal.App.4th, 739
Petition for review after reversal of order. Question presented: Can a juvenile court delegate to a legal guardian the authority to decide whether, under what circumstances, and how often visits between a dependent child and a parent can occur? 1/22/03

CRIMINAL LAW
People v. Edmonton
S112168 (C036988); 103 Cal.App.4th, 357
Petition for review after affirmance of judgment. Question presented: For purposes of the Sexually Violent Predators Act, does the element of "duress" include within its definition the concept of "hardship" for forcible sexual offenses other than rape and spousal rape? 1/22/03

CRIMINAL LAW
People v. Perez
S111985 (G028325); 103 Cal.App.4th, 203
Petition for review after affirmance of judgment. Question presented: did a trial court err prejudicially in instructing on an aider and abettor theory where the prosecutor failed to introduce any evidence that a named principal actually committed any crime? 1/22/03

CRIMINAL LAW
People v. Billa
S111341 (C037717); 102 Cal.App.4th, 647
Petition for review after affirmance of judgment. Question presented: Can the felony-murder rule be applied when an accomplice has accidentally killed himself while jointly engaged with the defendant in the perpetration of the underlying felony? 1/22/03

BANKING BUSINESS AND CONTRACTS
Saint Agnes Medical Center v. Pacificare of California
S111323 (F039699); 102 Cal.App.4th, 647
Petition for review after reversal of judgment. Question presented: Did the filing of a lawsuit seeking repudiation of a contract constitute a waiver of arbitration rights contained within the contract? 1/22/03

CIVIL LITIGATION
Huskinson & Brown v. Wolf
S107616 (B147289); 98 Cal.App.4th, 113
Petition for review after reversal of judgment. Question presented: Was a law firm entitled to recover orally-agreed-upon referral fees, under theories of either unjust enrichment or quantum meruit, where the referred client had never consented in writing? (Editors note: Initially the court ordered briefing deferred. On January 11, 2003, the court issued an order directing that the case be briefed.) 1/22/03

CRIMINAL LAW
In re Dennenberg
S111029 (A095299); 102 Cal.App.4th, 95
Petition for review after affirmance of judgment. Question presented: Should the Board of Prison Terms compare the gravity of an inmate's offense to other instances of the same crime before, or after, it determines that the inmate is otherwise suitable for parole? 1/15/03

CRIMINAL LAW
People v. Konow
S111494 (D027680); 102 Cal.App.4th, 1020
Petition for review after reversal of judgment. Question presented: Does Penal Code §1385 confer on a defendant a substantial right to move for dismissal in furtherance of justice? 1/15/03

CRIMINAL LAW
People v. Montoya
S111662 (F039071); 103 Cal.App.4th, 25
Petition for review after affirmance of judgment. Question presented: Is the unlawful taking and driving of a vehicle (Veh. Code §10851(a)) a lesser included offense of carjacking (Penal Code §215(a))? 1/15/03

CRIMINAL LAW
In re George T.
S111780 (H02380); 102 Cal.App.4th, 1422
Petition for review after affirmance of judgment. Question presented: Was a high school student's self-described "dark" poem about his alienation and the possibility he might arm himself and kill other students at his school properly construed to be an actionable criminal threat (Penal Code §422)? 1/15/03

CIVIL LITIGATION
Rojas v. Superior Court (Coffin)
S111585 (B158391); 102 Cal.App.4th, 1062
Petition for review after grant of petition for writ of mandate. Question presented: Did the court of appeal err in holding that the mediation privilege of Evidence Code §§1119 and 1120 does not protect raw factual, physical evidence from discovery, but instead only provides qualified protection for amalgamated materials? 1/15/03

CRIMINAL LAW
People v. Betts
S111390 (E029720); 102 Cal.App.4th, 922
Petition for review after affirmance of judgment. Question presented: Did a trial court err in declining to instruct the criminal trial jury on issues of subject matter jurisdiction and venue? 1/13/03

CRIMINAL LAW
MacDonald v. Gourley
S111253 (B152695); 102 Cal.App.4th, 568
Petition for review after reversal of judgment. Question presented: Does the statutory requirement that the arresting officer state information in sworn report preclude the Department of Motor Vehicles from considering an unsworn report at a drunk driving suspension hearing? 1/13/03