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Case Summaries

Contracts

[10/08] Motorola Inc. v. Amkor Tech., Inc.
In a suit over the terms of a patent license agreement (PLA) between plaintiff and a third party, affecting the transfer of an interest in the patents to defendant, judgment for defendant is affirmed where: 1) defendant was not judicially estopped from changing its argument during trial about the relationship between two sections of the PLA; 2) the "law of the case" did not prevent defendant from changing its arguments on an earlier remand; and 3) there was sufficient evidence to support the trial court's findings of fact.

[08/29] Kerlin v. Sauceda
In a suit alleging that defendant defrauded plaintiffs of oil and gas royalties and other interests in Padre Island, judgments for plaintiffs are reversed as time-barred where: 1) plaintiffs could have discovered defendant's wrongdoing through reasonable diligence and were not entitled to tolling of the running of limitations on that basis; and 2) defendant was present in the state, by virtue of doing business there, during all of the alleged wrongdoing, and statutory tolling therefore did not apply. (Revised opinion)

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Criminal Law & Procedure

[10/14] US v. Chahia
Conviction and life imprisonment-sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and intent to distribute a controlled substance is affirmed over claims of error that: 1) there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict; 2) the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion for continuance; 3) the district court erred in allowing hearsay testimony; and 4) defendant's life sentence constituted unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment.

[10/10] P. v. Akhile
Following conviction for grand theft by embezzlement, denial of Nigerian national defendant's motion to vacate his guilty plea is reversed and remanded where: 1) Penal Code section 1016.5 requires specific advisement for the trial court to provide "[p]rior to acceptance" of the plea to ensure that noncitizens are aware of the immigration consequences before they enter a plea of guilty or no contest to a criminal charge; and 2) advice should have been provided during the taking of the plea.

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Family Law

[10/10] Lamour v. Peake
Denial of a request to reopen a claim for survivor benefits as the spouse of a veteran is vacated and remanded where the issue of whether claimant and decedent had a valid marriage was not considered with application of the "deemed valid" criteria in the relevant regulation, and since this aspect was the sole basis of the rejection of claimant's petition to reopen her claim.

[09/30] M.V. v. Superior Court of California
In a family law matter brought by mother seeking reunification with her infant after her incarceration and deportation for engaging in consensual sexual intercourse with a 15-year old boy, petition for a writ of mandate directing the trial court to vacate its order and to issue a new and different order continuing reunification services to a 12-month review is affirmed where the court erred in terminating reunification services and setting a .26 hearing by applying the 12-month review standard pursuant to section 366.21, subdivisions (f) and (g), instead of the six-month review standard pursuant to section 366.21, subdivision (e).

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