Two referendums of large housing projects.
Two referendums of large housing projects in the City of Loma Linda have been reinstated by the Fourth District Court of Appeal. The court overturned a Superior Court judge's decision to pull the referendums from the June 2006 ballot because referendum petitions failed to contain the full text of...

Mortgage lenders feel the wrath of a Federal Judge and Attorneys General: a District Court judge in Wisconsin grants class-action status to plaintiffs, and attorneys general file suit against Countrywide.
It's a case that's got bankers and other mortgage lenders and brokers quivering in their collective wing tips because the exposures could run into the hundreds of millions, if not the billions, of dollars. A lawsuit filed in 2005 by a Cedarburg, Wis., couple alleging deceptive lending...

Pleasanton housing element lawsuit may proceed: court gives advocate 3 years to challenge city's policies.
A lawsuit challenging the City of Pleasanton's housing policies has been reinstated by the First District Court of Appeal after a trial court judge had ruled the lawsuit was filed too late. The unanimous three-judge appellate panel determined the statute of limitations for the lawsuit had not expired. The...

Airport closure called a 'project' for environmental review purposes.
Denial of a conditional use permit renewal is a "project" requiring review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Third District Court of Appeal has ruled. The court ruled for the owner of an airport in Sacramento County whose application for a conditional use permit (CUP)...

Dr. failed to follow-up 'knowing feeding tube in lung'.
CASE ON POINT: Lee v. Martindale, 2008-AR-0626.021 (06/25/2008) S.W.3d--AR CASE FACTS: In January 2000, Indianna Barnes was admitted to Saline Memorial Hospital with respiratory problems. Doctors placed her on a nasogastric feeding tube so that she could receive nutrition. Dr. Mark Martindale, her attending physician, saw her...

Second statute of limitations case reaches state high court.
The California Supreme Court has accepted a second case involving the California Environmental Quality Act's statute of limitations. In the latest case, the Sixth District Court of Appeal reinstated a lawsuit after a trial court judge had thrown the suit out for being filed after the statute...

OH: hospital liable for negligence of ER Dr.: 'independent contractor' defense not applicable.
CASE FACTS: On February 15, 2003, Dr. Apollo Rivera, an employee of University Emergency Specialists, Inc. (collectively "UES), treated Eugenia Karwowska's 41-year-old son, Jarslow Karwowska, when he arrived at the emergency room of St. Michael Hospital. While being treated by Dr. Rivera for a suspected pulmonary embolism, Jarslow suffered...

County's Air Base compatibility plan upheld over developer's objection.
An appellate eourt has upheld an airport land use compatibility plan that a Solano County landowner argued was overly restrictive. The court rejected the landowner's contention that Solano County's Travis Air Force Base Land Use Compatibility Plan (TALUP) was inconsistent with an Air Force plan because the...

Failure to diagnose pulmonary embolism-death results.
CASE ON POINT: 2008-MN-0904, 070 Hawkins v. Fontaine, (09/02/2008) N.W.2d--MN ISSUE: Should a Dr. who fails to diagnose pulmonary embolism in-spite of classic symptoms-be liable for a patient's death? CASE FACTS: On May 3, 2004, Bonnie Moore was seen in the Urgent Care Department of...

Big Bear Lake condo developer wins huge reversal at 9th Circuit.
A federal judge's ruling blocking development of a controversial condominium project on the shore of Big Bear Lake has been thrown out by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the district court had no jurisdiction to consider alleged Clean Water Act...