New California Torts Case

Can the date of a childhood sexual assault be amended after the complaint is filed?

The Court of Appeal decided this issue last month. Here is my one-paragraph case summary from my online publication California Case Summaries™: 

S.C. v. Doe 1 (2025) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2025 WL 2945697: The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s order denying plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend her complaint alleging childhood sexual assault, and it’s order granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff originally alleged that the sexual assault occurred in 1981 when she was in foster care. Once her counsel received her juvenile record, it was clear that plaintiff was first placed in foster care in 1984. The trial court denied plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend her complaint and granted summary judgment for Doe 1, concluding that the complaint could not be amended under Code of Civil Procedure former section 340.1 because of its certificate-of-merit require...

New CA Torts Case

Is an injured school district volunteer limited to workers’ compensation damages?

Last month, the California Court of Appeal addressed this issue. Below is my one-paragraph summary of this new decision:

Kuo v. Dublin Unified School Dist. (2025) _ Cal.App.5th _, 2025 WL 783206: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s order granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment in plaintiffs’ action alleging the wrongful death of decedent Catherine Kuo after she was crushed between two vehicles while volunteering for a middle school program called the “Farmers to Families Food Box Program.” The trial court properly granted the motion for summary judgment. The Court of Appeal concluded that fatal injuries unambiguously fell into the category of “any injury” according to the plain meaning of Labor Code section 3364.5. Moreover, decedent was deemed an employee entitled to workers’ compensation benefits because defendant adopted a resolution stating, “in accordance with S...

New CA Tort Case

Can a plaintiff recover emotional distress damages under Dillon v. Legg if, at the
time of the car crash, she was not aware of the causal connection between
her daughter's injuries and the defendants' alleged negligence? 

Last month, the California Supreme Court addressed this issue. Below is my one-paragraph summary of this new decision:

Downey v. City of Riverside (2024) _ Cal.5th _ , 2024 WL 3491142: The California Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeal’s order affirming the trial court’s orders sustaining defendants’ demurrer, without leave to amend, to plaintiff’s complaint alleging negligence under Dillon v. Legg (1968) 68 Cal.2d 728 (Dillon). Plaintiff, the mother of daughter Jayde Downey, was giving driving directions to her daughter over a cell phone and heard the event when her daughter was severely injured in a car crash. The trial court, and later the Court of Appeal, concluded that plaintiff could not recover emotional distress damages against the defen...