Darrel Watson appeals from a judgment upon a jury verdict finding him guilty of misdemeanor false imprisonment (Pen. Code,1 § 236), child molestation with a prior conviction (§ 647.6, subd. (c)(2)), attempted exhibition of lewd material to a minor (§§ 663, 288.2, subd. (a)), and furnishing marijuana to a minor (Health & Saf. Code, § 11361, subd. (a)). In a bifurcated proceeding, the trial court found that defendant suffered eight strike convictions (§§ 667,...  

City of Larkspur (Larkspur) sued Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. (Jacobs) for fraud based on false promises and/or concealment arising from engineering work completed on the Bon Aire Bridge. A jury found Jacobs liable for fraud and awarded Larkspur $8.3 million in damages. On appeal, Jacobs challenges various pretrial rulings regarding the admission of evidence, the statute of limitations, and a request to bifurcate. It also maintains that the fraudulent concealment claim should never have gone...  

Leslie Handler (plaintiff) appeals from a judgment entered in favor of Steven Ohlhaber and Elizabeth Ross (together, defendants) in an action for private nuisance in which she sought payment for repairs to her real property as well as a preliminary and permanent injunction. Plaintiff contends: (1) there was no substantial evidence supporting the trial court's findings; and (2) the trial court applied incorrect legal principles in finding in favor of defendants. We reject the contentions and...  

Albert Lee (Lee) appeals from an order that granted respondents' motion to compel Lee to acknowledge the satisfaction of a prior order for attorney fees and costs (Code Civ. Proc., § 724.050) and denied in part Lee's motion for other attorney fees and costs incurred in the proceeding.1 The appeal reflects the complexities that can arise when a party who prevailed on an anti-SLAPP motion to strike (§ 425.16) exercises his right to seek attorney fees and costs in connection with the...  

Appellant Jeynitha Richardson appeals from a judgment dismissing her negligence claim against respondent City and County of San Francisco (City). Richardson contends the trial court erred in concluding that her complaint arose out of different factual allegations than the government claim she submitted as a prerequisite to filing suit. We reject her contention and affirm... FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND... On December 20, 2007, Richardson filed a government claim with the City on a standard...  

A jury convicted Dana Demetrius Bairfield of possessing cocaine base for sale. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11351.5.)1 Appellant admitted a prior conviction and two prior prison terms and the court sentenced him to nine years in state prison. Appellant's sole contention on appeal is the disparate sentencing ranges for possession of cocaine base for sale and possession of methamphetamine for sale violate his right to equal protection of the law... We affirm... FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND......  

The City of Eureka (Eureka) filed a civil complaint against Floyd E. Squires and Betty J. Squires alleging that property they owned was a nuisance because it violated local health and safety ordinances. As part of the action, Eureka filed a motion for a preliminary injunction that sought to abate the violations pending a trial of the complaint. The trial court conducted a hearing on the injunction request and granted it, ruling that two rooms in a boarding house that appellants operated must be...  

On October 27, 2008, appellant Donald Lee Doss pled guilty to sale of heroin (Health & Saf. Code, § 11352) and was placed on probation for a period of five years. Other allegations were dismissed. In January 2009, appellant sold Vicodin to an undercover police officer. This sale served as the basis for a motion to revoke probation and a new charge. Hearing on the motion to revoke and preliminary hearing on the new charge was held July 15, 2009, at the conclusion of which the trial court...  

Petitioner, Michael Gressett, a former senior deputy district attorney in Contra Costa County, is the named defendant (hereafter defendant) in a criminal indictment charging four counts of forced sodomy (Pen. Code, § 286, subd. (c)(2)), four counts of forced sexual penetration (Pen. Code, § 289, subd. (a)(1)), two counts of forced rape (Pen. Code, § 261, subd. (a)(2)), one count of forced oral copulation (Pen. Code, § 288a, subd. (c)(2)), one count of false imprisonment...  

Noah Michael Parker appeals from a judgment entered on his plea of guilty to charge of mayhem and admission of the personal use of firearm. His court-appointed counsel has filed a brief raising no legal issues and requesting this court to independently review the record pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436... PROCEEDINGS BELOW... On April 3, 2008, the District Attorney of Lake County filed a complaint charging appellant with attempted murder (Pen. Code, §§ 664/187, subd....  

At the preliminary hearing in case No. BA348292, Vidal M. testified appellant Jairo Edgardo Gomez and he drove to Griffith Park in the afternoon of October 23, 2008, to drink beer. At appellant's request, Vidal M. performed oral sex on appellant. When Vidal M. ended the sexual activity, appellant pulled a knife from beneath his sock and held it near Vidal M.'s throat. Appellant took Vidal M.'s car keys, forced Vidal M. into his car, and together they drove from the park. While stopped at a red...  

Father, F.R., appeals from an order of the juvenile court terminating his parental rights with his children R.R., Re.R., and C.R. We affirm... FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW... Because this is an unreported opinion and the parties are familiar with the facts, we will dispense with their recitation here. To the extent they are relevant, we discuss the facts in our resolution of the single issue on appeal, whether the court erred in failing to find that termination of father's parental rights would...  

Defendant Davela Leone Cannon, Sr., who is African-American, was charged with felony assault and battery of Tom Beaslin, a Caucasian man. However, the jury convicted defendant of the lesser-included misdemeanor assault and battery. (Pen. Code, §§ 240, 242.)1... Tom testified that defendant hit him several times, and that he did not hit defendant back.2 In contrast, defendant testified that Tom began the fight by running at defendant headfirst, striking defendant in the stomach with...  

A jury acquitted defendant Michael John Joyce of the fraudulent use of a contractor's license number and found him guilty of vandalism that caused more than $400 in damages. The court suspended imposition of sentence and placed him on probation... On appeal, defendant argues the trial court erred when it denied his motion for acquittal (Pen. Code, § 1118.1) of felony vandalism at the close of the prosecution's case-in-chief, in which he had cited the absence of explicit proof of damages in...  

J.Z., mother of minor A.S., appeals from an order terminating her parental rights, contending the beneficial parental relationship exception to adoption applies. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 366.26, subd. (c)(1)(B)(i).)1 We shall affirm... FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND... Detention... The 15-month-old minor was placed in protective custody on November 30, 2007, after the police received a report that conditions in mother's apartment endangered the minor. They found illegal drugs and...  

Defendant Gary Troy O'Neal was accused of two counts of violating Penal Code section 288.5, subdivision (a),1 with each count alleging a separate victim... Defendant pled no contest to each count in return for a stipulated midterm state prison sentence as to each count, the two terms to run consecutively. The People agreed not to file charges in a third matter that was under investigation and not to file an enhancement pursuant to section 667.61. Defendant was advised that his convictions...  

Plaintiff Nautilus General Contractors, Inc. (Nautilus) appeals an order staying Nautilus's contract action against defendant Innovative Coatings of Reno, Inc. dba Diamond Coatings (Diamond), based on forum non conveniens. (Code Civ. Proc., § 410.30.)1 Nautilus filed its breach of contract claims in San Diego County after a dispute arose over Diamond's subcontracting work on a Nautilus construction project in Reno, Nevada. Nautilus contends the trial court erred when it disregarded...  

A jury convicted defendant, Martin Adame, of two counts of committing lewd and lascivious acts on a minor (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a))1 and one count of committing forcible lewd and lascivious acts on a minor (§ 288, subd. (b)) and found true an allegation that his crimes involved more than one victim (§ 667.61, subd. (e)(5)). He was sentenced to prison for 15 years to life plus 10 years. He appeals, claiming insufficient evidence supports his conviction of committing forcible...  

Defendant, Jerry Gonzalez, was sentenced to six years in prison after a jury convicted him of battery resulting in serious bodily injury (§ 243, subd. (d))1 and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury (§ 245, subd. (a)(1)), and found true the allegation that he personally inflicted great bodily injury in the course of the assault (§ 12022.7, subd. (a)). In this appeal, defendant argues that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance when he stipulated to the...  

INTRODUCTION AND FACTS... On August 31, 1980, Timothy J. Leon (Leon), then aged 20, was "allegedly convinced by the hysterical intoxicated representations of [P.M.] that her child had been molested by the [20-year-old Black male] victim." Leon and three other men lured the victim into a car and drove him to a remote area where they stabbed and beat him to death. Leon repeatedly bludgeoned the victim on the head with a wrench. While Leon was awaiting jury trial, he briefly escaped from...