- Attorney fees: Riverside Superior Judge Craig Riemer’s granting of attorney fees affirmed in case Sandoval v. Nippon Life Ins. Co. of America (RIC2003903/E077245)
- Michael Sandoval, who is blind, sued Nippon Life Insurance Co. of America for allegedly hosting a website inaccessible to the blind. Riemer dismissed the complaint after written discovery. Nippon moved to recover $45,000 in attorney fees, which the court granted. Sandoval appealed that decision. The Court of Appeal found that they were entitled to the fees.
- Domestic violence restraining order: Riverside Superior Judge Johnnetta Anderson’s granting of a domestic violence restraining order affirmed in case Marriage of Dove (FLHE2101419/E077351)
- Levell Dove appealed the domestic violence restraining order that protected his spouse, Susan Lieffring-Dove from him and gave her sole legal custody of their child. Dove claimed the order violated the Indian Child Welfare Act, and that the court should have considered submitted evidence. The Court of Appeal found that the ICWA did not apply to the proceeding, and that the evidence was properly excluded as hearsay.
- Criminal sentencing: San Bernardino Superior Judge Mary Fuller’s denial of a resentencing petition affirmed in case People v. Robledo (FVA1201269/E078766)
- Eric Robledo robbed a woman at gunpoint in 2012. During a police pursuit, he drove at a detective, who fired shots into the car and killed Robledo’s passenger. Robledo was charged with the murder of the passenger, and pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to 32 years. California raised the legal bar to be considered guilty of murder in 2019 through Penal Code Section 1172.6, possibly affecting the type of murder Robledo was being prosecuted for. Robledo applied for relief through that reform, San Bernardino Superior Judge Mary Fuller denied his petition, and Robledo appealed. The majority appellate opinion said Robledo’s brief does not present any issues to consider, and that Robledo failed to file a personal supplemental brief.
- In a dissenting opinion, Associate Justice Michael Raphael argued that the Court of Appeal needed additional briefing, and that Robledo might be entitled to resentencing because prosecutors might not have clarified their case well enough before his guilty plea. Prosecutors did not decide which murder theory they would prosecute Robledo under before his guilty plea, Raphael wrote.
- Conviction: San Bernardino Superior temporary Judge Mary E. Fuller’s convictions affirmed in part and reversed in part in case People v. Aguirre (FSB21000510/E077679)
- David Aguirre broke into a couple’s residence through their bedroom window while brandishing a knife. He was found guilty of one count of felony first degree burglary and one count of felony vandalism, with a deadly or dangerous weapon enhancement. He was sentenced to seven years. He appealed, claiming the judge told the jury an improper instruction when considering the enhancement. The Court of Appeal agreed, reversed the enhancement, and directed the court to either resentence or retry him. Aguirre made three more arguments on appeal that the court disagreed with.
- Criminal sentencing: Riverside Superior Judge John Molloy’s denial of a resentencing petition reversed and remanded with directions in case People v. Wyres (ICR9094/E077766)
- Troy Wyres was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to second degree murder with a knife in 1985. He, and an accomplice, had suffocated a victim, then injected air bubbles into his bloodstream, then stabbed him multiple times and placed him in his own car trunk while he was dying. They drove from Van Nuys to Palm Springs, where they dumped the victim’s body, and were arrested near the California border. Wyres applied to resentencing under California’s new murder law, Penal Code Section 1172.6, which raised the burden to be convicted of murder. The judge denied his petition when Wyres was not present in the courtroom. The Court of Appeal overturned the denial, finding that Wyres’ due process rights were violated. They directed the court to hold a new hearing.
- Criminal sentencing: Riverside Superior Judge John Molloy’s convictions reversed and remanded with directions in case People v. Garrison (RIF095477/E072645A)
- Tracy Garrison was convicted of first degree murder in 2003. The appellate ruling said she conspired with Joshua Wahlert to rob Michael Willison. After the robbery, Garrison and Wahlert took Willision to a rural area and beat, stabbed and shot him to death. Garrison filed a petition to vacate the conviction under Penal Code Section 1172.6, which raised the bar for murder convictions. The trial court denied her petition. The Court of Appeal found that, with the California Supreme Court precedent People v. Strong and People v. Lewis, she should be resentenced.
- Labor arbitration: Riverside Superior Judge David Chapman’s decision not to compel arbitration affirmed in case Desert Regional Medical Center v. Fernandez (PSC1905534, PSC1905546, PSC195551/E076011, E076011, E076024)
- Three Desert Regional Medical Center nurses brought labor cases related to rest breaks and meal periods. The center moved to compel arbitration, and to stay their cases while their union was in arbitration with DRMC in a separate suit. The court denied both requests, and DRMC appealed. The Court of Appeal agreed with the trial court.
- Labor arbitration: Riverside Superior Judge Kira Klatchko’s decision not to compel arbitration affirmed in case Desert Regional Medical Center v. Miller (PSC1905547, PSC1905545, PSC1905549/E076058, E076069, E076205)
- Three Desert Regional Medical Center nurses brought labor cases related to rest breaks and meal periods. The center moved to compel arbitration, and to stay their cases while their union was in arbitration with DRMC in a separate suit. The court denied both requests, and DRMC appealed. The Court of Appeal agreed with the trial court.
- Personal injury: San Bernardino Superior Judge Wilfred Schneider’s dismissal affirmed in case Bansal v. Mitiana (CIVDS1832076/E076041)
- Neesha Bansal sued a group of people for negligence after she got in a car accident. She claimed they negligently entrusted a vehicle to the driver of the car involved in the accident. They served requests for admission on Bansal, who did not respond. The trial court found that she admitted the facts in the requests, and dismissed the case. Bansal appealed, but the Court of Appeal agreed with the trial court.
- Family law: San Bernardino Superior Judge Steven Mapes’s removal from parental custody dismissed in case In re J.S. (J291948/E078803)
- A child was placed under court authority after his mother surrendered him to San Bernardino County Children and Family Services. His father had been in jail, and at the time his location was unknown. The court took custody after finding that neither parent could provide for the child, and hearing that the father was accused of sexually abusing the mother. The father appealed, asking to strike the sexual abuse finding. The Court of Appeal denied his appeal, finding that, even if the court struck the sexual abuse finding, they would still take custody of the child due to their failure to provide.
- Employment arbitration: San Bernardino Superior Judge David Cohn’s stay of litigation dismissed in part, affirmed in part in case Niz v. Southern Glazer’s Wine And Spirits (CIVDS2008028/E076529)
- Tiffany Niz sued her employer, Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, and the case was ordered to arbitration. Southern Glazer’s failed to pay its share of arbitration fees, and as a result the trial court ordered the arbitration to end and for the litigation to resume. South Glazer’s appealed. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal from the order resuming the litigation, and affirmed the trial court’s ruling.
- Wrongful foreclosure: San Bernardino Superior Judge John Pacheco’s dismissal affirmed in case Jeremiah v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (CIVDS1938165/E077360)
- Marie Jeremiah bought a home in Rialto in 2006. She defaulted in 2017. She sued the financial institutions that carried the loan, claiming they forged foreclosure documents. Wells Fargo and MTGLQ, which carried the loan, asked the court to throw out the case. The judge entered judgment for them. Jeremiah appealed. The Court of Appeal found that she failed to demonstrate any error by the trial court.
- Debt collection: Riverside Superior Judge David Chapman’s renewal of unsatisfied judgment affirmed in case Coachella Valley Collection Service v. Raskov (INC082324/E077492)
- Coachella Valley Collection Service brought an action against Daniel Raskov in 2008, asking to collect on a debt Raskov owed their former counsel. The court entered judgment for CVCS in 2011. CVCS asked to renew the judgment in 2021, almost 10 years later. The court renewed their judgment, and Raskov appealed, arguing it was untimely and late. The Court of Appeal found that, in the way Riverside Superior Court tracks judgment, the renewal was timely.
- Family law: Riverside Superior Judge Cheryl Murphy’s termination of parental rights affirmed in case In re V.S. (RIJ1500486/E079037)
- A crisis therapist and behavioral coach specializing in autistic children wanted to adopt two autistic children, and was granted custody after working with them for six months. The mother appealed the custody decision, which terminated her parental rights. She appealed, arguing there was no evidence her kids were adoptable due to their special needs. The Court of Appeal found that there was enough evidence in favor of adoption.
- Criminal sentence reduction: San Bernardino Superior Judge Harold Wilson’s denial of resentencing petition affirmed in case People v. Singleton (FSB20937/E077389)
- Steven Singleton was found guilty of residential burglary, grand theft of a firearm and unlawfully taking a vehicle in 2000. He was sentenced to 93 years in prison. He asked the court to reduce his felony auto theft conviction to a misdemeanor, the court refused, and Singleton appealed. He argued the trial court should have had an evidentiary hearing. Prosecutors said no hearing was necessary because Singleton’s petition did not claim the stolen vehicle was worth less than $950, the point at which a theft becomes a felony. The Court of Appeal agreed with the prosecutors.
- Foster care: San Bernardino Superior Judge Lynn Poncin’s denied request for de facto parent status dismissed in part, reversed in part and remanded with directions in case In re E.H. (J290056/E078884)
- A child’s foster parents asked for de facto parent status, which the court refused. The couple had picked up their baby at a hospital where he had been abandoned. The court denied their request on the basis that it was in the child’s best interest to be removed from their care and placed in a different foster home with his sibling. The Court of Appeal ruled that they should have been granted de facto parent status, but that as de facto parents they lack standing to challenge the court’s decision to place the child with his sibling.
- Family law: Riverside Superior Judge Kelly Hansen’s termination of parental rights affirmed in case In re P.L. (SWJ2000579/E079349)
- A mother who lost custody of her children to their father appealed, arguing that she was denied her due process right to a disposition hearing. The Court of Appeal disagreed. They ruled she was not entitled to a second hearing, considering she had already argued her case at an earlier hearing.
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