The Third District Court of Appeal said in an opinion certified for publication on Friday that dismissal of a case was mandatory based on not being brought to trial by the statutory deadline, as extended by a court rule, spurning the plaintiff’s contention that she was blindsided because the judge set the trial date and the defendants agreed to it.

(Subscription required) A Los Angeles County jury began a damages-only trial Thursday as cannabis businesses allege the 2017 Thomas Fire and subsequent debris flows destroyed their greenhouses and forced them to shut down.

The California Supreme Court yesterday publicly posted a Jan. 14 order denying depublication of a Court of Appeal opinion holding that a city council may, under the Ralph M. Brown Act, exclude all spectators from a meeting in light of the presence of disruptors but is without authority to adjourn to another room, triggering a concurring statement from Justice Joshua P. Groban calling for clarifying legislation.

(Subscription required) In the first case of its kind to reach the Supreme Court, justices directed the 3rd District Court of Appeal to reconsider sanctions over a brief containing fabricated citations in a criminal case.