The Court of Appeal for this district has held that the right of a purchaser under the state’s “lemon law” to damages where the manufacturer of an unrepairable automobile spurned a demand to take back the vehicle and refund the purchase price cannot be judicially impaired by hacking from an award the amount paid by an insurer after the car was totaled in a hit-and-run accident.

After a year of reforms, attorneys applaud Los Angeles County Superior Court technology and settlement tools but say staffing shortages, trial delays and calendar congestion continue to undermine efficiency and justice.

Public records lawsuit alleges coordination with environmental groups and improper redactions. 

Pitts's ruling finds that DHS's actions represent the "deprivation of physical liberty by detention” and the "deprivation of constitutional rights," saying this has caused "irreparable harm" to the detained individuals and their families. The ruling applies to ICE's "San Francisco area of responsibility," at the downtown courthouse, which includes cases across NorCal, as well as Guam, Saipan, and Hawaii.