(Subscription required) Orange County Superior Court's ambitious pilot program to streamline civil discovery is only a few months old, but its impact has already been dramatic: a 97% resolution rate, more than 100 informal discovery conferences handled weekly by one judge, and early signs that long-standing delays in civil calendars are shrinking.

A man who sued Elon Musk for defamation and securities fraud has alleged that a San Francisco judge allowed artificial intelligence software to introduce multiple errors into a recent order that torpedoed a key motion in the man’s lawsuit. 

Huntington Beach officials have about four months to get a housing plan approved by state leaders. In the meantime, they can’t turn down most developer’s projects. It’s the newest chapter in Surf City’s yearslong battle with state leaders over mandated zoning requirements, which city leaders have argued violates their rights as a charter city. 

The California Supreme Court held yesterday that the City of San José is not precluded by a so-called “pay-as-you-go” debt limitation enshrined in the state Constitution from financing unfunded liability in its employee retirement plans through the issuance of bonds without first seeking voter approval.