A California Court of Appeal panel recently ruled that an employer faces liability to an employee who complained of a co-worker’s offsite and off-duty sexual harassment if the employee proves the employer’s response to the complaint created a hostile workplace environment.

The Fifth District Court of Appeal has rejected a defendant’s assertion that prosecutors trying a defendant for murder based on a death caused by an intoxicated driver must, based on a recent California Supreme Court decision clarifying the standard for implied malice, present expert testimony as to whether the circumstances of the case presented a high probability of a fatality.

Div. Eight of the Court of Appeal for this district has affirmed an award of attorney fees amounting to nearly $5 million in a disability-discrimination action brought by a former employee against the California Department of Consumer Affairs.

(Subscription required) Enderton-Speed is the director of the Leadership Support Services Office at the Judicial Council of California. She is expected to start her new position on Nov. 3.