CCP 998 in 2026: Offer Math, Cost-Shifting, and Enforcement
A CCP 998 offer is the cheapest verdict insurance a plaintiff lawyer can buy, but only if the number is defensible and the paper is clean.…
Category
Case Law & Settlements
Appellate decisions, verdicts, and notable settlements from California courts.
Fuentes v. Parkchester and the Sidewalk Tenant's Escape Hatch
A First Department decision dismissing a commercial tenant on summary judgment is a checklist for plaintiff's counsel: prove special use or…
Freight Broker Carrier-Selection Liability: Key PI Rulings, July 17, 2026
The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 on May 14, 2026 in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, No. 24-1238, holding that FAAAA no longer preempts state-…
Lanunziata v. Penn National and the Residency Line in UIM
A May 2026 Pennsylvania decision denied an adult child UIM coverage under his parents' policy. The residency-versus-domicile line is a cove…
Uber MDL-3084 Non-Delegable Duty Ruling and Key PI Verdicts: July 2026
Judge Breyer's April 10, 2026 order in Uber MDL-3084 (N.D. Cal.) held Uber owes a non-delegable duty to passengers regardless of driver-con…
Punitive Damages in California PI After Roby: Ratios, Proof, and Due-Process Review
A punitive award you win at trial is only half the fight. Between Civil Code § 3294's proof gate, the managing-agent rule, and de novo due-…
The Five-Year Clock That Killed a UM Arbitration
In Prahl v. Allstate, the Third Appellate District held that a UM arbitration must conclude within five years, and that pandemic emergency…
NEC Formula MDL Bellwether Clears Daubert as $625M in State Verdicts Mount
Jury selection in Inman v. Mead Johnson, MDL 3026, opens July 6, 2026, making it the first NEC federal trial where plaintiff causation expe…
Where California Juries Are Putting the Fault Line on Plaintiffs
California's pure comparative negligence rule lets a jury cut a recovery without zeroing it out — and the allocation number is doing more w…
SCOTUS FIFRA Preemption Wipes Out Glyphosate Failure-to-Warn Claims
The Supreme Court's 7-2 ruling in Monsanto v. Durnell (June 25, 2026) holds FIFRA preempts state failure-to-warn claims on Roundup labels,…
Social Media Addiction Bellwether Verdict Sets MDL-3047 PI Floor
A Los Angeles jury returned a $6 million verdict on March 25, 2026 in KGM v. Meta Platforms, the first social-media-addiction bellwether tr…
Ferlic v. Lovelace: New Mexico Supreme Court Extends MMA Cap to Hospital Vicarious Liability for Nurse Conduct
The New Mexico Supreme Court's June 8 decision holds that the Medical Malpractice Act's $500,000 per-occurrence cap applies to a qualified…