Courts/Rulings & Lawsuits | | |
LA County accuses fire engine makers of shrinking market
Los Angeles County on Thursday filed an antitrust lawsuit against two large manufacturers of fire engines and trucks, claiming they have created an unlawful oligopoly by buying up competitors and are driving up prices fire departments have to pay for their equipment.
Courthouse News Service
| | |
City of Malibu files lawsuit seeking recovery of Palisades Fire losses
The City of Malibu has filed a civil complaint in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking to recover what officials describe as significant financial losses stemming from the Palisades Fire. The lawsuit, filed this week, names multiple governmental entities, including the State of California, the City of Los Angeles and related agencies.
The Malibu Times
| | |
Los Angeles County files lawsuit against Roblox over child protections
Roblox faces a lawsuit by Los Angeles County that alleges the gaming platform engaged in unfair and deceptive business practices that exposed children to sexual content, exploitation and online predators. The civil complaint filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court accuses Roblox of failing to implement adequate moderation and age-verification safeguards despite marketing the platform as a safe space for children.
NBC4
| | |
Black coaches cleared to bring discrimination claims against NFL in open court
A racial discrimination case brought by Black coaches against the National Football League can proceed in open court rather than closed-door arbitration, a federal judge ruled Friday. It’s a major victory for current and former coaches Brian Flores, Steve Wilks and Ray Horton, who can now finally get their lawsuit off the ground after years of arguing with the league over how the case should be tried.
Courthouse News Service
| | |
L.A. judge rejects prosecutors' challenge to DA hires
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has denied a long-running legal challenge from the union representing county prosecutors over the District Attorney's hiring of former public defenders, concluding that promotions and departures inside the office have largely made the dispute moot. The judge said the court's role was limited to reviewing the Civil Service Commission's decisions rather than substituting its own judgment.
Los Angeles Today
| | |
LAPD officer found not liable in fellow officer's training death; family plans to appeal
A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury reached a verdict Wednesday in the multimillion-dollar lawsuit over the death of a Los Angeles Police Department officer and allegations of a department-wide conspiracy. The jury found the Los Angeles Police Department and Officer David Cuellar not liable in the 2022 death of fellow officer Houston Tipping. The Tipping family plans to appeal, according to one of their attorneys Brad Gage.
ABC7
| | |
DOJ is seeking to join lawsuit alleging bias against White students at California’s largest school district
The U.S. Department of Justice moved Wednesday to intervene in a federal lawsuit alleging that the Los Angeles Unified School District discriminates against White students through its decades-old Predominantly Hispanic, Black, Asian or Other Non-Anglo desegregation program. The policy provides certain schools additional resources and gives some students an edge in magnet admissions based on neighborhood racial demographics, according to the lawsuit.
Southern California News Group
| | |
Trump administration drops appeal of court order blocking $1.2-billion UCLA settlement
The Trump administration dropped its appeal of a major higher education case in which a federal judge blocked the government's $1.2-billion settlement proposal to UCLA over alleged civil rights violations. In a Wednesday filing with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Department of Justice lawyers asked judges to dismiss an appeal it filed last month seeking to reverse a lower court decision.
Los Angeles Times
| | |
Whistleblower action over ex-sheriff’s corruption is revived
The Sixth District Court of Appeal has held that trial judge erred in sustaining a demurrer, without leave to amend, to a complaint alleging whistleblower retaliation and related claims against the County of Santa Clara stemming from the plaintiff’s cooperation with an investigation into unlawful conduct on the part of the then-sheriff.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
| | |
Supreme Court rules most Trump tariffs illegal in major setback for economic agenda
The Supreme Court on Friday ruled President Trump does not have the authority to unilaterally impose sweeping tariffs on nearly every country under a federal emergency powers law, delivering a significant blow to the president's signature economic policy. The high court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, does not authorize the president to impose tariffs.
CBS News
| | |
Woman who aided boyfriend in killing family as teenager was rightly denied relief
Div. One of this district’s Court of Appeal has held that a woman who was convicted of aiding and abetting her then-boyfriend in the murder of her family members in 2000, when she was 16 years old, was properly denied resentencing based on a finding that she acted with an intent to kill.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
| | |
Threat-maker’s dad properly restrained from having guns
Div. Three of the Fourth District Court of Appeal has affirmed a restraining order that requires the live-in father of a man who threatened to shoot up a school to turn in, and refrain for possessing, any guns for a period of three years, finding no error in the trial judge’s conclusion that a requirement that the restrained person must be found to pose a “danger of causing…injury” may be met where a party did not adequately prevent access to firearms in the home.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
| | |
Bohm wins crash data, phone return in deadly PCH incident
Attorneys for Fraser Bohm, the Malibu driver charged with murder for the deaths of four Pepperdine University seniors in a 2023 crash on the Pacific Coast Highway, plan to use years of accident reports and speeding citations from the same stretch of road where the fatal incident occurred in mounting their defense.
The Acorn
| | |
Gun charge against man arrested outside Trump rally in Coachella headed toward dismissal
Vem Miller, the man arrested at a Donald Trump rally in Coachella in 2024 after Riverside County sheriff’s deputies confiscated two firearms from his truck, will have a charge of carrying a loaded firearm in public dismissed if he complies with a judge’s order. Miller, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, did not have to enter a guilty plea to receive what is called a misdemeanor diversion.
Orange County Register
| | |
L.A. County prosecutors probe Edison for criminal liability in deadly fire
Los Angeles County prosecutors are investigating whether Southern California Edison should face criminal charges for the devastating Eaton wildfire that killed 19 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena last year. Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, revealed during a Wednesday conference call with Wall Street analysts that the company is cooperating with the district attorney's office, though he said he didn't know the full scope of the investigation.
iHeartRadio
| | |
Orange County man charged with murdering estranged wife on Valentine’s Day
An Orange County man has been charged with murder for allegedly stabbing his estranged wife to death inside their home over Valentine’s Day weekend after believing she had plans to meet another man, officials said. According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, deputies responded around 6:30 a.m. Feb. 14, after a woman called the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to report that her brother-in-law had phoned her claiming he had killed his wife.
KTLA
| | |
Friends of slain LA teacher cry in court as her alleged killer husband appears with suicide vest
Coworkers of the beloved Los Angeles teacher bludgeoned to death teared up in court Thursday as her alleged killer and firefighter husband made an appearance while wearing a suicide vest. Fireman Andrew Jimenez stood behind plexiglass, wearing the blue vest with no shirt underneath, his muscles clearly visible as a sheriff’s department deputy led him in and out of the courtroom.
California Post
| | |
Los Angeles County board hears about public safety budgets
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors heard about budget requests Tuesday from departments handling law and order and fire protection. The county Sheriff’s Department has a total new appropriation request of $556.6 million.
The Center Square
| | |
California cardrooms anticipate thousands of layoffs as gambling rules change
California’s $5.6 billion cardroom industry may be holding a losing hand. A few days before Christmas, California Attorney General Rob Bonta proposed new rules that would drastically alter how casinos run blackjack, baccarat, pai gow and other card games. The changes are so disruptive that the cardroom industry says it will be forced to close down all blackjack-style games in California, pull back on card game tables generally, and target layoffs of nearly 13,000 to its statewide workforce.
San Bernardino Sun
| | |
Former L.A. chief deputy attorney directed fraudulent DWP lawsuit, judge rules
A former high-ranking Los Angeles city attorney authorized a class-action lawsuit against the city in hopes of getting a favorable settlement for L.A. and then repeatedly misled the court and public about his role in the scheme, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Los Angeles Times
| | |
Another ex-prosecutor wins multimillion-dollar harassment lawsuit against Orange County
A jury in San Diego County Tuesday handed down a $3.5 million decision in favor of a retired prosecutor in her lawsuit against Orange County stemming from harassment claims involving a former high-ranking executive in the District Attorney's Office. The jury deliberated for about half a day on Wednesday and then returned its verdicts before lunch Tuesday in the lawsuit filed by Bethel Cope-Vega.
City News Service
| | |
Former council aide seeks deposition of Curren Price Deputy Chief of Staff
Attorneys for a former senior aide to City Councilman Curren Price who say she was wrongfully fired for being a whistleblower will ask a judge Wednesday to issue an order regarding a Price staff member, who the plaintiff’s lawyers say has not been produced by the defense for a deposition.
MyNewsLA
| | |
Homeowners say Beverly Hills businesswoman is wrongfully hitting their homes with massive liens
A group of homeowners in the Beverly Hills area say they have a warning for all property owners. They claim their homes have all been hit with massive, multimillion-dollar liens by someone they've never done business with. Marjorie Josaphat bought a three-bedroom, 1,400-square-foot home in Benedict Canyon last year. After a top-down renovation, she's ready to sell the home in hopes of making a profit.
ABC7
| | |
‘It’s time’: California leaders unveil biggest crackdown on drunk drivers in decades
It’s been more than four decades yet Rhonda Campbell’s voice still quavered as she stood before a row of television cameras recalling the day in 1981 when a repeat drunk driver killed her 12-year-old sister. She remembers her father crying as he told her what happened, still hears her mother’s scream when the coffin lid closed.
CalMatters
| | |
Mark Zuckerberg defends Instagram age checks at landmark social media addiction trial
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended Instagram’s age verification practices on Wednesday in a landmark social media trial that alleges the Meta-owned Instagram and YouTube intentionally designed products to addict young users and caused them mental harm.
The Wrap
| | |
Confidential memo reveals how LAFD tried shielding Mayor Bass from fire fallout
Shortly before releasing an after-action report on the Palisades fire, the Los Angeles Fire Department issued a confidential memo detailing plans to protect Mayor Karen Bass and others from “reputational harm” in connection with the city’s handling of the catastrophic blaze, records obtained by The Times show. The 13-page document is on LAFD letterhead and includes email addresses for department officials, representatives of Bass’ office and public relations consultants hired to help shape messaging about the fire, although it is not known to whom it was eventually distributed.
Los Angeles Times
| | |
Mayor Karen Bass says Casey Wasserman should resign as LA28 chair
Mayor Karen Bass called on Casey Wasserman, chairman of the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to step down from his position on Monday - joining other Democratic elected officials who have urged for his resignation due to salacious emails he exchanged years ago with Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
City News Service
| | |
Sheriff Luna addresses concerns after 10 inmates die in LA County jails so far this year
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna responded to concerns after the county's jail system recorded 10 in-custody deaths so far this year. Luna discussed the issue Thursday during an interview on Eyewitness News at 11 a.m. He noted they ended last year with 46 in-custody deaths.
ABC7
| | |
3,300 officers short: Is Los Angeles ready for 2028
When Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell warned that the city needs roughly 3,300 additional officers, it was not political rhetoric - it was a clear assessment of risk. His description of the department operating like “half a team” facing an Olympic-sized threat should send a serious message to City Hall and to residents across Los Angeles.
CityWatch LA
| | |
LA residents fought rampant break-ins with ingenious solution - now the city is forcing them to stop
Los Angeles homeowners have gone to war with authorities trying to tear down their private warning signs and security cameras - despite them deterring rampaging criminals. Neighbors in Valley Glen in the San Fernando Valley put up 22 signs, infrared license plate readers and video recorders amid a spate of break-ins by South American gangs.
California Post
| | |
LA County spent billions on homelessness, got slammed in federal court - now they want more money
After torching billions on homelessness programs plagued by audits, missing records and murky bookkeeping, Los Angeles County leaders are now asking taxpayers to hand over even more money. County supervisors this week voted to place a new half-cent sales-tax hike on the ballot - a move that would push the countywide rate to 10.25%, among the highest in the nation.
California Post
| | |
LA is on perilous financial footing, city controller says in new report
Los Angeles remains on shaky financial ground with increased liability costs, overspending by city departments and revenue shortfalls forcing it to dip into its reserves, according to a financial report released Wednesday. The annual report for the fiscal year that ended in June, from Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia, said the culmination of decades of “unstable budgeting” is seen and felt by Angelenos across the city “in crumbling infrastructure and deteriorating services.”
LAist
| | |
Los Angeles and Thousand Oaks suspects arrested by Ventura County Human Trafficking Task Force
Ventura County Sheriff's Office officials report that January was officially designated as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the United States to raise awareness, educate the public on spotting signs of forced labor and sex trafficking, and promote prevention efforts.
Ventura County Sheriff’s Office
| | |
L.A. County sheriff and fire departments looking to ramp up for Olympic Games in 2028
Los Angeles County’s sheriff and fire departments presented budgetary overviews on Tuesday, Feb. 17, that color their readiness for responding to future disasters as well as needs from the L.A. Olympic Summer Games in 2028. At a special meeting of the Board of Supervisors, the heads of both departments expressed being hampered by a shortage of personnel, outdated equipment and inflationary pressures made worse by state and federal funding cuts.
Los Angeles Daily News
| | |
More than $5M in property recovered in cargo theft investigation, 5 arrested
Five people were arrested in a multi-agency cargo theft investigation where authorities impounded more than $5 million in recovered property, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said Thursday. LAPD's Commercial Crimes Division Cargo Theft Task Force, along with the Los Los Angeles Port Police, the California Department of Justice Tax Recovery in the Underground Economy Program, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles Investigations Division, executed three search warrants on Feb. 18 as part of an ongoing cargo theft probe.
NBC4
| | |
A look into the rampant prostitution along LA's Figueroa Corridor
Los Angeles is known around the world for being the home of Hollywood and having some of the world's best beaches, but it also has a much darker side. There's a notorious hub for human trafficking just south of Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center. Criminal activity often happens in the shadows. Hidden so as not to draw the attention of passers-by, police or nosy neighbors.
ABC7
| | |
Amazon's Ring ends deal with surveillance firm after backlash
Amazon's smart doorbell company is dropping a partnership with a firm known for its surveillance services, after facing scrutiny over its privacy practices. The decision cancels a deal announced in October between Amazon's Ring and Flock Safety, a firm that operates a network of cameras and license plate readers in the US used primarily by police and law enforcement agencies.
BBC
| | |
3 federal officers hurt after protesters threw rocks, other objects in downtown LA, authorities say
Three federal officers were injured when protesters in downtown Los Angeles threw objects, including rocks, at them, authorities said on Saturday. Paramedics with the Los Angeles Fire Department responded at about 1:40 p.m. Friday near North Alameda and East Temple streets, where they took a 40-year-old man to a hospital, LAFD spokeswoman Lyndsey Lantz said.
City News Service
| | |
They didn't just ignore audit warnings - California lawmakers quietly killed dozens of audit-backed bills
For decades, California lawmakers requested state audits, Californians have paid for those audits, and the State Auditor provided detailed recommendations on how to fix waste, fraud, and oversight failures across state government. In most cases, CBS News California found lawmakers did not act on those recommendations.
CBS News California
| | |
Minnesota judge holds lawyer for DOJ in contempt as tensions flare over immigration cases
A Minnesota federal judge held an attorney for the Justice Department in civil contempt of court after the government released a man from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody without his identification documents, in violation of a court order, further escalating tensions between the judiciary and the Trump administration over immigration cases.
CBS News
| | |
California schools face a new budget hit: Soaring insurance costs after sex abuse lawsuits
Since California made it easier for sexual abuse survivors to sue government agencies, victims have brought forth more than $3 billion in claims. But even agencies that haven’t been sued are facing financial hardship as a result of the law - through skyrocketing insurance premiums. School districts, counties and other public agencies in every corner of California have seen their liability insurance premiums soar, in large part because of that law, which passed in 2019.
CalMatters
| | |
Ex-California prison lieutenant arrested for smuggling contraband in six-figure scheme
A former California state correctional lieutenant was arrested Monday on federal charges alleging he smuggled cellphones and tobacco to an inmate in exchange for $100,000 in bribes. Matthew L. Madsen, 39, worked for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2017 to 2025 and primarily was assigned to Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad.
KTVU
| | |
Cops, grieving parents, blast California’s soft drunk driving laws, LA lawmakers after horror crashes
As California’s deadly drunk driving problem has exploded in recent years, with the state being home to six of the country’s 10 worst cities for DUIs, the Los Angeles police union is now placing the blame squarely at the feet of socialist politicians for slashing resources and soft on crime policies.
California Post
| | |
Snap settles lawsuit on app effects
Before one of three massive tech addiction lawsuits, Snap Inc. has agreed to settle a case that claimed the company - among other social media firms – intentionally addicted children. The financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Santa Monica-based Snap was named alongside other social media giants like Meta Platforms Inc., YouTube and TikTok in a landmark social media addiction case that began at the Los Angeles County Superior Court in early February.
Los Angeles Business Journal
| | |
DOJ sues Harvard, demands race-related admissions records
The Trump administration on Friday escalated its clash with higher education by suing Harvard University, accusing the school of unlawfully withholding race-related admissions records from the government amid an ongoing discrimination investigation. In a 14-page complaint filed in Boston federal court, the Department of Justice claims the school violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by slow-walking document production related to the probe.
Courthouse News Service
| | |
97-year-old Palisades Fire victim may sue California FAIR plan for barely covering remediation costs
An Eyewitness News viewer and her family have been dealing with an insurance nightmare for more than a year after the Palisades Fire. Even though their homes survived, the family says they have had to pay thousands to move back in safely, claiming the California FAIR plan didn't cover enough.
ABC7
| | Convictions/Pleas/Sentences/Parole | | |
Woman sentenced for accusing her estranged spouse of illegally accessing bank account from outer space
A Kansas woman has been sentenced to federal prison after making false claims that astronaut Anne McClain illegally accessed her bank account while deployed to the International Space Station, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Summer Heather Worden, 51, of Sedgwick County, Kansas, pleaded guilty on November 14, 2025, to making false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations to law enforcement.
KBTX
| | |
Compton man pleads guilty to assaulting and injuring federal officer during anti-immigration enforcement riot last year in Paramount
A Compton man pleaded guilty today to assaulting and injuring a federal officer by throwing chunks of concrete at passing government vehicles during an anti-immigration law enforcement riot last year in Paramount. Elpidio Reyna, 41, pleaded guilty to one felony count of assault on a federal officer by deadly or dangerous weapon resulting in bodily injury.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Press Release
| | |
LA County mother who tried to sneak fentanyl into juvenile hall sentenced to prison
A Los Angeles County mother was sentenced to prison on Wednesday after she tried to sneak fentanyl into the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar in 2023. Jeny Morenoparra, 42, was was sentenced to 16 months in a state prison after she pleaded no contest to one felony count of bringing drugs or alcohol into a prison, jail or detention facility in January, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
CBS LA
| | |
Registered sex offender accused in LA is sent to prison after judge rules he violated probation
A registered sex offender who was accused of targeting women across Los Angeles has been taken back into custody and sent to state prison after a judge ruled that he violated his probation. Matthew Werner, a 48-year-old Las Vegas resident, traveled out of state without permission from probation department, marking his third probation violation, the judge said.
ABC7
| | |
How Ryan Wedding’s ‘right-hand man’ turned on him and helped take him down
A year ago, Ryan Wedding was on the run and riding high. According to investigators, he celebrated the January 2025 shooting of an FBI witness in Colombia by sending around a picture of the man's lifeless body and bragging about how he killed the “rat." A lawyer in Ontario had allegedly assured Wedding that eliminating the informant would thwart the prosecution against him.
CBC News
| | |
The Ninth Circuit’s religious freedom coup
Last month, the Ninth Circuit weighed in on the ever-heated religious liberty debate. In Union Gospel Mission of Yakima v. Brown, the court addresses the rights of religious institutions dealing with the ever-expanding regime of employment “nondiscrimination” laws. The conflict between employment laws and religious hiring has been one of the most concerning threats to religious freedom in the past decade.
Public Disclosure
| | | | |
