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Case Summaries

Family Law

[07/18] Duran v. Beaumont
Dismissal of a motion for the return of petitioner's daughter to Chile is affirmed where, for purposes of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, petitioner had only access rights, not custody rights, leaving the district court without jurisdiction to order the return of the child.

[07/16] In re Marriage of Sonne
In a marriage dissolution proceeding, a conclusion that repurchased service credits for husband's years of service to his employer prior to his wife were community property is affirmed where the repurchase of service credits involved the commingling of separate and community property in the use of community funds to purchase the service credits. However, assignation to the wife of the entire survivor benefit of which she was the irrevocable beneficiary is reversed and remanded where the husband was only compensated for the cost of the survivor benefits when its value far exceeded its cost.

[07/10] In re A.M.
In deciding whether to grant a parent's request for self-representation in a juvenile dependency proceeding, a juvenile court must consider the child's right to a prompt resolution of custody status. The juvenile court has discretion to deny the request when it is reasonably probable that self-representation will unduly delay the proceedings, impairing the child's right to a prompt resolution of custody status. A parent's disruptive behavior may be sufficient, but is not necessary to deny the request.

[05/29] In re Marriage of Gong
An appeal from an order to pay child support and related obligations is dismissed as frivolous and monetary sanctions are imposed on appellant who pursued every possible avenue to evade his support obligations, even when ordered to do so by the court, and prosecuted a meritless appeal solely for the purpose of taking advantage of the delay in discharging his payment obligations.

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Probate Trusts

[07/16] Perrin v. Lee
In a probate proceeding, denial of plaintiffs' section 21320 safe harbor petition for a determination that their proposed petition to invalidate two trust amendments would not be a contest within the meaning of a no contest clause in a trust is reversed where: 1) the trust did not explicitly state that a contest to an amendment would violate the no contest clause; and 2) the no contest clause was not incorporated by reference into the amendments.

[05/15] Miller v. Campbell
In a fees dispute brought by a law firm against the executor of an estate after the probate court refused to award a category of fees associated with services rendered for the executor's personal matters, grant of executor's motions in limine to exclude all evidence, resulting in dismissal of the case, is reversed where: 1) the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel did not apply to bar the law firm's claim of fees against the executor personally; and 2) in light of the evidence, the trial court erroneously ruled that the evidence was insufficient, as a matter of law, to support the law firm's quantum meruit claim.

[05/13] Montegani v. Johnson
In a dispute over a decedent's estate involving revocable and irrevocable trusts, an order denying plaintiff's Probate Code section 21320 application based on her lack of standing for section 21320 relief is affirmed where, as part of its duty to oversee the administration of the estate and insure orderly administration of justice, the trial court properly concluded that plaintiff was no longer a beneficiary of the trusts at issue, and thus lacked standing to seek declaratory relief under section 21320.

[05/06] Estate of Herold
An order denying petitioner's safe harbor petition, which sought a declaration that his proposed "Petition for Information" would not amount to a will contest, is reversed and remanded where the trial court erred in finding that a no contest clause of the will was incorporated by reference into a trust.

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Wills & Trusts

[06/30] MICHAEL J. v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ORANGE COUNTY (ROGERS)
The conservator of the person and the estate of a mentally disabled person who is unable to communicate her wishes does not have the power to initiate and prosecute a petition for the dissolution of her marriage.

[03/12] E. ARMATA, INC. v. KOREA COMMERCIAL BANK OF NEW YORK
Under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA), a bank is not liable to the beneficiaries of a PACA trust for receipt of funds in breach of the trust where, having extended revolving overdraft privileges to a produce dealer covered by PACA, the bank routinely applied deposited PACA funds to reduce the negative balance in the produce dealer's overdrawn account.

[03/12] E. ARMATA, INC. v. KOREA COMMERCIAL BANK OF NEW YORK
Under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA), a bank is not liable to the beneficiaries of a PACA trust for receipt of funds in breach of the trust where, having extended revolving overdraft privileges to a produce dealer covered by PACA, the bank routinely applied deposited PACA funds to reduce the negative balance in the produce dealer's overdrawn account. (Amended opinion)

[03/11] AM. BANANA CO., INC. v. REPUBLIC NAT'L BANK OF NEW YORK, N.A.
A failure to reduce to writing an agreement that violates the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) should not result in the preservation of the PACA trust where the same agreement, if memorialized, would have resulted in forfeiture of such protection. Because plaintiffs forfeited trust protection, defendant-bank has a complete defense to PACA liability; judgment for plaintiffs is reversed.

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