Persons Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. L. A. Cnty. Dep't of Children v. Maria O. (In re Harley C.)
Persons Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. L. A. Cnty. Dep't of Children v. Maria O. (In re Harley C.)
Opinion of the Court
*498In a juvenile dependency matter set for a contested dispositional hearing, the juvenile court refused to permit mother Maria O. to testify or to call witnesses because her counsel had not filed a joint trial statement as required by a local rule. We conclude *786that the local rule is invalid and reverse the dispositional orders.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
At the July 19, 2018, jurisdictional hearing on a juvenile dependency petition with respect to Mother's children, Harley C., and S.C., Mother waived her right to a trial and submitted on the reports. The juvenile court found that the children came within the court's jurisdiction pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivisions (b) [failure to protect] and (j) [abuse of sibling].
Mother requested a contested dispositional hearing. Mother sought placement of the children with her,
The juvenile court released the children to their father pending the dispositional hearing. The court set a date for the contested hearing, and, at Mother's request, ordered that DCFS provide a supplemental report concerning Mother's visitation and progress in her case plan. The court waived the *499minors' presence at the dispositional hearing because Mother did not anticipate calling them to testify.
When the contested dispositional hearing took place on September 26, 2018, DCFS continued to recommend termination of jurisdiction. The minors' position had changed, however: they now requested termination of jurisdiction with legal and physical custody of the children to their father and unmonitored visits in a public setting for Mother.
After admitting DCFS's exhibits into evidence without objection, the juvenile court asked, "Are any witnesses to be called?"
Mother's counsel said, "Your Honor, I actually would like S[.C.] to testify briefly as to a report that we have received." S.C. was present in court that day.
Minors' counsel objected on the ground that Mother had not filed any document with the court "so that we would be ... able to inform my client that this was going to occur. It is inappropriate for this to be asked for on the morning of the trial." Minors' counsel acknowledged that Mother was likely making this request because Minors' counsel had changed position on the requested disposition, but she objected nonetheless, stating, "This information is in the report. I believe it's [ Evidence Code section] 352."
The court ruled, "Court notes that the adjudication was set on July 19th. Court has procedures in place when contests are set and that's for a joint trial exhibit to be provided indicating what witnesses are to be called. Court has not received a trial statement, and the court is denying the request-the last-minute request for S[.C.] to testify today."
Mother's counsel responded, "Your Honor, that would be over Mother's objection. I would note that Minors were in-were in agreement with Mother's position to at least keep the case open. [¶] As we walked in the door, [Minors' counsel] told me that she is no longer in that position. The joint *787trial statement policies were not instituted until mid-August. This case was set before that. [¶] There was also no date set for joint trial statements when this matter was set for contest."
"That is not the court's responsibility," said the juvenile court. "Counsel knows what the procedures are and they are to follow the court's procedures."
Mother's counsel explained that the reason for her last-minute request that S.C. testify was Minor's counsel's last minute change in her recommended disposition. Mother's counsel asked for a continuance if the court *500would not permit S.C. to testify that day because no statement had been filed, "so I can prepare a joint trial statement and then all parties will be noticed that I would be asking for S[.C.] to testify. [¶] I think my client is put at a disadvantage for this last-minute information and change in position. I'm ready to proceed and Minor is here."
"Court is denying the request," the court answered. "We will proceed to argument if no witnesses are going to be called." After consulting with Mother, Mother's counsel said, "My client would like to testify."
The court refused. "As the court stated earlier, unless the court and counsel were given prior notice through the statement of what witnesses will be called and what they will be called to testify to. That was not done so court's not going to allow any witnesses to be called at disposition."
"Well, the court just requested any witnesses to be called," Mother's counsel replied. "My client would like to testify in this matter. I believe she has a right to testify. [¶] If the court is denying her right to testify in her own defense for the disposition, then that would be over her objection."
"So noted," the court said, and proceeded to hear argument.
Mother's counsel asked for both children to be returned to her, but indicated that Mother was particularly seeking placement of S[.C.] in her care. She argued that Mother was more able to meet S.C.'s medical needs than S.C.'s father was, citing several medical issues that had arisen while S.C. was in her father's custody. Mother's counsel cited Mother's compliance with the case plan: She previously had documented her completion of 19 of 21 domestic violence group sessions, and had since completed the rest; she was attending individual counseling; and she had completed a parenting class. Mother had also taken an anger management class although she had not been ordered to do so.
"[A]lthough my client was not allowed by the court to testify," Mother's counsel argued, "she would absolutely deny any allegations that she remains in a relationship with [her male companion with whom domestic violence had occurred]. She is no longer in a relationship with him." Mother's counsel said that had the court permitted her to examine S.C., "we would be cross-examining her on her statements" in a report from the previous month.
"Based on my client's active participation in her case plan and the-she does have her proof of completion certificate with her, I would ask that the *501court allow S[.C.], at the very least, to return home of parent Mother and/or order for home of parents for both children, and the court could perhaps have a primary residence of Harley with the father and S.[C.] with the Mother." If the court was inclined to terminate jurisdiction, she requested either a contested hearing on the terms of the family law order or shared legal and physical custody of the children, with primary custody of S.C. and Harley with Mother unless *788Harley preferred to reside primarily with his father.
The juvenile court terminated jurisdiction and awarded sole physical and joint legal custody to the children's father. As Minors' counsel had recommended, the court ordered visitation for Mother with the children, with visits to be monitored if the visit took place in a private setting and unmonitored if it occurred in public. Mother appeals.
DISCUSSION
I. Authority and Procedures for Adopting Local Rules
A. Scope of Power to Establish Local Rules
The authority of California courts to promulgate local rules is beyond dispute. "[T]rial courts possess inherent rulemaking authority as well as rulemaking authority granted by statute. ( Rutherford v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (1997)
The Legislature has constrained this authority by enacting Government Code section 68070, which provides that courts may institute only those local rules that are "not inconsistent with law or with the rules adopted and prescribed by the Judicial Council." ( Gov. Code, § 68070, subd. (a).) As a result, "[a] trial court is without authority to adopt local rules or procedures that conflict with statutes or with rules of court adopted by the Judicial Council, or that are inconsistent with the Constitution or case law." ( Elkins, supra , 41 Cal.4th at p. 1351,
California courts routinely strike down local rules and practices that conflict with state law. For instance, in Elkins , the California Supreme Court invalidated a local court rule requiring parties to present their cases in marriage dissolution trials through written declarations and to establish the admissibility of trial exhibits in pretrial declarations because the rule conflicted with California evidence law. ( Elkins, supra , 41 Cal.4th at pp. 1344-1345, 1356-1357,
In In re A.L. (2014)
As the Court of Appeal explained in Department of Forestry & Fire Protection v. Howell (2017)
B. Procedures for Adopting Local Rules
California has established detailed procedures by which courts may adopt local rules. These procedures, contained in the Code of Civil Procedure and the corresponding California Rules of Court, evince the Legislature's desire to preserve the latitude of judges, districts, and superior courts to develop policies to control the litigation before them while protecting litigants' rights by ensuring that all those *790who appear in the courts have access to the local rules and notice of what the rules are.
Accordingly, Code of Civil Procedure
Additionally, California Rules of Court, rule 10.613 applies to "every rule, regulation, order, policy, form, or standard of general application adopted by a court to govern practice or procedure in that court or by a judge of the court to govern practice or procedure in that judge's courtroom." ( Cal. Rules of Court, rule 10.613(a)(2).) This Rule of Court requires most
Finally, Government Code section 60871 requires advance submission of local rules to the Judicial Council, standardized effective dates, and availability of the rules for public review in advance of their effective date. The statute provides, "No rule adopted by a superior court shall take effect until January 1 or July 1, whichever comes first, following the 45th day after it has been filed with the Judicial Council and the clerk of the court, and made immediately available for public examination. The Judicial Council may establish, by rule, a procedure for exceptions to these effective dates." The Judicial Council established a procedure for alternate effective dates in the California Rules of Court, rule 10.613(i) : A court may adopt a rule to take effect on a date other than as provided in Government Code section 68071 only if the presiding judge submits to the Judicial Council the proposed rule and a statement of reasons constituting good cause for the alternate effective date; the Chair of the Judicial Council authorizes the rule to take effect on the date proposed; and, on or before the effective date, the rule is made available to the public for inspection and copying in every location of the court that generally accepts filing of papers.
*791II. Local Rule Seven of the McCourtney Courthouse Policies, Effective August 13, 2018, Is Invalid
A. The Local Rule
Because the rule on which the juvenile court relied to preclude Mother from testifying or presenting witnesses was not included in the record on *505appeal, we requested that the parties submit the operative rule to this court. County Counsel provided this court with a document with the heading, "McCourtney Courthouse Policies-These policies will take effect on August 13, 2018." This document contains nine policies; the seventh policy states in full, "Joint Trial Statements are required for all scheduled contests."
Although we requested that the parties inform us of the date the local rule was adopted, no party provided any information concerning the date of adoption or the procedure employed for adopting the McCourtney Courthouse Policies to this court. County Counsel did, however, inform this court that the local rules "were not published as part of the general publication rules."
B. The Rule Was Adopted in Violation of State Law
We requested that the parties provide supplemental briefing on the questions of whether section 575.1, subdivision (c) and/or California Rules of Court, rule 10.613 apply to the local rule relied upon by the court here to bar Mother from presenting any live witness testimony. Mother argues that both provisions were applicable to the local rule here. County Counsel argues that neither section 575.1 nor California Rules of Court, rule 10.613 applies here because the local rules were adopted in the exercise of the court's inherent rulemaking authority and not pursuant to section 575.1.
Section 575.1, subdivision (c) and California Rules of Court, rule 10.613 do apply to this local rule. "[S]ection 575.1 prescribes the procedures for enacting and adopting valid local court rules" ( Hall v. Superior Court (2005)
*506Because the McCourtney Courthouse Policies were not published as part of the general publication of rules required by the California Rules of Court and organized so that rules on a common subject, whether individual, branch, district, or courtwide appear sequentially, the local rule violates section 575.1, subdivision (c).
*792On its face the rule also violates several provisions of the California Rules of Court, rule 10.613 : the rules are not formatted as required by California Rules of Court, rule 10.613(f) ; the effective date of each rule is not stated in parentheses following the text of the rule ( Cal. Rules of Court, rule 10.613(f)(2) ); and the rules lack a table of contents ( Cal. Rules of Court, rule 10.613(f)(4) ). Moreover, the rule's effective date of August 13, 2018, is inconsistent with Government Code section 60871's requirement that local rules take effect on January 1 or July 1, and the record is devoid of any indication that the presiding judge provided the Judicial Council with the proposed rule and a statement of reasons constituting good cause for the alternate effective date; the Chair of the Judicial Council authorized the rule to take effect on the date proposed; and, on or before the effective date, the rule was made available to the public for inspection and copying-all of which would have been required for the rule to take effect on a date other than January 1 or July 1. ( Gov. Code, § 68071 ; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 10.613(i).)
While it is unclear when and how the local rule was adopted, there is no indication in the record before us that the court filed the local rule with the Judicial Council at all, much less 45 days before its effective date ( Cal. Rules of Court, rule 10.613(d) ); or that it complied with the requirements regarding publication by an official publisher set forth in California Rules of Court, rule 10.613(c) with respect to this rule. There is also no evidence that the court distributed the rule for comment, at least 45 days before it was adopted, to the county bar associations, nearest offices of the Attorney General, and county counsel in each county within a 100-mile radius of the county seat of the County of Los Angeles as required by California Rules of Court, rule 10.613(g). Finally, the record lacks evidence that the rule was made available for inspection and copying in every location of the court that generally accepts filing of papers, or that the rule was accompanied by a notice indicating where a full set of the rules could be obtained. ( Cal. Rules of Court, rule 10.613(b).)
Accordingly, we conclude that the local rule requiring a joint trial statement is invalid because it was adopted in violation of state law and the California Rules of Court. The rule was not properly enforced in this case, and may not be enforced.
*507C. The Local Rule Conflicts with California Law
Neither the court's statutory authority nor its inherent authority empowers it to make local rules that conflict with California law or the Rules of Court. ( Gov. Code, § 68070, subd. (a) ; Elkins, supra , 41 Cal.4th at p. 1351-1354,
As applied here, the local rule conflicts with the Welfare and Institutions Code.
*793"After finding that a child is a person described in [Welfare and Institutions Code s]ection 300, the court shall hear evidence on the question of the proper disposition to be made of the child." ( Welf. & Inst. Code, § 358, subd. (a).) "Before determining the appropriate disposition, the court shall receive in evidence the social study of the child made by the social worker, any study or evaluation made by a child advocate appointed by the court, and other relevant and material evidence as may be offered ...." ( Welf. & Inst. Code, § 358, subd. (b)(1).) Although the rule itself is silent as to sanctions for violation of the courthouse rules, the court applied the rule to prevent Mother from presenting relevant evidence, thereby rejecting evidence it was statutorily obligated to receive and consider at disposition.
D. The Goal of Expediting Proceedings Cannot Justify Denying Mother the Opportunity to Present Relevant Evidence
County Counsel defends the local rule as "part of a larger set of policies designed to manage and expedite dependency cases" that "enables the juvenile courts of McCourtney Courthouse to exercise reasonable control over proceedings ...." Efficiency was the primary justification for the local rule in Elkins, supra ,
Guided by the Supreme Court in Elkins , we reject "procedures that exalt efficiency over fairness." ( Elkins, supra , 41 Cal.4th at p. 1368,
As applied here, the local rule promoted judicial efficiency over the policy favoring disposition of cases on their merits. The juvenile court mechanically applied the local rule not to promote the just resolution of the case on its merits but to (1) preclude Mother from presenting relevant evidence on the question of the proper disposition of the children; and (2) to turn away evidence the court was required by Welfare and Institutions Code section 358 to receive and consider. As the Supreme Court observed in Elkins, supra , 41 Cal.4th at page 1366,
E. The Court May Control Courtroom Proceedings Through Case-Specific Orders
While the local rule here is unenforceable because it conflicts with California law and it was adopted in violation of the Government Code and the California Rules of Court, California courts retain the ability to manage the litigation before them by means of case-specific orders, provided that *509those orders are consistent with California law and afford litigants due process. ( Rutherford, supra , 16 Cal.4th at p. 967,
III. Precluding Live Testimony As a Sanction for Violating the Local Rule Was Improper
A. Absence of Notice
Even had the local rules here been properly adopted and enforceable, the court's ruling barring Mother from testifying and examining her daughter on the statements contained in a report to the court because she had failed to submit the joint trial statement would run afoul of section 575.2. This statute allows superior courts to promulgate local rules that give them the authority to strike a pleading, dismiss an action, or "impose other penalties of a lesser nature as otherwise provided by law" for failure to comply with other local rules. The statute cautions, however, that "[n]o penalty may be imposed under this section without prior notice to, and an opportunity to be heard by, the party against whom the penalty is sought to be imposed." (§ 575.2, subd. (a).)
*795The local rule requiring a joint trial statement, like all the local rules on the document provided to this court, is silent on the consequences of noncompliance. As a result, there is no indication that either Mother or her counsel had any reason to know any adverse action, including preventing Mother from testifying or calling witnesses, could result if she failed to file a joint trial statement. The record before us contains no evidence that the court provided the parties with any such notice before refusing to permit Mother to call witnesses at the start of the dispositional hearing. "Under section 575.2, the court exceeded its authority by imposing sanctions for noncompliance *510with the Local Rules, 'without prior notice to, and an opportunity to be heard by, the party against whom the penalty is sought to be imposed.' " ( Lee v. An (2008)
B. Disproportionate Sanction
The sanction imposed here was disproportionate to the conduct it punished. "Although authorized to impose sanctions for violation of local rules ( Code Civ. Proc., § 575.2, subd. (a) ), courts ordinarily should avoid treating a curable violation of local procedural rules as the basis for crippling a litigant's ability to present his or her case. As the court declared in Kalivas, supra ,
The same is true here, where the juvenile court excluded all of Mother's evidence because her counsel had not filed a joint pretrial statement. The court had options to punish counsel for her error short of denying Mother the ability to present any witnesses at the dispositional hearing. If the joint trial statement was necessary, the court could have resolved the issue by briefly continuing the hearing, permitting Mother to file a joint trial statement, and, if appropriate, scheduling a new hearing directing Mother's counsel to show cause why sanctions should not be imposed against her. As in Elkins, supra ,
"Court procedures, however well-intentioned, should not be imposed at the expense of the parties' basic rights to have their matters fairly adjudicated ...." ( Gonzalez v. Munoz (2007)
DISPOSITION
The dispositional orders are reversed and the matter remanded to the juvenile court with instructions to conduct a new dispositional hearing without reference to the local rule but subject to any individualized case management orders entered in the case.
I concur:
FEUER, J.
Although Mother wanted both children placed with her, she was willing to accede to one of the children's wish not to live with her. Her counsel explained, "My client is requesting home of parents. She is primarily asking for [S.C.] to be in her home. My understanding is that Harley does not wish to reside with Mother at this time."
Unless otherwise indicated, all further statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure.
Local rules that "relate only to the internal management of the court" are exempt from some of the requirements of California Rules of Court, Rule 10.613. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 10.613(j).)
County Counsel also provided a form in Exhibit B, which makes no reference to the rule, although counsel represents it is related. Although that form would provide further guidance to counsel if it were identified in the rule, and made a part of it, the record does not reflect how, if at all, counsel could access the form.
We address only the local rule requiring joint trial statements. The remaining portions of the McCourtney Courthouse Policies are not at issue in this case, and we do not address which of them, if any, conflict with statute, rule of law, or Judicial Council rule.
Following the procedures mandated for adopting local rules would have addressed this issue, along with other issues such as deadlines for compliance, on which the rule was silent as adopted. This failure resulted in an ambiguous rule, placing counsel and litigants in peril, as demonstrated by the events in this matter.
Concurring Opinion
I agree with the majority that the juvenile court erred by barring Maria from testifying and calling her daughter as a witness because Maria's attorney did not comply with a requirement that was not even in effect when the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services filed this action and of which the court gave the parties no prior notice of the consequences for noncompliance. The court's ruling deprived Maria of notice and an opportunity to be heard, cornerstones of our system of justice. (See Lockyer v. City and County of San Francisco (2004)
I also agree courts and courthouses cannot adopt and implement local rules without complying with the legislatively prescribed procedures for adopting local rules. And I agree courts have the authority to manage cases by requiring litigants and their attorneys to comply with courtroom procedures and trial setting orders. Therefore, I enthusiastically join Parts I and II(E) of the discussion section of the majority opinion.
*512I have difficulty with the remainder of Part II, however, because I am not entirely convinced the McCourtney Courthouse Policies were adopted in violation of state law or, as written, conflict with state law. For the most part, these policies address matters that, in my view, do not need to be published and distributed to bar associations and stakeholders, made available for public review and comment, and submitted to the Judicial Council.
The only policy our decision targets provides: "Joint Trial Statements are required for all scheduled contests." I am not so sure this is a local rule; but if it is, it isn't much of one. As the majority recognizes, the policy does not prescribe any deadlines for filing the statement (e.g., five court days prior to the scheduled contest), nor is there any consequence or sanction for noncompliance. The unacceptable consequence in this case derives not from the policy, but from the juvenile court's application of the policy.
The record does not contain a copy of the Joint Trial Statement required by the policy. In response to our request, however, the Department submitted a form document titled "Statement of Issues at Trial and Evidence To Be Introduced at Trial" and represented that it is the Joint Trial Statement referred to in the policy.
Of particular relevance here, the Joint Trial Statement form submitted by the Department requires the parties to complete a section headed "Witness: Name/Testimony/Time Estimate." It is hard for me to conceive of a trial, *513evidentiary hearing, or contested proceeding where the judge does not ask who the witnesses will be, the general subject matter of their testimony, and how long counsel anticipate they will testify. A brief survey of the Courtroom Information page for the Stanley Mosk Courthouse on the Los Angeles Superior Court website reveals that judges in the civil division ask for this information (and more) as a matter of course and often require counsel to complete trial preparation forms unique to that courtroom. (See, e.g., Super. Ct. L.A. County, Stanley Mosk Courthouse, Courtroom Information < http://www.lacourt.org/courtroominformation/ui/result.aspx> [as of July 9, 2019, Departments 14, 16, 17, 19, 24, 26, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 37, 40, 45, 47, 48, 50, 53, 56, 57, 58, 68, 74, 96].) I do not understand the majority opinion to affect a trial court's ability to ask for this information in preparation for a trial or evidentiary hearing.
Finally, the majority makes clear in Part II(E) that California courts have broad discretion to implement case management rules and policies that "enable the just and efficient resolution of cases." (Cal. Stds. Jud. Admin., § 2.1; see Welf. & Inst. Code, § 350 ["The judge of the juvenile court shall control all proceedings during the hearings with a view to the expeditious and effective ascertainment of the jurisdictional facts and the ascertainment of all *798information relative to the present condition and future welfare of the person upon whose behalf the petition is brought."]; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.713(c) ["It is the responsibility of judges to achieve a just and effective resolution of each general civil case through active management and supervision of the pace of litigation from the date of filing to disposition."];
Indeed, the majority recognizes trial courts have the authority to "make scheduling and procedural orders similar in nature to" the joint trial statement policy, "as long as those orders are expressly entered in individual cases, not imposed by an unpublished general rule adopted in violation of state law." (Maj. opn. ante , at p. 794.) In my view, even under the majority's holding, had the juvenile court previously entered an order requiring the parties to comply with the joint trial statement policy, that requirement would not violate state law. That seems to me an easy fix that would apply in almost every case. Of course, it would not have cured the error in this case for the reasons set forth in Part III of the majority's opinion. Therefore, and with this understanding, I concur.
*515Appendix A
McCourtney Courthouse Policies
These policies will take effect on Monday, August 13, 2018:
1. All courtrooms open at 8:30 and attorneys will be present to begin work.
2. Calendar Call will be at 8:45a.m. - all counsel must be present in the courtroom at that time.
3. All reports properly served must be previously read by counsel.
Be prepared to give status report regarding required "on call" witnesses. Ready cases will be heard following Calendar Call.
*7994. Contested Hearings/Trials begin at 10:00 a.m. No continuance/waiting without good cause.
No overbooking/ stacking of trials out of home court without coverage. Coverage must be prepared to commence trial at 10:00 a.m.
5. Continued Cases - must be called on the record and all parties present will be ordered back on the record.
6. Attorneys must immediately respond to a page or phone call from the courtroom and must return to courtroom forthwith unless the court specifically orders otherwise.
7. Joint Trial Statements are required for all scheduled contests.
8. The court shall use reasonable efforts to give priority to cases that have settled.
9. LADL and CLC will have a supervisor for each firm on site in McCourtney at least one day every two (2) weeks.
*516Appendix B
*800In Re: Click here to enter text. CASE NO.(s): Click here to enter text. STATEMENT OF ISSUES AT TRIAL AND EVIDENCE TO BE INTRODUCED AT TRIAL Minor(s) Date: Click here to enter a date. Dept.: Click here to enter text. Hearing Type: Click here to enter text.
Petitioner Attorney: Click here to enter text.
Minor Attorney: Click here to enter text.
Parent Attorney: Click here to enter text.
Other Attorney: Click here to enter text.
Time Estimate for Trial: Click here to enter text.
[] Outstanding Discovery or Witness Availability Issue
Party & Issue: Click here to enter text.
CONTESTED ISSUES
Party: Click here to enter text.
[]Adjudication: Enter Specific Issues
[]Home of Parent: Click here to enter text.
[]Visitation Order: Click here to enter text.
[]Reasonable Services: Click here to enter text.
[]Placement: Click here to enter text.
[]Termination of Jurisdiction: Click here to enter text.
[]Other: Click here to enter text.
Exhibit: Click here to enter text.
Witness: Name/Testimony/Time Estimate.
NONCONTESTED ISSUES/STIPULATIONS
Click here to enter text.
[] COUNSEL HAVE MET AND CONFERED REGARDING SETTLEMENT
Respectfully Submitted,
Click here to enter text. Attorney for: Click here to enter text.
A copy of the McCourtney Courthouse Policies submitted by the Department is attached as appendix A, post , page 6.
A copy of the document is attached as appendix B, post , page 7.
"Once the parties have presented their views, the court should independently evaluate the estimates based on the arguments of the parties, the state of the pleadings, the legal and factual issues presented, the number of witnesses likely to testify, the court's trial schedule and hours, and the court's experience in trying similar cases." (California Crane School, Inc. v. National Com. For Certification of Crane Operators, supra , 226 Cal.App.4th at p. 20,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.