May 6, 2026
Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Three
The Rule of Phillips v. Volvo Penta of the Americas, LLC is that under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, a component manufacturer's duty to replace goods or reimburse the buyer is limited to the goods the manufacturer itself sold and warranted, not to the entire consumer product incorporating the component, under circumstances where the component manufacturer issued an express warranty only for its component part.
February 13, 2026
Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Eight
The Rule of Diaz v. Thor Motor Coach is that forum selection clauses in motorhome warranties are unenforceable as unconscionable when they are part of warranty agreements containing other illegal provisions that violate California's Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, even when the manufacturer offers to stipulate not to enforce the illegal provisions in the out-of-state forum.
January 9, 2026
Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One
The Rule of Higginson is that dismissal of a CLRA claim for failure to file a concurrent venue affidavit must be without prejudice (with leave to amend), not with prejudice, under Civil Code section 1780(d), and that unremedied discovery misuse that deprives a party of material evidence required for trial warrants a new trial and monetary sanctions, under circumstances where a party falsely verifies that responsive documents "never existed" and the court's remedial jury instruction becomes ineffective due to evidentiary exclusions.