Tomorrow morning, the Supreme Court will file its opinion in Villanueva v. Fidelity National Title Co. (Briefs here (there are 10 amicus briefs); oral argument video here.)
This will be the first opinion in a case argued on the January calendar. It will also be the first opinion in which Justice Martin Jenkins is participating as a permanent member of the court. We should see opinions in the other five January cases — including the high-profile cash bail opinion, In re Humphrey — by April 5.
There is still one undecided December case — the death penalty appeal in People v. Wilson. Because submission of the matter was delayed for the completion of supplemental briefing, the Wilson opinion is not due until mid April. (Generally, see here.)
The court limited the issues in Villanueva to: “(1) Insurance Code section 12414.26 provides: ‘No act done, action taken, or agreement made pursuant to the authority conferred by Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 12401) or Article 5.7 (commencing with Section 12402) of this chapter shall constitute a violation of or grounds for prosecution or civil proceedings under any other law of this state heretofore or hereafter enacted which does not specifically refer to insurance.’ Does this statute provide immunity to an underwritten title company for charging consumers for services for which there have been no rate filings with the Insurance Commissioner? Stated otherwise, by charging unfiled rates, did Fidelity act ‘pursuant to the authority conferred by Article 5.5?’ (2) Does the Insurance Commissioner have exclusive jurisdiction over any action against an underwritten title company for services charged to the consumer, but not disclosed to the Department of Insurance?” The court granted review in December 2018.
The opinion can be viewed tomorrow starting at 10:00 a.m.