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Curtis E.A. Karnow

See more on Curtis E.A. Karnow

Judge (ret.)



San Francisco County Superior Court, retired April 28 2025



Judicial Profiles
Title Court Published
Curtis E.A. Karnow San Francisco County (San Francisco) May 14, 2014
Technophile Judge San Francisco County Superior Court Sep. 7, 2006

Columns
Title Category Published
Silence isn't strength when the courts are under attack Judges and Judiciary, Ethics/Professional Responsibility Jun. 23, 2025
Cui bono, pro bono Judges and Judiciary Nov. 25, 2024
Expedited jury trials: Life in the fast lane Civil Litigation Sep. 13, 2024
Apples, Oranges and Aardvarks Law Practice Jul. 26, 2024
A new conflict of law Civil Procedure, Civil Litigation Dec. 6, 2023
Sealing, Redux Judges and Judiciary Mar. 13, 2023
Frequency analysis in settlement Civil Litigation Feb. 15, 2023
Machine intelligence in court: bias & transparency Technology, Judges and Judiciary Dec. 29, 2022
Epochal Decisions U.S. Supreme Court Oct. 13, 2022
Stochastic Gradient Descent Technology, Judges and Judiciary, International Law Aug. 3, 2022
Arbitration: In the beginning was the word Litigation & Arbitration Apr. 4, 2022
The Cost of Process State Bar & Bar Associations, Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary Feb. 23, 2022
Pleading treasure Law Practice, Civil Litigation Jul. 13, 2021
Advocatus diaboli: Solving problems of case evaluation Law Practice Mar. 18, 2021
Officer of the court Law Practice Nov. 24, 2020
Summer reading for our times Judges and Judiciary, Books Jul. 10, 2020
Dangerous fictions Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary May 22, 2020
Voir dire, from a distance Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary Mar. 20, 2020
Algorithms and the persuadable judge Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary Mar. 4, 2020
Projected admissibility Civil Litigation, California Supreme Court, Appellate Practice Mar. 18, 2019
Dissolving legal barriers (Part 2) Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, State Bar & Bar Associations Feb. 21, 2019
Dissolving legal barriers (Part 1) Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, State Bar & Bar Associations Feb. 20, 2019
Hitting discovery disputes out of the park — with baseball arbitration Civil Litigation, Judges and Judiciary, Alternative Dispute Resolution Jun. 20, 2018
Legalish: let us abolish it when we can Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, Appellate Practice Oct. 11, 2017
The beast of burden: discovery rules Judges and Judiciary Sep. 15, 2016
Basic issues in business litigation Civil Litigation, Judges and Judiciary Jul. 28, 2015
Recognizing confirmation bias: It's a start Judges and Judiciary Oct. 11, 2014
The temptation of common sense Judges and Judiciary Apr. 8, 2014

Rulings
Case Category Published
Allison v. Dignity Health
affirmed
 Employment Law Jun. 25, 2025
Medtronic USA v. California Dept. of Tax & Fee Admin.
affirmed
 Tax Apr. 17, 2025
Bowen v. Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co. Inc.
affirmed
 Torts Jul. 16, 2024
First Amendment Coalition v. Superior Court (Rob Bonta)
writ issued
 Public Records Act Dec. 29, 2023
People v. Potter Handy, LLP
affirmed
 Attorneys Dec. 11, 2023
Modification: Doe v. Superior Court (Na Hoku, Inc.)
writ issued
 Arbitration Sep. 28, 2023
Doe v. Superior Court (Na Hoku, Inc.)
writ issued
 Arbitration Sep. 11, 2023
Modification: Gola v. University of San Francisco
affirmed
 Employment Law May 9, 2023
Onglyza Product Cases
affirmed
 Evidence Apr. 20, 2023
Gola v. University of San Francisco
affirmed
 Employment Law Apr. 14, 2023
Olson v. Lyft, Inc.
affirmed
 Arbitration Nov. 2, 2020
Doe v. Google, Inc.
reversed and remanded
 Civil Procedure Sep. 24, 2020
Williams v. U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc.
reversed and remanded
 Civil Procedure Jun. 10, 2020
Uber Technologies Pricing Cases
affirmed
 statutory_interpretation Mar. 25, 2020
S.F. Print Media Co. v. The Hearst Corp.
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Feb. 4, 2020
Jensen v. iShares Trust
affirmed
 Securities Jan. 27, 2020
Modification: Jackson v. LegalMatch.com
reversed and remanded
 Attorneys Dec. 19, 2019
Jackson v. LegalMatch.com
reversed and remanded
 Attorneys Nov. 29, 2019
Williams-Sonoma Song-Beverly Act Cases
affirmed
 Consumer Law Oct. 2, 2019
Modification: Deere & Co. v. Allstate Insurance Co.
reversed and remanded
 Insurance Mar. 28, 2019
Deere & Co. v. Allstate Insurance Co.
reversed and remanded
 Insurance Feb. 27, 2019
Guerrero v. Cal. Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation
reversed and remanded
 Civil Procedure Nov. 8, 2018
Franchise Tax Bd. Limited Liability Corp. Tax Refund Cases
reversed
 Civil Procedure Jul. 20, 2018
California Building Industry Assn. v. State Water Resources Control Bd.
affirmed
 Tax May 8, 2018
Patricia A. Murray Dental Corp. v. Dentsply International, Inc.
affirmed
 Evidence Jan. 12, 2018
California-American Water Co. v. Marina Coast Water District
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Dec. 18, 2017
Melendrez v. San Francisco Baseball Association LLC
reversed
 Arbitration Oct. 19, 2017
San Diego County Water Authority v. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
reversed and remanded
 Water Rights Jun. 22, 2017

Verdicts & Settlements
Case Name Topic Role Published
The People of the State of California v. JTH Tax Inc. (dba Liberty Tax Service) Business Law judge Aug. 23, 2024
Robert Burchell, F/V Rose Marie Inc., Erik Anfinson, John Barnett, Sara Bates, F/V AL-W, Ken Burns, Chris Cameron, MJ Fisheries Inc., Mike Costello, Andrew Evanow Jr., Andrew Evanow Sr., Michael Fontes, Chris Fox, Mike Harvie, Sean Hodges, David Kemp, Nick Krieger, WAC Fisheries Inc., Philip Lafata, Daniel Lazzari, Patrick Lazzari, Brand Little, Benedetto Lo Grande, Chuck Louie, Robert Maharry, John Mellor, Savior Papetti, Mark Schwarz, Shane Wehr v. City and County of San Francisco, and Does 1 through 20 Contracts judge Dec. 22, 2023
Robert Burchell, F/V Rose Marie Inc., Erik Anfinson, John Barnett, Sara Bates, F/V AL-W, Ken Burns, Chris Cameron, MJ Fisheries Inc., Mike Costello, Andrew Evanow Jr., Andrew Evanow Sr., Michael Fontes, Chris Fox, Mike Harvie, Sean Hodges, David Kemp, Nick Krieger, WAC Fisheries Inc., Philip Lafata, Daniel Lazzari, Patrick Lazzari, Brand Little, Benedetto Lo Grande, Chuck Louie, Robert Maharry, John Mellor, Savior Papetti, Mark Schwarz, Shane Wehr v. City and County of San Francisco, and Does 1 through 20 Contracts judge Sep. 15, 2023
Larry Jacobs v. City and County of San Franciso, and Does 1 through 15 Employment Law judge Apr. 14, 2023
Abhinav Shetty, individually on behalf of himself and all other similarly situated employees v. ILSC (San Francisco) LLC, and Does 1-5 Employment Law judge Jan. 13, 2023
Enviroprotect LLC v. Amscan Inc. and Does 1 through 50, inclusive Consumer Law judge Sep. 9, 2022
Diego Ornelas, an individual, on behalf of himself and others similarly situated v. National Storage Affiliates Trust; Intandem Human Resources LLC; Storage Management and Leasing Co. LLC; Istorage JV LLC, and Does 1 through 50, inclusive Employment Law judge Apr. 8, 2022
Ian D'Sa, Maria Diaz, Jorge Valdivia, and Francisco Romero, on behalf of themselves, all others similarly situated v. Amber India Corporation, Amber India Commercial Inc., Amber India Enterprise Inc., Vijay Bist, Vijay Kumar, and Does 1 - 25 Employment Law judge Feb. 23, 2018
State of California, County of Los Angeles, Regents of the University of California, and Board of Trustees of the California State University, and Roes 1-200, ex rel. Christopher J. Schroen v. BP America Production Company, a Delaware corporation; BP Energy Company, a Delaware corporation; BP Corporation North America Inc., an Indiana corporation; BP Products North America Inc., a Maryland corporation; BP PLC, a UK corporation, and Does 1 - 20 Torts judge Jan. 26, 2018
City of Los Angeles In Re Municipal Bond Insurance Litigations Insurance judge Aug. 18, 2017
Jonathan K. Brill v. Sub-Zero Freezer Company, Inc., Floorcraft Kitchen and Appliance Center, Exponent Failure Analysis Associates, et al. Personal Injury judge Dec. 31, 2005
Gisele Laven v. San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District Personal Injury judge Nov. 26, 2005
DeVries American LLC v. Yellow Cab Cooperative Inc. Contracts judge Sep. 10, 2005
Marilee Hearn v. Chevron USA Inc., Chevron Stations Inc., David Sahagun, EmcoWheaton Retail Corporation Personal Injury judge Sep. 10, 2005

MCLE
Title Category Published
Expedited jury trials: Life in the fast lane Litigation Sep. 13, 2024
Basic issues in business litigation Civil Practice Jul. 27, 2015
Title Court Published
Curtis E.A. Karnow San Francisco County (San Francisco) May 14, 2014
Technophile Judge San Francisco County Superior Court Sep. 7, 2006
Title Category Published
Silence isn't strength when the courts are under attack Judges and Judiciary, Ethics/Professional Responsibility Jun. 23, 2025
Cui bono, pro bono Judges and Judiciary Nov. 25, 2024
Expedited jury trials: Life in the fast lane Civil Litigation Sep. 13, 2024
Apples, Oranges and Aardvarks Law Practice Jul. 26, 2024
A new conflict of law Civil Procedure, Civil Litigation Dec. 6, 2023
Sealing, Redux Judges and Judiciary Mar. 13, 2023
Frequency analysis in settlement Civil Litigation Feb. 15, 2023
Machine intelligence in court: bias & transparency Technology, Judges and Judiciary Dec. 29, 2022
Epochal Decisions U.S. Supreme Court Oct. 13, 2022
Stochastic Gradient Descent Technology, Judges and Judiciary, International Law Aug. 3, 2022
Arbitration: In the beginning was the word Litigation & Arbitration Apr. 4, 2022
The Cost of Process State Bar & Bar Associations, Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary Feb. 23, 2022
Pleading treasure Law Practice, Civil Litigation Jul. 13, 2021
Advocatus diaboli: Solving problems of case evaluation Law Practice Mar. 18, 2021
Officer of the court Law Practice Nov. 24, 2020
Summer reading for our times Judges and Judiciary, Books Jul. 10, 2020
Dangerous fictions Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary May 22, 2020
Voir dire, from a distance Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary Mar. 20, 2020
Algorithms and the persuadable judge Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary Mar. 4, 2020
Projected admissibility Civil Litigation, California Supreme Court, Appellate Practice Mar. 18, 2019
Dissolving legal barriers (Part 2) Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, State Bar & Bar Associations Feb. 21, 2019
Dissolving legal barriers (Part 1) Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, State Bar & Bar Associations Feb. 20, 2019
Hitting discovery disputes out of the park — with baseball arbitration Civil Litigation, Judges and Judiciary, Alternative Dispute Resolution Jun. 20, 2018
Legalish: let us abolish it when we can Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, Appellate Practice Oct. 11, 2017
The beast of burden: discovery rules Judges and Judiciary Sep. 15, 2016
Basic issues in business litigation Civil Litigation, Judges and Judiciary Jul. 28, 2015
Recognizing confirmation bias: It's a start Judges and Judiciary Oct. 11, 2014
The temptation of common sense Judges and Judiciary Apr. 8, 2014
Case Category Published
Allison v. Dignity Health
affirmed
 Employment Law Jun. 25, 2025
Medtronic USA v. California Dept. of Tax & Fee Admin.
affirmed
 Tax Apr. 17, 2025
Bowen v. Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co. Inc.
affirmed
 Torts Jul. 16, 2024
First Amendment Coalition v. Superior Court (Rob Bonta)
writ issued
 Public Records Act Dec. 29, 2023
People v. Potter Handy, LLP
affirmed
 Attorneys Dec. 11, 2023
Modification: Doe v. Superior Court (Na Hoku, Inc.)
writ issued
 Arbitration Sep. 28, 2023
Doe v. Superior Court (Na Hoku, Inc.)
writ issued
 Arbitration Sep. 11, 2023
Modification: Gola v. University of San Francisco
affirmed
 Employment Law May 9, 2023
Onglyza Product Cases
affirmed
 Evidence Apr. 20, 2023
Gola v. University of San Francisco
affirmed
 Employment Law Apr. 14, 2023
Olson v. Lyft, Inc.
affirmed
 Arbitration Nov. 2, 2020
Doe v. Google, Inc.
reversed and remanded
 Civil Procedure Sep. 24, 2020
Williams v. U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc.
reversed and remanded
 Civil Procedure Jun. 10, 2020
Uber Technologies Pricing Cases
affirmed
 statutory_interpretation Mar. 25, 2020
S.F. Print Media Co. v. The Hearst Corp.
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Feb. 4, 2020
Jensen v. iShares Trust
affirmed
 Securities Jan. 27, 2020
Modification: Jackson v. LegalMatch.com
reversed and remanded
 Attorneys Dec. 19, 2019
Jackson v. LegalMatch.com
reversed and remanded
 Attorneys Nov. 29, 2019
Williams-Sonoma Song-Beverly Act Cases
affirmed
 Consumer Law Oct. 2, 2019
Modification: Deere & Co. v. Allstate Insurance Co.
reversed and remanded
 Insurance Mar. 28, 2019
Deere & Co. v. Allstate Insurance Co.
reversed and remanded
 Insurance Feb. 27, 2019
Guerrero v. Cal. Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation
reversed and remanded
 Civil Procedure Nov. 8, 2018
Franchise Tax Bd. Limited Liability Corp. Tax Refund Cases
reversed
 Civil Procedure Jul. 20, 2018
California Building Industry Assn. v. State Water Resources Control Bd.
affirmed
 Tax May 8, 2018
Patricia A. Murray Dental Corp. v. Dentsply International, Inc.
affirmed
 Evidence Jan. 12, 2018
California-American Water Co. v. Marina Coast Water District
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Dec. 18, 2017
Melendrez v. San Francisco Baseball Association LLC
reversed
 Arbitration Oct. 19, 2017
San Diego County Water Authority v. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
reversed and remanded
 Water Rights Jun. 22, 2017
Case Name Topic Role Published
The People of the State of California v. JTH Tax Inc. (dba Liberty Tax Service) Business Law judge Aug. 23, 2024
Robert Burchell, F/V Rose Marie Inc., Erik Anfinson, John Barnett, Sara Bates, F/V AL-W, Ken Burns, Chris Cameron, MJ Fisheries Inc., Mike Costello, Andrew Evanow Jr., Andrew Evanow Sr., Michael Fontes, Chris Fox, Mike Harvie, Sean Hodges, David Kemp, Nick Krieger, WAC Fisheries Inc., Philip Lafata, Daniel Lazzari, Patrick Lazzari, Brand Little, Benedetto Lo Grande, Chuck Louie, Robert Maharry, John Mellor, Savior Papetti, Mark Schwarz, Shane Wehr v. City and County of San Francisco, and Does 1 through 20 Contracts judge Dec. 22, 2023
Robert Burchell, F/V Rose Marie Inc., Erik Anfinson, John Barnett, Sara Bates, F/V AL-W, Ken Burns, Chris Cameron, MJ Fisheries Inc., Mike Costello, Andrew Evanow Jr., Andrew Evanow Sr., Michael Fontes, Chris Fox, Mike Harvie, Sean Hodges, David Kemp, Nick Krieger, WAC Fisheries Inc., Philip Lafata, Daniel Lazzari, Patrick Lazzari, Brand Little, Benedetto Lo Grande, Chuck Louie, Robert Maharry, John Mellor, Savior Papetti, Mark Schwarz, Shane Wehr v. City and County of San Francisco, and Does 1 through 20 Contracts judge Sep. 15, 2023
Larry Jacobs v. City and County of San Franciso, and Does 1 through 15 Employment Law judge Apr. 14, 2023
Abhinav Shetty, individually on behalf of himself and all other similarly situated employees v. ILSC (San Francisco) LLC, and Does 1-5 Employment Law judge Jan. 13, 2023
Enviroprotect LLC v. Amscan Inc. and Does 1 through 50, inclusive Consumer Law judge Sep. 9, 2022
Diego Ornelas, an individual, on behalf of himself and others similarly situated v. National Storage Affiliates Trust; Intandem Human Resources LLC; Storage Management and Leasing Co. LLC; Istorage JV LLC, and Does 1 through 50, inclusive Employment Law judge Apr. 8, 2022
Ian D'Sa, Maria Diaz, Jorge Valdivia, and Francisco Romero, on behalf of themselves, all others similarly situated v. Amber India Corporation, Amber India Commercial Inc., Amber India Enterprise Inc., Vijay Bist, Vijay Kumar, and Does 1 - 25 Employment Law judge Feb. 23, 2018
State of California, County of Los Angeles, Regents of the University of California, and Board of Trustees of the California State University, and Roes 1-200, ex rel. Christopher J. Schroen v. BP America Production Company, a Delaware corporation; BP Energy Company, a Delaware corporation; BP Corporation North America Inc., an Indiana corporation; BP Products North America Inc., a Maryland corporation; BP PLC, a UK corporation, and Does 1 - 20 Torts judge Jan. 26, 2018
City of Los Angeles In Re Municipal Bond Insurance Litigations Insurance judge Aug. 18, 2017
Jonathan K. Brill v. Sub-Zero Freezer Company, Inc., Floorcraft Kitchen and Appliance Center, Exponent Failure Analysis Associates, et al. Personal Injury judge Dec. 31, 2005
Gisele Laven v. San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District Personal Injury judge Nov. 26, 2005
DeVries American LLC v. Yellow Cab Cooperative Inc. Contracts judge Sep. 10, 2005
Marilee Hearn v. Chevron USA Inc., Chevron Stations Inc., David Sahagun, EmcoWheaton Retail Corporation Personal Injury judge Sep. 10, 2005
Title Category Published
Expedited jury trials: Life in the fast lane Litigation Sep. 13, 2024
Basic issues in business litigation Civil Practice Jul. 27, 2015
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