Excerpt: ...ment a nd settlement agreement on the grounds that “the judgment was entered into in the absence of a trial on the merits and as the result of fraud in the inducement, surprise, mistake, inadvertence and excusable neglect and as to the fraudulent acts of Defendan t, including tax evasion, serving to void the transaction based upon the extrinsic fraud of the Defendants.” The Court has carefully reviewed the papers submitted by Plaintiff in sup...

Excerpt: ...e agreed u pon SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 18 JUDICIAL OFFICER: DANIELLE K DOUGLAS HEARING DATE: 04/12/2024 forum. For the reasons set forth, the motion is granted as to Plaintiff's second, third, fourth, and sevent h cause of actions asserted against Defendant Garda, and the sixth cause of action against Defendants Garda and Poppy Bank in the FAC; further, this action shall be stayed pending the outc...

Excerpt: ...injur ed while skating at a skatepark owned by the City on February 5, 2021. Plaintiff was born in 1987 and thus, was over 12 years old when the accident occurred. (Roark depo. 6:17 -18.) The City is a public entity and owns and maintains the skatepark. (Helfenbe rger ¶2.) The skatepark has a bowl structure for people to skate. (Helfenberger ¶3.) In the center of the lowest part of the bowl is a drain. (Helfenberger ¶3.) According to the City'...

Excerpt: ...ENT 18 JUDICI AL OFFICER: DANIELLE K DOUGLAS HEARING DATE: 04/12/2024 their first amended complaint is granted but the Court does not "deem" the first amended complaint filed. Rather, Plaintiffs shall file their First Amended Complaint with the Court and serve the amended pleading on Defendant's counsel by April 22, 2024 Background This case involves a dispute between parents and their daughter/step - daughter over the parties'...

Excerpt: ...does, review document s in its own file without the need for taking judicial notice thereof. Factual Allegations This matter generally relates to issues arising from the construction and sale of real property located at 2030 Hoover Avenue in Pleasant Hill (the “Property”). The Sellers of the Property purchased the Property and performed improvements thereon, which were completed by March 2018. (¶ 16.) On or about March 7, 2018, Plaintiffs p...

Excerpt: ...parties have made , given that there have been both multiple “settlement agreements” entered into since the original one, and multiple recitations to the Court of unresolved issues requiring further negotiation and agreement. The motion before the Court purports to say that the settlement to be enforced is the one that was “agreed to at the Mediation conducted in this matter on October 15, 1998 in front of Mediator Hon. Mark Eaton”. That ...

Excerpt: ...ote") secured by a deed of trust on Plaintiffs' single - family residence located at 1452 Club View Drive in El Cerrito. (First Amended Complaint (with errata) ("FAC") ¶¶ 1, 4, 12 -15; P. Pan Decl. Exh. C [deed of trust].) Defendants Peter Pan and Jenny Pan (the "Pans" fo r convenience) are the lenders under the Note. On March 22, 2022, the Pans issued a Notice Pursuant to California Civil Code § 2966 ("Section 2966...

Excerpt: ...or concer ts and similar events. Plaintiffs state that they were employed in non -exempt positions, though their job descriptions and employment dates are not provided. Plaintiff King filed her original complaint as a PAGA case on March 7,2023. She filed a parallel c lass action on May 15, 2023. The class action was amended in December to combine the two cases and to add plaintiff Hill. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $80...

Excerpt: ...E: 04/11/ 2024 23 A. Background and Settlement Terms Defendant is in the business of providing extended vehicle service programs and ancillary finance and insurance products. This class -action case arises from its alleged former practice of recording consumer pho ne calls, made on cellular or wireless phones, without proper consent or notification. Plaintiff made two such calls in October and November 2022. The original complaint was filed on...

Excerpt: ..., administr ation costs, and representative payment. The motion is granted. A. Background of the Case and Terms of Settlement The total settlement payment is $275,000. Out of this is to come attorney's fees of $91,667 (one -third of the recovery); $22,305 in litigation costs, and $3,950 in costs to the settlement Administrator. The This a PAGA case (not a class action), alleging a variety of violations of the Labor Code concerning failure to prov...

Excerpt: ...May 10 in which to file and serve a second amended complaint, if they choose to. In the event that they elect not to amend, defendants Puri and Compass are given to June 7 in which to answer the surviving contract count of the complaint. (If there is no amendment there will remain no claim pending against defendant Mehringer. There will also remain no live claim being asserted by plaintiff Kandola.) The Court further observes that although it is...

Excerpt: ...e defenses. For the following reasons, Plaintiff's Demurrer to Defendants First, Second, Ninth, Tenth, Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Affirmative Defense is overruled, and Plaintiff's Demurrer to Defendant's Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Eleventh and Fifteenth Affirmative Defense is sustained, with leave to amend as to all but the fifteenth affirmative defense. Legal Standard Code of Civil Procedure § 430.20(a) provides for...

Excerpt: ...her verified responses to Form Interrogatory 17.1 and for sanctions on January 3, 2024. No opposition has been filed to the motion. The motion to compel and request for sanctions is granted for the reasons set forth below. The plaintiff, Niyogi Linzie, filed this action on November 17, 2021, alleging premises liability and damages for injuries sustained when she tripped and fell in the parking lot at the Willows shopping center in Concord, Cal...

Excerpt: ...tion of FEHA; (3) Retaliation in Violation of FEHA; (4) Failure to Prevent Discrimination, Retaliation, and Harassment in Violation of FEHA; (5) Negligent Hiring and Retention; (6) Constructive Discharge in Violation of Public Policy; (7) Failure to Pay Overtime; (8) Failure to Provide Accurate Wage Statements; and (9) Waiting Time Penalties. Plaintiff argues that the FAA applies to the 2017 Employment Agreement because the Supremacy Clause prohi...

Excerpt: ...form of judgment, separate from any order on the motion, for submission to the Court. I. Background According to the complaint filed by plaintiffs Pedro Gomez III and Brianda Gomez (collectively plaintiffs and individually referred to by first name for convenience only, no disrespect intended), on or about November 2, 2019, Pedro fell and sustained severe injuries. At the time, he was working on scaffolding at the Phillips 66 Rodeo Refinery. T...

Excerpt: ...eet his burden in opposition to raise a triable issue of fact. Background Plaintiff Klaus Kubler dba Klaus Kubler Construction (Kubler or plaintiff) filed this action for breach of a construction contract filed on April 27, 2022. Plaintiff alleges he is a licen sed general contractor and in July 2017 entered into a written home improvement contract with defendants James Knight and Paige Tomaselli (defendants), for the construction of improvemen...

Excerpt: ... for leave to amend Code of Civil Procedure § 473(a)(1) provides the Court discretion to permit a party to amend its pleadings. There is “a policy of great liberality in permitting amendments to the complaint at any stage of the proceedings, up to and including tria l [citations]…” (Magpali v. Farmers Group (1996) 48 Cal.App.4th 471, 487.) Leave to amend can be denied where there is “‘inexcusable delay and probable prejudice to the opp...

Excerpt: ... cognizable claims against Reyes. Defendant's motion to strike punitive damages allegations is granted with leave to amend. Plaintiffs shall have until April 29, 2024 to file and serve a first amended complaint. If plaintiffs cannot amend their punitive damages claim again st Reyes within the time stated, they may move to amend the complaint at a later time. The Complaint Plaintiffs Pamela Cooper and Carl Kelly filed their complaint on May 10,...

Excerpt: ...d Proced ural Background On January 2, 2024 Plaintiff Matthew Andrade filed this action against his employer, Defendant Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District and Chris Petlock (whom the Complaint describes as an administrator of Pleasant Hill). The First Amended Complaint alleges age discrimination and harassment toward Plaintiff among other claims. On January 16, 2024, Defendants filed a special motion to strike allegations from the FAC rel...

Excerpt: ...rty damages and personal injuries as to defendants Asghar, as well as references in the complaint to hospital/medical expenses, general damages, and references to injuries to her person on the basis that the complaint states that the personal injury claim relate d to the impact has been settled. Defendants also move to strike requests for attorneys fees and costs since plaintiff alleges no statutory authority for such an award. The motion to stri...

Excerpt: ...poses the motion to compel but agrees to produce a privilege log. The court denies the motion to compel and the request for sanctions but does order plaintiff to serve a privilege log by close of business on May 3, 2024. The plaintiff filed this action for bre ach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. Plaintiff is a pharmacist and she entered into an agreement with defendant Jeff Morgridge to run a pharmacy in Moraga. The defendants, allege...

Excerpt: ...t by Denh am, LLC, Nikta, LLC, and Manning- NextBay Venture, LLC, and against the City of Richmond, is denied. Background In 2017, after the voters of Richmond passed the Richmond Hills Initiative, which limited development of Petitioners' property. (AR, Den2_00107. ) Petitioners filed a lawsuit, Case No. MSN170669, challenging the adoption of the Initiative (hereinafter “Denham I”). After finding that the City's general plan was inconsiste...

Excerpt: ...age in viol ation of Labor Code § 1194(a), and the fourth cause of action for failure to provide timely paystubs in violation of Labor Code § 226(e). Plaintiff's MSA is granted as to the fourth cause of action. As to the first cause of action, the motion is continued to April 11, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. for consideration of a supplemental and corrective submission by plaintiff as to the damages calculations. Request for Judicial Notice In support of...

Excerpt: ...oyed ther e as nurses – two of them from 2016 to 2020, though the third plaintiff's dates are not provided. The original complaint was filed on October 1, 2021 as a class action. Plaintiff Hudson separately filed a PAGA action on the previous day. The parties stipul ated to consolidate the actions. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $3,000,000. The class representative payments to the plaintiffs would be $10,000 each. Atto...

Excerpt: ...eged breach of confidential data. The proposed settlement terms involve an array of offered curative steps rather than the more typical cash payments. And, refreshingly, the items usually to be deducted from the gross settlement amount (such as attorney's fees, administrative costs, and representative payments) are being funded directly by the defendant outside of the settlement fund. A. Background , Subject Matter, and Course of Proceedings Cli...