Excerpt: ... complaint alleges that Defendant E&B Natural Resources Management Corporation (E&B) sought to purchase a 25% stake in WGH. Due to financial issues with its lenders, E&B could not directly deal with WGH. Instead, E&B allegedly formed Defendant Triton LA, LLC (Triton) to hold E&B's 25% interest in WGH. The complaint alleges that the arrangement was induced by fraud and that Defendants merely sought to take over WGH's assets for themselves. Triton ...

Excerpt: ...oe Samuel Bailey and Renew Spinal Care, Inc. The operative First Amended Complaint was filed on March 27, 2020. The purported Second Amended Complaint on July 31, 2023 is not properly filed because a party may only amend a complaint once without leave of court. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 472(a).) The FAC asserts a single cause of action for breach of written settlement agreement. The FAC alleges that Plaintiffs loaned money to Defendants and that t...

Excerpt: ...t Amended Complaint on November 18, 2021, asserting breach of contract, trespass, conversion, fraud, and unjust enrichment. On September 3, 2021, Defendants filed a cross-complaint against Plaintiff for breach of contract, unlawful retention of security deposit, unjust enrichment, and conversion. The matter came on for a court trial from May 2-4, 2023, after which the Court entered judgment: (1) for Plaintiff Crocker & Towne Wholesale Mart, LLC a...

Excerpt: ...983 against Defendants County of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, Detective Josue Torres, and Sergeant Jose Rojas. Plaintiff was arrested and charged with the murder of Miguel Herrera. Plaintiff alleges that he was misidentified by a witness to the incident. Plaintiff alleges that he was wrongfully arrested and prosecuted. The information against Plaintiff was eventually dismissed, and he filed this action for malicious prosecution....

Excerpt: ...) breach of contract, (2) implied indemnity, (3) negligence, (4) conversion, and (5) fraud. The case involves a construction project that took place in Ventura County. The property is owned by RB. BFF was the general contractor on the project, and R&M was the subcontractor. Duarte owns and operates R&M. The complaint alleges that R&M performed its work negligently, causing multiple shutdowns and delays. BFF terminated R&M from the project, and Du...

Excerpt: ... provide accurate wage records; (2) unfair business practices; (3) constructive discharge; and (4-5) intentional/negligent infliction of emotional distress. The operative First Amended Complaint, filed May 27, 2022, adds causes of action for discrimination, harassment, and violation of civil rights. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Desai hired Plaintiff as the general manager at Defendant's restaurant, R Bar. Defendant did not classify or pay Pla...

Excerpt: ...operative First Amended Complaint, asserting claims for interference with contract, interference with prospective economic advantage, fraud, and constructive trust. On May 23 and 25, 2023, Defendants filed the instant two demurrers against the FAC, primarily arguing that Plaintiff's claims to recover her supposed inheritance are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Probate Court. Plaintiff filed her opposition on June 14, 2023. Defendants...

Excerpt: ...e operative First Amended Complaint, filed June 15, 2023, asserts (1) quiet title, (2) declaratory relief, and (3) injunctive relief. Plaintiffs own a parcel of real property in Woodland Hills, California. In 2021, Plaintiffs acquired the property from the previous owner, Gonzales. AFCU has a money judgment against Gonzales from 2009, which AFCU plans on enforcing against the property, leading Plaintiffs to file this action. Plaintiffs allege tha...

Excerpt: ...t Defendant E&B Natural Resources Management Corporation (E&B) sought to purchase a 25% stake in WGH. Due to financial issues with its lenders, E&B could not directly deal with WGH. Instead, E&B allegedly formed Defendant Triton LA, LLC (Triton) to hold E&B's 25% interest in WGH. The complaint alleges that the arrangement was induced by fraud and that Defendants merely sought to take over WGH's assets for themselves. Triton allegedly demanded a h...

Excerpt: ...llation of instrument, and declaratory relief. Plaintiffs are owners of a home located in North Hollywood (the Property). Plaintiffs purchased the Property in 2003. The prior owner of the Property, William E. James (James), had a loan from Washington Mutual Bank FA, secured by a Deed of Trust recorded against the Property (WaMu Deed of Trust). Plaintiffs allege that James paid off the WaMu loan but that the Deed of Trust was erroneously not recon...

Excerpt: ...reach of contract and (2) quantum meruit. The FAC alleges that the parties entered into a written fee agreement in 2004, which encompassed representation in several matters. (FAC ¶ 7.) Plaintiff was retained to represent Defendant in business matters related to Defendant's divorce. (Id., ¶ 8.) Around July 2011, Plaintiff left the law firm he was working for and formed his own firm, and Defendant decided to have Plaintiff continue representing h...

Excerpt: ...od Partners, LLC, and 3240 Wilshire Associates, LLC (collectively, Harridge) against Defendants Varde Partners, Inc., Mountain Real Estate Capital, LLC, VP Met LLC, VP Inglewood, LLC, VP Wilshire, LLC, and MRECV Blake Street, LLC (collectively, Varde and MREC). Harridge is a real estate development company who partnered with investors Varde and MREC on numerous projects. Some of the projects sold at a profit and others sold at a loss. As a safety...

Excerpt: ...rporation, and Allen Brumer. The SAC asserts causes of action for (1) legal malpractice, (2) accounting malpractice, (3) breach of fiduciary duty, (4) fraudulent concealment, and (5) financial elder abuse. Defendant Lanning and his law firm represented Plaintiff for over thirty years in connection with estate planning. However, unbeknownst to Plaintiff, Defendants also began representing Plaintiff's son, Shervin. Defendants did not disclose this ...

Excerpt: ...that Defendant E&B Natural Resources Management Corporation (E&B) sought to purchase a 25% stake in WGH. Due to financial issues with its lenders, E&B could not directly deal with WGH. Instead, E&B allegedly formed Defendant Triton LA, LLC (Triton) to hold E&B's 25% interest in WGH. The complaint alleges that the arrangement was induced by fraud and that Defendants merely sought to take over WGH's assets for themselves. Triton allegedly demanded ...

Excerpt: ...ay (Kay), and Does 1 through 10, alleging violations of FEHA, wrongful discharge, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The operative First Amended Complaint, filed January 29, 2020, adds Defendants Diana Eid (Eid) and Janae Bueno (Bueno) and asserts additional FEHA claims. Eid and Bueno were subsequently dismissed on summary adjudication, along with certain FEHA claims. Plaintiffs worked for Disney from the 1980s until 20...

Excerpt: ...h of the warranty of habitability, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, nuisance, violation of Civil Code section 1942.4, violation of the Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC), and violation of Business and Professions Code section 17200. On July 10, 2023, Plaintiffs filed the instant motion for trial preference based on several Plaintiffs being minors. Defendant Freeman filed his opposition on July 20, 2023. Plaintiffs replied ...

Excerpt: ...ber 2022, the parties agreed to renew their mediation efforts. Thinking that the parties would mediate rather than arbitrate, Defendant inadvertently failed to pay JAMS's initial filing fee within 30 days of the invoice. The parties mediated in January 2023 but were unsuccessful. Immediately after the mediation failed, Defendant paid the JAMS arbitration filing fee. Based on the lateness of this payment, Plaintiff sought to withdraw from arbitrat...

Excerpt: ...was dismissed without prejudice. The case was restored to active status in October 2022 after the failure of arbitration. The order of dismissal was vacated. The complaint alleges that Defendant did not pay for advertising services provided by Plaintiff. On May 24, 2023, Defendant filed a cross-complaint against Plaintiff, alleging that Plaintiff did not provide the services as promised. On June 13, 2023, Cross-Defendant filed the instant demurre...

Excerpt: ...Plaintiff in the underlying action because Defendants simultaneously represented two other clients seeking recovery from the same entity. Any recovery by one of the clients would necessarily have reduced the recovery of the others. For statute of limitations purposes, Plaintiff filed the instant action before the underlying case was resolved. The underlying action has since been settled. To handle the resolution in the underlying action, Plaintif...

Excerpt: ...ts. In 2019, M&R engaged Giardino to be the Office Managing Partner (OMP) of M&R's New York City Office. Giardino was defined as an Income Partner under M&R's Partnership Agreement. Giardino allegedly failed to properly manage the NYC office, and he allegedly ran a secret legal services business in competition with M&R. M&R seeks recovery based on breach of contract, bad faith, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, conversion, inducing breach of contr...

Excerpt: ...s old who was terminated while on medical leave and replaced by a younger, less qualified employee. Defendant M.S. Aerospace was allegedly Plaintiff's employer, and Defendant Smith is allegedly a manager of M.S. Aerospace. On October 31, 2022, the Court granted Defendant's motion to compel arbitration. Arbitration was thereafter initiated, and an arbitrator was appointed. However, on May 17, 2023, JAMS issued an invoice for $86,000 that was due u...

Excerpt: ... violations. As part of discovery, Plaintiff propounded certain Requests for Production to which Defendant Jet Aviation initially objected based on scope. After meeting and conferring, the parties agreed to limit the RFPs to certain date ranges, custodians, and search terms. On July 6, 2023, Plaintiff filed the instant motion to compel compliance with the RFPs because Defendant has not produced the documents by the agreed-upon deadlines. Defendan...

Excerpt: ...ollision. Plaintiff moves to quash the subpoenas issued by Defendants to (1) Kaiser Permanente Southern California; (2) Kaiser Permanente, The Central Release of Information Unit; and (3) Kaiser Permanente Radiology Release of Information Unit. In the alternative, Plaintiff moves for a protective order. Defendants oppose the motion. Plaintiff replies. On June 7, 2023, the original hearing date for the instant motion, the Court continued the heari...

Excerpt: ...us condition at issue, in addition to the already plead theory that Defendant had actual notice of said dangerous condition, based on new facts learned through discovery and a recent Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant. Defendant opposes the motion. ANALYSIS Amendments to Pleadings: General Provisions Under Code of Civil Procedure section 473, subdivision (a)(1), “The court may, in furtherance of justice, and on any terms as may be p...

Excerpt: ... an approximately 1,2000 pound, ten foot tall, video wall fell down from a stage upon Plaintiff Tracey Iraca (Tracey) at an event held at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. The Court previously granted in part Defendants' motion to strike punitive damages claim from Plaintiffs' complaint. Plaintiff then filed a first amended complaint (FAC) on March 23, 2023. Defendants now move to strike Plaintiffs' claim for punitive damages from their FAC and assoc...

Excerpt: ... video wall fell down from a stage upon Plaintiff at an event held at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. The Court previously granted in part Defendants' motion to strike punitive damages claim from Plaintiff's complaint. Plaintiff then filed a first amended complaint (FAC) on March 23, 2023. Defendants now move to strike Plaintiff's claim for punitive damages from her FAC and associated language within the FAC. Plaintiff opposes the motion. ANALYSIS ...

Excerpt: ... that Defendant E&B Natural Resources Management Corporation (E&B) sought to purchase a 25% stake in WGH. Due to financial issues with its lenders, E&B could not directly deal with WGH. Instead, E&B allegedly formed Defendant Triton LA, LLC (Triton) to hold E&B's 25% interest in WGH. The complaint alleges that the arrangement was induced by fraud and that Defendants merely sought to take over WGH's assets for themselves. Triton allegedly demanded...

Excerpt: ...trespass, and (3) unjust enrichment. The complaint alleges that the parties entered into a written contract wherein Plaintiff agreed to provide furniture in connection with the sale of a property in Beverly Hills. Defendants were allegedly obligated to make monthly payments for continued use of the furniture. Defendants allegedly breached the contract by defaulting on payments, retaining possession of the furniture, and failing to return the furn...

Excerpt: ...f contract, (2) breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, (3) tenant harassment, (4) contractual interference, (5) declaratory relief, (6) negligence, and (7) unfair competition. According to the SAC, a prior dispute between the parties resulted in a Tenant Settlement Agreement (TSA), which essentially granted Plaintiffs tenancy for life at the subject premises. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants attempted to work around the TSA by fa...

Excerpt: ...ices, Inc. (DWWS), Rona Kay (Kay), and Does 1 through 10, alleging violations of FEHA, wrongful discharge, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The operative First Amended Complaint, filed January 29, 2020, adds Defendants Diana Eid (Eid) and Janae Bueno (Bueno) and asserts additional FEHA claims. Eid and Bueno were subsequently dismissed on summary adjudication, along with certain FEHA claims. Plaintiffs worked for Disne...

Excerpt: ...lex but that Defendant only partially paid Plaintiff for his work. Plaintiff alleges that the parties had a written agreement. Plaintiff claims damages of $200,000. On April 5, 2023, the Court granted Defendant's motion to deem matters admitted because Plaintiff failed to respond to requests for admission. Plaintiff had not filed an opposition and did not appear at the hearing. On April 21, 2023, Defendant filed the instant motion for summary jud...

Excerpt: ...at Defendant E&B Natural Resources Management Corporation (E&B) sought to purchase a 25% stake in WGH. Due to financial issues with its lenders, E&B could not directly deal with WGH. Instead, E&B allegedly formed Defendant Triton LA, LLC (Triton) to hold E&B's 25% interest in WGH. The complaint alleges that the arrangement was induced by fraud and that Defendants merely sought to take over WGH's assets for themselves. Triton allegedly demanded a ...

Excerpt: ...ion arise from Plaintiff's purchase of a 2022 Honda HR-V (Vehicle). Discussion Defendant Honda moves to compel Plaintiffs to submit this action to binding arbitration. Honda presents a copy of the Vehicle's Retail Installment Sale Contract (Sale Contract) entered into by Plaintiff and Imperial Valley Honda. (Sadeghi Decl. Ex. 1.) Plaintiff's causes of action fall within the broad scope of this arbitration clause because the causes of action relat...

Excerpt: ...n September 14, 2022, Plaintiff filed an amendment to the complaint naming Stanley Ingel as Doe 1. On October 25, 2022, Ingel filed a motion to quash the Doe amendment on the grounds that Plaintiff did not satisfy the requirements for a Doe amendment because Plaintiff has known of Ingel's identity and potential liability for years. On November 8, 2022, Plaintiff filed a separate action against Ingel for accounting malpractice, Gary Korngold v. St...

Excerpt: ...legedly owned or managed the property at various times throughout Plaintiffs' tenancy. The operative Third Amended Complaint was filed on June 7, 2023. The action now involves sixty-one Plaintiffs. On June 7, 2023, eleven of the Plaintiffs filed motions to quash subpoenas for their medical records. Defendant 6317 Flora Ave, LLC, who issued the subpoenas, filed its oppositions to each motion on June 20, 2023. Plaintiffs replied on June 22, 2023. L...

Excerpt: ... against three defendants – one of which included J. Alexander, Co. (“Plaintiff JACO”) for breach of contract. The action proceeded to trial on April 12, 2023, whereby Plaintiff AMMCO subsequently won a jury verdict. Following the conclusion of the trial, Defendant JACO filed a motion to tax cost on the following items from Plaintiff AMMCO: (1) Item 12, “Models, enlargements, and photocopies of exhibits”, and (2) Item 16, “Other”, f...

Excerpt: ...alleges that Defendant E&B Natural Resources Management Corporation (E&B) sought to purchase a 25% stake in WGH. Due to financial issues with its lenders, E&B could not directly deal with WGH. Instead, E&B allegedly formed Defendant Triton LA, LLC (Triton) to hold E&B's 25% interest in WGH. The complaint alleges that the arrangement was induced by fraud and that Defendants merely sought to take over WGH's assets for themselves. Triton allegedly d...

Excerpt: ..., (3) open book account, (4) account stated, (5) foreclosure of mechanics lien, and (6) recovery of statutory penalties. Defendant Autobuilders was the contractor on a certain project owned by Defendant P.T. Enterprises. Plaintiff contracted with Autobuilders to be the subcontractor on the project. This lawsuit arises from an alleged unpaid balance of over $500,000 owed to Plaintiff. On June 5, 2023, Defendants filed the instant demurrer to the f...

Excerpt: ...ion, harassment, retaliation, and failure to prevent. On May 31, 2023, Plaintiff filed the instant motion to quash subpoenas seeking records from Kaiser Permanente and Rusty Levin. Defendant filed its opposition on June 14, 2023. Plaintiff replied on June 21, 2023. LEGAL STANDARD “If a subpoena requires the attendance of a witness or the production of books, documents, electronically stored information, or other things …, the court, upon moti...

Excerpt: ...tion for (1) breach of contract, (2) foreclosure of mechanic's lien, (3) violation of Civil Code section 8800, (4) breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and (5) common counts. The complaint arises from unpaid work that Plaintiff, a contractor, performed on the home of Defendant Messer. Plaintiff contracted with Defendants TNT Simmonds and J. Alexander Company to serve as a contractor for the fabrication and erection of st...

Excerpt: ...hase of a condominium unit in Downtown Los Angeles sold by Defendant, Broadway Elite, LLC (“Defendant Broadway”) and filed an action to recover the total amount they deposited in the sum of $61,950.00. Defendant Broadway disputed the grounds that Plaintiffs relied upon in their recovery action and sought to retain the aforementioned deposit as liquidated damages from the canceled transaction. A bench trial for the action was completed on Marc...

Excerpt: ...iscrimination, harassment, retaliation, and failure to prevent. Defendant presently moves to compel Plaintiff's further responses to Requests for Admission, Form Interrogatories, and Special Interrogatories. LEGAL STANDARD Upon receiving responses to requests for admission or interrogatories, the propounding party may move for an order compelling further responses if the party finds that an objection is without merit or an answer is incomplete or...

Excerpt: ... and were uncertain. Plaintiff filed the operative Second Amended Complaint on February 21, 2023, alleging (1) breach of contract, (2) general negligence, (3) intentional tort, and (4) premises liability. On April 28, 2023, the Court sustained Defendant's demurrer without leave to amend as to every cause of action except premises liability. On June 1, 2023, Defendant filed the instant motion to stay the proceedings pending the appeal of a prior u...

Excerpt: ...laint alleges that Defendant E&B Natural Resources Management Corporation (E&B) sought to purchase a 25% stake in WGH. Due to financial issues with its lenders, E&B could not directly deal with WGH. Instead, E&B allegedly formed Defendant Triton LA, LLC (Triton) to hold E&B's 25% interest in WGH. The complaint alleges that the arrangement was induced by fraud and that Defendants merely sought to take over WGH's assets for themselves. Triton alleg...

Excerpt: ...ld not maintain his claims based on California's Song-Beverly Act. However, Plaintiff was given leave to amend the complaint to assert claims under federal and Missouri law. On August 22, 2022, Plaintiff filed the operative First Amended Complaint, asserting causes of action for (1) violation of the Magnuson-Moss Act, (2) breach of express warranty, and (3) breach of implied warranty. On May 3, 2023, Defendant filed the instant motion to dismiss ...

Excerpt: ...terminated Plaintiff as retaliation for Plaintiff's complaints regarding COVID safety. The operative First Amended Complaint, filed June 14, 2022, asserts causes of action based on Labor Code sections 6310, 6311, 1102.5, 232.5, and Business and Professions Code section 17200. On February 24, 2023, Defendant filed the instant motion for summary judgment. The motion was continued to allow Plaintiff to file an opposition. Plaintiff filed her opposit...

Excerpt: ...reach of contract, (2) breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, (3) breach of fiduciary duty, (4) partition of property, (5) accounting, (6) willful misconduct, (7) negligence, and (8) restitution and unjust enrichment. According to the FAC, Morton and Defendant Leavitt were sisters before Morton passed away. Morton and Leavitt had formed a partnership wherein each owned 50% and agreed to share profits and losses accordingly...

Excerpt: ...tiff alleges that he rented a unit from Defendant and paid a $15,000 security deposit which was supposed to be returned upon termination of the tenancy. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant improperly applied expenses against the deposit, resulting in nothing being returned to Plaintiff. Plaintiff alleges that this amounts to theft of the security deposit. On January 5, 2023, Defendant Culver filed a cross-complaint against Plaintiff, Sachin Tejas Be...

Excerpt: ...t alleges that Defendant E&B Natural Resources Management Corporation (E&B) sought to purchase a 25% stake in WGH. Due to financial issues with its lenders, E&B could not directly deal with WGH. Instead, E&B allegedly formed Defendant Triton LA, LLC (Triton) to hold E&B's 25% interest in WGH. The complaint alleges that the arrangement was induced by fraud and that Defendants merely sought to take over WGH's assets for themselves. Triton allegedly...

Excerpt: ...h of the warranty of habitability, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, nuisance, violation of Civil Code section 1942.4, violation of the Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC), and violation of Business and Professions Code section 17200. On May 5, 2023, Defendant David Freeman filed the instant demurrer and motion to strike. Plaintiffs filed their opposition on May 26, 2023. Defendant replied on June 5, 2023. LEGAL STANDARD A d...