Excerpt: ...ial interest in the action as a whole. (2) The health of the party is such that a preference is necessary to prevent prejudicing the party's interest in the litigation.” The requirements of California Code of Civil Procedure Section 36(a) are satisfied here. Plaintiff's counsel David M. Medby has submitted a declaration in which he states that Plaintiff is 86 years old. (Declaration of David M. Medby (“Medby Decl.”), ¶ 4.) Medby's declarat...

Excerpt: ...rth below, the court GRANTS the motion for summary adjudication as to Issue 2 and the 2 nd cause of action, and as to Issue 4 and the 5 thcause of action. The motion for summary adjudication is DENIED as to all other issues and causes of action. The motion for summary judgment is DENIED. Issue 1 1st COA: Violation of Labor Code 432.7 Whether the 1 st COA has no merit because Plaintiff cannot establish that Servite considered any record of arrest ...

Excerpt: ...xpert discovery. Defendants also move for an order granting them leave to augment their expert witness designation by including Ross Nathan, M.D. As to the first request, the court may, upon motion by any party, “grant leave to complete discovery proceedings, or to have a motion concerning discovery heard, closer to the initial trial date, or to reopen discovery after a new trial date has been set.” Code Civ. Proc. § 2024.050(a). In exercisi...

Excerpt: ...ng. Whether Northridge lacks standing to sue is not relevant at this stage in the proceedings. WKS is free to raise that defense on an appropriate pleading challenge, on a motion for summary judgment, or at trial. And even if Northridge lacks standing to sue, it may be that Lundin does have standing to sue. Denying Lundin leave to amend might prejudice him by depriving him of the right to raise a potentially valid claim, defense, or legal theory ...

Excerpt: ... evidence to consider the actual amounts it paid for product liability coverage and correct its tentative statement of decision. Under subdivision (a) of CRC 3.1590, after a trial of fact lasting more than one day, the court must announce its tentative decision by an oral statement or written statement filed with the clerk. This tentative decision does not constitute a judgment and is not binding on the court. CRC 3.1590(a). The court may enter a...

Excerpt: ...orneys' fees that may be awarded. Subdivision (a) of CCP section 1030 provides that, “[w]hen the plaintiff in an action or special proceeding resides out of the state, or is a foreign corporation, the defendant may at any time apply to the court by noticed motion for an order requiring the plaintiff to file an undertaking to secure an award of costs and attorney's fees which may be awarded in the action or special proceeding.” Subdivision (b)...

Excerpt: ...t forth below. A. Burden of Proof On a petition to compel arbitration, the only question before the trial court is whether it should specifically enforce the arbitration agreement. In making this preliminary determination, the trial court must follow the procedure outlined by the California Supreme Court in Rosenthal v. Great Western Financial Securities Corp. (1996) 14 Cal.4th 394, 412-414. When a petition to compel arbitration is filed and acco...

Excerpt: ... at the cafe, plaintiff was caused by this vertical deviation to fall. Plaintiff claims that this was a dangerous condition that caused him to suffer injuries as a result. Defendants' argument is that the step had been painted bright yellow prior to the accident, and that plaintiff himself had testified that, had he seen the yellow marking, he would have been physically capable of stepping up and entering the bathroom. (See Def.'s Ex. B at 42:7-1...

Excerpt: ... that Rolen has rendered to the Board. For the following reasons, the motion is granted in part and denied in part. Evidentiary objections: Objections numbers 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, and 12 to the Declaration of Nina Boyd are sustained, and the remainder are overruled. Objections numbers 15, 17, and 18 to the Declaration of Jeffrey Riel are sustained, and the remainder are overruled. The objections to the Declaration of John Bedell and Mike Matsuda ar...

Excerpt: ...nds that the action, which was filed on 11-28-18, is untimely under the one-year limitations period in Code Civ. Proc. § 340.5. Section 340.5 provides in relevant part: In an action for injury or death against a health care provider based upon such person's alleged professional negligence, the time for the commencement of action shall be three years after the date of injury or one year after the plaintiff discovers, or through the use of reasona...

Excerpt: ...Private Property alleged in Plaintiff Paul Winkler's Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) is SUSTAINED without leave to amend. In its prior ruling sustaining Defendant's demurrer to the First Amended Complaint, the court granted Plaintiff “one final chance” to file an amended complaint. The ruling specifically stated that “[t]he amended complaint must state facts supporting each cause of action and facts that show absolute judicial immunity...

Excerpt: ...sicians Assistant Specialists-California Inc. dba PASCal, seeks leave of court to file a Cross-Complaint against Plaintiff Kristin Wagner and Kultured Medicine Corp. (CCP 426.50; 428.10.) The proposed Cross-Complaint alleges 5 causes of action for: 1. Intentional Interference with Third Party Contract 2. Negligent Interference with Third Party Contract 3. Intentional Interference with Economic Advantage 4. Negligent Interference with Economic Adv...

Excerpt: ...Cotton, Ltd., 75 Cal. App. 4th 486, 496 (1999) (“terminating sanctions are to be used sparingly, only when the trial court concludes that lesser sanctions would not bring about the compliance of the offending party”); Doppes v. Bentley Motors, Inc., 174 Cal. App. 4th 967, 992 (2009) (“A decision to order terminating sanctions should not be made lightly. But where a violation is willful, preceded by a history of abuse, and the evidence shows...

Excerpt: ...is applies to any of the “standard” privileges enumerated in the Evidence Code, including the privilege claimed here, the attorney-client privilege set forth in Evidence Code. 950, et seq. Courts cannot create exceptions to statutory privileges beyond those provided by the statute. University of Southern Calif. v. Sup.Ct. (Comeau) (1996) 45 Cal. App. 4th 1283, 1290. Information within the scope of certain of the above privileges including the...

Excerpt: ...ng defendant's Answer. Generally, severe sanctions like terminating sanctions for failure to comply with a court order are allowed only where the failure is willful. R.S. Creative, Inc. v. Creative Cotton, Ltd., 75 Cal. App. 4th 486, 496 (1999) (“terminating sanctions are to be used sparingly, only when the trial court concludes that lesser sanctions would not bring about the compliance of the offending party”); Doppes v. Bentley Motors, Inc....

Excerpt: ...e Relief Compel Arbitration” alleged in plaintiffs Complaint is OVERRULED in part, and SUSTAINED with leave to amend in part. Defendant's demurrer to the first, second and third causes of action is OVERRULED. The demurrer to the fourth cause of action is SUSTAINED with leave to amend. First, second and third causes of action for Declaratory Relief: In Lockheed Martin Corp. v. Continental Ins. Co. (2005) 134 Cal.App.4th 187, the court stated tha...

Excerpt: ...the court is considering a transfer of the case to the family law division for a determination of the annulment issue. For example, the Complaint raises the following questions that are unique to the family law division – (i) whether the marriage should be annulled as illegal and void, from its inception, on the ground of bigamy under Family Code 2201 (a); (ii) whether the action was properly served on the wife prior to her death; (iii) whether...

Excerpt: ...tiff's Further Responses to Special Interrogatories, Set One, and Request for Monetary Sanctions in the Amount of $1655.00: 4. Motion by Defendant WKS Restaurant Corporation for an Order to Compel Plaintiff's Further Responses to Request for Production of Documents, Set One, and Request for Monetary Sanctions in the Amount of $1510.00: No. 1. Motion for Leave to Amend by Leonard H. Lundin: Cross-Defendant Leonard H. Lundin seeks leave of court to...

Excerpt: ...sidering all of the parties' papers, including their supplemental briefs, the court issues the following tentative ruling: Defendants' Petition to Compel Arbitration and Stay Litigation On 11/13/18, Plaintiff Kenneth B. Blye filed his Complaint alleging 15 causes of action against the following named Defendants: 1. Cresa Management LLC (CM) 2. Cresa Partners of Orange County LP (CPOC) 3. Cresa Partners-West Inc. (CPW) 4. Jeff A. Manley 5. Wayne L...

Excerpt: ...al or emotional injury'; while they may not withhold information which relates to any physical or mental condition which they have put in issue by bringing this lawsuit, they are entitled to retain the confidentiality of all unrelated medical or psychotherapeutic treatment they may have undergone in the past.” Britt v. Sup. Ct., 20 Cal.3d 844, 864 (1978). And even where information is directly relevant to the plaintiff's claim, any compelled di...

Excerpt: ...r hearing on 6/27/19. In support of that motion, Servite filed the declaration of its former president Peter Bowen. Servite moves to seal paragraph 29 of the Bowen declaration because it contains confidential information regarding its former employee Larry Toner, who is not a party to this action. Disclosure of that information would invade Toner's third- party privacy rights in the details of his personnel file and his former employment. The cou...

Excerpt: ...Defendants South Coast Behavioral Health Inc., Charles A. McPhail, and Abdull Khan move to compel arbitration of this dispute and to stay this action pending resolution of the arbitration. (CCP 1280, et seq.; 9 USC § 4, et seq. the Federal Arbitration Act [FAA].) Co-Defendants South Coast Behavioral Health LLC and South Coast Behavioral Health Guesthouse Inc. also join in the motion. The court DENIES the motion as to all three Defendants, for th...

Excerpt: ...NED in part and OVERRULED in part. First Cause of Action for Breach of Contract The court sustained with leave to amend Defendants' prior demurrer to the breach of contract cause of action as to defendants Secure Channels and Proximity finding that California courts do not recognize a theory of vicarious liability of an entity for the acts and omission of an individual, so-called “reverse piercing.” Postal Instant Press, Inc. v. Kaswa Corp. (...

Excerpt: ...rers are OVERRULED. As a preliminary matter, CCP 430.41(b) is inapplicable here as no demurrer was previously sustained in this action. The prior motion to dismiss was brought under the FRCP, not CCP. First Cause of Action – Unfair Competition The UCL prohibits “any unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business act or practice and unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising.” Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200. Defendants contend that the Ye...

Excerpt: ...es line 3 as to Onofre Valencia; (9) Page 4, Prayer for Damages line 3 as to Mireya Valencia. Plaintiffs do not oppose the motion to strike as to defendant Margarita R. Ramirez who was not present at the time of the accident. Accordingly, the motion to strike as to Margarita R. Ramirez is GRANTED. The motion to strike as to defendant Carlos Ramirez is DENIED. Civil Code § 3294(a) provides for punitive damages “[i]n an action for breach of an o...