Excerpt: ...erruled. 2nd COA for Intentional Misrepresentation and 3rd COA for Negligent Misrepresentation These claims are premised on the same two “categories” of misrepresentations. The first is that “Cross-Defendants” made a false representation in applications for payments, stating that: “The undersigned Contractor certifies that to the best of the Contractor's knowledge, information, and belief the Work covered by this Application for Payment...

Excerpt: .... They are ‘(a) a legal duty to use due care; (b) a breach of such legal duty; [and] (c) the breach as the proximate or legal cause of the resulting injury.'” Ladd v. County of San Mateo (1996) 12 Cal.4th 913, 917 (citation omitted) (original emphasis). “Whether a duty of care exists is a question of law for the court, not the jury.” Scott v. Chevron U.S.A. (1992) 5 Cal.App.4th 510, 515. “In order to determine the boundaries of the duty...

Excerpt: ...cil. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1034, subd. (a), CRC, rule 3.1700.) The relevant Rule reads in pertinent part: “A prevailing party who claims costs must serve and file a memorandum of costs within 15 days after the date of service of the notice of entry of judgment or dismissal by the clerk under Code of Civil Procedure section 664.5 or the date of service of written notice of entry of judgment or dismissal, or within 180 days after entry of judgment...

Excerpt: ...) the current TCUV Regional Manager for Los Angeles; (2) the current San Francisco TCUV manager; and (3) the San Francisco Region TCUV Manager while Mr. Lee was the Los Angeles Regional TCUV Manager. The specific questions are stated verbatim in the Plaintiff's Separate Statement in support of this Motion. See ROA #116. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is GRANTED. The deponent is ordered to answer each of the following three questions,...

Excerpt: ...ter the discovery cutoff date. Moving Parties also seek monetary sanctions against Plaintiff and his counsel. As an initial matter, the Court notes that Moving Parties cite only to Code of Civil Procedure section 2030.090 in support of their motion for a protective order. Section 2030.090 only applies to interrogatories and the discovery at issue also includes requests for admission (section 2033.080) and requests for production (section 2031.060...

Excerpt: ...e Civ. Proc., §§ 473(b) (A motion for relief from default under this section “shall be accompanied by a copy of the answer or other pleading proposed to be filed therein, otherwise the application shall not be granted...”) and 473.5(b) (The party seeking to set aside default under this section “shall serve and file with the notice a copy of the answer, motion or other pleading proposed to be filed in the action.”) Chu did not submit a c...

Excerpt: ...arbor provision had been complied with – a question raised by the Court in its tentative ruling issued prior to the 6/29/20 hearing. Accordingly, the Court continued the hearing and now proceeds to rule on the merits, as follows: National's motion for monetary sanctions under CCP Section 128.7 is denied. Based on the totality of the file and record in this case, the Court does not find monetary sanctions appropriate and exercises its discretion...

Excerpt: ...ending Motion to Amend. It does not appear that Plaintiff ever filed any Third Amended Complaint in response to the Court's 2/3/2020 Minute Order, much less one that attempts to address and remedy the defects in the pleading that were noted by the Court in its 2/3/2020 Minute Order. Nor did she provide a copy of a proposed Third Amended Complaint with this Motion. It is not clear to the Court why Plaintiff opted to file this Motion to Amend, rath...

Excerpt: ...continuance to Plaintiff, the Court was unable to provide notice to Defendant because Defendant had not yet appeared. On 6/17/2020, the Court issued a Minute Order ordering Plaintiff to promptly give notice of continuance of the hearing to Defendant and to promptly file a proof of service. 6/17/2020 Minute Order. Plaintiff has not filed any proof of service showing a notice of continuance was properly served. However, on 6/18/2020, default was en...

Excerpt: ...cil. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1034, subd. (a), CRC, rule 3.1700.) The relevant Rule reads in pertinent part: “A prevailing party who claims costs must serve and file a memorandum of costs within 15 days after the date of service of the notice of entry of judgment or dismissal by the clerk under Code of Civil Procedure section 664.5 or the date of service of written notice of entry of judgment or dismissal, or within 180 days after entry of judgment...

Excerpt: ...040. Id. The court, for good cause shown, may make any order that justice requires to protect any party “from unwarranted annoyance, embarrassment, or oppression, or undue burden and expense.” Code Civ. Proc. § 2025.420(b). Further, under Code Civ. Proc. § 2019.030, the court may restrict discovery where it is “unreasonably cumulative or duplicative.” Code Civ. Proc. §2019.030(a)(1). Generally, a party seeking a protective order will b...

Excerpt: ...ons. Section 877.6 applies to a settlement between a plaintiff and an alleged tortfeasor or obligor under a contract in an action in which the tortfeasor is an alleged joint tortfeasor with another or the obligor is a co-obligor under the same contract with another. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 877.6(a)(1). Section 877.6 allows a settling defendant to obtain a determination that his settlement is in good faith, and thus to bar an action for equitable ...

Excerpt: ...ed are premised on its contention that under the written terms of the retainer agreement it is entitled to 33.3% of $250,000. But the facts established by Plaintiff's own evidence is that Rawag discharged Plaintiff before the settlement was agreed to and before the settlements were paid. [Smaili Decl, ¶¶ 12- 16.] By the terms of the retainer agreement – which on the face of the agreement appear to survive the handwritten emendations – as th...

Excerpt: .... Specifically, the parties may file a Supplemental MPA (and declaration(s)) in support of the Motion, a Supplemental Opposition (and declaration(s)), and a Supplemental Reply – all within the time periods prescribed by the Code based on the new hearing date. However, any supplemental MPA and opposition shall not exceed 7 pages, and the supplemental reply shall not exceed 4 pages. There is no precise yardstick for measuring “good faith” of ...

Excerpt: ...d Gonzalez and Good Affair's reply may not have been properly served on The Irvine Company, LLC. Unless the Irvine Company objects to improper service of the Reply and seeks to continue the hearing for that reason, the Court denies the motion for the reasons set forth below. Anthony and Jamie (collectively, “The Romeos”) commenced this action on 10/5/2018 (“Romeo Action”). The Romeos' complaint alleges three causes of action against Good ...

Excerpt: ...ichfield Co. (2001) 25 Cal.4th 826, 850.) “A prima facie showing is one that is sufficient to support the position of the party in question.” (Id. at p. 851.) A defendant moving for summary judgment satisfies his or her initial burden by showing that one or more elements of the cause of action cannot be established or that there is a complete defense to the cause of action. (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (p)(2).) The scope of this burden is...

Excerpt: .... Meister v. U.C. Regents (1998) 67 Cal. App. 4th 437, 448-49. The court determines a lodestar figure based on a careful compilation of the time spent and reasonable hourly compensation of each attorney involved. Serrano v. Priest (1977) 20 Cal. 3d 25. A reasonable fee is determined in the trial court's discretion. PLCM Group v. Drexler (2000) 22 Cal. 4 th 1084. To determine reasonable attorneys' fees, the court should consider the nature of the ...

Excerpt: ...notes that Grosch objected to the motion as being untimely, and he also argued that Newman “waived” the right to the protection of the anti-SLAPP statute. As to the former, the Court finds the motion was not untimely because the cross-complaint was served, by mail, on 10/22/19. (ROA 11.) Thus, Newman had through 12/26/19 to bring this motion. (Code Civ. Proc. §§ 425.16(f). 1013(a).) Newman timely filed this motion on 12/20/19. (ROA 19.) As ...

Excerpt: ...ith. Plaintiff's request to strike/tax $16,500 for expert witness fees is denied. Plaintiff has shown that Defendant's CourtCall fees were not reasonably necessary to the conduct of litigation. Plaintiff's request to strike/tax $266 for CourtCall fees is granted. The prevailing party in any civil action is entitled to recover costs as a matter of right. Code Civ. Proc. §1032. To claim costs, the prevailing party must file and serve a memorandum ...

Excerpt: ...ought, including any agreements to narrow the requests set forth in the subpoena. The parties have now advised the Court that Defendant has agreed to provide further discovery responses regarding ASAS Group's corporate structure (including the identity of its shareholders, directors and officers) and regarding Defendant Sadruddin's involvement in the company as the only shareholder, director and officer. SO ORDERED. For its part, Plaintiff has cl...

Excerpt: ... other cases, no later than 30 days before the trial date, that the trial of any issue or any part thereof shall precede the trial of any other issue or any part thereof in the case,. . . .” (Emphasis added.) The court also may, sua sponte, order bifurcation or severance of an issue at any time, including after the trial has commenced. See Buran Equip. Co. v. H & C Invest. Co. (1983) 142 Cal. App. 3d 338, 343. Beyond Section 598, CCP Section 10...

Excerpt: ... and 17. The Court finds that Plaintiff's testimony as to what the assailant said to him just before the attack is admissible under Evidence Code §1237. Merits 1. Negligence and Premises Liability As an initial matter, Defendant inserts in its separate statement that it did not own, lease, occupy, or control the premises. But this is properly disputed by employee Mr. Benitez' testimony, the same employee who provides a declaration in support of ...

Excerpt: ...e Civ. Proc. § 1281.2 provides, inter alia: “On petition of a party to an arbitration agreement alleging the existence of a written agreement to arbitrate a controversy and that a party thereto refuses to arbitrate such controversy, the court shall order the petitioner and the respondent to arbitrate the controversy if it determines that an agreement to arbitrate the controversy exists, unless it determines that: (a) The right to compel arbitr...

Excerpt: ... of the allegations set forth in the complaint. (Lambert v. Carneghi (2008) 158 Cal.App.4th 1120, 1126.) The challenge is limited to the “four corners” of the pleading (which includes exhibits attached and incorporated therein) or from matters outside the pleading which are judicially noticeable under Evidence Code §§ 451 or 452. Although California courts take a liberal view of inartfully drawn complaints, it remains essential that a compl...

Excerpt: ...ch addresses the issues within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Probate Department. (Probate Code §17000 and Probate Code §17200(b)). Plaintiff shall inform the Court in writing, no later than April 6, 2020, whether such an action has been commenced. Pursuant to Probate Code §17000(a), “[t]he superior court having jurisdiction over the trust pursuant to this part has exclusive jurisdiction of proceedings concerning the internal affairs of t...