Excerpt: ... Santa Monica (1972) 6 Cal. 3d 920, 939. “If the motion to amend is timely made and the granting of the motion will not prejudice the opposing party, it is error to refuse permission to amend and where the refusal also results in a party being deprived of the right to assert a meritorious cause of action or a meritorious defense, it is not only error but an abuse of discretion.” Morgan v. Sup.Ct. (1959) 172 Cal.App.2d 527, 530. Defendants arg...

Excerpt: ... action against a person arising from any act of that person in furtherance of the person's right of petition or free speech under the United States or California Constitution in connection with a public issue shall be subject to a special motion to strike, unless the [C]ourt determines that the plaintiff has established that there is a probability that the plaintiff will prevail on the claim.” A special motion to strike is thus a procedural re...

Excerpt: ...mary judgment shall be granted if all the papers submitted show that there is no triable issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. “A defendant…has met his or her burden of showing that a cause of action has no merit if the party has shown that one or more elements of the cause of action, even if not separately pleaded, cannot be established, or 3 that there is a complete defense to the cause...

Excerpt: ...c. et al was filed on January 9, 2020. The Wade matter was filed under the Private Attorney Generals Act of 2004 (“PAGA”). The proposed settlement is $1,000,000. The breakdown of payments, costs, and fees from the proposed settlements are as follows: Total Settlement Amount $1,000,000 Proposed Attorneys' Fees (35%) ‐$350,000 Litigation Costs and Expenses ‐$35,000 Estimated Settlement Administration Costs ‐$18,000 PAGA Claim Settlement A...

Excerpt: ... a preliminary injunction is set forth in CCP § 525 et seq. To obtain a preliminary injunction, plaintiffs must establish that defendant should be restrained from the challenged activity pending trial. See CCP § 526(a); see also Trader Joe's Co. v. Progressive Campaigns (1999) 73 Cal.App.4th 425, 429. The moving party has the burden of providing sufficient admissible evidence to establish all elements necessary to support issuance of the prelim...

Excerpt: ... the grounds that the pleading is “uncertain.” CCP § 430.10(f). A complaint, or causes of action therein, are subject to demurrer for uncertainty if it is so uncertain that a defendant cannot reasonably respond. Khoury v. Maly's of Calif., Inc. (1993) 14 Cal.App.4th 612, 616. A demurrer can be used to challenge defects that appear on the face of the complaint or from matters that may be subject to judicial notice. Blank v. Kirwan (1985) 39 C...

Excerpt: ...e can be used to attack the entire pleading, or any part thereof, including single words or phrases. Stearns Ranchos v. Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (1981) 19 Cal.App.3d 24. It is proper for the Court to strike any irrelevant, false or improper matter. CCP § 436(a). The Court can also strike any part of a pleading that is not drawn or filed in conformity with California law. CCP § 436(b). Damages for emotional distress and general damages...

Excerpt: ...evance should generally be resolved in favor of permitting discovery. Colonial Life & Acc. Ins. Co. v. Sup. Ct. (1982) 31 Cal.3d 785, 790. Boilerplate objections are not proper objections and cannot be used indiscriminately to evade discovery obligations. Korea Data Sys. Co. v. Sup. Ct. (1997) 51 Cal.Ap.4th 1513, 1516. 2 This is an action brought under the Song‐Beverly Act. Civil Code § 1790 et seq. To succeed on a claim, a plaintiff bears the...

Excerpt: ...Court. If requested by the parties, the Court also retains jurisdiction over the parties to enforce the settlement until performance in full of the terms of the settlement. Id. The parties signed a Stipulation for Settlement that was filed with the Court on March 10, 2021. After the matter was dismissed, the parties signed an Amended Stipulation for Settlement that was not filed with the Court, but attached as Exhibit 1 to the Declaration of Coun...

Excerpt: ...n the same date, the Court issued an Order Granting Stipulation for Binding Arbitration and Stay of Action. The Stipulation includes an agreement to submit the entire Action to the arbitrator (¶ 1) and that the parties would split the costs of arbitration equally (¶ 5). The parties went to arbitration on August 31 and September 1, 2021. On October 25, 2021, the 4 arbitrator rendered an Arbitration Decision. The Arbitration Decision resolved all...

Excerpt: ...ower of the court to apply the ultimate sanction of default against a litigant who persists in an outright refusal to comply with his discovery obligations.” Deyo v. Kilbourne (1978) 84 Cal.App.3d 771, 787. On December 15, 2021, the Court issued an order granting Defendant's motion to compel further responses. To date, the further responses have not been provided. Court awarded sanctions have also not been paid. The Court order did not provide ...

Excerpt: ...attorney's fees pursuant to CCP § 425.16(c) if they prevail on the motion. Merits of Motion: Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16, subdivision (b)(1), provides that “A cause of action against a person arising from any act of that person in furtherance of the person's right of petition or free speech under the United States or California Constitution in connection with a public issue shall be subject to a special motion to strike, unless the ...

Excerpt: ...hat there is no triable issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. “A plaintiff…has met his or her burden of showing that there is no defense to a cause of action if that party has proved each element of the cause of action entitling the party to judgment on the cause of action.” CCP § 437c(p)(1). Once a plaintiff has met its burden, the burden shifts to the defendant to show a triable issu...

Excerpt: ...r to be attempted responses to the OSC. Although nothing in the correspondence was in an appropriate format for filing, and some appeared to be ex parte communications, as Plaintiff is the only party to have made an appearance in this case, in the interest of justice the Court chose to consider the correspondence. However, the numerous letters sent to the Court do not provide a sufficient excuse for not effectuating service in this case, especial...

Excerpt: ...clearly qualified by the responding party; 2) deny so much of the matter involved in the request as is untrue; or 3) specify so much of the matter involved in the request as to the truth of which the responding party lacks sufficient information or knowledge. CCP § 2033.220(b)(1‐3). A propounding party may move for an order compelling further responses to request for admissions if the responses are evasive/incomplete or the objections are with...

Excerpt: ...ium. Defendants are alleged to have breached that promissory note which has an outstanding principal balance of $12,100. Merits of Motion: CCP § 438(c)(1)(A) provides a plaintiff may move for judgment on the pleadings if the complaint states sufficient facts to constitute a cause of action and the answer does not state facts sufficient to constitute a defense to the complaint. Here, Plaintiff has alleged indemnity and breach of promissory note c...

Excerpt: ... 2 CRC 2.551. The Court finds good cause to seal the documents. The motion is GRANTED. A proposed order was lodged with the Court which will be executed. The clerk is instructed to seal the documents. Tentative Ruling on Motion to Compel and Competing Motion for Protective Order: Defendants Jas. D. Easton, Inc. and Easton Technical (hereinafter “Defendants”) move for a protective order to prevent the inspection of their manufacturing process....

Excerpt: ...and body of the complaint as a Defendant. On July 20, 2021, Plaintiffs filed their FAC which omits OES. References to OES in the caption and as a Defendant were removed from the FAC. An amended complaint that omits a defendant named in the original complaint, serves as a dismissal without prejudice as to that defendant. Kuperman v. Great Republic Life Ins. Co. (1987) 195 Cal.App.3d 943, 947. Based on the foregoing, the Court finds that OES has be...

Excerpt: ...017) 13 Cal.App.5th 880, 891. However, the parties may delegate resolution of these issues to the arbitrator as long as there is clear and unmistakable evidence they intended to do so and the delegation clause is not revocable on state law grounds such as fraud, duress or unconscionability. Pinela v. Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. (2015) 238 Cal.App.4th 227, 239‐ 240. The Arbitration Agreement entered on behalf of Decedent and Defendant on March 20,...

Excerpt: ...f action against Defendants Hannah and Gary Borg. On December 7, 2020, a stipulation was filed to consolidate this action with Case No. 196131. On December 9, 2020, the Court executed the order consolidating the two files. Proofs of service were filed on July 7, 2021 which reflect Hannah Borg was served by certified mail on June 1, 2021 and that Gary Borg was substitute served on June 8, 2021. Both Gary and Hannah Borg were defaulted on July 22, ...

Excerpt: ...§ 8400 et seq. Once a mechanic's lien is recorded, the recording party has 90 days in which to file an action to foreclose. Civil Code § 8460. If an action is not recorded within the 90 day timeframe, the owner of the property may petition the Court to release the mechanic's lien. Civil Code § 8480. The procedural requirements for this statutory petition are provided in Civil Code §§ 8480 et seq. The Court finds that: the Petition has been p...

Excerpt: ...usually be exercised liberally to permit amendment. Nestle v. Santa Monica (1972) 6 Cal. 3d 920, 939. “If the motion to amend is timely made and the granting of the motion will not prejudice the opposing party, it is error to refuse permission to amend and where the refusal also results in a party being deprived of the right to assert a meritorious cause of action or a meritorious defense, it is not only error but an abuse of discretion.” Mor...

Excerpt: ...of Motion: The Federal Arbitration Act and controlling California authority require the Court to enforce a parties' Arbitration Agreement and compel arbitration on all arbitrable claims. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. v. Byrd (1985) 470 U.S. 213, 218. In deciding a motion to compel arbitration, the Court's role is limited to answering two questions: 1) does a valid agreement to arbitrate exist; and, if it does; 2) does the arbitration agreement encom...

Excerpt: ...lleges that the Third Amended Complaint is barred by public immunity. The Demurrer is unopposed. Cause of Action No. 1 (FEHA): Plaintiff's first cause of action is an alleged hostile work environment citing to Gov't Code § 12940(j) of FEHA. FEHA protects against discrimination against identified protected classes. The Third Amended Complaint fails to identify any protected class to which Plaintiff belonged. Without discrimination, harassment or ...

Excerpt: ...ice identified 32 areas of inquiry and demanded production of 28 categories of documents including any and all documents related to certain recalls and technical bulletins. On April 23, 2021, GM served a 32 page response setting forth various objections to the categories of inquiry and the request for production. After a brief and meet and confer process, GM offered to proceed with a deposition but subject to terms that were not acceptable to the...

Excerpt: ... and Crown. Plaintiff alleges various statutory violations of the SongBeverly Act and fraud by omission against Ford. Plaintiff alleges a single cause of action of negligence against Crown. None of the complaint's allegations relate to a term or obligation imposed by the Sale Contract between Plaintiff and Team Ford. Defendants separately seek to compel arbitration based on the Arbitration Provision in the Sales Contract which states in pertinent...

Excerpt: .... Santa Monica (1972) 6 Cal. 3d 920, 939. “If the motion to amend is timely made and the granting of the motion will not prejudice the opposing party, it is error to refuse permission to amend and where the refusal also results in a party being deprived of the right to assert a meritorious cause of action or a meritorious defense, it is not only error but an abuse of discretion.” Morgan v. Sup.Ct. (1959) 172 Cal.App.2d 527, 530. Defendants se...

Excerpt: ...n was continued, by stipulation, to the instant date. This case is currently set for trial on November 16, 2021. The Plaintiffs' complaint alleges 6 causes of action. Cause of Action No. 1 alleges violation of 14 separate Labor Code Sections; Cause of Action No. 2 alleges violation of Health and Safety Code Section 1278.5; Cause of Action No. 3 alleges violation of Labor Code Section 1102.5; Cause of Action No. 4 alleges ‘senior abuse'; Cause o...

Excerpt: ...2021. Kelly Cotton (“Moving Party”) now seeks leave to intervene pursuant to CCP § 387(a) and Welfare and Institutions Code § 15657.3 and CCP § 377.33, claiming to have superior rights to pursue these claims. Moving party has provided admissible evidence that she was nominated by the Decedent to act as his personal representative in his Will. The terms of the Will provide that all assets of the Estate are to be deposited into the Decedent'...

Excerpt: ...roposed cross‐complaint relates to the same parties and deals with disputes and issues arising from the use of an easement. The Court finds that allowing the filing of the cross‐complaint would be in the interests of justice. In reaching this finding the Court notes that there is presently no trial date set. The Court is in agreement with much of the discussion contained in the opposing party's briefing. The motion to amend is indeed late in ...

Excerpt: ...o. 4: OVERRULED Objection No. 5: OVERRULED Objection No. 6: OVERRULED Objection No. 7: SUSTAINED on the grounds of a legal conclusion; OVERRULED as to the remainder Objection No. 8: OVERRULED Objection No. 9: OVERRULED Objection No. 10: OVERRULED Objection No. 11: OVERRULED Objection No. 12: OVERRULED Objection No. 13: OVERRULED Objection No. 14: OVERRULED Plaintiff's Objections: Objection No. 1: OVERRULED Objection No. 2: OVERRULED Objection No....

Excerpt: ...nmeritorious. The objections are OVERRULED. Factual Background: Plaintiff Maria Czajka is the owner of 8409 Creekview Lane in Redding. Plaintiffs, Robert and Kelsey Garnero are the owners of 15965 Yankee Mine Road in Redding. Defendants are their neighbors along Rocklin Way. Plaintiffs claim they and their predecessors in title have used Rocklin Way for their respective properties. Defendants dispute that Plaintiffs have any right to use Rocklin ...

Excerpt: ...act and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. “A defendant…has met his or her burden of showing that a cause of action has no merit if the party has shown that one or more elements of the cause of action, even if not separately pleaded, cannot be established, or that there is a complete defense to the cause of action. Once the defendant … has met that burden, the burden shifts to the plaintiff … to show that a ...

Excerpt: ...act and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. “A defendant…has met his or her burden of showing that a cause of action has no merit if the party has shown that one or more elements of the cause of action, even if not separately pleaded, cannot be established, or that there is a complete defense to the cause of action. Once the defendant … has met that burden, the burden shifts to the plaintiff … to show that a ...

Excerpt: ...randum of costs and an opportunity to file a motion to tax costs. David S. Karton, A Law Corp. v. Dougherty (2009) 171 Cal.App.4th 133, 147. The Court finds that Defendant has standing to move to strike or tax the requested costs. Merits of Motion: Pursuant to CCP § 1032, the party prevailing in most civil cases may recover costs of suit in any action or proceeding. See CCP § 1032(b); Santisas v. Goodin (1998) 17 Cal.4th 599, 606. The types of ...

Excerpt: ...ke any irrelevant, false or improper matter. CCP § 436(a). The Court can also strike any part of a pleading that is not drawn or filed in conformity with California law. CCP § 436(b). The proper procedure for testing the adequacy of punitive damages is a motion to strike. Grieves v. Superior Court (1984) 157 Cal.App.3d 159, 163‐64. Punitive damages require a showing of malice, oppression or fraud. Civil Code § 2 3294. Malice is defined as co...

Excerpt: ... CRC 3.1354(b) requires all written objections to be filed separately from the other papers in support or opposition. Written objections must also be numbered consecutively. CRC 3.1354(b). A proposed order must also be provided. CRC 3.1354(c). Both sides have submitted objections within their separate statements. Neither 2 side has lodged proposed orders. The parties have failed to comply with CRC 3.1354(b) & (c). The objections are OVERRULED for...

Excerpt: ...ation for the same order upon new or different facts, circumstances, or law,…” CCP § 1008(b). A renewed motion based on new or different facts must be supported by a declaration showing why the moving party failed to provide the new or different facts at an earlier time. Baldwin v. Home Sav. of America (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 1192, 1198‐99. On May 5, 2020, Plaintiffs filed the prior motion for a preliminary injunction. The motion was heard a...

Excerpt: ...ad immediate access to their clients. After assuring the Court that they had authority, settlement terms were placed on the record pursuant to CCP 664.6. This section provides, in pertinent part: (a) If parties to pending litigation stipulate, in a writing signed by the parties outside of the presence of the court or orally before the court, for settlement of the case, or part thereof, the court, upon motion, may enter judgment pursuant to the te...

Excerpt: ...ity Alps Preserve, et al. (case no. 180657) pursuant to Evidence Code §§ 452 and 453. There is no objection to this request. The request is therefore GRANTED. Merits of the Motion. Prevailing Party. CCP § 1032(a)(4) defines a prevailing party to include “the party with a net monetary recovery, a defendant in whose favor a dismissal is entered, a defendant where neither plaintiff nor defendant obtains any relief, and a defendant as against th...

Excerpt: ...e of the complaint or from matters that may be subject to judicial notice. Blank v. Kirwan (1985) 39 Cal. 3d 311, 318. The court “treat[s] the demurrer as admitting all material facts properly pleaded, but not contentions, deductions or conclusions of fact or law.” Hood v. Hacienda La Puente Unified School District (1998) 65 Cal.App.4th 435, 438. No matter how unlikely, a plaintiff's allegations must be accepted as true for the purpose of rul...

Excerpt: ...tus of the case. CRC 3.1332(c)(6) & (7). Plaintiff alleges that good cause exists to continue the trial date because additional discovery is needed. The present trial date was set following a stipulation by both parties on June 9, 2020. In September of 2020, the parties began discussing the possibility of resolving the matter through mediation, and a formal agreement to mediate was reached on November 11, 2020. As part of the agreement to pursue ...

Excerpt: ...y Local Rule 5.17(d). Defendant shall prepare the order. Tentative Ruling on Motion to Continue Trial and Reopen Discovery: Plaintiff Robert Maul moves to continue trial and reopen discovery. Trial is presently scheduled for April 20, 2021. Merits of Motion: Trial dates are considered to be firm. CRC 3.1332(a). The Court has discretion to continue a trial date upon a showing of “good cause.” CRC 3.1332(c) and (d). Good cause includes both a p...

Excerpt: ...tion for summary judgment shall be granted if all the papers submitted show that there is no triable issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Plaintiff seeks summary adjudication on her partition and ejectment causes of action. Plaintiff has provided undisputed evidence that she is the co‐owner of the subject property and is entitled to a partition by sale pursuant to CCP § 872.010 et seq. Th...

Excerpt: ... relief action to obtain compliance. Labor Code § 1198.5(l). To obtain an injunction a plaintiff must show two interrelated facts: 1) a reasonable probability it will prevail on the merits; and 2) that the harm to the plaintiff resulting from the denial of the injunction outweighs the harm to the defendant if the injunction is granted. See IT Corp v. County of Imperial (1983) 35 Cal.3d 63, 69‐70. The moving party has the burden of providing su...

Excerpt: ...ds owned, operated or controlled the restaurant. Also, neither of these Defendants employed any of the workers at this restaurant. Plaintiff filed the present suit on September 5, 2019, approximately 18 months after the incident. The Compliant named only Defendants Taco Bell Corp and Yum! Brands. Notwithstanding California Rule of Court 3.110 which requires service of the complaint within 60 days of its filing, Defendants Taco Bell Corp and Yum! ...

Excerpt: ...on and set forth the grounds upon which intervention rests. CCP § 387(c). A nonparty must be allowed to intervene if (A) a provision of law confers an unconditional right to intervene or (B) the nonparty “claims an interest relating to the property or transaction that is the subject of the action and that person is so situated that the disposition of the action may impair or impede that person's ability to protect that interest, unless that pe...

Excerpt: ...le a Request for Dismissal for “withdrawn” causes of action. The Plaintiff was ordered to file a supplemental meet and confer declaration no later than March 22, 2021. No meet and confer declaration has been filed by Plaintiff and no Request for Dismissal has been filed. As any further continuance would potentially prejudice the Defendants, the Court will issue a ruling on the merits. Violation of Civil Code § 2924g (First Cause of Action): ...

Excerpt: ...relieve any party from that waiver. CCP § 631(g). Where a doubt exists as to the propriety of granting the relief, such doubt, by reason of constitutional guarantee of trial by jury, should be resolved in favor of according a litigant a jury trial. See Cowlin v. Pringle (1941) 46 Cal.App.2d 472, 476. Defendant waived their right to a jury by failing to post jury fees within 10 days of March 11, 2019 as ordered by the Court. Defendant seeks relie...

Excerpt: ... subject vehicle could not be “certified” due to frame damage. Vehicle Code § 11713.18(a)(5). It also alleges that GM fails to properly oversee and train the program which is implemented at least in part by its dealers like Defendant Lithia. Those allegations also center on the frame and frame inspections. A review of the propounded requests for admissions shows that the requests are wholly unrelated to the frame. Plaintiff takes the positio...