Excerpt: ... of March 26, 2021, no response to the motion had been posted to the court's case management system. Defendant seeks to consolidate this action with Case No. VCU285270 – Pacific Properties Sales & Management, Inc. v. Carver. The actions involve some of the same parties. Both actions relate to a 320-acre parcel of real property located near Johnsondale, Tulare County, California. Both actions relate to a written lease agreement involving approxi...

Excerpt: ...aintiff's Complaint. (1) Plaintiff asserts four (4) causes of action for wrongful termination, retaliation and wage and hour violations. Defendant demurs to the wrongful termination claim (First Cause of Action) and to the wage and hour claims (Third and Fourth Causes of Action). Defendant asserts it cannot be liable on Plaintiff's claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy pursuant to Government Code 815(a). As to the wage and ...

Excerpt: ...Defendant's Demurrer to all causes of action, with leave to amend. Plaintiff shall file its amended complaint within 14 days of this order. Plaintiff is a citrus grower who brings this action against Defendant Grow Pure, who operated as a citrus packer and marketing agent. Plaintiff delivered all of its citrus crops to Defendant for the 2018- 2019 and 2019-2020 crop years pursuant to a written agreement. Defendant was to process, pack, market, an...

Excerpt: ...tories, Set (1), to Order Plaintiff to deliver to Defendant verified written responses, without objection, to Defendant's discovery within ten (10) days of this order, to Order Plaintiff pay to Defendant the sum of $650.00 as a monetary sanction. Sanctions are payable within ten (10) days of this order; and (2) To Grant Defendant's Motion for Order Compelling Plaintiff's Responses to Request for Production of Documents, Set (1), to Order Plaintif...

Excerpt: ... 2020. The request was denied by the City of Visalia on August 31, 2020. Petitioner renewed his request on September 1, 2020 and the city responded on September 18, 2020. Petitioner asserts the request was for public information which the city is required to provide under the CPRA. The City of Visalia opposes the petition. Government Code 6254(f) generally requires disclosure of the name of a crime victim with the following exceptions: “Notwith...

Excerpt: ...endants seek to enforce an arbitration provision in the purchase and sale agreement executed by Plaintiff. Plaintiff opposes arbitration asserting 1) Defendants waived the arbitration provision by litigating in federal court and 2) the arbitration provision is not applicable as to the manufacturer, Defendant FCA US, LLC as it is not a signatory to the purchase and sale agreement. As to the waiver assertion, Defendants have shown that they have st...

Excerpt: ...ss conducted by Plaintiff and Defendants. Plaintiff's Complaint asserts various causes of action related to the alleged business dealings including breach of oral contract, rescission, breach of fiduciary duty, for an accounting, for recovery of money had and received, for constructive trust, unjust enrichment, unfair competition, fraud, and alternatively for breach of contract. Defendants demur to the entire complaint. Defendants also demur to t...

Excerpt: ...sents Zenith and thus must be disqualified for an alleged conflict of interest. Zenith asserts it has hired the Horton firm on a number of occasions since 2016 to represent its insureds in litigation matters. Zenith asserts the Horton firm represented its insureds in a number of cases at the time the present action was filed by Plaintiff. In this action, Zenith asserts a subrogation claim against Defendant Hettinga Transportation for workers' com...

Excerpt: ...ased from Defendant's dealer. By this motion, Plaintiff seeks an order requiring Defendant to provide further responses to 15 requests for production of documents. Plaintiff asserts the requests involve 1) Defendant's internal investigation of defects involving powertrain, electrical, and backup camera; and 2) Defendant's warranty and vehicle repurchase policies, procedures and practices. Plaintiff asserts Defendant's responses to the 15 discover...

Excerpt: ... 425.16.) Plaintiffs' initial complaint filed March 23, 2020 sought damages on five causes of action: Malicious Prosecution, Abuse of Process, Breach of Contract, Inverse Condemnation, and Violation of Civil Rights. On July 22, 2020, Defendant filed its Special Motion to Strike as to all causes of action. On September 2, 2020, prior to the hearing on the Special Motion to Strike, Plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint asserting only claims for...

Excerpt: ...for negligence, intentional misrepresentation, battery, lack of informed consent, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Plaintiffs' claims relate to dental procedures including multiple dental crowns involving the now four-year old Plaintiff, Giselle Cisneros. Defendant demurs to the Third Cause of Action – for medical battery; the Fourth Cause of Action – for lack of informed consent; and to the Fifth Cause of Action – for neglig...

Excerpt: ... Cross-Complaint within ten (10) days of this order. This action is a dispute over development of commercial real property located in Tulare County. Cross-Defendants demur to all causes of action asserted in the Second Amended Cross- Complaint. Cross-Complainants' procedural objections to the demurrer are overruled. For purposes of a demurrer all properly plead facts and those reasonably arising by implication must be accepted as true. (Couglas v...

Excerpt: ...uired administrative remedies have been exhausted. Plaintiffs are the relatives of Albert Balderas, Jr., deceased. The decedent was a disabled individual who received services from Defendants Social Vocational Services, Inc. and Defendant Central Valley Regional Center, Inc. While on an outing with SVS, decedent was arrested for improperly touching a boy in a restroom. While in custody at the Tulare County pre-trial detention facility, decedent w...

Excerpt: ... good faith settlement. Defendant Dokken Engineering, Inc. objects to the settlement. In this action City of Dinuba seeks to recover from Seville Group and Dokken Engineering the amount of an arbitration award entered against it and in favor of Papich Construction, Inc. The City seeks to recover the sum of $3,700,000.00 plus fees and costs. The amount represents expenses incurred for dealing with underground utility lines which had to be moved fo...

Excerpt: ...s order. Defendant demurs to the Third Cause of Action – for Conspiracy and to the Fifth Cause of Action – for Unfair Competition in Plaintiff's Third Amended Complaint. For purposes of a demurrer all properly plead facts and those reasonably arising by implication must be accepted as true. (Couglas v. E. & J. Gallo Winery (1977) 69 Cal.App.3d 103, 114.) An exception, however, is that the general rule is limited to those material facts proper...

Excerpt: ... order on October 30, 2020. In the past, the parties have indicated the proposed depositions are dependent on site inspection results. The parties have endeavored to reach agreement for a further site inspection order. The parties' efforts have been unsuccessful. Plaintiff has submitted a proposal calling for testing of multiple wells and other sites on Defendant's property over a period of many months which Plaintiff claims is necessary to estab...

Excerpt: ...y 18, 2021 to provide further information. Supplemental supporting documents were submitted on February 16, 2021 only 2 days before the hearing. Plaintiff has addressed a majority of the deficiencies noted by the court in its January 7, 2021 ruling. The court's remaining concerns are as follows: Plaintiff has provided information as requested about the net settlement and estimated distribution to class members. The estimated average distribution ...

Excerpt: ... from Defendant's negligence in permitting an unrestrained dog to chase Plaintiff giving rise to fear of an attack which caused Plaintiff to fall and suffer injuries. This is Plaintiff's second effort seeking summary judgment. Her first motion was denied on February 13, 2020 almost a year prior to the current hearing. Defendant points out a myriad of procedural deficiencies in the moving papers, the majority of which are valid. The court, however...

Excerpt: ...serts Plaintiffs are required to arbitrate even though one of them is not a signatory to the agreement containing the arbitration clause under Felisilda v. FCA US LLC (2020) 53 Cal.App.5 th 486. Plaintiff asserts the case is not applicable because Plaintiff has dismissed all claims against the dealer and is pursuing only the manufacturer. At least one federal court agrees with Plaintiff's contention that Felisilda does not apply when pursuing onl...

Excerpt: ...Plaintiff's Motion to Tax Costs. Defendant seeks monetary sanctions asserting Plaintiff continued to pursue frivolous pleadings after being advised that Plaintiff intended to seek sanctions for such conduct under CCP 128.7. The court finds Defendant's notice of the hearing on its motion for sanctions was statutorily compliant. Plaintiff's attempt to assert the motion was fatally deficient because the motion was heard on January 14, 2021 rather th...

Excerpt: ... at 8:30 a.m. in Department 1. On August 27, 2020, the court granted preliminary approval of the class settlement entered between Plaintiffs and Defendants. The declaration from the settlement administrator shows that notice of the settlement was provided to 474 class members by mail on October 19, 2020. Twenty-nine notices were ultimately undeliverable. No requests for exclusion from the class were received. No objections to the settlement were ...

Excerpt: ...r Costs and Attorneys' Fees as Prevailing Party on Appeal and to Order that Defendant recover costs on appeal in the sum of $820.70; and (2) to Grant the Motion by Plaintiff to Strike/Tax Memorandum of Costs on Appeal Submitted by Defendant D.L. Walton Engineering and to Order the claim for attorneys' fees stricken from Defendant's Memorandum of Costs on Appeal. Plaintiff obtained judgment against Defendant by default. Defendant moved in this cou...

Excerpt: ...material, triable issues of fact exist are to be resolved in favor of the party opposing summary judgment. . .. A defendant moving for summary judgment meets its burden of showing that there is no merit to a cause of action if that party has shown that one or more elements of the cause of action cannot be established or that there is a complete defense to that cause of action. (§ 437c, subds. (o)(2), (p)(2).) If the defendant does so, the burden...

Excerpt: ...vised that Plaintiff intended to seek sanctions for such conduct under CCP 128.7. Defendant asserts Plaintiff's pleadings in this action were both factually frivolous and legally frivolous. Defendant seeks monetary sanctions in the sum of $8,757.00. Defendant asserts the amount represents reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred since the notice required under CCP 128.7 was given. Defendant's Request for Judicial Notice is granted. Plaintiff...

Excerpt: ...Complaint. (2) To Grant the Application of Michael A. Graziano to Appear as Counsel Pro Hac Vice. (1) Plaintiff asserts Defendant breached its account holder agreement by charging two fees during a single use of a third party automated teller machine – $1.50 for withdrawing funds and $1.00 to check the account balance. Plaintiff alleges only one fee is authorized under the agreement. Plaintiff asserts claims both individually and as representat...

Excerpt: ...ees, costs, and expenses. This award of attorney fees is based on lodestar attorney fees of $53,600.00 plus a lodestar multiplier of 0.5 for the Knight Law Group and a lodestar of $2,950.00 plus a lodestar multiplier of 0.5 for the law firm of Robinson Calcagnie, Inc. Plaintiffs shall also recover their costs incurred in the amount of $12,396.90 subject to defendant's motion to tax costs that will be heard on January 21, 2021. The Song-Beverly Co...

Excerpt: ...thurton's first amended complaint. Defendant General Motors LLC's shall file its answer to the plaintiff Arthurton's first amended complaint within ten (10) days of this ruling. General Motors LLC's demurrer to Mr. Arthurton's first amended complaint In this action, Mr. Arthurton asserts causes of action for breach of implied warranty of merchantability under the Song-Beverly Warranty Act, breach of express warranty under the Song- Beverly Warran...

Excerpt: ...otion and initial declaration a second time. Insufficient information has been submitted as to various provisions of the settlement agreement for the court to make the merits evaluation required by Kullar v. Foot Locker Retail, Inc. (2008) 168 Cal.App.4th 116, 129. 1. Sufficiency of Amount of Settlement ($750,000) The gross settlement amount is $750.000. Plaintiff estimates the total number of class members is proximately 2400. Plaintiff provides...

Excerpt: ... the alternative to deem matters admitted; (2) To grant in part and deny in part plaintiff Harriet Armstead's Motion to Compel Special Interrogatories, Set Two Plaintiff Harriet Armstead's Motion to Compel Responses, or in the Alternative to Deem Matters Admitted This is a personal injury case that arises out of an April 20, 2019 confrontation between plaintiff and a dog owned by defendant Tamara Lagomarsino. Plaintiff contends that she fell and ...

Excerpt: ...e to conduct this interview All parties were given proper notice of this matter. There has been no response to this motion. Defendant Allan moves this court for an order that compels plaintiff Angela Reynoso to submit to a clinical interview to evaluate the nature and extent of any physical injuries she sustained as the result of a traumatic brain injury that she attributes to the accident at issue in this case. The court notes that defendants ha...

Excerpt: ...tiffs' Complaint. Defendant mailed a form of judgment to Plaintiffs on September 9, 2020. The court signed the form of judgment on September 30, 3020 and judgment was filed the same day. Plaintiff now asserts they attempted to appear at trial via Zoom, but were unable to do so. The court normally only allows Zoom trial appearances by stipulation, which, in this case, the plaintiff had neither sought nor received. As will be detailed below, this c...

Excerpt: ...low. Plaintiffs should not submit the entire motion and initial declarations a second time. Insufficient information has been submitted as to various provisions of the settlement agreement for the court to make the merits evaluation required by Kullar v. Foot Locker Retail, Inc. (2008) 168 Cal.App.4th 116, 129. 1. Sufficiency of Amount of Settlement ($2,000,000.00) The gross settlement amount is a figure not to exceed $2,000,000 Plaintiff estimat...

Excerpt: ... a personal care attendant for Patricia Kline. In October 2020, Patricia Kline passed away. Defendant Gerald Kline remains in possession of the premises despite the plaintiff's demand that Mr. Kline vacate. Plaintiff has requested confirmation of Ms. Kline's date of death and a copy of her death certificate. But to date, the Kline family has not provided any evidence that Ms. Kline has indeed passed away. Moreover, plaintiff conducted an internet...

Excerpt: ... medical negligence. In the original complaint the only named defendant was Kaweah Health Care District. The “Doe” defendants 1-25 were named as fictitious names and plaintiff contended that he could not identify the true names of these Doe defendants when he filed his original complaint. On November 15, 2019, plaintiff served a “Notice of Intention to Commence Suit” that identified both Optimal Health Services and Optimal Home Health Car...

Excerpt: ..., the parties entered into a Settlement Agreement that obligated defendant to pay $10,000.00 to plaintiff in monthly payments of $200.00. These monthly payments were to begin on September 15, 2020. Plaintiff's counsel Adam B. Stirrup states in his declaration that defendant has not paid any of the monthly payments. No opposition to the motion has been filed. The terms of this settlement were memorized in a February 28, 2020 “Settlement Agreemen...

Excerpt: ...ng out of a credit card obligation where plaintiff Capital One Bank pleads causes of action for breach of contract and common counts. On February 5, 2019, the parties entered into a Settlement Agreement that obligated defendant to pay $12,040.11 to plaintiff in monthly payments of $325.00 beginning on the 16th day of every month until the debt has been paid in full. This settlement agreement reserved the right to plaintiff to move the court under...

Excerpt: ...No. VCU276661 filed December 18, 2018. The prior action was not served until Plaintiff filed its First Amended Complaint on July 31, 2019. The prior action was brought by the City of Corcoran against Curtimade Dairy asserting causes of action for public nuisance, trespass, negligence, and unlawful business practices. Both the prior action and the subject action involve disputes between the parties over alleged contamination of city water wells fr...

Excerpt: ...adjudication were separately filed in each case. On November 22, 2020 the court entered its order consolidating the cases for purposes of summary adjudication. The subject motions arise out of two separate actions arising out of the treatment of John Torrez III. The first action (VCU268786) was a medical negligence claim and included a loss of consortium claim by spouse Bernadette Torrez. The action was filed in March 2017 and alleged damages fro...

Excerpt: ...ntiff shall provide full and complete verified responses to these discovery requests without objection to defendant's counsel later than 20 days from the date of notice of this ruling. Mr. Souza and his counsel shall also pay monetary sanctions to defendant's counsel in the amount of $560.00 no later than 30 days from the date of notice of this ruling as per CCP §2023.030 (a) and CCP §2030.290(c) The Court notes that these discovery motions wer...

Excerpt: ...mand for production of documents. Claimant Ricky Lynn Serrate shall provide full and complete verified responses to these interrogatories and document requests without objection within thirty days from notice of this ruling. Claimant Ricky Lynn Serrate shall also pay monetary sanctions to AAA's counsel in the amount of $472.50 within thirty days from the notice of this ruling. The Court notes that these discovery motions were timely noticed and s...

Excerpt: ...urther the construction of the State's high speed rail project. Negotiations between the parties resulted in a stipulation and order that the court entered on January 28, 2020. This stipulated order imposed a duty on the parties to cooperate and collaborate and undertake the necessary steps required to enable the State of California to acquire the portion of the defendant's property that it seeks to obtain. The State contends the defendant has no...

Excerpt: ...efendant's Motion for Summary Adjudication of Plaintiff's Third Cause of Action for Negligence. (1) On October 30, 2020 the court issued its initial order for a visual inspection of Defendant's property. As part of its order, the court set a further hearing on Plaintiff's motion. There is no additional tentative ruling. The parties are directed to appear prepared to address the status of the preliminary inspection and be prepared to discuss any f...

Excerpt: ... shall pay all fees and costs required by JAMS to initiate a consumer arbitration proceeding. In his Complaint, Plaintiff asserts he purchased a used motor vehicle and that the seller failed to disclose prior structural damage as a result of which Plaintiff suffered damages. Plaintiff asserts the purchase was made in accordance with a written agreement which contains an arbitration provision. Plaintiff has named as Defendants the seller, sellers ...

Excerpt: ...at Defendant is entitled to recover its reasonable attorneys' fees and costs for bringing its Special Motion to Strike as to these claims. In its prior ruling on September 17, 2020, the court, on the merits, denied Defendant's Special Motion to Strike as to Plaintiffs' claims for breach of contract and for inverse condemnation. The motion as to Plaintiffs' claims for malicious prosecution, abuse of process, and violation of civil rights was made ...

Excerpt: ...'s motion was initially heard on June 25, 2020. The motion as it relates to summary adjudication of Plaintiff's product liability claim (Plaintiff's Second Cause of Action) was continued to August 20, 2020 to enable Plaintiff to conduct discovery related to the elevator in which Plaintiff alleges she suffered injury. The court invited supplemental opposition from Plaintiff and a reply from Defendant. Plaintiff submitted her opposition documents o...

Excerpt: ...ty Act because Plaintiff's vehicle does not fall under the definition of Civil Code 1793.22(e)(2) Defendant asserts the vehicle was purchased for business purposes and asserts the weight of the vehicle exceeds 10,000 lbs. Under these facts, the vehicle would not be subject to the protections of Song-Beverly. Plaintiff disputes the vehicle weight asserted by Defendant. Civil Code 1793.2(e)(2) defines a vehicle covered under Song-Beverly as follows...

Excerpt: ...ction. On May 21, 2020, plaintiff amended his complaint to identify defendant Optimal Health Services as DOE 3. Optimal answered plaintiff's complaint on July 1, 2020. On July 27, 2020, counsel for Optimal learned that plaintiff served Optimal with a Notice of Intention to File Suit on November 15, 2019 that identified Optimal by name and demonstrated that the plaintiff was aware of its identity before filing his complaint. Optimal now seeks leav...

Excerpt: ...ion, the court generally accepts the facts as stated in Mr. Sidharaju's moving papers. This is an action brought by Krishnaswamy Sidharaju for the dissolution of corporate defendant SafeFarms, Inc., the appointment of a receiver, and an accounting of the corporation. Mr. Sidharaju's case is consolidated with an action brought by Angel Carrasco for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, common counts, breach of duty of loyalty, equitable accountin...

Excerpt: ...Plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint. Defendant shall file its answer to the First Amended Complaint within ten (10) days of this order. Plaintiffs assert causes of action for wrongful death based on negligence, negligence per se, intentional tort. Plaintiffs also assert claims for punitive damages. Defendant demurs to all causes of action and moves to strike the punitive damages allegations. For purposes of a demurrer all properly plead facts and...

Excerpt: ...ol District campus and her mother, assert claims for damages based in negligence, negligent hiring and supervision, and misrepresentation for a pattern of sexual abuse of the minor by a teacher. Defendant demurs to the Third Cause of Action for Misrepresentation and demurs to the complaint generally for failure to state a statutory basis for liability. For purposes of a demurrer all properly plead facts and those reasonably arising by implication...