Excerpt: ... LLC (“Defendant”). Defendant moves for summary judgment on Plaintiff's complaint, which asserts a cause of action for negligence. Plaintiff opposes the motion, which is denied. LEGAL STANDARD “[T]he party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of persuasion that there is no triable issue of material fact and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law[.] There is a triable issue of material fact if, and only if, the evidence w...

Excerpt: ...ributions to Michael N. Feuer: (1) $100 to Mr. Feuer's 2008 campaign for the 42nd Assembly District on or about November 9, 2007; (2) $100 to Mr. Feuer's 2010 campaign for the 42nd Assembly District on or about October 19, 2010; and (3) $100 to Mr. Feuer's 2013 campaign for Los <0015001100030003002d00 00550059004c00570046[h has no personal relationship with Mr. Feuer and has had no communications with Mr. Feuer since he became the City Attorney. ...

Excerpt: ... Company, Everest Indemnity Insurance Company, General Security Indemnity Company of Arizona, Chubb Custom Insurance Company, and Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company (“Plaintiffs”) filed this action against Defendants Alexandra Piunno (“Defendant Piunno”) and Paige Masonek (“Defendant Masonek”) (collectively, “Defendants”) for subrogation. Defendants rented an apartment in which a fire occurred on June 19, 2017, activating the a...

Excerpt: ...ers, for medical malpractice. Specifically, Plaintiffs allege that Defendant was negligent in failing to diagnose Geoffrey Gao with spina bifida at the time of his birth. Now, Defendant moves for summary judgment, which Plaintiffs do not oppose. The motion is granted. LEGAL STANDARD “[T]he party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of persuasion that there is no triable issue of material fact and that he is entitled to judgment as a mat...

Excerpt: ...otor vehicle collision on February 24, 2017. On July 8, 2019, the Court granted Defendants' motion to compel Plaintiff to attend physical examination, ordering Plaintiff to appear for a physical examination before Dr. Perry R. Secor within thirty (30) days of notice of the order. Plaintiff was further ordered to pay $1,660.00 in monetary sanctions. Now, Defendants move for terminating sanctions based upon Plaintiff's failure to submit to the exam...

Excerpt: ...r an order compelling Plaintiff to attend the following independent medical examinations: (1) A physical examination with Dr. Charles Rosen, M.D., and (2) A psychiatric examination with Dr. James R. High, M.D. Plaintiff opposes the motion, which is granted. LEGAL STANDARD Where the physical condition of the plaintiff or claimant is in controversy in a personal injury case, the defendant or respondent may seek discovery by physical examination of ...

Excerpt: ...2018. On June 22, 2018, Defendant filed a motion to deem the matters specified in the RFAs to have been admitted. The Court posted a tentative order granting the motion in advance of the hearing, and Plaintiff's counsel did not appear at the hearing. Therefore, the Court (Lu, J.) granted the motion on July 26, 2018. Plaintiff filed a motion to be relieved from her deemed admissions on June 14, 2019, almost one year after the Court granted Defenda...

Excerpt: ...on. Defendants move for an order compelling Plaintiff to submit to an additional physical examination with Barry I. Ludwig, M.D. (“Ludwig”) a neurologist. Plaintiff opposes the motion. The motion is granted. LEGAL STANDARD When the physical condition of the plaintiff is in controversy in a personal injury case, the defendant may obtain a physical examination of the plaintiff. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ <0047000300570052000300 004c00460044004f0003...

Excerpt: ...employee, Amit J. Shah, P.A. (“Shah,” collectively, “Defendants”). Plaintiff alleges that Shah failed to diagnose an injury to his tendon when he sought treatment for a laceration to his finger. Defendants move for summary judgment, which Plaintiff does not oppose. Therefore, Defendants' motion for summary judgment is granted. LEGAL STANDARD “[T]he party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of persuasion that there is no triable...

Excerpt: ...��) opposes the motion. The motion is denied without prejudice. LEGAL STANDARD Per Code of Civil Procedure section 2034.610, subdivision (a), “On motion of any party who has engaged in a timely exchange of expert witness information, the court may grant leave to do either or both of the following: [¶] (1) Augment that party's expert witness list and declaration by adding the name and address of any expert witness whom that party has <001500130...

Excerpt: ...sion. Defendants move to compel Plaintiff to submit to an independent medical examination. The motion is granted. LEGAL STANDARD When the physical condition of the plaintiff is in controversy in a personal injury case, the defendant may obtain a medical examination of the plaintiff. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2032.020, 2032.220.) A defendant is entitled to one medical examination of the plaintiff in a personal injury action on demand. (Code Civ. Proc...

Excerpt: ...ie Shad (“Shad”) and Horse Services, Inc., which does business as Griffith Park Horse Rentals (“GPHR”) (collectively, the “Moving Defendants”), both of which are represented by Ann M. Asiano, Esq. (“Ms. Asiano”) of Clark Hill, <005600570055004c004400 000f0003002c00510046[. (“LAEC”), which is represented by Selman Bretiman, L.L.P. The Moving Defendants now move to disqualify Plaintiff's retained expert, Rod Bergen (“Mr. Berge...

Excerpt: ...erminating sanctions, issue sanctions, or evidentiary sanctions because she contends Defendant failed to maintain the video recording of Plaintiff's accident. The motion is denied. LEGAL STANDARD “Spoliation is the destruction or significant alteration of evidence, or the failure to preserve property for another's use as evidence, in pending or future litigation.” (Hernandez v. Garcetti (1998) 68 Cal.App.4th 675, 680.) Under California la...

Excerpt: ...a <002e004400550048004800 004c0010003a0048004c>ssman (“Bioski-Weissman”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) asserts a cause of action for loss of consortium. The Court previously granted Plaintiffs' motion for sanctions after Defendant destroyed the gate after its inspection, depriving Plaintiffs of the opportunity to inspect the gate. The Court ordered that CACI No. 204 be used to instruct the jury and precluded Defendant from introducing any ...

Excerpt: ...n November 14, 2018. Defendant now moves for summary judgment on Plaintiff's complaint for premises liability, which Plaintiff does not oppose. Defendant's motion for summary judgment is granted. LEGAL STANDARD “[T]he party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of persuasion that there is no triable issue of material fact and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law . . . . There is a triable issue of material fact if, and only...

Excerpt: ...ve in advance of the hearing. BACKGROUND Plaintiff Marie Keel (“Plaintiff”) alleges she slipped and fell on the floor at a restaurant owned and operated by Defendant Mastro's Restaurants, LLC (“Defendant”). Plaintiff asserts causes of action for negligence and premises liability. Defendant now moves for summary judgment. Plaintiff opposes the motion, which is granted. LEGAL STANDARD “[T]he party moving for summary judgment bears the bur...

Excerpt: ...�Intentional Tort” and seeking punitive damages in the amount of $500,000,000. The complaint alleges no facts. Now, Dr. Guy Weiss (“Defendant”) demurs to the sole cause of action and moves to strike the claim for punitive damages. The demurrer is sustained, and the motion to strike is granted, with leave to amend. LEGAL STANDARD “It is black letter law that a demurrer tests the legal sufficiency of the allegations in a complaint.” (Lewi...

Excerpt: ... an amended expert witness designation. At the final status conference, the parties stipulated to continue the trial date from July 16, 2019, to September 29, 2019, and keep discovery closed with the exception of deposing expert witnesses: John Brault, Barry Pressman, and Stephen Rothman. Plaintiffs Lillian Cardona and Sara Cardona (“Plaintiffs”) oppose the motion. The motion is denied in its entirety. LEGAL STANDARD The Court has authority t...

Excerpt: ...intiff's complaint. Plaintiff did not oppose the demurrer but filed an ex parte application seeking leave to amend the complaint, which the Court denied in favor of addressing the issues in the context of this motion. The demurrer is sustained with leave to amend. LEGAL STANDARD “It is black letter law that a demurrer tests the legal sufficiency of the allegations in a complaint.” (Lewis v. Safeway, Inc. (2015) 235 Cal.App.4th 385, 388.) In r...

Excerpt: ...ve in advance of the hearing. BACKGROUND Plaintiff Marie Keel (“Plaintiff”) alleges she slipped and fell on the floor at a restaurant owned and operated by Defendant Mastro's Restaurants, LLC (“Defendant”). Plaintiff asserts causes of action for negligence and premises liability. Defendant now moves for summary judgment. Plaintiff opposes the motion, which is granted. LEGAL STANDARD “[T]he party moving for summary judgment bears the bur...

Excerpt: ...rity and Kevin Darnell (“Defendants”). Defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that the notice of rejection of the government claim was served on April 13, and Plaintiff filed this action after the statute of limitations ran on October 11, 2017. The Court denied the motion, as Defendants' evidence was unclear whether the notice of rejection was properly served. Now, Defendants seek reconsideration of the Court's order, proffering purpo...

Excerpt: ...ly, “Defendants”) following the death of their relative, Alfred Alexander (“Decedent”). Decedent was a passenger in a taxi operated by Wasif on April 4, 2017. Plaintiff allege that Decedent attempted to exit the taxi, but his coat got caught in the door, and Wasif dragged Decedent as he drove away. Plaintiffs assert a single cause of action for motor vehicle negligence. Defendants proffer evidence that Decedent had serious health issues a...

Excerpt: ...fendant now moves for summary judgment, which Plaintiff opposes. The motion is granted. UNDISPUTED FACTS On March 12, 2016, Plaintiff went to Adventure Park to watch her son play basketball in a tournament. (Plaintiff's Response to Defendant's Separate Statement of Undisputed Facts, ¶ 4.) Plaintiff had been to the park at least five times prior to the date of the incident. (Id., ¶ 5.) After Plaintiff arrived, she and her family went to set in t...

Excerpt: ...��Radosevich”) owned as trustee of the Marti Sue Spero Radosevich Revocable Trust Dated January 18, 2016 (“Trust,” collectively, “Defendants”). Defendants move for summary judgment on Plaintiffs' complaint, which asserts causes of action for negligence and premises liability against Defendants. The unopposed motion is granted. LEGAL STANDARD “[T]he party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of persuasion that there is no triab...

Excerpt: ... 2015. The Decedent was an employee of Defendants Joel Silver (“Silver”), Silver Pictures Entertainment, and Silver-Katz Holdings, LLC (collectively, “Defendants”), who drowned while on a trip to Bora Bora in French Polynesia. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants caused the drowning “by furnishing [the Decedent] with drugs and alcohol and overworking her to the point of extreme fatigue.” (Defendant's Motion, at p. 3.) Plaintiffs seek to ...

Excerpt: ... Hadley Towing Company, Inc., and FMG, Inc., dba “Hadley Tow” in the complaint. Plaintiffs have not yet served any Defendants. On May 25, 2018, Plaintiffs filed a request for dismissal without prejudice of Plaintiff Mark Cutting's claim. Plaintiffs now move to vacate the order of dismissal, pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 473(b). In his declaration, Plaintiff's counsel states that his clients had two different civil actions, and h...

Excerpt: ...intiff alleges that she suffered the following injuries: - Injuries to her “[l]eft hip, left knee, left foot, back, chest area, mental state and/or psychiatric and psychological problems including post traumatic stress” - Pain in her “neck and low back” - “[T]rouble focusing, concentrating, had problems with [her] memory and [her] attention and [she] was having anxiety attacks” - “Stomach pain, acid reflux, chest pain and shortness ...

Excerpt: ...42nd Assembly District on or about November 9, 2007; (2) $100 to Mr. Feuer's 2010 campaign for the 42nd Assembly District on or about October 19, 2010; and (3) $100 to Mr. Feuer's 2013 campaign for Los Angeles City Attorney on or about May 30, 2012. Judge Goorvitch has no personal relationship with Mr. Feuer and has had no communications with Mr. Feuer since he became the City Attorney. The Court can be fair and impartial in this matter. BACKGROU...

Excerpt: ...ortation Authority (“Defendant”) following a motor vehicle collision. Defendants noticed independent medical examinations, and Plaintiffs failed to appear. Now, Defendants move to compel Plaintiff to pay the non-appearance fees incurred by Defendant. The motion is granted. LEGAL STANDARD Defendant has noticed sanctions pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure sections 2023.010 et seq. and 2032.220 et seq. Section 2023.010—titled “Conduct subje...

Excerpt: ...cations to her responses to: Request for Production of Documents, Set Three (“RPD”), and Special Interrogatories, Set Three (“SROG #3”). Defendant also moves to compel further responses to Special Interrogatories, Set Four (“SROG #4). Plaintiff has not opposed any of these motions, which are granted. In this case, Plaintiff served unverified responses to Defendant's RPD and SROG #3 on March 26, 2019. As of the filing date of this motion...

Excerpt: ... strike the prayer for punitive damages in the complaint, which Plaintiff opposes. The motion is granted. LEGAL STANDARD Any party, within the time allowed to respond to a pleading, may serve and file a motion to strike the whole pleading or any part thereof. (Code Civ. Proc., § 435, subd. (b)(1); Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1322, subd. (b).) On a motion to strike, the court may: (1) strike out any irrelevant, false, or improper matter inserted ...

Excerpt: ... symptoms of a stroke. Plaintiff alleges that the Decedent did not receive emergency surgery for ten hours, following which she was brain-dead. The Decedent allegedly died four days later. Plaintiff asserts causes of action for: (1) Medical Malpractice, also titled “Wrongful Death and Survival Action Sounding in Medical Malpractice,” (2) General Negligence, and (3) Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress against, among others, Dr. Noujan A...

Excerpt: ...s. Inc. (the “Company”) and driven by Defendant Patrick Carroll (“Carroll”). Plaintiffs allege that Carroll unnecessarily slammed on the brakes while driving, causing serious injury to Michael Carlson. Plaintiffs now seek leave to add a claim for battery against Carroll, and to add allegations of negligent hiring, retention, supervision, and training allegations against Company. Plaintiff also seeks leave to add a prayer for punitive dama...

Excerpt: .... Defendant moves for summary judgment on Plaintiff's complaint, which Plaintiff opposes. The motion is denied. LEGAL STANDARD “[T]he party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of persuasion that there is no triable issue of material fact and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law[.] There is a triable issue of material fact if, and only if, the evidence would allow a reasonable trier of fact to find the underlying fact in f...

Excerpt: ...rhart Vis (“Vis”), and Larry John Hernandez (“Hernandez”). Plaintiff has settled with Gutierrez and Hernandez. Gutierrez moves for a determination that his settlement was made in good faith, which Vis opposes. Similarly, Vis moves to challenge the good faith of Hernandez's settlement. The Court finds that Gutierrez and Hernandez's settlements with Plaintiff were made in good faith. Therefore, the Court grants Gutierrez's motion and denies...

Excerpt: ...cial interrogatories. Plaintiff did not comply with that order, so Defendants filed a motion for terminating sanctions on April 11, 2019. The motion was noticed for hearing on May 16, 2019. On that date, the Court granted Plaintiff an extension to comply with her discovery obligations, setting the deadline as June 21, 2019. The Court provided notice that if Plaintiff complies with the Court's order by the deadline, the Court will not dismiss this...

Excerpt: ...a Lasater (“Plaintiff”). Defendant noticed this ex parte application for hearing on July 26, 2019, based upon the upcoming trial date of August 9, 2019. Because Plaintiff opposes a continuance of the trial date, Plaintiff did not object to the Court considering this issue on an ex parte basis. Therefore, the Court continued the hearing to August 2, 2019, at 1:30 p.m., to afford the Court an opportunity to review the moving papers and oppositi...

Excerpt: ...ven by Defendant David Forson on behalf of Defendant Lyft, Inc. (“Defendant”). Plaintiff asserts the following causes of action: (1) Negligence Per Se, (2) Negligence, (3) Negligent Hiring, Supervision, and Retention, (4) Strict <0044004f00560052000300 0051004c0057004c0059[e damages. Defendant demurs to the fifth cause of action (Fraud) and moves to strike the claim for punitive damages. The Court sustains the demurrer without leave to amend ...

Excerpt: ...owned and operated by Defendant Westfield, LLC (“Defendant”). Plaintiff asserts causes of action for negligence and premises liability. Defendant moves for summary judgment. Defendant also moves for sanctions under Code of Civil Procedure sections 128.5 <0037004b00480003005000 00550003005600580050[mary judgment is granted. The motion for sanctions is denied. LEGAL STANDARD “[T]he party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of persuas...

Excerpt: ...he Court granted Plaintiff's motion for preference and set the trial date for August 20, 2019. Then, on May 29, 2019, the City filed a cross-complaint against Roes 1-10, but on the same date, filed an amendment to the cross-complaint to substitute Presidio Foods, Inc. (“Presidio”) as Roe 1. The City personally served Presidio on June 26, 2019. Now, Presidio moves ex parte to strike the cross-complaint or, in the alternative, to continue the t...

Excerpt: ...��). Plaintiff asserts two causes of action: (1) Premises liability, and (2) “Vicarious liability for the wrongful actors or omissions by public employees and/or retention of unfit employee.” Defendant now demurs to both causes of action. The demurrer is sustained with leave to amend with respect to the first cause of action. The demurrer is sustained without leave to amend with respect to the second cause of action. LEGAL STANDARD “It is b...

Excerpt: ...��) filed a complaint against the County of Los Angeles, the Regents of the University of California, the State of California, and Dr. Waleed Doany, M.D. (collectively, “Defendants”). Plaintiffs assert causes of action for professional negligence (for wrongful life and wrongful birth), alleging that Defendants did not disclose the risk that Dareh Haghvirdi would be born with a genetic impairment or disability. Plaintiffs allege that they lear...

Excerpt: ...te operated by Solaris on August 20, 2015. Solaris then filed a cross-complaint against Liberty Staffing USA, Inc. (“Liberty Staffing”) and Liberty Labor LLC (“Liberty Labor”) (collectively, “Liberty”) asserting claims for indemnification, apportionment of fault, declaratory relief, express indemnity, and breach of contract. Solaris alleges that Liberty is a successor of StaffIt Enterprises, Inc. (“Staff-It”). There is no dispute ...

Excerpt: ...iff alleged that Defendant EFCO Corporation (“Defendant”) retained control over the job site and was responsible for safety, but breached its duty toward Plaintiff. Defendant EFCO Corp. (“Defendant”) moves for summary judgment on Plaintiff's complaint. Defendant filed this motion on April 2, 2019, and noticed the motion for hearing on June 11, 2019. Plaintiff filed no opposition. Nevertheless, this notice period was insufficient, so the C...

Excerpt: ...ecords upon the following of Plaintiff's medical providers: Pacific Ocean Medical Clinic, Cedars-Sinai Marina Del Rey Hospital, Central Financial Control, Cedars-Sinai Marina Del Rey Hospital—Billing, Marina Del Rey Hospital—Radiology, Bruce Dobkin, M.D., and Central Pharmacy. The subpoenas seek all medical records about Plaintiff from January 1, 2012 to the present. (Declaration of Mahfam Sadeghi, Exhibit A.) Plaintiff moves to quash the sub...

Excerpt: ...ollowing a motor vehicle collision. Defendants move for terminating sanctions against Plaintiffs. The motion is granted as to sanctions. LEGAL STANDARD The Court has discretion to impose terminating sanction when a party willfully disobeys a discovery order. (Code Civ. Proc. §§ 2023.010, subd. (g), 2030.290, subd. (c).) The Court may impose a terminating sanction by striking a party's pleading. (Code Civ. Proc. § 2023.030, subd. (d)(1).) DISCU...

Excerpt: ...ulance traveling at a high rate of speed with lights and sirens. The impact allegedly caused Brian Guijosa (“Guijosa”) to collide with Maldonado's vehicle. Maldonado and Guijosa were insured by Mercury Insurance Company (“Mercury”), which filed this subrogation action against the County of Los Angeles (the “County”), seeking to recover sums it paid to Maldonado and Guijosa. Specifically, Mercury alleges that the County's employee, Jus...

Excerpt: ... Barner (“Plaintiff Barner”) filed this action against Defendant Patrick Stuart (“Defendant”) following a motor vehicle collision. Plaintiff Hooks alleges that she suffers from pain to her forehead and headaches, as well as orthopedic injuries to her neck, back, left shoulder, left trapezius, left arm, and left hand. In 2018, Defendant issued subpoenas for Plaintiff Hooks's medical records to Kaiser Permanente (“Kaiser”). Plaintiff Ho...

Excerpt: ...ncia (“Defendant”). The motion is granted in part and denied in part. The Court orders Defendant (but not Defendant's counsel) to pay sanctions. LEGAL STANDARD Where a party fails to respond to requests for admissions, the propounding party may move for an order that the genuineness of any documents and the truth of any matters specified in the requests be deemed admitted, as well as for a monetary sanction. (Code of Civ. Proc., § 2033.280, ...

Excerpt: ... of Manhattan beach, following a motor vehicle collision. Plaintiff alleges that he was stopped at a red light when he was rear- ended by Defendant. Plaintiff also alleges that Defendant knowingly and intentionally abused his vehicle's law enforcement signals and sirens in order to disregard traffic signals without justification. Plaintiff asserts two causes of action against Defendant: (1) “Reckless Misconduct/Gross Negligence/Violations of Ci...