Excerpt: ...aranty. The loan guaranty was executed by both Dina and her then spouse, Cross‐ Defendant Vsevolod Okhrimovski, who was dismissed as a defendant in INC1304735. Defendant/Cross‐ Complainant Butler Capital, Inc., the assignee of the default judgment against Dina, responded to Dina's Complaint with an unsuccessful anti‐SLAPP motion and demurrer before filing this Cross Complaint for fraud, constructive fraud, aiding and abetting fraud, intenti...

Excerpt: ...uted or undisputed. As a self‐represented litigant Defendant Hajj is entitled to the same, but no greater consideration, than an attorney or represented litigant, and she must comply with the rules of court to the same extent as an attorney would be required to do. (In re Marriage of Falcone & Fyke (2008) 164 Cal.App.4th 814, 830; County of Orange v. Smith (2005) 132 Cal.App.4th 1434, 1444.) For each disputed fact in her original separate state...

Excerpt: ...he Agreement was made between JFK Memorial Hospital and Lifschutz in August 2015. JFK is a nonparty. By the Agreement, Lifschutz released claims against JFK and affiliates. There is no dispute that the Cross‐Complaint “arises from” protected activity and that Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16 applies. The question at issue is wither DRMC can demonstrate a probability of prevailing on the merits. The Court finds that it cannot. A cause ...

Excerpt: ...nding at least two years without having been brought to trial or hearing.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 391(b)(1).) A “vexatious litigant” may also be a person who: “[a]fter a litigation has been finally determined against the person repeatedly relitigates or attempts to relitigate, in propria persona, either (i) the validity of the determination against the same defendant or defendants as to whom the litigation was finally determined or (ii) the...

Excerpt: ...use the fact that plaintiff filed an amended complaint to attack claims that appeared in a prior complaint. (Newport Harbor Ventures, LLC v. Morris Cerullo World Evangelism (2018) 4 Cal.5th 637.) The anti‐SLAPP statute “‘is not a vehicle for a defendant to obtain a dismissal of claims in the middle of litigation; it is a procedural device to prevent costly, unmeritorious litigation at the initiation of the lawsuit.' [Citation.] To minimize ...

Excerpt: ... their face, a legal claim to title that is premised on Johnson's allegations that various individuals have competing title claims but that he acquired title by adverse possession. The Third Cause of Action for fraud, however, is premised on protected petitioning activity. The Third Cause of Action specifically alleges that the fraudulent representations at issue were made by way of the First Amended Complaint filed by Defendants Humphrey and Wat...

Excerpt: ...action cannot be established or that there is a complete defense to that cause of action. (Code of Civ. Proc., § 437c; Cucuzza v. City of Santa Clara (2002) 104 Cal.App.4th 1031, 1037.) Once the defendant has made such a showing, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to show that a triable issue of one or more material facts exists as to that cause of action or as to a defense to the cause of action. (Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (2001) 25 Cal...

Excerpt: ...wing the requesting party his or her day in court. Here, Bodde declares she was never personally served with the complaint and first learned about this case when she received the request for entry of default on or about July 31, 2018. Bodde immediately went to the court to obtain copies of the lawsuit. Because she did not have legal training she attempted to set aside the default via an ex parte application, which the court denied on August 2, 20...