Excerpt: ...gum, Esq. for malicious prosecution. This is the latest in a series of lawsuits. In 2016, Mayorga sued Fancher in case No. BC643234. Mayorga is a member of the band Suicidal Tendencies. Lisa Fancher (doing business as Frontier Records and American Lesion Music) published the band's self-titled album in 1983. Mayorga sued Fancher for withholding royalties from him. Ackerman and Bjorgum represented Fancher in the first case. (This complaint incorre...

Excerpt: ...0 Labor Code violations, unfair competition, and PAGA civil penalties. Plaintiff worked for defendant from 2017 to 2020. (Job not specified.) The complaint also purports to be a class action. The class or group of aggrieved employees is all current and former non-exempt California employees. Motion Plaintiff seeks an order granting preliminary approval of: 1) Conditional certification of the class of hourly employees from 8/4/2020 to the present ...

Excerpt: ...ability and (2) breach of express warranty. Plaintiff alleges his new 2018 Range Rover was defective because its infotainment system did not work. Motion Plaintiff moves for $36,958.05 in attorney fees after settlement. Plaintiff incurred $27,635 in fees and $2,105.15 in costs, and anticipates another $2,700 in fees and $29.15 in costs for the reply. Plaintiff moves for an enhancement multiplier of 0.25. Opposition Plaintiff seeks excessive hours...

Excerpt: ...rian Lugo M.D. Corporation, provided medical services to defendant Erik Zepeda Castaneda. Defendant owes a balance of $50,390.82, plus 10% interest. Prior Hearings: The court held hearings on this on July 18 and August 29, 2022. Plaintiff had not submitted a default judgment application before either of those hearings. Plaintiff submitted the documents on October 12. Analysis & Checklist: Quiet Title Actions require oral prove‐up hearing. (CCP ...

Excerpt: ...omplaint against defendants Signal Hill Pet Hospital, Mirette Attalla, and Ragi Boctor for 15 causes of action, including sexual assault, FEHA claims, Labor Code claims, and unfair competition. Plaintiff worked as an office manager at Signal Hill Pet Hospital. Attalla and Boctor own the pet hospital. Attalla sexually assaulted plaintiff numerous times by touching her breasts and sitting on her lap. Plaintiff complained to Boctor, and he refused t...

Excerpt: ... Failure to Provide Itemized Wage and Hour Statements (5) Private Attorneys General Act (6) Unfair Competition Plaintiff has worked as a packer for defendants since May 2016. For eight months each year, he worked six days per week for 12 hours per day without getting adequate overtime pay. Defendants improperly calculated overtime for employees by counting each pay period as beginning a new workweek instead of including all hours per true workwee...

Excerpt: ...her Emmanuel Richardson and foster mother Willie Mae Richardson. In a second foster home, she was sexually assaulted by foster mother Marie Anderson. Doe 1 (LA County) was responsible for plaintiff and put her in both foster homes. The County did not protect her. Application Under CCP § 340.1, the court should issue an order sealing the certificates of merit, permitting service on Doe 1, and permitting plaintiff to file an amended complaint iden...

Excerpt: ...her, Emmanuel Richardson. Doe 1 (LA County) was responsible for plaintiff and put her in Richardson's care in 1978. The County did not adequately protect her. Application Under CCP § 340.1, the court should issue an order sealing the certificates of merit, permitting service on Doe 1, and permitting plaintiff to file an amended complaint identifying the defendants. The usual rule on sealing, CRC 2.550 does not apply. Plaintiff's conditionally se...

Excerpt: ...annot exceed that demanded in the complaint… or in the statement [of punitive damages] provided for by Section 425.115.” (CCP § 580(a).) “A default judgment greater than the amount specifically demanded in the complaint is void as beyond the court's jurisdiction.” (Airs Aromatics, LLC v. CBL Data Recovery Technologies, Inc. (2018) 23 Cal.App.5th 1013, 1018.) “Where no amount of damages is demanded any amount awarded is by definition gr...

Excerpt: ...ur to the first cause of action for violation of Civil Code § 2923.5, pre-default notice requirements; second cause of action for violation of Civil Code § 2923.6(c), dual tracking; and fourth cause of action for violation of Civil Code § 2924.9, post-default notice requirements on the same grounds: the second amended complaint alleges defendants recorded a notice of default and notice of trustee's sale that has nothing to do with plaintiffs. ...

Excerpt: ...alco Properties Ltd., LLC (2015) 235 Cal.App.4th 165, 185 (Serafin).) A. Procedural Unconscionability Procedural unconscionability focuses on “ ‘oppression' or ‘surprise' due to unequal bargaining power.” (Armendariz v. Foundation Health Psychcare Services, Inc. (2000) 24 Cal.4th 83, 114 (Armendariz).) “Procedural unconscionability occurs when the stronger party drafts the contract and presents it to the weaker party on a ‘take it or ...

Excerpt: ...er cannot circumvent prior admissions by the easy device of amending a pleading without explanation.” (Womack v. Lovell (2015) 237 Cal.App.4th 772, 787.) The “doctrine ‘cannot be mechanically applied.' ” [Citation.] It ‘is not intended to prevent honest complainants from correcting erroneous allegations or prevent the correction of ambiguous facts.' ” (JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Ward (2019) 33 Cal.App.5th 678, 690.) The sham pleadin...

Excerpt: ...quests judicial notice of three exhibits. All three exhibits are court records subject to judicial notice under Evidence Code § 452(d)(1). They involve the small claims actions previously filed discussed below. The requests for judicial notice are granted. The Small Claims Case On April 9, 2021 Defendant Balasanyan filed a small claims lawsuit against Plaintiff LA Solar Group, Inc. (Case No. 21PDSC00689.) (RJN 1.) She claimed that “Defendant o...

Excerpt: ...ation where no triable issues of fact exist and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (c); Villa v. McFerren (1995) 35 Cal.App.4th 733, 741.) A moving defendant can establish “that a cause of action has no merit if the party has shown that one or more elements… cannot be established.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (p)(2).) Defendants meet their burden of proving plaintiff cannot est...

Excerpt: ...y, including the department, reasonable attorney's fees.” (Gov. Code, § 12965(c)(6).) Plaintiff is not entitled to attorney fees at this stage. She may later become the prevailing party, but for now she seeks interim fees based solely on her successful appeal. “Because FEHA does not define the term prevailing party, prevailing party status is determined in this context based on an evaluation of whether a party prevailed on a practical level....

Excerpt: ... to testify and produce documents if it failed to do so without having served a valid objection. (CCP § 2025.450(a).) Defendants concede they did not attend their depositions as noticed, though Murtaza and Applied Biomedical testified at deposition on September 12—nearly six weeks after plaintiff filed this motion. (Horton Decl., ¶ 4.) Plaintiff still seeks to complete their depositions. (Reply, p. 3.) Defense counsel states, “For a signifi...

Excerpt: ...sts for production, and requests for admission. When a party fails to timely respond to interrogatories or demands for inspection, the requesting party may move for an order compelling responses. (CCP §§ 2030.290(b) [interrogatories]; 2031.300(b) [demands for inspection].) Failure to timely respond waives any objections. (CCP §§ 2030.290(a); 2031.300(a).) There is no such motion for requests for admission. Instead, the Discovery Act provides ...

Excerpt: ...Bo Fleming to respond to special interrogatories, set one; form interrogatories – general, set one; and requests for production, set one. When a party fails to timely respond to interrogatories or demands for inspection, the requesting party may move for an order compelling responses. (CCP §§ 2030.290(b) [interrogatories]; 2031.300(b) [demands for inspection].) Failure to timely respond waives any objections. (CCP §§ 2030.290(a); 2031.300(a...

Excerpt: ...r v. Lightstorm Entertainment, Inc. (2016) 246 Cal.App.4th 1064, 1079.) The third amended complaint alleges promissory fraud, which requires “(1) the defendant made a representation of intent to perform some future action, i.e., the defendant made a promise, and (2) the defendant did not really have that intent at the time that the promise was made, i.e., the promise was false.” (Beckwith v. Dahl (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 1039, 1060 (Beckwith).)...

Excerpt: ...cial notice of four documents. Exhibits A through C are court records. Under Evidence Code section 452, subdivision (d)(1), the records are subject to judicial notice of their existence, contents, and legal effects, but not the truth of statements made therein. Exhibit D, plaintiff's administrative complaint filed with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing is an official act of the executive branch of the State of California subject to ju...

Excerpt: ...missed from this action. The motion is therefore moot as to the seventh cause of action. Plaintiff fails to allege sufficient facts for his sixth cause of action for fraudulent concealment. This cause of action requires that: (1) defendant omitted or concealed a material fact; (2) defendant had a duty to disclose the fact to plaintiff; (3) defendant intentionally omitted or concealed the fact with intent to defraud plaintiff; (4) plaintiff must h...

Excerpt: ...iff argues she never agreed to arbitration because she never received the Employment Dispute Resolution booklet. Even if plaintiff never received the booklet, she agreed to it by communicating her consent to defendant. “Contract formation is governed by objective manifestations, not the subjective intent of any individual involved. The test is what the outward manifestations of consent would lead a reasonable person to believe. ” ( Allen v. S...

Excerpt: ...ry Objections Plaintiff makes six objections to defendants' evidence. All six objections are overruled. Existence of Agreement First, plaintiff denies signing the arbitration agreement. The party moving to compel arbitration must establish the existence of a written arbitration agreement between the parties. (CCP § 1281.2.) It can meet the “initial burden to show an agreement to arbitrate by attaching a copy of the arbitration agreement purpor...

Excerpt: ...t. Plaintiff also moves for a fourth order: to proceed with this action under a fictitious name. 1. Sealing The court finds good cause to seal the certificates of merit. The general rules for sealing records “do not apply to records that are required to be kept confidential by law.” (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.550(a)(2).) Section 340.1, subdivision (i) provides that the court must review the certificates of merit in camera. (See also Cal. Ru...

Excerpt: ... Preliminary Injunction “In deciding whether to issue a preliminary injunction, a court must weigh two ‘interrelated' factors: (1) the likelihood that the moving party will ultimately prevail on the merits and (2) the relative interim harm to the parties from issuance or nonissuance of the injunction.” (Butt v. State of California (1992) 4 Cal.4th 668, 677–678 (Butt).) The second factor concerns “the comparative consequences of the issu...

Excerpt: ... 4 is overruled. Enforceability First, defendant argues the agreement is unenforceable because it requires the parties to split the costs of arbitration. “[W]ith respect to arbitration of statutory claims, the employee cannot be required ‘to bear any type of expense that the employee would not be required to bear if he or she were free to bring the action in court.' [Fn.] This means ‘the employer [must] pay all types of costs that are uniqu...

Excerpt: ...the Franchise Tax Board may not prosecute or defend an action. (Cal‐Western Business Services, Inc. v. Corning Capital Group (2013) 221 Cal.App.4th 304, 310.) Suspension R&H is currently suspended. R&H's counsel states the company “regained good standing with the California Secretary of State in late July 2022” (McCreary Decl., ¶ 4) and “was informed that it was back in good standing” on July 16, 2022 (Id., ¶ 5). Plaintiff rebuts thos...

Excerpt: ...ss Plaintiff contends this demurrer is untimely. It was timely filed on July 22, 2022. A demurrer must be filed “within 30 days after service of the complaint.” (CCP § 430.40(a).) As for defendant Shervin Mateen, plaintiff filed proof of service showing substituted service on June 21, 2022, with mailing on June 22. Substituted service “is deemed complete on the 10th day after the mailing.” (CCP § 415.20(b).) Shervin Mateen's 30-day dead...

Excerpt: ...tatute of frauds bars this cause of action. “An agreement authorizing or employing an agent, broker, or any other person to purchase or sell real estate … or to procure, introduce, or find a purchaser or seller of real estate… for compensation or a commission” must be “in writing and subscribed by the party to be charged or by the party's agent.” (Civ. Code, § 1624(a)(4).) “The procurement of a purchaser is not such performance as ...

Excerpt: ...el plaintiffs Zoriall LLC, Anne Kihagi, and Christina Mwangi to serve further responses to supplemental requests for production, set one, No. 1, which asks: Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2031.050, [each plaintiff/cross-defendant]is asked to review all requests for production of documents previously served on Responding Party by Starr, as well as the responses that were made to those requests and all documents previously produced, an...

Excerpt: ... employee if the employer “knows the employee is unfit, or has reason to believe the employee is unfit or fails to use reasonable care to discover the employee's unfitness.” (Juarez v. Boy Scouts of America, Inc. (2000) 81 Cal.App.4th 377, 395.) In cases involving sexual assault, courts look at whether the employer knew or should have known “the particular risk of molestation by an employee with a history of this specific conduct.” (Evan ...

Excerpt: ... failed to adequately meet and confer to informally resolve these motions. The court finds defendant made a sufficient effort to meet and confer. Plaintiffs' counsel states, “At no time after May 9, 2022, did Starr ever attempt to meet and confer regarding Plaintiffs' objections.” (McClain Decl., ¶ 15.) Starr's counsel, however, sent emails on May 19 and June 7 to meet and confer about these discovery requests. (McClain Decl., Ex. 9.) The at...

Excerpt: ...ent debtor to assign to the judgment creditor… all or part of a right to payment due or to become due, whether or not the right is conditioned on future developments.” Assignable payments include but are not limited to six enumerated types, including “[r]ents.” (CCP § 708.510(a)(2).) Judgment creditors have an unsatisfied judgment against judgment debtor Ninon Aprea. Aprea owns residential property at 727 N. Martel Ave., Los Angeles, CA ...

Excerpt: ... seeks to impose liability based on the alleged bias of the arbitrator or the sponsoring organization.” (Stasz v. Schwab (2004) 121 Cal.App.4th 420, 441.) “In determining whether absolute immunity applies to the conduct of a public or private arbitrator, the courts look at the nature of the duty performed [to determine] whether it is a judicial act.” (La Serena Properties, LLC v. Weisbach (2010) 186 Cal.App.4th 893, 901, internal quotes omi...

Excerpt: ...Anna Marie Pierotti, filed competing petitions to confirm or vacate an arbitration award. “If a petition or response under this chapter is duly served and filed, the court shall confirm the award as made, whether rendered in this state or another state, unless in accordance with this chapter it corrects the award and confirms it as corrected, vacates the award or dismisses the proceedings.” (CCP § 1286.) Courts have limited authority to vaca...

Excerpt: ...cient facts to constitute this cause of action. “The elements of a cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty are the existence of a fiduciary relationship, its breach, and damage proximately caused by that breach.” (Knox v. Dean (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 417, 432, internal quotes and citations omitted.) The first amended complaint alleges only the first element. It alleges defendants Kingdom Business Real Estate, Inc. and Rhee were plaintiff'...

Excerpt: ... settle and determine, as between the parties, all conflicting claims to the property in controversy, and to decree to each such interest or estate therein as he [or she] may be entitled to.' ” (Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Pyle (2017) 13 Cal.App.5th 513, 524 .) Quiet title concerns “adverse claims to the title of the plaintiff against which a determination is sought.” (CCP § 761.020(c).) The cross-complaint alleges no adverse or co...

Excerpt: ...tual Allegations Plaintiff alleges sufficient facts for this cause of action. Fraud by omission requires that: (1) defendant omitted or concealed a material fact; (2) defendant had a duty to disclose the fact to plaintiff; (3) defendant intentionally omitted or concealed the fact with intent to defraud plaintiff; (4) plaintiff must have been unaware of the fact and would have acted otherwise if he had known of the concealed fact; and (5) the omis...

Excerpt: ...auses of action. Defendant contends plaintiff alleges no actionable misrepresentation of fact. “[A]ctionable misrepresentations must pertain to past or existing material facts. … Statements or predictions regarding future events are deemed to be mere opinions which are not actionable.” (Cansino v. Bank of America (2014) 224 Cal.App.4th 1462, 1469.) General statements about quality are puffery and not actionable, unlike factual representatio...

Excerpt: ...d or due or asserted to be owed or due another.” (15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6).) The federal FDCPA thus “does not apply to creditors seeking to collect their own debts; however, the Rosenthal Act does.” ( Best v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC (2021) 64 Cal.App.5th 568, 279 Cal.Rptr.3d 69, 74; accord MacDermid v. Discover Financial Services (6th Cir. 2007) 488 F.3d 721, 734 [defendant “is clearly not a ‘debt collector'; rather, it is the very party...

Excerpt: ...case is currently set for jury trial in this Department on February 22, 2023, with an estimate of seven days. The Supervising Judge of the Civil Division may assign an action to a long cause trial department if the action will have “20 or more days of testimony.” (Local Rule 2.8(e).) The rule provides that the matter is assigned to the “Department where case is assigned, but may be transferred to the Supervising Judge of the Civil Division ...

Excerpt: ...ided as to him under Government Code § 68634(g). Uncertainty Plaintiffs' complaint is uncertain. A complaint is subject to a demurrer for uncertainty if it “is so incomprehensible that a defendant cannot reasonably respond.” (A.J. Fistes Corp. v. GDL Best Contractors, Inc. (2019) 38 Cal.App.5th 677, 695.) A complaint must sufficiently apprise defendants of the claims against them. (Ibid.) The complaint fails to apprise defendant Kuehl of the...

Excerpt: ... – general, and requests for production, set one. When a party fails to timely respond to interrogatories or demands for inspection, the requesting party may move for an order compelling responses. (CCP §§ 2030.290(b) [interrogatories]; 2031.300(b) [demands for inspection].) Failure to timely respond waives any objections. (CCP §§ 2030.290(a); 2031.300(a).) Defendant propounded these discovery requests on February 28, 2022. (Borkenheim Decl...

Excerpt: ...eir reply. Though the records are subject to judicial notice under Evidence Code section 452(c) as official acts of the government or under section 452(d)(1) as court records, none of the records are relevant or necessary to the court's analysis. (See Jordache Enterprises, Inc. v. Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison (1998) 18 Cal.4th 739, 748, fn. 6; Appel v. Superior Court (2013) 214 Cal.App.4th 329, 342, fn. 6.) All requests for judicial notice are den...

Excerpt: ...to Judicial Notice Plaintiff David Abbasi alleges that in 2008, he got his brother, defendant Sean Abbasi, to purchase real property for him. (Comp., ¶ 11.) Plaintiff “did not have enough credit to qualify for a loan,” so Sean got a loan and got title to the property in his name. (Ibid.) Plaintiff made all the payments on the home, and Sean agreed that plaintiff “would remain the true owner of the home.” (Ibid.) Plaintiff moved into the ...

Excerpt: ...dant.” (Bolkiah v. Superior Court (1999) 74 Cal.App.4th 984, 991.) Effective Service of Summons Plaintiff Olivia McCabe fails to meet her burden of proving valid service of process on defendant VMMP. “ ‘A summons is the process by which a court acquires personal jurisdiction over a defendant in a civil action' [citation], and a defendant has an absolute right to demand that process be issued against him in a manner prescribed by law.” (Ma...

Excerpt: ...nce with the demand is incomplete,” “[a] representation of inability to comply is inadequate, incomplete, or evasive,” or “[a]n objection in the response is without merit or too general.” (CCP § 2031.310(a).) Requests Regarding Affirmative Defenses Request Nos. 2, 5, 6, 10, 11, 15, and 16 ask about Shields' purported defenses to the cross-complaint. Shields relies on two arguments to support her objections to these requests. First, Shi...

Excerpt: ... 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 are overruled. Objection No. 5 is sustained for lack of relevance. Plaintiffs' seventh objection is to Nissan's request for judicial notice of an order by the Sacramento County Superior Court from 2016. Though the order is a court record subject to judicial notice under Evidence Code § 452(d), it is not relevant or necessary to the court's analysis. (See Jordache Enterprises, Inc. v. Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison (1998) 18 Cal.4...

Excerpt: ...n's opposition to the motion. “Presentation of extrinsic evidence is … not proper on a motion for judgment on the pleadings.” (Cloud v. Northrop Grumman Corp. (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 995, 999.) The declaration is an improper attempt to introduce extrinsic evidence. All five objections are sustained. Summary of the Complaint's Allegations This action primarily concerns commercial property at 6228 Fulton Avenue, Unit 108, Van Nuys, California 9...

Excerpt: ...ing served a valid objection. (CCP § 2025.450(a).) On April 4, 2022, plaintiff served a notice of defendant Porsche Cars North America, Inc.'s person(s) most qualified. (Galaviz Decl., ¶ 3, Ex. 1.) Defendant responded with numerous objections, but ultimately agreed to produce a witness on seven of nine matters of examination and to produce some documents in response to 10 out of 12 document requests. (Id., Exs. 5-6.) After meeting and conferrin...