Excerpt: ...ating she was not available on the unilaterally selected date; the objection also included objections to some of the four categories of documents demanded in the notice of deposition. On 6/11/18, 6/15/18, 6/20/18, 6/22/18, and 7/10/18, Plaintiff attempted to meet and confer to ask for deposition dates. Defendant corresponded on 6/21/18 and 7/12/18, both times indicating an intention to provide dates, but never actually providing dates. On 7/16/18...

Excerpt: ... filed a cross-complaint against Arctic and Union Ice. On 7/27/12, Arctic and Union Ice filed a Notice of Stay of Proceedings because they had commenced bankruptcy proceedings. On 6/06/13, Plaintiff dismissed Arctic; she has not, to date, dismissed Union Ice. None of the cross-complaints have been dismissed. 2. Motion to Dismiss a. Initial Note Defendant originally scheduled this motion to be heard on 4/24/18. The Court issued a detailed tentativ...

Excerpt: ... 2018, plaintiff Isabel Lopez Hernandez (“Plaintiff”) filed this action against City of Los Angeles (“City”), Samuel Martin and Does 1 through 50 alleging causes of action for (1) motor vehicle and general negligence. On May 23, 2018, Plaintiff filed a first amended complaint (“FAC”). The first cause of action alleges the City and Samuel Martin operated, owned, employed the person who operated, and entrusted the vehicle and were the a...

Excerpt: ... 1 through 20 alleging causes of action for motor vehicle and general negligence. The complaint alleges that on January 22, 2016, at State Route 91 near Pioneer Blvd. Artesia, California, the defendants negligently owned, operated, maintained, entrusted and drove a vehicle thereby causing special and general damages to Cowan. (Complaint pp.4-5.) On July 3, 2018, Gaspar filed a demurrer to the complaint on the ground that it is barred by the doctr...

Excerpt: ...ing out of a two-vehicle accident. Plaintiff was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Abdi and owned by Taxi when the vehicle collided with a vehicle driven by Cua. Abdi is in default. Taxi argues the accident was caused mostly by Cua failing to yield the right of way. Cua argues Abdi contributed to the accident by driving well in excess of the speed limit, and also argues Plaintiff contributed to his own injuries by failing to wear a seat belt. 2....

Excerpt: ...be amended to state a viable claim against Allstate Insurance Company. I. Background Facts On April 4, 2018, plaintiff Kathy Sakuma Fukumoto (“Plaintiff”), in pro per, filed a form complaint against defendants Yan Cheng (“Cheng”), Allstate Insurance Company (“Allstate”) and Does 1 to 10 alleging a single cause of action for motor vehicle negligence. The complaint alleges that on April 5, 2016, when Plaintiff was stopped at a red light...

Excerpt: ... moves to strike the prayer for punitive damages and related supporting allegations. Plaintiff bases the prayer for punitive damages on the allegation that Defendant, at the time of the accident, was using a cell phone without a hands-free device. Civil Code §3294 authorizes the recovery of punitive damages in non-contract cases “where the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud, or malice, express or implied . . . .” “Malice” is ...

Excerpt: ...iff has not filed Doe Amendments naming Teri Yoshitake, M.D. and/or Jennifer Guerra, P.A. as defendants in the action. She did, however, file proof of service of the summons and complaint on Yoshitake and Guerra on 6/15/18, showing they were served by substitute service on 5/15/18. In May and June 2018 Plaintiff's Counsel sent faxes to Defendants' Counsel inquiring about depo dates for the deponents involved in this motion. Defense Counsel replie...

Excerpt: ...s condition in her apartment. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges she tripped and fell due to a nail sticking out of a transition strip on the floor separating her entryway from her living room. Plaintiff brought suit for premises liability and negligence. On 3/13/18, the Court heard and granted Defendants' motion for summary judgment on the ground that Defendants lacked notice of the nail protruding from the transition strip in the apartment. On 5/2...

Excerpt: ...urred on 4/07/16. Plaintiff's complaint includes a sole cause of action for motor vehicle negligence, and seeks to hold Defendant liable for (a) operation of a motor vehicle, (b) employment of persons (c) operating the vehicle, (d) ownership of the vehicle, (e) entrustment of the vehicle, and (f) “other reasons.” On 1/20/17, the Court granted Defendant's motion to strike the portions of the complaint seeking damages for entrustment of the veh...

Excerpt: ...ed his complaint 8/16/16. Plaintiff filed proof of service of the summons and complaint on Defendants. Plaintiff sought entry of default against them on 12/29/17, but the Clerk rejected the request as premature. The case was scheduled for an FSC on 1/30/18 and trial on 2/16/18. Plaintiff did not appear at the FSC or the trial, and on 2/16/18, the Court dismissed the case. 2. Motion to Set Aside Dismissal On 7/10/18, Plaintiff filed the instant mo...

Excerpt: ...responses. Defendants seek an order requiring Plaintiffs to pay additional sanctions at this time. Defendants' motion is denied. Sanctions orders are enforceable as money judgments unless the court orders otherwise. Thus, the remedy to enforce payment of monetary sanctions is to obtain and levy a writ of execution on assets of the debtor. Newland v. Superior Court (1995) 40 Cal.App.4th 608, 615. Notably, issue and/or evidentiary sanctions are ava...

Excerpt: ...ip and fall on a public sidewalk adjacent to Mukssood's property. Plaintiff was a tenant at the property at the time she fell. Plaintiff's judicial council form complaint contains scant details concerning the cause of the fall or the fall itself, merely alleging that a defect on the City's sidewalk near the Mukssood defendants' property caused her to fall, and Defendants were responsible in some way for the defect. 2. Motion for Summary Judgment ...

Excerpt: ...P §2032.310(a) requires a party who wishes to conduct a mental health examination to obtain leave of court prior to doing so. The noticed motion must show good cause for the examination. Plaintiff concedes, in opposition to the motion, that a mental examination is proper; of note, Plaintiff concedes she seeks damages for emotional distress including adjustment disorder, depression, anxiety, nightmares/flashback, and memory/concentration deficien...

Excerpt: ... fall. Plaintiff alleges Defendants failed to properly inspect and maintain the floor, causing Plaintiff to slip on grapes on the floor. The complaint asserts causes of action for 1) negligence and 2) premises liability. Defendant Food 4 Less brings this opposed motion for summary judgment against Plaintiff. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD Summary judgment is proper “if all the papers submitted show that there is no triable issue as to any material f...

Excerpt: ...ntiff Simon Seo (“Plaintiff”) filed his Complaint against defendant Pacific Land Builders, Inc. (“Defendant”), alleging causes of action for (1) Negligence and (2) Negligence Per Se. On December 6, 2016, Plaintiff filed an amendment to the Complaint substituting defendant Home of Christians, Los Angeles, Inc. for Doe 1 wherever it appears in the Complaint. Plaintiff alleges that, on September 4, 2014, he was injured when an air conditioni...

Excerpt: ...e. Plaintiff, Kaela Khosrand-Mashhadi, a minor by and through her GAL, Jennifer M. Simon, filed this action against Defendants for damages arising out of an automobile accident. Plaintiff sustained neck and back injuries, and subsequently ruptured her appendix. Plaintiff has recovered completely from the injuries as a result of the accident. Plaintiff, by and through her GAL and attorney, has agreed to settle his action with Defendants for the to...

Excerpt: ... to recover personal injury damages arising from a two-vehicle collision. On May 24, 2018, the Court dismissed without prejudice the complaint due to Counsel's failure to submit Default Judgment after several continuances. Plaintiff brings this unopposed motion to vacate dismissal based on attorney's mistake or negligence. LEGAL STANDARD Code of Civil Procedure section 473, subdivision (b) states, in part: The court shall, whenever an application...

Excerpt: ...s filed motions to strike portions of Plaintiff's complaint. On 5/16/18, Plaintiff filed opposition to the motions. On 6/01/18, the Court continued the hearing on the motion to strike to require the parties to meet and confer, as they had failed to do so prior to the original hearing on the motion. 2. Hearing on Continued Motion to Strike At this time, the sole issue remaining between the parties is whether Plaintiff's prayer for punitive damages...

Excerpt: ...strikes paragraph 3 (page 5, line 13) of the prayer for relief of the complaint wherein Plaintiff prays for “prejudgment and”. Defendant shall file an answer within 15 days. On February 20, 2018, plaintiff Armando Camarena (“Plaintiff”) filed a complaint against defendant Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (“Defendant”) consisting of one cause of action for personal injuries sustained based on violation of Govern...

Excerpt: ...ng from an accident with a sharp, knife-like cutting device. Plaintiff alleges Han, an employee of Do Best America, instructed him to retrieve an equipment from storage without notifying Plaintiff that the equipment was to be handled with extreme care. Plaintiff alleges he sustained sharp lacerations to his left hand, specifically, the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and small finger. Plaintiff alleges 1) negligence, 2) failure to secur...

Excerpt: ...ents on Defendant on January 5, 2018. Defendant served verified responses on February 8, 2018, objecting to Request No. 8 on grounds that the request violates the attorney/client and/or attorney work product doctrine and is overbroad in scope and time. The parties engaged in an Informal Discovery Conference on May 1, 2018, but were unable to resolve the issues. Plaintiff subsequently filed this motion to compel on June 13, 2018. The Court notes t...

Excerpt: ...motional Distress is SUSTAINED with fifteen days' leave to amend. The Motion to Strike the third cause of action is MOOT. The motion to strike the allegations of and the prayer for economic losses as to plaintiff Shulamit Abezis is GRANTED without leave to amend. I. Background On April 25, 2018, plaintiffs Salomon Abezis and Shulamit Abezis (jointly “Plaintiffs”) filed this action against defendants Providence Tarzana Medical Center, Tarzana ...

Excerpt: ...amend is granted. I. Background On February 23, 2018, plaintiff Marilyn Hernandez (“Plaintiff”) filed this action against Sepi Fatahi D.D.S. (“Fatahi”), Children's Dental Funzone (“Funzone”) and Does 1 through 10 alleging medical negligence. The complaint in relevant part alleges the following: 1) On February 26, 2016, the defendants negligently provided Plaintiff with dental care and treatment. (Complaint ¶ 1); 2) During the dental ...

Excerpt: ..., Defendant moves to continue trial. Defendant provides evidence that Plaintiff was dilatory in responding to discovery, and Plaintiff only recently revealed that she is seeking to recover for neurological injuries in connection with the accident. The Court finds Defendant made an adequate showing that additional time to prepare for trial is necessary in light of this tardy discovery is necessary. Of note, the trial has been continued twice previ...