Excerpt: ... the court, for settlement of the case, or part thereof, the court, may enter judgment pursuant to the terms of the settlement. . . . (b) For purposes of this section, a writing is signed by a party if it is signed by any of the following: (1) The party. (2) An attorney who represents the party. . . . In this case, the Court finds that the parties entered into a settlement agreement by virtue of an exchange of emails between the attorneys for the...

Excerpt: ...f the Notice is dated October 25, 2022. On November 9, 2022, the plaintiff filed and served his Notice of Intent to file a Motion for a New Trial. Plaintiff filed his Motion for a New trial on November 21, 2022. Plaintiff argues that the Court committed error by denying his Motion for a Directed Verdict on the grounds that all medical doctors that testified agreed that the plaintiff's injuries were caused by the subject accident. However, the def...

Excerpt: ...violations of the Lease Agreement between the parties dated November 10, 2017. SR PROPERTY claims that: 1) Chung has failed to show that the Lease agreement between the parties applies to an eviction case; and 2) that Chung has failed to show that the claimed fees are reasonable and necessary to the defense. [Opposition at 2 & 3.] The Court concludes that the first argument lacks merit, but will find that certain of the claimed fees either unnece...

Excerpt: ...ding that warrant a new trial. The Court has carefully reviewed the evidence submitted with the motion and the Opposition as well as the trial recordings cited by defendants in their moving papers. The Court finds that none of the alleged irregularities occurred or warranted a new trial and, thus, denies the motion. The Allegation that Defendants were found guilty of a misdemeanor Defendants claim that the Court found them guilty of a misdemeanor...

Excerpt: ...n judgment BAL secured against its tenant, the Observer, on April 23, 2003 awarding BAL possession and $25,000 for damages. That judgment was amended over the next year to add a total of $32,056.50. BAL served notice of all of the requests on the Observer. On January 23, 2013, BAL renewed its judgment against the Observer in the amount of $161,672.82. Notice of this was also served on the Observer. Ganezer admitted that he had signed the lease fo...

Excerpt: ...lars. Dr. Chen denied any liability at all times. Prior to trial on December 12, 2019, Dr. Chen made a C.C.P. 998 offer to settle the case for a payment to Mrs. Strader of $29,000 plus a waiver of costs. Mrs. Strader rejected that offer. After entry of the judgment, defendants filed their costs memorandum seeking $100,943.31. Mrs. Strader filed a motion to tax five categories of the claimed costs as follows: 1. Deposition costs in the amount of $...

Excerpt: ...ce that the plaintiffs' treating doctors came from attorney referral and the fact that those doctors treated on liens against any recovery in this action are highly relevant to the credibility of any treating doctors who referred by counsel and who treated on liens because they have a direct stake in the outcome of this litigation. Plaintiffs' MIL No. 2 – Exclude Evidence Plaintiffs Failed to Mitigate Their Damages By Not Treating Through insur...

Excerpt: ...f costs totalling $157,894.11. The items of costs in dispute are: 1) a filing fee for the pro haec vice admission of one of Pneum Abex' attorneys in the amount of $550; 2) $1,462.85 for the deposition costs of 3 witnesses; 3) witness fees for Pneumps Abex' experts in the amount of $101,202.70; 4) court reporters fees in the amount of $46,476.53; and 5) copying charges in the amount of $8,202.03. The Pro Haec Vice Fee The Court will allow the pro ...

Excerpt: ...on the ground that no evidence was presented that Hennessy actually incurred the costs. Alternatively, plaintiff seeks to tax $4,423.13 on the ground that certain depositions were not necessary. In its opposition, Hennessy provided evidence that it actually incurred all of the disputed costs. As for the issue of reasonable necessity, the Court largely agrees with Hennessy's claim that the depositions of Anderson, Chandler, Deem, Grill, Moscow, Mu...

Excerpt: ...ny allowed by the court in alleged violation of defendant's motion in limine No. 2. For the reasons set forth below, the court will deny both motions. Both motions are grounded in part on the alleged lack of sufficient evidence to allow the jury to find that Brookshire was a unlawful occupant of the subject property. Defendant relies on the facts that he and one other witness testified that he resided at another property at all relevant times, an...

Excerpt: ...osts to secure the signature of one of the defendants, David Rosson, on the verification to interrogatory answers in the amount of $506.80. The Court will grant the motion in part and deny it in part. With regard to the fee for service of process on Mario Ochoa, plaintiff argues that Mario Ochoa was served and had answered the First Amended Complaint before he was served with the cross-Complaint which is the subject of this motion. However, plain...

Excerpt: ...ant in this matter, but was later dismissed. Plaintiff argues that the Court erred by admitting evidence concerning the July accident and that it was error to permit certain testimony relating to medical records relating to the treatment received by plaintiff. The Court will deny the motion. With respect to the evidence concerning the July accident, plaintiff argues that certain Interrogatory Responses given by Rosson “unequivocably represented...

Excerpt: ...entered against the defendant in this matter. The defendant's attorneys deny they filed any document in bad faith or made misrepresentations to the Court. They also argue that sanctions are not authorized under C.C.P. sec. 128.5 due to procedural deficiencies in the moving papers and that the claimed attorneys' fees are excessive. The Court will grant the motion. THE FACTS The relevant events in this matter began with the entry of a judgment of e...

Excerpt: ...ration of Eugene Feldman in Support of Plaintiff's Memorandum of Costs on February14th by mail and email. The Court has received no response from the defendant to that Supplemental Declaration. The Declaration reduces the plaintiff's cost demand from $116,520.55 to $95,745.55, and details the basis for that claim as expert witness fees adequately documented and documents the basis for the $2,168.71 for exhibits and blowups used at trial. Since th...

Excerpt: ...Corona Family Trust (hereafter “the trustees”) based principally on the provisions of Labor Code sec. 2802. Duran was found by the jury in this matter to be an employee of the Cross-Complainants. Labor Code section 2802 provides in pertinent part: “An employer shall indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties . . .” The jury in ...

Excerpt: ...n to vacate the judgment. The Judgment in this case was entered on March 21, 2018 and the Notice of Entry of Judgment was mailed the same day. The court denied Su's Motion for a new trial on April 20, 2018. The Court denied Su's Motion for Reconsideration of that Order on June 15, 2018. C.C.P. section 663a provides that a party seeking to file a motion for a new trial must file a notice of intention do so within 15 days of mailing of the Notice o...

Excerpt: ...the ground that the Costs Memorandum was not supported by any invoices or other evidence that the claimed costs were reasonably necessary to the litigation. Indo's Opposition to the Motion argues that it was untimely because it had served the Costs Memorandum electronically pursuant to an agreement of the parties to accept electronic service as personal service. Indo also withdrew $39,139.63 from its claimed costs. After reviewing the Indo Opposi...

Excerpt: ...mony that he assumed the assets and liabilities of Imex when it ceased doing business in 2017. After reviewing the parties' papers concerning Hong's motion to vacate the judgment [1] as to him, the Court has concluded that it was in error by ordering entry of judgment against Hong based on the successor liability theory. There are several reasons for this conclusion. First, the successor liability theory was never plead and was not a part of the ...

Excerpt: ...n the substantial evidence presented that plaintiff suffered no injury related to the accident at issue in this case that would warrant future medical care. The court will deny the motion. The court will conclude that the evidence was sufficiently in conflict that the jury could reasonably have concluded that the plaintiff failed to meet his burden of proving that he was reasonable certain to suffer future pain and suffering. This case arises fro...

Excerpt: ...was tried to a jury resulting in a verdict for the plaintiff in the amount of $477,073.64 on May 14, 2018. The jury's verdict was based in part on a finding that the Defendant had violated the California Building Code, (Defendant's Motion, Exh. A at 2.) and that violation was a substantial factor in causing plaintiff's injuries. The finding of Building Code violation was necessary in order for the plaintiff to prevail because she had signed a Rel...

Excerpt: ...ney's fees to the prevailing party. However, the Plaintiff points out that after Defendant's motion was filed and served, Plaintiff's counsel offered on two separate occasions to pay the sum of $500, if the Defendant would accept “. . . $500 demanded in attorneys' fees and costs as full and complete payment for the above referenced case.” Plaintiff asked only that the motion be taken off calendar so Plaintiff would not have to file an opposit...

Excerpt: ... declined Defendants' two C.C.P. sec. 998 offers to settle the case. The Court found that both offers were reasonable. Defendants subsequently filed their costs memorandum seeking costs in the amount of $112,588. Plaintiff now moves to tax those costs principally on the ground that, in his view, neither of defendants' 998 offers were reasonable at the time made. Plaintiff also challenges specific items of costs sought by Defendants. The Court wil...

Excerpt: ... to be Vista Associates). Mr. Camacho slipped on and fell backwards on the stairway hitting his head on a door at the bottom of the stairs, and claimed permanent traumatic brain injury resulting from the fall. Plaintiff now seeks a new trial on the issue of damages asserting 15 separate grounds of error in the trial proceedings. Plaintiff also suggests an additur of $1,000,000, broken down as $500,000 for loss of earnings capacity by the plaintif...

Excerpt: ... offer were token and made in bad faith, and, alternatively, that the expert costs claimed by defendant are excessive. Plaintiff also seeks to tax certain filing fees claims, service of process claims, a video tape preparation claim and parking costs. Accordingly. Plaintiff argues that, at a minimum, the expert witness costs should be dramatically curtailed so as not to punish the plaintiff. THE FACTS Plaintiff brought this action seeking damages...

Excerpt: ....C.P. sec. 629.] Plaintiff's argument hinges on the resolution of conflicting versions of the testimony of the defense medical expert, Dr. Weinstein, and the relevance of the testimony of the defense bio‐mechanical expert, Dr. Peter Burkhardt. The Court will find that, contrary to plaintiff's claim. Dr. Weinstein did not admit that plaintiff was injured in the subject accident. Instead, as demonstrated by defendant, Dr. Weinstein only said that...

Excerpt: ...y, the section only prohibits “. . . unreasonable or arbitrary limits.” [C.C.P. sec. 222.5(b)(2). The Court does have discretion to impose reasonable time limits on voir dire and set the scope of the questioning. [Cal. Practice Guide: Civil Trials and Evidence: 5:183; People v. Wright (1990) 52 Cal.3d 367, 419.] Subsection (d) of 222.5 expressly authorizes mini‐openings upon request. Accordingly, the Court will allow them I counsel wish to ...

Excerpt: ...bad faith, and, alternatively, that the expert costs claimed by defendant are excessive. Accordingly. Plaintiff argues that, at a minimum, the expert witness costs should be dramatically curtailed so as not to punish the plaintiff. The plaintiff also argues that the defendant's failure to provide invoices for most of the claimed costs render them unrecoverable. THE FACTS Plaintiff brought this action seeking damages resulting from a relatively lo...

Excerpt: ...is hands and wrists the plaintiff claimed to have suffered on the day of the accident, November 25, 2013. The plaintiff presented no claim to the jury for property damages to his vehicle allegedly caused by the accident. All of the plaintiff's medical evidence related to the claim of permanent injury to the plaintiff arising from an alleged herniated disc suffered during the accident, for which symptoms were first notice by plaintiff some six (6)...