Excerpt: ...) quiet title; (4) breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty; (5) fraud; and (6) violation of Business and Professions Code section 17200. The actions pertain to plaintiff's agreement with Sunrise to secure refinancing of loans plaintiff had with other lenders. The trial was held in two phases. On 8/7/17, the Court found that plaintiff's cause of action for breach of oral contract was barred by the statute of limitations and that neither eq...

Excerpt: ...; (2) common counts; (3) negligence; (4) strict products liability; (5) breach of implied warranty; and (6) restitution. ANALYSIS: Defendant Marlite, Inc. demurs to the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth causes of action in plaintiff's First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) on the grounds that each fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. Additionally, defendant demurs to the fifth cause of action for breach of implied warranty ...

Excerpt: ...r for: (1) breach of contract; (2) goods sold and delivered; (3) account stated; (4) open book account; and (5) promissory fraud. Julian filed a cross-complaint on 9/8/16 against plaintiff and Ori Hofmekler. Julian filed a first amended cross-complaint on 11/14/16 against plaintiff, Hofmekler, Eagle Mist Corporation, and Sapphire for: (1) breach of contract; (2) breach of contract; (3) specific performance; (4) damages for rejection of defective ...

Excerpt: ...tion; (5) negligent infliction of emotional distress; and (6) intentional infliction of emotional distress. ANALYSIS: Defendants move for an order imposing both monetary and terminating sanctions upon plaintiff for failing to attend a scheduled deposition on at least ten separate occasions. Code of Civil Procedure section 2023.030 gives the court the discretion to impose sanctions against anyone engaging in a misuse of the discovery process. A co...

Excerpt: ... the discovery on December 5, 2017. Apparently defense counsel did not receive the responses because on December 13, 2017, defense counsel emailed plaintiff's counsel inquiring about the lack of responses. Plaintiff's counsel apparently did not respond to the email. (Keane Declaration, ¶¶ 6, 7.) These motions were not filed until January 9, 2018. Had plaintiff's counsel simply responded to the email, this motion would have been unnecessary. BAC...

Excerpt: ...ise; (3) negligent misrepresentation; and (4) fraudulent transfer. Plaintiff is a forensic accounting firm that performed work in connection with an unrelated litigation matter. Plaintiff was not paid by their client, Laura Bell, for their work in that case. Plaintiff now alleges that Bell conspired with the Defendants in this action to conceal her money in an effort to avoid paying for the services. ANALYSIS: Effective 1/1/16, Code of Civil Proc...

Excerpt: ...ice to defendants despite the fact that they are entitled to arbitration. The court would be interested in hearing from the parties regarding this issue. BACKGROUND: Plaintiff commenced this action on 12/08/17 against defendants for: (1) promissory estoppel; (2) breach of oral contract; and (3) quantum meruit. This action concerns an attorney fee dispute. Plaintiff represented non-party Beulah Deitch in a financial elder abuse case concerning Mrs...

Excerpt: ... are scheduled to be heard by the Court during the next week. Defendant accuses plaintiff of simply cutting-and-pasting the same motion to compel five times, and seeks sanctions against plaintiff. Defendant is correct – plaintiff has basically filed the same motion five times against each of five defendants. But defendants have also cut-and-pasted virtually identical oppositions to all five motions. In fact, in defendants' cut-and-paste, defens...

Excerpt: ...s entirety on the ground that the first cause of action for Private Attorney General Act violations fails to state sufficient facts to sustain a cause of action. Plaintiff brought this action as a Private Attorney General Action pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2698 et seq on behalf of himself and other current and former employees of defendants. (FAC ¶ 127.) The complaint alleges violations of Labor Code sections §§ 201, 202, 203, ...

Excerpt: ...d the act by selling certain antacid products which expose consumers to cadmium without providing a clear and reasonable warning. Plaintiff now seeks leave to file a Second Amended Complaint. ANALYSIS: Plaintiff seeks leave to file a Second Amended Complaint which adds the allegations contained in three 60-day Notices of Intent to Sue that plaintiff served on various manufacturers of the antacids on 09/27/17. Under California Rules of Court rule ...

Excerpt: ...) breach of contract; (2) promissory fraud; (3) promissory estoppel; (4) quantum meruit; and (5) declaratory relief. ANALYSIS: Defendant requests to admit Jason R. Outlaw and John L. Latham to appear as counsel pro hac vice on his behalf. Under California Rules of Court, rule 9.40(a), [a] person who is not a member of the State Bar of California but who is a member in good standing of and eligible to practice before the bar of any United States c...

Excerpt: ...missal of the case was set for July 19, 2016 in Dept. 25. On July 19, 2016, Defendant Muhammad requested that the OSC be continued until October 11, 2016 so that defendant could determine whether he wished to file a motion. The Court granted Defendant Muhammad's request and continued the OSC re Dismissal to October 11, 2016 in Dept. 25. On August 9, 2016, the case was dismissed with prejudice. Also on August 9, 2016, the OSC re Dismissal, that ha...

Excerpt: ...t days before the hearing. . . .However, if the notice is served by mail, the required 16-day period of notice before the hearing shall be increased by five calendar days if the place of mailing and the place of address are within the State of California.” (Code Civ. Proc. § 1005, subd. (b). Plaintiff served the instant motion by mail on 01/05/18 and the hearing is scheduled for 02/01/18. Taking into account a court holiday, 01/09/18 was 16 co...

Excerpt: ...both trials, an imposter appeared and claimed to be Burdette. On both occasions, the Judges declined to act on plaintiff's claims that the defendant was an imposter. ANALYSIS: Plaintiff argues that she has been defamed by both defendants because they declined to take action based on her claims that an imposter had appeared in the place of the defendant. (See Complaint, p. 4.) At the trial on June 15, 2017, defendant Judge Frank allegedly told pla...

Excerpt: ...t for: (1) breach of written contract; (2) negligence; (3) negligent infliction of emotional distress; (4) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (5) breach of duty of disclosure; (6) fraudulent concealment; (7) constructive eviction; (8) unjust enrichment; and (9) breach of the implied warranty of habitability. The action pertains to defendant's alleged failure, as landlords, to maintain a safe and habitable premises and to remedy substan...

Excerpt: ... action. Plaintiffs have withdrawn their second cause of action. BACKGROUND: Plaintiffs commenced this action on 04/24/17. On 10/30/17, plaintiffs filed their First Amended Complaint against defendants for: (1) conversion; (2) breach of constructive trust; (3) negligence (against Wells Fargo); (4) negligence (against Fidelity National Title Company, Caliber Home Loans, Keller Williams Realty, Inc. and DTLA Real Estate, Inc.; (5) negligence (again...

Excerpt: ...sel have previously litigated numerous Lemon Law cases, and have previously negotiated protective orders. Plaintiff has not opposed this motion. Therefore, the Court can only assume that plaintiff does not oppose the motion. In that case, the Court wonders why plaintiff did not simply agree to the proposed protective order. Such professional cooperation would have saved defense several thousand dollars in attorney's fees and would have saved the ...

Excerpt: ...uiet title; (4) breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty; (5) fraud; and (6) violation of Business and Professions Code section 17200. The actions pertain to plaintiff's agreement with Sunrise to secure refinancing of loans plaintiff had with other lenders. The trial was held in two phases. On 8/7/17, the Court found that plaintiff's cause of action for breach of oral contract was barred by the statute of limitations and that neither equit...

Excerpt: ...ndants for: (1) failure to pay wages; (2) failure to pay minimum wage; (3) failure to pay overtime compensation; (4) failure to provide rest period breaks; (5) failure to pay split shift premium; (6) failure to provide itemized wage statements; (7) failure to provide employment records; (8) violation of Business and Professions Code § 17200; (9) failure to pay termination pay; and (10) conversion. ANALYSIS: Defendant moves to compel plaintiff to...

Excerpt: ... meal periods; (3) failure to provide rest periods; (4) waiting time penalties; (5) failure to provide accurate itemized wage statements; (6) unfair business practices. ANALYSIS: An attorney moving to be relieved as counsel under California Code of Civil Procedure section 284(2) must meet the requirements set out in California Rules of Court, rule 3.1362. To comply with rule 3.1362, the moving party must submit the following forms: (1) Notice of ...

Excerpt: ...ice of Settlement was filed on 8/4/17 and the Court dismissed the case on 10/10/17. ANALYSIS: Defendant moves to strike plaintiff's memorandum of costs on the ground that it is untimely. In the alternative, defendant moves pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1033.5 to tax items 4, 8, 12, and 13 from plaintiff's memorandum of costs. Timeliness After judgment is entered, the prevailing party “who claims costs must serve and file a memoran...

Excerpt: ...ndants for: (1) failure to pay wages; (2) failure to pay minimum wage; (3) failure to pay overtime compensation; (4) failure to provide rest period breaks; (5) failure to pay split shift premium; (6) failure to provide itemized wage statements; (7) failure to provide employment records; (8) violation of Business and Professions Code § 17200; (9) failure to pay termination pay; and (10) conversion. ANALYSIS: Defendant moves to compel plaintiff to...

Excerpt: ...efendants for: (1) conversion; (2) breach of constructive trust; (3) negligence (against Wells Fargo); (4) negligence (against Fidelity National Title Company, Caliber Home Loans, Keller Williams Realty, Inc. and DTLA Real Estate, Inc.; (5) negligence (against Bank of America); (6) conversion; and (7) fraud. ANALYSIS: Effective 1/1/16, Code of Civil Procedure section 430.41 provides, in relevant part: (a) Before filing a demurrer pursuant to this...

Excerpt: ...16 against defendants for: (1) breach of written contract; (2) intentional interference with prospective economic advantage; (3) negligent interference with prospective economic advantage; (4) intentional misrepresentation; and (5) quantum meruit. After a Court Trial on 09/20/17, the Court entered judgment in favor of plaintiff in the amount of $304,000.00 (See Judgment of 10/24/17.) The Judgment provides that plaintiff may recover attorney fees ...

Excerpt: ...(3) open book account; and (4) goods sold and delivered. Defendant filed a cross-complaint 05/09/16 and then filed a first amended cross-complaint on 08/10/16 against plaintiff for: (1) breach of contract; and (2) breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. ANALYSIS: An attorney moving to be relieved as counsel under California Code of Civil Procedure section 284(2) must meet the requirements set out in California Rules of Court, rule ...

Excerpt: ...l act[] of the legislative, executive, and judicial department” of the State. (Evid. Code § 452, subd. (d).) However, the document submitted by plaintiffs is irrelevant to the instant action. In fact, it is not even referred to in Plaintiff's Memorandum of Points and Authorities. The Court can only conclude that it was submitted purely for its prejudicial value, and would caution defense counsel about the submission of irrelevant materials in ...

Excerpt: ...to act as the prime contractor on a construction project. Plaintiff alleges that defendant has failed to pay plaintiff for its services rendered under the contract. PRELIMINARY COMMENTS: This is the second attempt by plaintiff to have the Court stay these proceedings and order arbitration. On October 11, 2017 – the same day it filed this lawsuit – plaintiff filed an application to stay the proceedings. In violation of the California Rules of ...

Excerpt: ...tured by defendants and that the vehicle was defective. The parties reached a settlement and the Court dismissed the cases pursuant to Code of Civil Procedures section 664.6 on 10/30/17. ANALYSIS: Plaintiff moves for an order awarding them their attorney's fees in the amount of $86,182.50 and costs in the amount of $5,303.83. Attorney Fees Costs and expenses, including attorney's fees, may be recovered by a prevailing buyer under the Song-Beverly...

Excerpt: ...On 08/11/17, plaintiff filed a notice of related cases. On 10/12/17, this Court concluded that the instant action is related to two others: Boswell Construction Inc. v. Condren(BC666058) and Calportland Company dba Catalina Pacific Concrete v. Condren(17STLC02569). Default was entered in the instant action against defendant Colin Condren on 10/12/17. ANALYSIS: Defendant moves the Court to set aside the default entered against him on 10/12/17 purs...

Excerpt: ...Corporations Code sections 17701.10 and 17702.09; (2) violation of Trade Secrets Act; and (3) unfair competition. Plaintiff and defendants are members of Tatsu Ramen LLC. Plaintiff alleges that defendants divulged confidential information of Tatsu to competitors as part of a secret consulting business. Defendant Tatsunori Yanagi filed a Cross-Complaint against Tom Nadeau and Tatsu Ramen, LLC on 8/18/17 for: (1) breach of contract; (2) unpaid wage...

Excerpt: ...laratory relief. Plaintiff alleges that on 3/3/08 it had a written contract of insurance with defendant which provided for insurance of plaintiff's business, including for indemnity and defense of claims against plaintiff. (Compl., ¶ 8.) The policy coverage period was from 3/3/08 through 3/3/09. (Ibid.) In 2014, claims were filed against plaintiff that were insurable and covered claims under the insurance contract which related to alleged conduc...

Excerpt: ...riminal conspiracy to arrest him for crimes that he did not commit and listed 20 causes of action without further allegations. The Court sustained defendant's demurrer and granted leave for plaintiff to file a First Amended Complaint. Plaintiff filed his first amended complaint on 11/13/17. Plaintiff subsequently filed three additional documents, all entitled “First Amended Complaint,” on 11/17/17, 11/20/17, and 12/01/17. ANALYSIS: Demurrer D...

Excerpt: ... her son, decedent Olivia Ortiz-Garcia began to experience symptoms consistent with a stroke. (FAC ¶¶ 16–18.) Olivia received surgical treatment but nevertheless fell into a coma and passed away over a year later. (Id. at ¶¶ 19–22.) Amongst the defendants in this action are the doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals who allegedly failed to provide Olivia with adequate, life-saving treatment. Moving defendant, Homa Karimi, M.D. w...

Excerpt: ...nt based on marital status; (6) retaliation; (7) failure to prevent discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; (8) breach of express oral contract not to terminate employment without good cause; (9) breach of implied-in-fact contract not to terminate employment without good cause; (10) wrongful termination of employment in violation of public policy; (11) violation of labor code § 1102.5; and (12) intentional infliction of emotional distress. ...

Excerpt: ...riminal conspiracy to arrest him for crimes that he did not commit and listed 20 causes of action without further allegations. The Court sustained defendant's demurrer and granted leave for plaintiff to file a First Amended Complaint. Plaintiff filed his first amended complaint on 11/13/17. Plaintiff subsequently filed three additional documents, all entitled “First Amended Complaint,” on 11/17/17, 11/20/17, and 12/01/17. ANALYSIS: Demurrer D...

Excerpt: ...assment based on sex; and (4) failure to prevent discrimination and harassment. On 10/6/17, a jury found in favor of Plaintiff on her causes of action for retaliation and failure to prevent discrimination and harassment against the County of Los Angeles and awarded $62,127.20. The Court awarded plaintiff attorney's fees in the amount of $687,000.00 on 12/07/17. ANALYSIS: Defendant moves to tax plaintiff's request for deposition costs and “other...

Excerpt: ... requests for admission is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Defendant is order to provide code-compliant responses to requests for admission 1–3 and 21. The Court imposes sanctions against defendant in the amount of $3,120.00 BACKGROUND: Plaintiff commenced this action on 9/10/12 against defendant for retaliation (FEHA). On 4/7/14, the Court granted defendant's motion for summary judgment. Judgment was entered on 4/22/14. Plaintiff thereafte...

Excerpt: ...inst defendants for: (1) negligence; (2) injuries to employee within the scope of employment; (3) negligent supervision; (4) negligent hiring/retention; (5) IIED; (6) sexual battery; (7) battery; (8) assault; (9) sexual harassment; (10) gender violence; (11) false imprisonment; (12) negligent sexual abuse; and (13) Civil Code section 51.7. Plaintiff was a student at a college within defendant LACCD's district and alleges that she was sexually ass...

Excerpt: ...ood Faith and Fair Dealing. Kostanian suffered injuries in a car accident caused by co-plaintiff Zavala. Zavala was insured by Defendant at the time of the accident. Previously, Kostanian sued Zavala for personal injuries resulting from the accident and received a judgment in excess of $5 million. In accordance with Zavala's policy limits, Defendant paid Kostanian $100,000. The remainder of the judgment remains unpaid. Zavala has since assigned h...

Excerpt: ...: An attorney moving to be relieved as counsel under California Code of Civil Procedure section 284(2) must meet the requirements set out in California Rules of Court, rule 3.1362. To comply with rule 3.1362, the moving party must submit the following forms: (1) Notice of Motion and Motion to be Relieved as Counsel; (2) Declaration in Support of Attorney's Motion to be Relieved as Counsel; and (3) Order Granting Attorney's Motion to be Relieved a...

Excerpt: ...swer Form Interrogatories (Set One) or if plaintiff additionally seeks to deem admitted the Requests for Admission. The Motion is captioned, “Plaintiff's Notice of Motion and Motion for an Order Compelling Answers to Interrogatories and for Monetary Sanctions.” (See Motion, p. 1.) However, the body of the Notice advises that plaintiff “move[s] the court for an order compelling defendant Mark Concepcion to answer the follow interrogatories: ...

Excerpt: ...inst defendants for: (1) breach of contract; (2) breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing; (3) wrongful termination; (4) violation of the California Constitution; (5) violation of Gov. Code § 12900, et seq; (6) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (7) violation of Business & Professions Code § 17200; (8) fraud, negligent misrepresentation, concealment; and (9) violation of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act. ANALYSIS: Demurre...

Excerpt: ... and (6) violation of Business and Professions Code section 17200. The actions pertain to plaintiff's agreement with Sunrise to secure refinancing of loans plaintiff had with other lenders. The trial was held in two phases. On 8/7/17, the Court found that plaintiff's cause of action for breach of oral contract was barred by the statute of limitations and that neither equitable tolling nor equitable estoppel apply. On 11/15/17, the Court granted d...

Excerpt: ...ssor-in-interest to Joan Marie Johnson, a former member of a musical group called the Dixie Cups and a co-writer of the song “Iko Iko.” In 1984, plaintiff contracted with Johnson to provide assistance in pursuing and recovering royalties due to her for the song. Plaintiff performed under the agreement and secured payment of royalties, of which plaintiff was to collect a 50% contingency fee share. In a separate agreement — the “Windswept A...

Excerpt: ...fendant disputes that he is responsible for the debt. ANALYSIS: As an initial matter, the Court notes that although plaintiff moves for summary adjudication of individual causes of action, plaintiff's motion and separate statement are not procedurally proper. "If summary adjudication is sought, whether separately or as an alternative to the motion for summary judgment, the specific cause of action, affirmative defense, claims for damages, or issu...

Excerpt: ... this action on 2/25/16. Plaintiffs filed a fourth amended complaint (“4AC”) on 8/31/17 against defendants for: (1) violation of professional standards; (2) fraud; (3) conspiracy to commit fraud; (4) securities fraud; (5) negligence; and (6) securities fraud. In August 2007 defendant Brett Moody, acting on behalf of Moody S, purchased a hotel in New Jersey. (4AC ¶ 31.) Moody established a series of LLCs for which it held shares of interests ...

Excerpt: ...tiff's ex parte motion to file exhibits provisionally under seal and advised plaintiff that he would need to file a noticed motion in order to obtain an order permanently sealing the exhibits. ANALYSIS: Plaintiff seeks to seal Exhibits A, B, and E. Exhibits A and B consist of medical records identifying plaintiff's diagnosis and detailing why he was placed on medical leave in late 2015. Exhibit E is a letter from the County denying Petitioner's a...

Excerpt: ...t on 7/12/14. Plaintiff alleges that it has been damaged in the sum of $28,946.27. Default judgment was entered on 7/19/17 as to “Vncent DeVille.” On 10/24/17, the Court concluded that although no default or judgment had been entered as to Vincent Deville, it was clear that defendant had always been aware that he had been erroneously sued as “Vncent DeVille.” The Court therefore decided to correct the previous default and judgment. ANALYS...

Excerpt: ...iling was a result of mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. Counsel declares that she mistakenly believed that this motion was scheduled to be heard on 1/24/18, which is when a demurrer in the same case is scheduled to be heard. (Savarese Decl. ¶ 2.) The Court concludes that counsel's mistake is excusable and that the prompt submission of the opposition to both the Court and to opposing counsel will not result in substantial pre...

Excerpt: ...pposition to Wells Fargo's motion to compel initial to its special interrogatories (set one).” (Opposition, p.2:1-3.) Not surprisingly, therefore, the Court's ruling today is “substantially identical” to its ruling on the previous discovery motion, heard on December 20, 2017. The Court is also somewhat surprised that, given the similarity between these two sets of motions, the parties would not have been able to resolve this issue after the...