Excerpt: ...: "A written agreement to submit to arbitration an existing controversy or a controversy thereafter arising is valid, enforceable and irrevocable, save upon such grounds as exist for the revocation of any contract." (Cal. Code of Civ. Proc, §1281.) Section 1281.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure states in pertinent part: On petition of a party to an arbitration agreement alleging the existence of a written agreement to arbitrate a controversy and ...

Excerpt: ...18 setting this matter for a bench trial on 10/09/18. In their Complaint, plaintiffs demanded a jury trial. (Complaint, p. 21:9.) At least one of the defendants, One Life Acupuncture, also requested a jury trial in its Case Management Statement. (Sokolove Decl., ¶ 5, Exh. D.) However, in their own Case Management Statement, plaintiffs checked the box requesting “a nonjury trial.” (See Case Management Statement of 01/17/18.) The Court then se...

Excerpt: ...n; (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 court...

Excerpt: ...lations of the Insurance Frauds Prevention Act (Insurance Code section 1871.7) The complaint alleges that defendants have committed fraud by submitting insurance claims for 3D MRI scans that were not actually performed. ANALYSIS: Demurrer Defendants demur to the complaint on the ground that the first cause of action fails to state facts sufficient to maintain a cause of action against each of the defendants and that the first cause of action is u...

Excerpt: ...t Defendants Cedric White and County of Los Angeles Probation Department for: (1) retaliation; (2) discrimination based on sex; (3) harassment 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 determined that Plaintiff �...

Excerpt: ...ced this action on 08/29/17 against defendants for violations of the Insurance Fraud Prevention Act. The Complaint was filed in camera and under seal. ANALYSIS: Defendant Avee Laboratories, Inc. requests to admit James R.P. Hileman, Elizabeth S. Hess, Rachel B. Haig, and Andrew A. Kassof to appear as counsel pro hac vice on its behalf. Under California Rules of Court, rule 9.40(a), [a] person who is not a member of the State Bar of California but...

Excerpt: ...al interference with contractual relations; (6) unfair business practices; (7) defamation; (8) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (9) injunctive relief; and (10) declaratory relief. Coyle filed a Cross-Complaint on 8/31/17. Coyle filed a First Amended Cross Complaint on 12/22/17 against Cross-Defendants Jeremy Tarr, Holly Rogers, Dale Tarr, Robert Day, and Coldwell Banker for: (1) elder abuse; (2) negligence; (3) fraud/concealment; (4)...

Excerpt: ..., Inc. Resp. Party: Plaintiff Nathan Klipfel The demurrer is OVERRULED. BACKGROUND: Plaintiff commenced this PAGA action on 6/19/17 against Defendants alleging that Defendants engaged in systematic and widespread violations of the Labor Code. Plaintiff filed his First Amended Complaint on 11/09/17. On February 2, 2018, the demurrer by the individual defendants to the First Amended Complaint was overruled. ANALYSIS: Defendants demur to the First A...

Excerpt: ...omplaint which will eliminate the first and third cause of action and replace them with statutory claims in order to comply with a recent decision of the Supreme Court of California. (See Motion, p. 3:20-24.) Under California Rules of Court rule 3.1324(a): (a) A motion to amend a pleading before trial must: [¶] (1) Include a copy of the proposed amendment or amended pleading, which must be serially numbered to differentiate it from previous plea...

Excerpt: ...; (3) breach of the implied warranty of merchantability; and (4) violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. ANALYSIS: Plaintiff seeks an order compelling the deposition of defendant's persons most knowledgeable and for production of documents at the deposition. "If, after service of a deposition notice, a party to the action . . . , without having served a valid objection under Section 2025.410, fails to appear for examination, or to proceed wi...

Excerpt: .... 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 as Counsel. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1362(a), (c), (e).) The moving party must serve the aforementioned forms on the client and all other parties who have appeared in the case....

Excerpt: ...liation for requests for accommodation and complaints of disability discrimination in violation of the FEHA; (5) harassment based on national origin in violation of the FEHA; (6) discrimination based on national origin in violation of the FEHA; (7) failure to prevent harassment, discrimination, or retaliation in violation of the FEHA; and (8) wrongful termination in violation of public policy. On 07/31/17, the parties requested, and the Court gra...

Excerpt: ... pertains to defects in a vehicle purchased by Plaintiff and manufactured by Defendant. ANALYSIS: Defendant demurs to Plaintiff's third cause of action for fraud on the grounds that Plaintiff fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action, that it is uncertain, and that it violates the Economic Loss Rule. “‘[T]he elements of an action for fraud and deceit based on concealment are: (1) the defendant must have concealed or supp...

Excerpt: ...arrington, Seth Ottensoser, and Stephanie M. Beige 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 court or the highest court in any state, territory, or insular possession of the IJnited States, and Who has been retained to appear in a pa...

Excerpt: ...eved that the demurrer should be overruled, she should have filed an opposition. If plaintiff agreed that the complaint needed to be amended, counsel should have agreed when meeting-and- conferring with defendants to amend the complaint or file a first amended complaint. Had she done so, the court and its staff would not have had to spend the time analyzing a demurrer to a complaint that even plaintiffs agrees must be amended. Although the court ...

Excerpt: ... of contract; (2) promissory estoppel; (3) breach of good faith and fair dealing; (4) misrepresentation; (5) negligent misrepresentation; (6) quiet title; and (7) declaratory relief. On 06/13/16 defendants filed a Cross-Complaint against plaintiffs for: (1) breach of contract; (2) slander of title; (3) cancellation of cloud on title; (4) accounting; (5) disgorgement; (6) breach of contract; (7) slander of title; (8) cancellation of cloud on title...

Excerpt: ...crets 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 wages; (3) liquidated damages for failure to pay minimum wages; (4) waiting tim...

Excerpt: ...t of five motions to compel discovery that are scheduled to be heard by the Court during the next week. The Court orders counsel to meet-and-confer and report to the Court whether the other four motions are still necessary. 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 e...

Excerpt: ...ve motions to compel discovery that are scheduled to be heard by the Court during the next week. The Court orders counsel to meet-and-confer and report to the Court whether the other four motions are still necessary. BACKGROUND: Plaintiffs commenced this action on 6/29/17 against defendants for: (1) retaliation (Labor Code section 1102.5); (2) retaliation (Labor Code section 98.6); (3) violation of Bane Act; (4) violation of Government Code secti...

Excerpt: ... case with the Court retaining jurisdiction pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6. ANALYSIS: Plaintiff seeks to enforce a settlement entered into between them and defendant Mance Media, LLC. Plaintiff brings this motion pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6, which provides: If the parties to pending litigation stipulate, in a writing signed by the parties outside the presence of the court or orally before the court, for se...

Excerpt: ... summary adjudication as to the first, second, fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth causes of action. The Court GRANTS the motion for summary adjudication as to the third and fifth causes of action. The Court DENIES summary adjudication on the issue of punitive damages. Plaintiff's Evidentiary Objections Nos. 1-55 are OVERRULED. PRELIMINARY COMMENTS: Plaintiff's opposition, pp. 5-11 is entitled “Facts.” (Opposition, pp. 5:25 – p. 11:17.) The ...

Excerpt: ...he grandson of Leon Bridges, who is now approximately 85 years old, and Marilyn Bridges, who passed away in 2013. Defendant Debra Ashby is Leon and Marilyn Bridge's daughter and is plaintiff's aunt. Plaintiffs allege that after Marilyn Bridge's death, defendant filed criminal homicide complaints against them and later reported plaintiff's to numerous law enforcement agencies for kidnapping Leon Bridges. Plaintiffs also allege that defendant has p...

Excerpt: ...ility; and (4) breach of obligation to supply sufficient replacement parts and literature. This demurrer is an example of an all-too-common practice in the Superior Court — that of counsel routinely filing a demurrer that could not possibly dispose of the case nor advance their party's interests. This usually happens when defense counsel is demurring to a complaint, which, while perfectly intelligible, contains some technical deficiencies. More...

Excerpt: ...; (3) breach of the implied warranty of merchantability; and (4) violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. ANALYSIS: Plaintiff seeks an order compelling the deposition of defendant's persons most knowledgeable and for production of documents at the deposition. "If, after service of a deposition notice, a party to the action . . . , without having served a valid objection under Section 2025.410, fails to appear for examination, or to proceed wi...

Excerpt: ...MINARY COMMNETS: Since the time this motion was filed, the trial date has been changed from February 26, 2018 to June 25, 2018 and finally to August 6, 2018. Due to the continued time before trial, the Court does not believe that the ruling today granting relief from waiver of privilege will prejudice plaintiff. BACKGROUND: Plaintiff commenced this action on 9/10/12 against defendant for retaliation (FEHA). On 4/7/14, the Court granted defendant'...