Excerpt: ...pposing party's pleading. It is not the function of the demurrer to challenge the truthfulness of the complaint; and for purpose of the ruling on the demurrer, all facts pleaded in the complaint are assumed to be true, however improbable they may be. A demurrer can be used only to challenge defects that appear on the face of the pleading under attack; or from matters outside the pleading that are judicially noticeable. Blank v. Kirwan 39 Cal.3d 3...

Excerpt: ... settled, and James L. Canedo has been added to the action. The TAC includes causes of action for medical negligence, medical battery, and fraud/intentional concealment. 2. Motions for Summary Adjudication a. Summary of Issues Presented There are three summary adjudication motions on calendar today. They are brought by Sobol, Drobot, and Canedo. Each of the motions seeks adjudication of the fifth cause of action for fraud/intentional concealment....

Excerpt: ...for punitive damages and all related allegations from the SAC. b. Basis for Punitive Damages Request Plaintiffs contend they are entitled to punitive damages for three reasons. First, they allege the subject power line had fallen at least once before. Second, they allege SCE knew the power line was in the vicinity of trucks that regularly carry gasoline, rendering the safety issue relating to a downed power line more severe. Third, they allege th...

Excerpt: ...against Defendant, Dr. Bhatia. 2. Motion for Summary Judgment a. Standard on Summary Judgment Summary judgment is proper “if all the papers submitted show that there is no triable issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” (Code Civ. Proc. §437c(c).) Where a defendant seeks summary judgment or adjudication, he must show that either “one or more elements of the cause of action, even ...

Excerpt: .... Opposing Party: Plaintiffs, Marcus Miller and Angie Muhamad Notice: OK 1. Background Facts Plaintiffs, Marcus Miller and Angie Muhamad filed this action against Defendants, Brand Scaffold Services, Inc. and The AES Corporation for damages arising out of injuries sustained in a workplace accident at AES's power plant in Puerto Rico. Miller, who is a California resident and employee of a California corporation, was injured in the incident. AES ha...

Excerpt: ...ty: Plaintiff, Anthony SIlletti Notice: O K 1. Background Fact s Plaintiff, Anthony Silletti �iled this action against Defendants, Stretch's Speed Shop, Inc. and William Farnham for negligence and related claims. Plaintiff 's operative complaint is his First Amended Complaint, which he �iled on 10/17/23. The crux of Plaintiff 's complaint is that he entrusted his 1969 Ford Mustang and 1970 Ford Mustang to Defendants for restoration, but they ...

Excerpt: ... K 1. Complain t Plaintiff, Jenise Chappell �iled this action against Defendants, City of Long Beach, LBPD, LBFD, Police Of�icer Kim, Del Amo Hospital, Inc., Dr. Gessesse, Dr. Jack Freinhar, and Los Alamitos Medical Center for civil rights related claims and medical malpractice related claims. The crux of Plaintiff 's complaint is that she is a medical doctor who experienced a disturbance in her home. When she reported the disturbance to law ...

Excerpt: ...as due to appointments for her pregnancy, which is protected. 2. Motion to Strike a. Basis for Motion Plaintiff's complaint contains a prayer for punitive damages. Defendant moves to strike the prayer and related allegations, contending (a) nothing in the complaint rises to the level of malice, fraud, or oppression, (b) Plaintiff has failed to include allegations showing any malicious, fraudulent, or oppressive conduct was done by an officer, dir...

Excerpt: ...a Rodriguez based on the allegation that Hector was intoxicated at the time of the subject accident and that Edna furnished alcohol to Hector, who was under the ag e of 21. 2. Motion to Strike At this time, Hector moves to strike the prayer for punitive damages and related allegations against him. a. Law Governing Punitive Damages in the Context of Driving Under the Influence Allegations that a defendant exhibited a conscious disregard for the sa...

Excerpt: ...6; specifically, Defendant seeks an order requiring the Court to act as excelsior and sign the quitclaim deed on behalf of Plaintiff. CCP §664.6 clearly permits the Court to reduce the parties' settlement to a legal judgment when one party is in breach of the settlement agreement. Specifically, §664.6(a) provides, in relevant part: If parties to pending litigation stipulate, in a writing signed by the parties outside of the presence of the cour...

Excerpt: ...o RPDs a. Procedural History Plaintiff propounded RPDs on Defendant, and Defendant served responses. The parties met and conferred, but were unable to resolve various issues. Plaintiff thereafter filed this motion to compel. b. RPD 3 The parties were unable to resolve issues relating to RPD 3 prior to the filing of this motion. RPD seeks production of schedules of all employees who were working at the store on the date of the incident. Defendant,...

Excerpt: ...¶6. Plaintiffs allege Defendant failed to monitor Decedent, who wandered away from the facility and was found lifeless by a passerby on an embankment ten days after the last time he was seen at the facility. 2. Demurrer a. Legal Standard on Demurrer A demurrer is a pleading used to test the legal sufficiency of other pleadings. It raises issues of law, not fact, regarding the form or content of the opposing party's pleading. It is not the functi...

Excerpt: ...s case manager, Keely Coleman, obtained housing for Plaintiff at a Motel 6 managed by Defendant, Mario Cordova. Plaintiffs allege Gregory Brown was another resident at the motel, and that he murdered Decedent on the premises. Plaintiff alleges Demurring Defendant, County of Los Angeles, owned, managed, regulated, and operated LAHSA, DHS, and Star Clinic, and also owns, manages, and maintains the property where the assault occurred. Additional det...

Excerpt: ...The Court's docket has been inundated with these motions, with discovery motions in lemon law cases often taking up more than five motion hearing slots in a week. The Court finds Counsel, with the assistance of this Court's prior rulings, can easily resolve the issues on these discovery motions. The Court has ruled on discovery motions relating to PMK depositions in the following lemon law cases (among others): 22LBCV00901 22LBCV00761 22LBCV00456...

Excerpt: .... 2. 4/12/23 Hearing on Motion to Compel Answers to Questions at Deposition On 4/12/23, the Court heard Defendant's motion to compel Plaintiff to answer questions at deposition. One of the issues at the hearing was whether Plaintiff should be required to answer questions about past drug use and drug use history during his deposition. Plaintiff raised Fifth Amendment concerns. The Court, at the conclusion of the hearing, ruled that Plaintiff must ...

Excerpt: ...Substance Account Act. Plaintiffs filed their complaint on March 3, 2020, and Defendants filed an answer on October 7, 2020. Plaintiffs' complaint includes causes of action for California Superfund Act, Negligence, Trespass, Nuisance, Breach of Contract, and Declaratory Relief. The trial is currently set for April 8, 2024. Defendants have cross- complained against, among others, R.R. Street & Co., Inc., contending it is responsible in whole or in...

Excerpt: ...Allegations Subject to Motion At this time, Defendants move to strike the prayer for punitive damages and related allegations against them, and also move to strike the prayer for prejudgment interest. b. Punitive Damages In Brooks v. E.J. Willig Truck Transp. Co. (1953) 40 Cal.2d 669, 679 the Court found that a hit and run cannot give rise to damages unless the fact of the hit and run caused additional damages above and beyond the accident itself...

Excerpt: ...fendant, Ali Khoynezhad, M.D. At his deposition, Defendant refused to answer questions about his history of prior misconduct at other hospitals and history of medical malpractice claims and allegations. Defendant refused on the grounds that Evidence Code §1157 precluded the questions. Plaintiffs move to compel Defendant to answer the questions, contending (a) the questions are relevant to their Elam claim, and (b) §1157 does not act as a shield...

Excerpt: ...with these motions, with discovery motions in lemon law cases often taking up more than five motion hearing slots in a week. The Court finds Counsel, with the assistance of this Court's prior rulings, can easily resolve the issues on these discovery motions. The Court has ruled on discovery motions relating to PMK depositions involving the instant defendant, General Motors, in the following cases (among others): 23LBCV00406 22LBCV00901 22LBCV0076...

Excerpt: ...ion, intentional tort, negligence II, general negligence, and loss of consortium. The crux of the complaint is that Plaintiff worked as a Customs and Border Patrol agent and regularly scanned imported goods using an HCVM, which is an x-ray scanner made by the Smith Defendants and used on premises owned by the remaining defendants. Plaintiff alleges he was exposed to dangerous levels of radiation due to use of the scanner, and now has thyroid canc...

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Excerpt: ...oss- complaint against Maggio. Maggio answered the complaint and cross -complaint on 10/31/22 and 11/14/22, respectively. On 2/28/23, the parties were scheduled to participate in an informal discovery conference before the Honorable Serena R. Murillo in the personal injury hub court. The IDC was not held because the Court referred the matter to Department 1 to determine whether it was complicated and should be transferred to an IC court for all f...

Excerpt: ...dant answered the complaint and filed a cross-complaint against Amigo Mobility International, Inc. for indemnification and related claims. Amigo is the entity that manufactured the scooter on which Plaintiff fell. On 1/04/24, the Court granted Plaintiff's motion for leave to file an amended complaint adding Amigo as a defendant in the action; the amended complaint did not make any material changes to the allegations against Super Center. 2. Motio...

Excerpt: ...tion's gym. CAB alleges Motion failed to pay ATMC per the contract, and ATMC assigned its right to collect to CAB. CAB sued Nguyen for breach of guarantee on the agreement. 2. Motion for Leave to File Cross -Complaint a. Relief Sought Defendants seek leave to file a cross -complaint against Plaintiff and ATMC for fraud and related claims. The crux of the proposed cross -complaint is that ATMC made fraudulent statements concerning the nature of th...

Excerpt: ...f 2018 until February of 2023. The complaint includes causes of action for (all causes of action are pled against all defendants): · Violation of Civil Code §1942.4 · Tortious Breach of the Warranty of Habitability · Private Nuisance · Violation of BPC §17200, et seq. · Negligence · Breach of the Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment · IIED · Negligence Per Se · Violation of the CLRA · Violation of FEHA · Violation of the Long Beach tenant har...

Excerpt: ...time, Defendant, Dr. Mehrdad Saliminejad, M.D. moves for summary judgment, contending he complied with the standard of care at all times, and nothing he did caused or contributed to Decedent's death. b. Law Governing Standard of Care The standard of care against which the acts of health care providers are to be measured is a matter within the knowledge of experts. Elcome v. Chin (2003) 110 Cal.App.4th 310, 317. Unless the conduct required by the ...

Excerpt: ... 2. Demurrer (Defendant, Daniel Huerta) a. Legal Standard on Demurrer A demurrer is a pleading used to test the legal sufficiency of other pleadings. It raises issues of law, not fact, regarding the form or content of the opposing party's pleading. It is not the function of the demurrer to challenge the truthfulness of the complaint; and for purpose of the ruling on the demurrer, all facts pleaded in the complaint are assumed to be true, however ...

Excerpt: ...ffs and Cross-Complainants, Tracy Alcantar and Aristides Gascon Notice: OK 1. Motion to Dismiss a. Parties' Positions Gene Rotondo, Timothy Moriarty, James Weiser, Jerome Chiaro, and Donald Heckman, collectively referred to as “Moving Parties,” move to dismiss (a) the cross-complaint filed on 1/25/18, (b) the FAC filed on 5/14/19, and (c) the FACC filed on 11/18/21. Moving Parties contend each of the subject pleadings, all of which were filed...

Excerpt: ... all claims at issue in this lawsuit. It contends that, pursuant to Viking River, Plaintiff must arbitrate his individual claims and the representative claims must be dismissed due to lack of standing. Alternatively, Defendant seeks a ruling staying the action pending the Supreme Court's decision in Adolph v. Uber Technologies. Plaintiff opposes the motion. He contends that (a) the parties' agreement is ambiguous and must be construed against Def...

Excerpt: ...specific performance and related claims arising out of Defendants' alleged refusal to close escrow on Plaintiff's purchase of a commercial property. Plaintiff's original complaint remains the operative complaint in the action. It includes cause of action for specific performance, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, and declaratory relief. Ad...

Excerpt: ...for terminating sanctions against Defendants, RHH Automotive, Inc. and RHN, Inc. The Court also imposed issue and evidentiary sanctions against Defendants, R&H Automotive Group, HK Automotive, Inc., and Hooman Michael Nissani on a variety of issues, including that Nissani is the alter ego of the viable entity defendants, MOC and Hooman entered into a written contract, Nissani and the viable entity defendants failed to perform under the contract, ...

Excerpt: ...jury trial, and the jury ultimately returned a verdict in the amount of $1,659,456 (compensatory) plus $3,000,000 (punitive). On 12/15/23, the Court heard Defendant's unopposed motion for a new trial. The Court granted the motion in part, reducing the punitive damages award from $3 million to $939,669. 2. Motion for Attorneys' Fees a. Parties' Positions Plaintiff seeks an attorneys' fees award in the amount of $1,659,805. Defendant opposes the mo...

Excerpt: ...provided negligent drawings, plans, specifications, safety instructions, and designs for Plaintiff to use in constructing a building. As a result, the building Plaintiff was working on collapsed, causing him to sustain grave injuries. His wife sues for loss of consortium. Plaintiffs have added numerous doe defendants to the action, including CH2M Hill Engineers, Inc., which it named as Doe One on 9/07/23. Many defendants have pending cross-compla...

Excerpt: ... to which Digital would move to Thunder and Thunder would ultimately acquire Digital's Mobile Motion Mocap (“MMM”) unit. On 2/15/21, Thunder and Digital entered into a written MOU, the terms of which are set forth at ¶10 of the complaint. Ultimately, Digital alleges Thunder breached the agreement by not paying for services rendered, keeping all rights to the content produced, never buying Digital's assets, and instead converting the assets f...

Excerpt: ...ross-complaint against Stacy John Sanchez, Stacys In Home Care, Inc., Another Successful Venture, Inc., and Lilliana Juliano remains pending. Trial on the cross-complaint is currently scheduled for 4/05/24. b. Parties' Positions The Court requested briefing on the issue of whether the one judgment rule applies and bars entry of judgment on the complaint. Plaintiff submitted briefing on 1/05/24, and Defendant submitted briefing on 1/19/24. Plainti...

Excerpt: ...Plaintiff leased the subject automobile. Defendant seeks to compel arbitration under a third party beneficiary theory and also under an estoppel theory. On 4/04/23, two months before Defendant filed this motion, the Court of Appeals decided Ochoa v. Ford Motor Company (2023) 89 Cal.App.5 th 1324. In Ochoa, the Court of Appeals expressly considered whether a manufacturer of an automobile can enforce a dealership's arbitration agreement under a thi...

Excerpt: ...trike on 7/01/22, and the Court sustained the demurrer and granted the motion to strike with leave to amend on 11/14/22. Plaintiff filed her First Amended Complaint on 12/12/22. On 5/09/23, the Court heard the Wood Defendants' demurrer and motion to strike directed at the FAC. The Court sustained the demurrer in part and overruled the demurrer in part, and the Court granted the motion to strike in part and denied it in part. On 6/05/23, Plaintiff...

Excerpt: ... negligence, IIED, and NIED. 2. Demurrer to First Amended Complaint a. Legal Standard on Demurrer A demurrer is a pleading used to test the legal sufficiency of other pleadings. It raises issues of law, not fact, regarding the form or content of the opposing party's pleading. It is not the function of the demurrer to challenge the truthfulness of the complaint; and for purpose of the ruling on the demurrer, all facts pleaded in the complaint are ...

Excerpt: ...rty's pleading. It is not the function of the demurrer to challenge the truthfulness of the complaint; and for purpose of the ruling on the demurrer, all facts pleaded in the complaint are assumed to be true, however improbable they may be. A demurrer can be used only to challenge defects that appear on the face of the pleading under attack; or from matters outside the pleading that are judicially noticeable. Blank v. Kirwan 39 Cal.3d 311 (1985)....

Excerpt: ...om Defendant to Plaintiff setting forth the parties' positions and asking for a two-week extension of time to file a motion so the parties could continue to meet and confer. Defendant sent a second similar email on 8/16/23 and, having received no response, filed these motion on the statutory deadline, 8/17/23. b. Parties' Positions Defendant contends Plaintiff's responses to the discovery at issue are insufficient and should be supplemented. Defe...

Excerpt: ...ological Associates move for summary judgment, contending they complied with the standard of care at all times, and nothing they did caused or contributed to Plaintiff's claimed damages. b. Law Governing Standard of Care The standard of care against which the acts of health care providers are to be measured is a matter within the knowledge of experts. Elcome v. Chin (2003) 110 Cal.App.4th 310, 317. Unless the conduct required by the particular ci...

Excerpt: ...as hired by the McCanns to manage the unit. The other defendants include the upstairs unit owner, the HOA, and the persons/entities who performed work in connection with the leak. Plaintiff's operative complaint is his original complaint, which he filed on 7/13/23. It includes causes of action for breach of the implied warranty of habitability, breach of the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment, fraud, nuisance, premises liability, negligence, bre...

Excerpt: ...ested. It contends the fraud cause of action was a lever that caused Fitness to settle its remaining claims, and therefore was not a “wash.” It contends its rates are reasonable and all hours were reasonable and actually incurred. Fitness filed objections to Palo Woods's attorney declaration in support of the reply. b. Costs As an initial note, Palo Woods seeks to recover costs by way of the motion. Costs are recoverable by way of a memorandu...

Excerpt: ...ing Argument At this time, Defendant, LBMMC moves for summary judgment, contending it complied with the standard of care at all times, and nothing it did caused or contributed to Decedent's death. b. Law Governing Standard of Care The standard of care against which the acts of health care providers are to be measured is a matter within the knowledge of experts. Elcome v. Chin (2003) 110 Cal.App.4th 310, 317. Unless the conduct required by the par...

Excerpt: ... Amended Complaint on 5/04/22. Notably, Plaintiffs did not serve any party prior to filing their FAC, and no party responded to the original complaint. On 6/13/22, Lido Sailing Club, LLC filed a demurrer to the FAC, setting it for hearing on 9/08/22. On 9/08/22, after receiving opposition and reply papers, the Court sustained the demurrer with leave to amend. On 9/30/22, Plaintiffs filed their Second Amended Complaint. On 10/05/22, Lido filed a d...

Excerpt: ...inued the hearing, after providing guidance, to require the parties to meet and confer. The parties agreed to permit Plaintiff to file an amended complaint curing the defects in the original complaint. On 11/06/23, Plaintiff filed her First Amended Complaint. The FAC includes a sole cause of action for general negligence and alleges Defendants administered dialysis treatment negligently knowing Decedent's blood pressure had dropped dangerously lo...

Excerpt: ...ounty filed an answer to the complaint on 7/20/23. Plaintiff dismissed the County on 7/26/23. The City of Long Beach filed an answer to the complaint on 7/27/23. CalTrans filed an answer to the complaint on 7/28/23. Plaintiff dismissed CalTrans on 7/28/23. The City of Los Angeles filed this demurrer and motion to strike on 8/10/23. Plaintiff filed timely opposition papers, and Defendant filed timely reply papers. 2. Demurrer to Complaint a. Legal...

Excerpt: ...ant answered the complaint and filed a cross-complaint against Amigo Mobility International, Inc. for indemnification and related claims. Amigo is the entity that manufactured the scooter on which Plaintiff fell. On 1/04/24, the Court granted Plaintiff's motion for leave to add a products liability claim against Amigo by way of an amended complaint. 1. Motion to Quash Amigo propounded a deposition subpoena for production of business records on Pl...

Excerpt: ...ion and related claims. Long Beach Acquisitions filed a cross-complaint against the City. 2. Motion to Compel Deposition a. Summary Judgment Motion The City filed a summary judgment motion on 9/20/23, setting it for hearing on 2/22/24. The City supports its motion, in part, with the Declaration of Todd LeBerge. LeBerge is an expert fire marshal and managing fire protection engineer. LeBerge opines, in his declaration, that the City (through its e...

Excerpt: ...iled opposition to the motion, indicating an application had been filed and the motion would be rendered moot prior to the hearing. On 1/08/24, the Court granted the application and appointed Mi Ok Heo, Plaintiff's motion, to act as his GAL in these proceedings. On 1/10/24, apparently not having received notice of the order, Defendants filed reply papers asking the Court to grant the motion. The motion is taken off calendar as moot in light of th...