Excerpt: ... or that a specialist might be needed; additionally, she alleges the surgery was negligently performed. Plaintiff's operative First Amended Complaint, filed on 2/08/22, includes two causes of action for professional negligence against Moving Defendant. 2. Motion for Summary Judgment a. Basis for Motion Defendant, Dr. Claire Sakae moves for summary judgment on the complaint, contending the care and treatment of Plaintiff complied with the standard...

Excerpt: ...pled against Moving Defendants, Drs. Okuyemi and Milone. 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 ...

Excerpt: ...ithout Plaintiff's permission. 2. Initial Note Plaintiff, on his civil case cover sheet, checked the box for “other petition” instead of “other complaint.” This resulted in the case receiving an LBCP case number instead of an LBCV case number. Petitions are set for summary hearings, whereas complaints are set for trial. The Court asks Counsel to ensure the correct box is checked in the future, as having the case designated a “petition�...

Excerpt: ...ntiffs obtained a loan secured by a deed of trust from Defendant, and while the parties were communicating in an attempt to modify the loan, First American, the trustee on the deed, recorded a Notice of Default and Election to Sell. Plaintiff alleges Wells Fargo made numerous representations that the loan modification request was being considered and that the sale had been suspended, but the sale went forward in the course of these discussions an...

Excerpt: ...e subject chassis was not equipped to handle this type of cargo, and DCLI, the owner of the chassis, failed to warn the necessary persons and entities that the chassis should not be loaded with this type of cargo. Plaintiff has added additional doe defendants to the action, including Moving Defendant, Taihan Electric USA, Ltd. Details concerning Taihan's involvement in the incident will be discussed below. 2. Motion for Summary Judgment a. Standa...

Excerpt: ...ubbish, electrical wiring not up to code, filth, intentional interference with estate, lack of hot water, leaking plumbing, and general non-maintenance. 2. Demurrer a. Initial Note Defendants filed demurrers to the complaint. Each defendant filed a separate demurrer. Each defendant demurs to the second and third causes of action in the complaint. Because the demurrers are substantially the same, the Court will rule on them together. b. Notice The...

Excerpt: ...1 and 2. On 2/03/23, Plaintiff filed ex parte applications to serve does 1 and 2. On 2/06/23, Plaintiff filed additional certificates of merit, under seal, for does 1 and 2. On 2/06/23, the Court granted the ex parte application to serve the doe defendants. On 5/05/23, Plaintiff filed proof of service on doe 1, which was named as LAUSD. On 6/16/23, LAUSD responded to the complaint by way of demurrer, which is scheduled for hearing today. 2. Demur...

Excerpt: ...usations. Plaintiff's operative complaint is her First Amended Complaint, which she filed on 6/13/22. On 9/13/22, HOA filed a cross-complaint, against Hitchens, Robinson, McCoey, Portley, and Lakhdar for equitable indemnity, contribution, and declaratory relief, essentially seeking a ruling that, to the extent it is liable on either the complaint or the cross-complaint, these individuals were the true cause of the harm suffered. On 1/17/23, the c...

Excerpt: ...ervision, and retention and (2) negligent supervision of a minor against all defendants. Plaintiff is alleging a cause of action for negligence against Does 3 through 60. 2. Judicial Notice Defendant Doe 2 (“Doe 2”) requests the Court to take judicial notice of Plaintiff's original Complaint as Plaintiff omitted details of his assault in the First Amended Complaint (“FAC”), that were present in the Original Complaint. RJM, pp. 3. If a par...

Excerpt: ...Beach, CA 90813 without his knowledge or understanding of the changed terms. The Complaint alleges a cause of action for financial elder abuse. 2. Demurrer a. Legal Standard As a general matter, in a demurrer proceeding, the defects must be apparent on the face of the pleading or via proper judicial notice. (Donabedian v. Mercury Ins. Co. (2004) 116 Cal.App.4th 968, 994.) “A demurrer tests the pleading alone, and not the evidence or facts alleg...

Excerpt: ...t. 2. Motion for Change of Venue a. Parties' Positions Numerous defendants move to change venue to Merced County. They contend that, first and foremost, venue is not proper in Los Angeles County because the only defendant who resides in LA County is Aldama, and she bears no fault in the accident. Alternatively, they contend convenience of witnesses and ends of justice will be served by having the action transferred to Merced County, because the a...

Excerpt: ...he Court, on 8/11/22, issued an order scheduling the parties' various motions, including the motion to compel arbitration and demurrer on calendar today. The pleadings in the case have a long and complicated history, which has culminated in the filing of a Second Amended Complaint on 3/30/23. The SAC includes causes of action for medical negligence, medical battery, various iterations of fraud, and IIED. 2. Motion for Leave to Amend a. Relevant P...

Excerpt: ...subject chassis was not equipped to handle this type of cargo, and DCLI, the owner of the chassis, failed to warn the necessary persons and entities that the chassis should not be loaded with this type of cargo. Plaintiff has added additional doe defendants to the action. Throughout this ruling, Moving Defendant Direct Chassislink, Inc. will be referred to as “Defendant” or “DCLI.” 2. Motion for Summary Judgment a. Standard on Summary Jud...

Excerpt: ...f is moving to compel further responses to 55 out of the 64 RPDs served. The Court will consider and rule on the objections asserted by Defendant in its reply. b. Verifications Plaintiff, in moving papers, contends Defendant has failed to serve verified responses. Defendant, in opposition, contends it served verifications. Plaintiff does not address this argument in reply. The Court presumes the responses are verified and this issue is moot. c. M...

Excerpt: ...tive process. The operative complaint is the First Amended Complaint, which Plaintiff filed on 5/12/23. The crux of the FAC is that Plaintiff had been working for LAUSD as a teacher's assistant and early education aide since 1999, and that at the time of her termination, she was 59 years old and had high blood pressure. Plaintiff alleges she was wrongfully terminated when she was mere months away from retirement. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges s...

Excerpt: ...the notice of deposition on numerous grounds, and the parties were unable to resolve their dispute. Plaintiff now moves to compel the deposition. b. Initial Note re: Documents Plaintiff's notice of deposition seeks production of documents. In opposition to the motion, Defendant argues various documents should not be produced. On 8/10/23, the Court granted Plaintiff's motion to compel further responses to RPDs, and overruled all of Defendant's obj...

Excerpt: ...he Court heard Defendants' demurrer to Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint, which he filed on 12/28/21. The FAC included causes of action for: · Wrongful Demotion in Violation of FEHA; · Discrimination on the Basis of Race – FEHA; · Harassment – FEHA; · Retaliation – FEHA; · Failure to Investigate – FEHA; · Failure to Prevent – FEHA. The Court issued a detailed ruling sustaining the demurrer with leave to amend. On 8/01/22, Plaint...

Excerpt: ... and to recover sanctions. The motion to compel is granted. CCP §2025.450(a) requires the Court to grant a motion to compel deposition unless the deponent has served a valid objection to the notice of deposition. Plaintiff did not object to the notice of deposition, but did not appear. Of note, any opposition to the motion was due on or before 8/09/23. The Court has not received opposition to the motion. Plaintiff is ordered to appear for deposi...

Excerpt: ...n 6/08/23, Plaintiffs attempted to file a Second Amended Complaint, but the filing was rejected due to Plaintiffs' failure to file a noticed motion. 2. Motion for Leave to File SAC a. Relief Sought Plaintiffs seek leave to add a prayer for damages under the CLRA. b. Standard for Granting Leave to Amend The court may, in furtherance of justice, and on such terms as may be proper, allow a party to amend any pleading. (CCP §§473 and 576.) Judicial...

Excerpt: ...ground Facts Plaintiff, MOC Products Company, Inc. filed this action against Defendants, Hooman Automotive Group and Hooman Michael Nissani for breach of contract and related claims arising out of Defendants' alleged breach of an exclusive distribution contract. Plaintiff filed the complaint on 9/10/19. The complaint includes causes of action for breach of contract, quantum meruit, account stated, and open book account. Plaintiff has added numero...

Excerpt: ...Demurrer The sole issue presented on demurrer is whether Plaintiff has pled sufficient facts in his FAC to state a claim against the individual defendant, Jonathan David Myers, on an alter ego theory. Defendant argues Plaintiff has not done so, both because Plaintiff has not pled the elements showing unity of interest, and also because Plaintiff has not pled facts showing an inequitable result in the event the corporate veil is not pierced. b. Un...

Excerpt: ...arged with taking the shipment to Kansas City. However, the rig carrying the batteries was involved in a single vehicle accident, resulting in the vehicle over-turning and damaging the batteries. Plaintiff alleges it suffered loss in the amount of $620,199.27, as it had to pay its insured for the damage to its goods. On 5/06/21, the Court heard and denied Defendant's special motion to strike. Defendant appealed the ruling, and the Court of Appeal...

Excerpt: ...ntiff has added numerous defendants as doe defendants in the action, including R&H Automotive Group, Inc., HTL Automotive, Inc., and HTL Automotive, Inc. 2. Motion to Compel Deposition On 5/18/23, the Court heard and granted Plaintiff's motion to compel the depositions of Defendants' PMKs. The Court also imposed monetary sanctions. The Court detailed the long history of the deposition dispute, and fully analyzed the parties' positions concerning ...

Excerpt: ...endant filed the same day. Defendant's cross-complaint is against Shoreline for breach of contract and seeks past-due rent. On 7/14/22, Defendant filed an FACC against Shoreline, Collin Mitzenmacher, and Mark Mitzenmacher, which adds a claim for breach of personal guarantee of the lease obligations against the two individual defendants. 2. Motion for Summary Judgment a. Burdens on Summary Judgment Summary judgment is proper “if all the papers s...

Excerpt: ...posing 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 31...