Excerpt: ... the burden of proving the existence of a valid arbitration agreement by a preponderance of the evidence, while a party opposing the petition bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence any fact necessary to its defense. The trial court sits as the trier of fact, weighing all the affidavits, declarations, and other documentary evidence, and any oral testimony the court may receive at its discretion, to reach a final determinati...

Excerpt: ...have the matters specified in the Requests for Admission, Set One (“RFAs”) deemed admitted by Plaintiff Genesis Pink. The RFAs were served on or about April 5, 2023. (Declaration of Michael B. Seuylemezian, dated December 28, 2023, ¶ 2.) Plaintiff had not responded to the RfAs as of the time the motion was filed. (Id., ¶ 5.) The Court heard this motion on January 25, 2024, and continued the motion to afford Plaintiff a final opportunity to ...

Excerpt: ... and unfair competition under Business and Professions Code section 17200. Plaintiff alleges as follows: Plaintiff is a “talent alignment and product development company with a focus on the beauty and cosmetics space.” (Complaint, ¶ 1.) Plaintiff retained Defendant as “a consultant to negotiate and secure talent partnerships on behalf of Plaintiff.” (Ibid.) However, Defendant “engaged in a series of covert and unauthorized actions that...

Excerpt: ...mely “Green Auto,” which is an auto body repair business (the “business”). (Id., ¶ 8.) On or about August 30, 2021, the parties entered into written agreements for Plaintiff to purchase the property and business. (Id., ¶ 9.) Per the agreements, Plaintiff agreed to pay Defendant $5.3 million for the property and $900,000 for the business. (Id., ¶ 11.) Plaintiff made earnest money deposits of $100,000 for the property and $900,000 for th...

Excerpt: ...e process rights, and 14th amendment rights, causing plaintiff to suffer severe financial and emotional hardship.” On December 26, 2023, Plaintiff filed an amendment to fictitious name, naming Neal Blinde as Doe 1. On January 30, 2024, Defendant Blinde filed the instant motion to quash service of summons. Plaintiff filed her opposition on February 15, 2024. LEGAL STANDARD “[T]he court in which an action is pending has jurisdiction over a part...

Excerpt: ...vorced on December 30, 2011, following a ten -year marriage. (Complaint, ¶ 5.) Afterwards, Plaintiff continued to live with Hoffman until late 2013. (Ibid.) After Plaintiff vacated Hoffman's residence, he continued to ask her to move back into his house and to care for him. (Ibid.) Between 2014 and Hoffman's death, Plaintiff provided personal care, specifically, she checked his vital signs, ordered his medications, made his appointments, and too...

Excerpt: ...tition to compel arbitration “bears the burden of proving the existence of a valid arbitration agreement by a preponderance of the evidence, while a party opposing the petition bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence any fact necessary to its defense. The trial court sits as the trier of fact, weighing all the affidavits, declarations, and other documentary evidence, and any oral testimony the court may receive at its dis...

Excerpt: ...ay serve and file a motion to strike the whole pleading or any part thereof. (Code Civ. Proc., § 435, subd. (b)(1); Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1322, subd. (b).) On a motion to strike, the court may: (1) strike out any irrelevant, false, or improper matter inserted in any pleading; or (2) strike out all or any part of any pleading not drawn or filed in conformity with the laws of California, a court rule, or an ord er of the court. (Code Civ. Pr...

Excerpt: ...ng Partners, L.P. (“Defendant”) asserting the following causes of action: (1) Civil Fraud in violation of Government Code section 14842.5(2); (2) Violation of Government Code section 129279(c)(1); (3) Harassment and retaliation in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), Government Code section 12940(j); (4) Business Malpractice in violation of Civil Procedure section 340.5; (5) Fraud; (6) Intentional Tort; (7) Negligenc...

Excerpt: ...ectively, “Defendants”). Maria Camaco filed a cross-complaint against Wildflower on November 3, 2023. Wilton filed a cross-complaint against Wildflower and Ernst & Young Inc. (“E&Y”) as receiver for Wildflower on December 5, 2023. Now, Wildflower demurs to Wilton's cross-complaint and moves to strike the remedy of specific performance. The demurrer is overruled. LEGAL STANDARD “It is black letter law that a demurrer tests the legal suff...

Excerpt: ...ectively, “Defendants”). Maria Camaco filed a cross-complaint against Wildflower on November 3, 2023. Wilton filed a cross-complaint against Wildflower and Ernst & Young Inc. (“E&Y”) as receiver for Wildflower on December 5, 2023. Now, Wildflower demurs to Wilton's cross-complaint and moves to strike the remedy of specific performance. The demurrer is overruled. LEGAL STANDARD “It is black letter law that a demurrer tests the legal suff...

Excerpt: ...ks to continue the discovery cut -off and to obtain contact information for the following witnesses: (1) Hillary Olsen, who played a role in the decision to terminate Plaintiff; (2) Fidel Vivas, who “is a percipient witness to communicatio ns regarding Plaintiff's termination in documents produced by Defendant;” (3) Guillermo Escareno, Plaintiff's former manager; and (4) Joshua Portillo, a former employee who was present at Plaintiff's meetin...

Excerpt: ... §§ 815.2 & 820) Fifth COA – Breach of a Mandatory Duty to Report (Government Code § 815.6) Eighth COA – Negligence (Government Code §§ 815.2 & 820) A. Plaintiff's Motions in Limine 1. Motion in Limine #1 – GRANTED IN PART; DENIED IN PART Plaintiff's counsel seeks to exclude evidence of certain actions by his client. Plaintiff's counsel argues: “Plaintiff has been diagnosed with conditions like ADHD, depression, and anxiety, both bef...

Excerpt: ...ith and fair dealing, intentional infliction of emotional distress, wrongful termination, and defamation. Defendants now move to compel arbitration. The moving party on a petition to compel arbitration “bears the burden of proving the existence of a valid arbitration agreement by a preponderance of the evidence, while a party opposing the petition bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence any fact necessary to its defense. ...

Excerpt: ...CPE”); Mo dern HR, Inc. (“Modern HR”); and Amanda Moore (“Moore”). All of the defendants except CPE and Modern HR filed a motion to compel arbitration on May 31, 2023, and CPE and Modern HR filed a notice of joinder on June 1, 2023. Plaintiff opposed the motion, which the Court granted on August 17, 2023, and the Court stayed the case. Notwithstanding the stay, Plaintiff's counsel named six more defendants to this case on September 18, ...

Excerpt: ...dition at issue in this lawsuit, which means Defendants are entitled to conduct their own mental examination of Plaintiff. Contrary to Plaintiff's counsel's argument, the motion is timely. Based upon the foregoing, the Court orders as follows: 1. Defendants' motion for a mental examination of Plaintiff is granted. Plaintiff shall make himself available for the examination within twenty (20) days. 2. The parties shall meet -and -confer forthwith a...

Excerpt: ...s. Defendant moves to a protective order, which Plaintiff opposes. The motion is granted. Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.420 provides, “The court, for good cause shown, may make any order that justice requires to protect any . . . deponent . . . from unwarranted annoyance, embarrassment, or oppression, or undue burden and expense . . . .” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2025.420.) Per Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. v. Superior Court (1992) 10 Cal.Ap...

Excerpt: ...peal ordered that Defendants are entitled to recover their costs on appeal. However, Defendants' counsel also seeks $24,872.65 in attorneys' fees. Defendants' motion is problematic. As an initial matter, the notice of motion seeks only attorneys' fees “incurred in defending an appeal” of the Court's decision to grant the anti -SLAPP motion. However, the motion itself seeks a large amount of fees for judgment debtor proceedings in Defendants' ...

Excerpt: ...s and Professions Code section 17200 3. Breach of Contract 4. Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing 5. Breach of Quasi-Contract 6. Negligence 7. Fraudulent Inducement ICANN is a California non- profit public benefits corporation with its principal place of business in Los Angeles, California. (Complaint, ¶ 13.) ICANN registers internet domain names. (Id., ¶ 2.) In March 2000, X.com merged with Confinity to create PayPal....

Excerpt: ...ce for breach of contract – Both defendants 2. Breach of contract – TGB Promotions 3. Violation of the Professional Boxing Safety Law, 15 U.S.C. § 6307e(b) – Both defendants 4. Violation of the Professional Boxing Safety Law, 15 U.S.C. § 6304(4) – Both defendants 5. Conspiracy to violate the Professional Boxing Safety Law – Both defendants 6. Unfair business practices – Both defendants 7. Promissory estoppel – Both defendants 8. D...

Excerpt: ...eventually led to his death. Plaintiff proceeded to trial on claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and trespass to chattels. The Court granted Defendant's motion for nonsuit on the claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Plaintiff on the remaining causes of action and awarded a total of $255,000 in damages based upon $5,000 in economic damages, $150,000 in past...

Excerpt: ...the evidence, while a party opposing the petition bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence any fact necessary to its defense. The trial court sits as the trier of fact, weighing all the affidavits, declarations, and other documentary evidence, and any oral testimony the court may receive at its discretion, to reach a final determination.” (Ruiz v. Moss Bros. Auto Group, Inc. (2014) 232 Cal.App.4th 836, 842, internal quotat...

Excerpt: ...t 22, 2019, Plaintiff referred a case to Defendants, and the parties had an oral agreement pursuant to which Defendants would pay her a referral fee of 50% of all proceeds from the case. Plaintiff did not have a signed fee sharing agreement per the California Rules of Professional Conduct, rule 1.5.1. Defendants allegedly stated that a signed agreement “would not be needed when she became an employee of the Law Firm of Arash Khorsandi, APC.” ...

Excerpt: ...Plaintiff alleges that he worked for Defendants, earning significant “commissions, revenue and income.” (Id., ¶ 10.) Plaintiff alleges that Defendants have refused to pay him owed commissions since January 15, 2020. (Ibid.) Accordingly, Plaintiff asserts causes of action for accounting, fraud, and common counts. Defendants demur to the second cause of action, fraud. Plaintiff must allege fraud with particularity. “This means: (1) general p...

Excerpt: ... and properly informed its insurer—Defendant—of the lawsuit. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant wrongfully, unreasonably, and intentionally refused to honor its duty to investigate and defend. Defendant demurs to the complaint. “It is black letter law that a demurrer tests the legal sufficiency of the allegations in a complaint.” (Lewis v. Safeway, Inc. (2015) 235 Cal.App.4th 385, 388.) In ruling on a demurrer, the court must “liberally c...