Excerpt: ...h respect to the third and fourth causes of action. Defendants then moved to compel arbitration of the remaining claims, and the Court granted that motion. Now, Plaintiff moves to vacate the Court's order and return this case to the Superior Court based upon Defendants' alleged failure to pay the arbitration fee before the deadline. Under the California Arbitration Act, in an employment arbitration, if the employer fails to timely pay the fees an...

Excerpt: ...d assist Spina with its social media presence. Pittleman alleges that she is owed $177,000 for her work. Spina alleges that it agreed to give Pittleman a commission of 10% on the net profits from new sales made by Pittleman to Spina's existing customer Healthy Spot. Spina alleges that Pittleman demanded a 25% interest in the company, and when Spina refused, Pittleman allegedly shut down its website and removed its products from Spina's social med...

Excerpt: ...d support in the amount of $4,058 per month. (First Amended Complaint, ¶ 10.) The parties subsequently purchased a condominium with Plaintiff holding a one percent interest and Defendant holding a 99% interest. (Id., ¶ 12.) In or about September 2016, the parties agreed to modify Defendant's child support payments. (Id., ¶ 13.) Defendant agreed to a monetary increase and to execute a deed transferring to Plaintiff an additional 43% interest in...

Excerpt: ...yan Nourafchan, Mehdi Vosogh, and 9419 Mason Partners LLC (“Mason”) (collectively, “Defendants”). This action stems from Defendants' interest in using Original Balboa's license to operate multiple different cannabis businesses at that location. Plaintiffs allegedly leased industrial space from Mason Partners and Defendant Nourafchan. Now, Defendants move for a protective order and monetary sanctions and move for an order disqualifying Pla...

Excerpt: ...ion in the first amended complaint: First COA – Disability discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) Second COA – Failure to prevent discrimination/harassment Third COA – Retaliation under FEHA Fourth COA – Violation of the California Family Rights Act Fifth COA – Harassment under FEHA Sixth COA – Retaliation under Labor Code section 1102.5 The Court struck a second amended complaint that was filed without ...

Excerpt: ...ties appeared and reported that they resolved the issue of attorneys' fees but “the surrender of the vehicle ha[d] not yet occurred.” (See Court's Minute Order, dated June 15, 2023.) The parties appeared on August 3, 2023, and Plaintiff's counsel “represent[ed] that she is still awaiting the vehicle surrender.” (See Court's Minute Order, dated August 3, 2023.) Plaintiff's counsel filed a motion to enforce the settlement on September 12, 2...

Excerpt: ...on against Defendants asserting various causes of action stemming from the parties' landlord-tenant relationship. Defendants demur to the complaint and move to strike certain allegations. However, Defendants' counsel filed two copies of the motion to strike and did not file the demurrer. Therefore, the Court continues the hearings on the demurrer and motion to strike to March 8, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. The Court orders Defendants to file the demurrer....

Excerpt: ...and to recall and quash the writ of execution. Defendant argues that the judgment is void because the complaint alleges damages in the amount of $103,436, and the default judgment imposes joint and several liability in the amount of $281,663.75 (in addition to prejudgment interest, attorneys' fees, and costs). Defendant also argues that the judgment is void because it includes a PAGA penalty of $22,500 but does not include the State of California...

Excerpt: ...of action, alleging that Defendant did not pay Plaintiff her rightful share of the revenue profits of the limited liability company. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant made unauthorized distributions of revenue and profit to himself since 2006 and failed to account to Plaintiff for her ownership interest in the limited liability company. The parties previously appeared before the Court on Plaintiff's motion for appointment of a receiver, but the pa...

Excerpt: ...d, and fourth causes of action. “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 construe[]” the allegations of the complaint. (Code Civ. Proc., § 452.) “This rule of liberal construction means that the reviewing court draws inferences favorable to the plaintiff, not the def...

Excerpt: ...aintiff to fees relating to Mr. Yates' work on behalf of the plaintiff in Case Number BC661807, who is Mr. Anthony Miramontes. Plaintiff alleges that Mr. Yates did not pay him a share of the fees for one of the settlements, the “Lime Grove settlement.” Yates argues that this settlement was not covered by the parties' referral agreement. On September 26, 2023, the Court granted Defendants Steve Vartazarian and his practice's motion for judgmen...

Excerpt: ...ious clubs and functions, and Pineda was an unpaid volunteer for the Montecito Heights Seniors Club (the “Seniors Club”). In October 2017, the Seniors Club scheduled a trip to Las Vegas, which required two buses. The Seniors Club contracted with Arriage to provide the buses, but he did not have any buses available for the trip, so he subcontracted with Defendant. Defendant had only one bus available, so he subcontracted the other bus to a com...

Excerpt: ...5, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy. Plaintiff also asserts a claim for punitive damages. The Court previously sustained the demurrer and granted the motion to strike with leave to amend. The Court previously sustained Defendants' demurrer but granted leave to amend. The original complaint alleged that Plaintiff was subjected to a “sham” investigation, but it was unclear whether the investigation was non-existent a...

Excerpt: ...old a hearing and expressly find that (i) there exists an overriding interest supporting closure and/or sealing; (ii) there is a substantial probability that the interest will be prejudiced absent closure and/or sealing; (iii) the proposed closure and/or sealing is narrowly tailored to serve the overriding interest; and (iv) there is no less restrictive means of achieving the overriding interest.” (NBC Subsidiary (KNBC‐ TV), Inc. v. Superior ...

Excerpt: ...ludes the relevant details in this order. Plaintiff filed this action on August 8, 2019. The summons and original complaint were served on “Vanik Vergovian of Shalili & Shalili—Agent for Service” at “1200 S. Hope Street, Ste. 1000, Los Angeles, CA 90015.” Plaintiff obtained a default judgment, following which Defendant filed an ex parte application to set aside that default judgment. The Court gave Defendant the benefit of the doubt and...

Excerpt: ...ssment, defamation and trade libel, intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with existing and prospective contractual relationships, and unfair competition. Shawn Yadidi and Promed filed a first amended cross-complaint against Plaintiffs asserting causes of action for civil conspiracy for fraud, misappropriation of trade secrets, and unfair business practices. The complaint was filed on December 21, 2021, and the first amended ...

Excerpt: ...Housing Act, Government Code section 12900, et seq. Defendant now moves for summary judgment, which Plaintiff opposes. When deciding issues of adverse employment actions, such as discrimination and retaliation, the Court applies the McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green (1973) 411 U.S. 792 shifting burdens test. (Caldwell v. Paramount Unified School Dist. (1995) 41 Cal.App.4th 189, 203; Loggins v. Kaiser Permanente Intern. (2007) 151 Cal.App.4th 1102,...

Excerpt: ...complaint and move to strike the prayer for attorneys' fees and punitive damages. A. Demurrer The Court sustains the demurrer to the first cause of action (breach of contact). Plaintiffs have not attached a copy of the lease. Nor do Plaintiffs sufficiently allege the term(s) that was allegedly breached. Plaintiffs allege only that the lease requires “habitable, safe and clean-living quarters.” (First Amended Complaint, ¶ 39.) This summary do...

Excerpt: ...ctions under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, “a prevailing defendant shall not be awarded fees and costs unless the court finds the action was frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless when brought, or the plaintiff continued to litigate after it clearly became so . . . .” (Gov. Code, § 12965, subd. (b); see also Huerta v. Kava Holdings, Inc. (2018) 29 Cal.App.5th 74, 76.) The Court finds that Plaintiff's action against Defendants, while u...

Excerpt: ...D #77 and RPD #78 – Defendants seek to compel Plaintiff to produce “any and all mobile and/or personal cellular devices” that he maintained/used from January 1, 2015, through the present, as well as all passwords necessary to access them. On its face, this request is overly broad. Defendants may request specific documents (i.e., all written communications with other Target employees/supervisors). If so, Plaintiff would be required to produc...

Excerpt: ...ans: (1) general pleading of the legal conclusion of fraud is insufficient; and (2) every element of the cause of action for fraud must be alleged in full, factually and specifically, and the policy of liberal construction of pleading will not usually be invoked to sustain a pleading that is defective in any material respect.” (Wilhelm v. Pray, Price, Williams & Russell (1986) 186 Cal.App.3d 1324, 1331.) There are four circumstances in which no...

Excerpt: ...sonable, or groundless when brought, or the plaintiff continued to litigate after it clearly became so . . . .” (Gov. Code, § 12965, subd. (b); see also Huerta v. Kava Holdings, Inc. (2018) 29 Cal.App.5th 74, 76.) The Court finds that Plaintiff's action against Defendants, while ultimately unsuccessful, was not frivolous. Defendant Arjang Naim, M.D. relies on Plaintiff's discovery responses, but these responses were served prior to the close o...

Excerpt: ...gent misrepresentation, false promise, willful and reckless misconduct, and gross and ordinary negligence. The gravamen of Plaintiff's case is straightforward: He alleges that he was not awarded the Davis Alumni Award in retaliation for having filed complaints for disability and religious discrimination. Now, Defendant moves for an order declaring Plaintiff to be a vexatious litigant under Code of Civil Procedure section 391, et seq., an order re...

Excerpt: .... Now, Defendant demurs to the declaratory relief claim and moves to strike the prayers for punitive damages and attorneys' fees. A. Claim for Declaratory Relief The Court sustains the demurrer to the declaratory relief claim. The Court agrees with Defendant: A declaratory relief action is inappropriate when a plaintiff has an adequate remedy on other causes of action at trial. (See Hood v. Superior Court (1995) 33 Cal.App.4th 319, 324; Californi...

Excerpt: ...urrer to these causes of action with leave to amend. Plaintiff amended these causes of action, to which Defendant demurs. The Court overrules the demurrer. LEGAL STANDARD “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 construe[]” the allegations of the complaint. (Code Civ. P...