Excerpt: ... to entry of this tentative order. INTRODUCTION Plaintiff Shahrouz Jahanshahi (“Plaintiff”), a self-represented litigant, filed this legal malpractice action against his former attorney, Corey Evan Parker, and a series of Doe defendants. Following a demurrer, the following causes of action remained at issue: (1) Legal malpractice, (2) Breach of fiduciary duty, and (3) Breach of contract. (See Court's Minute Order, dated August 25, 2021.) Shor...

Excerpt: ...ent for the mediation. In response, Weber filed the instant case, asserting a single cause of action for declaratory relief. Weber seeks a judicial determination that the contract is voidable under Business and Professions Code section 6147(b) for failure to comply with section 6147(a), or, in the alternative, that Rothman is not entitled to $9,830.40. LEGAL STANDARD Code of Civil Procedure section 1060 permits “[a]ny person interested . . . un...

Excerpt: ...ess practices, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, declaratory relief, and unjust enrichment. Defendants filed a cross-complaint for breach of contract, for allegedly failing to pay legal fees. Now, Defendants move to compel arbitration in this case. 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...

Excerpt: ... 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 media accounts. Plaintiff served ...

Excerpt: ...oppement, S.A. (“SARD”) (collectively, “Defendants”). Conkwest Incorporated (“Conkwest”), a predecessor entity of Plaintiff, entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement with SARD on December 16, 2011. Plaintiff alleges that this agreement granted Defendants a license to use NK-92 cells for limited research and development purposes. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants were not authorized to modify the cells or use the cells for comm...

Excerpt: ...mpel further responses to Requests for Production of Documents from October 3, 2023, to October 2, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. Any party who does not appear at the hearing, either remotely or in-person, shall waive the right to be heard on these motions and shall submit to any order issued following the hearing. Plaintiff Yerik Berry (“Plaintiff”) filed this employment case against Defendants United Moving Cars, Juan Carlos Acosta Martinez, and MA Gua...

Excerpt: ...mpel further responses to Requests for Production of Documents from October 3, 2023, to October 2, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. Any party who does not appear at the hearing, either remotely or in-person, shall waive the right to be heard on these motions and shall submit to any order issued following the hearing. Plaintiff Yerik Berry (“Plaintiff”) filed this employment case against Defendants United Moving Cars, Juan Carlos Acosta Martinez, and MA Gua...

Excerpt: ...Petitioner has dismissed Cohen from this proceeding in favor of pursuing a separate arbitration against him. Petitioner seeks only to confirm the arbitration award against Kosher Foods Unlimited. A party may seek a court judgment confirming an arbitration award by filing and serving a petition at least 10 days, but no more than four years after the arbitrator serves the arbitration award. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 1288, 1288.4.) The Court must confi...

Excerpt: ...er Nine, which sought to exclude the same evidence. (See Court's Minute Order, dated August 25, 2023.) Previously, Plaintiff sought to introduce evidence of alleged harassment by two men, Shihan Dias and Robert Weissman. Plaintiff produced text messages from Dias, and the text messages with dates were sent after she was no longer employed at Costco. (Declaration of Nadia D. Adams, ¶¶ 2-3 & Exh. #2.) There was one string of texts that were not d...

Excerpt: ...mployees intentionally interfered with his employment with the City of Los Angeles by communicating false information about him. There is no dispute that Plaintiff signed a waiver authorizing Los Angeles to obtain any information pertaining to his employment history and releasing all former employers from “any and all liability for damage of whatever kind . . . because of compliance with this authorization and request to release information, or...

Excerpt: ...d moves to strike the prayer for punitive damages and related allegations. The Court sustained Defendant's demurrer because this action is untimely. The Court issued an order to show cause why leave to amend should be granted and ordered Plaintiff's counsel to file a response containing all facts that would be included in an amended complaint. Having reviewed Plaintiff's response, the Court now denies leave to amend and dismisses this case with p...

Excerpt: ...ted in the People's Republic of China. Defendants now move to quash service of the summons and complaint, which Plaintiff opposes. The motion is continued to afford Plaintiff's counsel an opportunity to conduct (limited) jurisdictional discovery. PLAINTIFF'S ALLEGATIONS Plaintiff is a technology company that provides for certified testing, inspection, and auditing of consumer products manufactured in China. (Complaint, ¶ 1.) Plaintiff has its pr...

Excerpt: ...f opposes. The Court grants the motion in part and denies the motion in part. PLAINTIFF'S ALLEGATIONS Edward Steinrecher (“Steinrecher”) was an attorney who maintained a practice, Edward Streinrecher, P.C. (the “practice”). (Complaint, ¶ 1.) Streinrecher passed away, and in May 2019, the probate court appointed Plaintiff to be the practice administrator for the practice. (Ibid.) At the time of his death, Steinrecher was handling a person...

Excerpt: ... violation of California Labor Law, (4) Failure to issue timely and accurate itemized wage statements, and (5) Unfair business practices under Business and Professions Code section 17200. Defendant demurs to the complaint, arguing that this action is barred by the “ministerial exception” to the state's employment laws. The Court sustains the demurrer to the first and second causes of action with leave to amend. The Court sustains the demurrer...

Excerpt: ...ile 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 quotations and citatio...

Excerpt: .... Now, Plaintiff seeks leave to add Apex as a defendant to preclude an “empty chair defense,” and to include allegations that Apex is an alter ego of Defendant. The motion is granted. LEGAL STANDARD Under Code of Civil Procedure section 473, subdivision (a)(1), “The court may, in furtherance of justice, and on any terms as may be proper, allow a party to amend any pleading or proceeding by adding or striking out the name of any party, or by...

Excerpt: ...e third cause of action (sexual orientation harassment) and the fourth cause of action (sexual harassment). The bulk of Plaintiff's complaint relates to disability discrimination and related causes of action. Plaintiff alleges only as follows with respect to his claims for sexual orientation harassment and sexual harassment: 1. In February 2022, during a diversity training, an x-ray technician, John Oritz, states that “he didn't want to deal wi...

Excerpt: ...052.42 in costs. Defendant opposes the motion, arguing that Plaintiff should receive only $14,265 in attorney's fees and $10,118.85 in costs. The Court grants the motion and orders Defendant to pay Plaintiff's counsel $35,765.95 in attorney's fees and $13,052.42 in costs. LEGAL STANDARD The determination of reasonable amount of attorney fees is within the sound discretion of trial courts. (PLCM Group v. Drexler (2000) 22 Cal.4th 1084, 1095; Akins...

Excerpt: ...igent 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 complains 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: ...o.” (Gov. Code, § 12965, subd. (b); Williams v. Chino Valley Independent Fire Dist. (2015) 61 Cal.4th 97, 115.) Plaintiff's counsel did not raise this argument in his moving papers, and the Court cannot consider arguments first raised in reply briefs because the opposing party had no opportunity to respond. Therefore, the Court continues the hearings on the motions to tax costs to October 23, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. Defendants may file a surreply b...

Excerpt: ...ide projects. In November 2016, Plaintiff sent Defendant's owner, Leonel Prats, a note stating that he was in the hospital for surgery. In response, Mr. Prats' secretary, Claire McCarty, sent an email to a supplier stating that Plaintiff “is currently not working as our employee” and that the supplier should bill him directly for one project. The email also stated that “[t]he only persons that currently should be purchasing on [Defendant's]...

Excerpt: ... protective order on November 8, 2022. The case then settled without any substantive litigation. There is no dispute that the case settled and that Plaintiff was the prevailing party, based upon which Plaintiff's counsel filed the instant motion for attorney's fees. Plaintiff's counsel seeks $28,192.50 in attorney's fees and $744.31 in costs. Defendant opposes the motion as it relates to attorney's fees and argues that the Court should award no m...

Excerpt: ...nder FEHA 4. Failure to Prevent Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation under FEHA 5. Failure to Provide Reasonable Accommodation under FEHA 6. Failure to Engage in a Good Faith Interactive Process under FEHA 7. Declaratory Judgment 8. Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy Defendants move for summary judgment or, in the alternative, summary adjudication. The Court grants summary judgment on every cause of action except the fifth ...

Excerpt: ... 2. Age discrimination under FEHA 3. Disability discrimination under FEHA 4. Harassment under FEHA 5. Retaliation under FEHA 6. Failure to prevent discrimination, harassment, and retaliation under FEHA 7. Wrongful termination in violation of FEHA 8. Intentional infliction of emotional distress 9. Negligence 10. Failure to pay overtime wages 11. Failure to provide meal and rest breaks 12. Failure to pay discharged employee 13. Failure to provide i...

Excerpt: ...as follows: “Per the Government Claims Act, a party with a claim for damages against a public entity must first file claim directly with that entity. The party may file a lawsuit only if the public entity denies or rejects the claim. (Gov. Code §§ 905, 945.4; City of Ontario v. Superior Court (1993) 12 Cal.App.4th 894.) The claims presentation requirement provides the public entity with an opportunity to evaluate the claim and decide whether ...