Excerpt: ...t Dated June 29, 1994, Clarice Letizia, and Diana Mackinson's (collectively, “Property Owners”) demurrer is OVERRULED IN PART and SUSTAINED IN PART. I. FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION – PRIVATE NUISANCE The Property Owners contend that the first cause of action is duplicative of the Breach of Warranty of Habitability and Negligence of Premises causes of action. A “merely duplicative pleading which adds nothing to the complaint by way of fact or the...

Excerpt: ...g date. Based on the hearing date of September 4, 2020, the deadline to file oppositions to the demurrers and motions was August 24, 2020. (CCP § 1005(b).) Except for the opposition to the demurrer and motion to Strike filed by The Gorilla Glue Company LLC, plaintiff untimely filed oppositions on August 26, 2020— though it also appears the oppositions to The Gorilla Glue Company's demurrer and motion to strike were untimely with respect to the...

Excerpt: ... a declaration indicating she made a good faith attempt to meet and confer before filing the demurrer and motion to strike, as is required by CCP §§430.41(a)(2) and 435.5(a)(2). Paragraph 13 of counsel for defendant's declaration in support of the demurrer merely states in a conclusory fashion that defendant complied with CCP §430.41, but counsel does not describe the nature of the meet and confer efforts. Defendant must comply with the meet a...

Excerpt: ...El Adobe Pharmacy, Inc. are GRANTED. As a preliminary matter, pursuant to Evidence Code § 452(c), defendants' respective Requests for Judicial Notice are GRANTED as to the California Secretary of State Business Entity Detail for Shaghzo and Shaghzo Law Firm, A Professional Corporation and Shaghzo and Shaghzo Law Firm, LP. The Request for Judicial Notice of the web site of “Shaghzo & Shaghzo Law Firm, APC” is DENIED, because the contents of t...

Excerpt: ...cause there was a triable issue as to whether plaintiffs impliedly waived the right to partition. During the hearing, plaintiffs argued that such a waiver requires some form of a written agreement, which does not exist in this case. Defendants argued that a waiver by implication necessarily means that a writing is not required. The Court ordered supplemental briefing regarding whether an “implied waiver” of right to partition must be made in ...

Excerpt: ...ablished: (1) it has a direct interest in the lawsuit; (2) intervention would not enlarge the issues raised by the original parties; and (3) the intervenor would not ‘tread on the rights of the original parties to conduct their own lawsuit.'” (Bame v. City of Del Mar (2001) 86 Cal.App.4th 1346, 1364.) With respect to whether USAA has a direct interest in this action, as the automobile insurer of defendant Noell Slade (King Decl. ¶ 3 & Ex. A)...

Excerpt: ...KE initially filed its motion on March 3, 2020, to which Catalina Media Development (“Catalina”) and The Worthe Real Estate Group, Inc. (“Worthe”) filed an opposition on May 11, 2020. Rather than file a Reply Brief, TKE instead filed an “Amended Motion” nearly three months later, making a different request for attorney's fees (albeit a reduced amount) and providing additional documents in support thereof (notably including numerous bi...

Excerpt: ...d and in the meantime ordered defendant to cease smoking in her unit and comply in all respects with the Governing Documents, i.e. the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (“CC&Rs”). “[T]he question whether a preliminary injunction should be granted involves two interrelated factors: (1) the likelihood that the plaintiff will prevail on the merits, and (2) the relative balance of harms that is likely to result from the gra...

Excerpt: ...ess. Under California Rules of Court, rule 2.550(d), “[t]he court may order that a record be filed under seal only if it expressly finds facts that establish: (1) There exists an overriding interest that overcomes the right of public access to the record; [¶] (2) The overriding interest supports sealing the record; [¶] (3) A substantial probability exists that the overriding interest will be prejudiced if the record is not sealed; [¶] (4) Th...

Excerpt: ...ED, pursuant to Evidence Code § 452(d). The Bank's evidentiary objections are OVERRULED. As a preliminary matter, both Bank and Borrowers violated paragraph 6(d) of the Court's First Amended General Order filed on May 3, 2019 regarding electronic filing, because the exhibits to requests for judicial notice and/or declarations were not bookmarked, thereby rendering review of the electronically filed exhibits unduly burdensome to review. Future fa...

Excerpt: ... is required by CCP § 430.41(a). Defendants are admonished to comply with the meet and confer requirements of the Code of Civil Procedure. Notwithstanding this admonition, the Court rules on the merits of the demurrer. (CCP § 430.41(a)(4) [“A determination by the court that the meet and confer process was insufficient is not grounds to overrule or sustain a demurrer.”].) As a preliminary matter, in the reply, defendants withdrew their chall...

Excerpt: ...ED, pursuant to Evidence Code § 452(d). Plaintiffs have not demonstrated the claim upon which the requested attachment is based is a claim upon which an attachment may be issued, in that “an attachment may be issued only in an action on a claim or claims for money, each of which is based upon a contract, express or implied, where the total amount of the claim or claims is a fixed or readily ascertainable amount.” (CCP §§ 483.010(a), 485.22...

Excerpt: ...r Breach of Written Contract, second cause of action for Actual Fraud/Intentional Misrepresentation, fourth cause of action for Negligent Misrepresentation, and sixth cause of action for Unfair Business Practices are OVERRULED. The demurrers to the third cause of action for Constructive Fraud and fifth cause of action for Breach of Good Faith and Fair Dealing are SUSTAINED. Defendants Merit One Lending, Inc; 2 Paregam, LLC; Commercial Partners Ne...

Excerpt: ... 14 calendar days from the date of the hearing, as required by CCP § 437c(b)(2). Even though defendants were deprived of three days to prepare a reply, defendants were able to sufficiently respond to plaintiffs' opposition. The Court considers the opposition on the merits in its discretion under Cal. Rule of Court 3.1300(d). I. PLAINTIFF VARDANYAN'S CLAIMS With respect to plaintiff Armen Vardanyan's claim under his policy for property damage cau...

Excerpt: ...PART. Defendants' requests for judicial notice of the Complaint, FAC, and the separate answers filed by defendants Jack L. Tseng and Li-Hsiang Wang are GRANTED, but only for the existence of the documents, not the truth of the matters asserted therein. (Evid. Code § 452(d); Sosinsky v. Grant (1992) 6 Cal.App.4th 1548, 1564-69.) With respect to Issues 1, 2, and 4, defendants argue plaintiffs' Nuisance and Trespass causes of action arising from en...

Excerpt: ...f plaintiff's Complaint filed on August 2, 2018 is GRANTED, but only for the existence of the pleading, not the truth of the matters asserted therein. (See Evid. Code § 452 (d); Sosinsky v. Grant (1992) 6 Cal.App.4th 1548, 1564-69.) Defendants argue that the raised area of the sidewalk on which plaintiff tripped and fell was a trivial defect, thus entitling them to summary judgment. The sidewalk uplift on which plaintiff tripped ranged in height...

Excerpt: ...f specified portions of the San Marino Municipal Code (“SMMC”), attached thereto as Exhibits A through E, and the California Fire Code (“CFC”), attached thereto as Exhibits F through L, are GRANTED, pursuant to Evidence Code § 452(b). “Where a governmental entity seeking to enjoin the alleged violation of an ordinance which specifically provides for injunctive relief establishes that it is reasonably probable it will prevail on the mer...

Excerpt: ...The following motions filed by defendant Wayneinder S. Anand, M.D. are DENIED:  Motion to Deem Requests for Admission, Set Two, Propounded on Plaintiff Dee Ann Abelar  Motion to Deem Requests for Admission, Set Two, Propounded on Plaintiff Brian Abelar The following motions filed by defendant Babak Hakimisefat, D.O. are GRANTED:  Motion to Compel Responses to Form Interrogatories, Set Two from Plaintiff Dee Ann Abelar  Motion to Compe...

Excerpt: ...edevelopment Agency of City of Los Angeles v. County of Los Angeles (2001) 89 Cal.App.4th 719, 727 [“An opinion of the Attorney General is not a mere ‘advisory' opinion, but a statement which, although not binding on the judiciary, must be ‘regarded as having a quasi judicial character and [is] entitled to great respect,' and given great weight by the courts”].) I. MOTION TO COMPEL ANSWERS FROM DEFENDANT DOE 1 As set forth in plaintiff's ...

Excerpt: ... Code § 7191 might otherwise render unenforceable the arbitration provision here, the Court finds § 7191 is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act, as the letter of intent concerns a transaction involving interstate commerce. (See Woolls v. Superior Court (2005) 127 Cal.App.4th 197, 212–13; see also Allied-Bruce Terminix Cos. v. Dobson (1995) 513 U.S. 265; Basura v. U.S. Home Corp. (2002) 98 Cal.App.4th 1025.) Defendant have submitted a dec...

Excerpt: ...(Anderson Decl. ¶ 5 & Ex. A.) Based on defendants' failure to respond to discovery, including the Requests for Admission, the Court subsequently granted plaintiff's motion for terminating sanctions and struck the answer filed by defendants. (See 5/4/17 minute order.) Ultimately, plaintiff obtained a default judgment against defendants for $235,541.58 and a 7% interest in Toughbuilt. (Anderson Decl. ¶ 14 & Ex. N.) The Court of Appeal reversed th...

Excerpt: ...pril 17, 2020. In light of court closures, the need for social distancing, and concerns for public health and safety due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the matter will be heard in Department 1 of the Glendale Courthouse at the scheduled date and time. Having reviewed the motion and all related filings by the parties, the Court concludes that the matter “shall be submitted without oral argument” at the close of the hearing. (CCP § 661.) If...

Excerpt: ...or Disability Discrimination under FEHA, tenth cause of action for Failure to Engage in the Interactive Process under FEHA, and eleventh cause of action for Disability Discrimination under the Unruh Civil Rights Act. Defendant's Motion to Strike is DENIED. I. DEMURRER A. Seventh Cause of Action – Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Defendant Anderson Ballard Companies, Inc. contends that plaintiffs failed to plead extreme conduct. But ...

Excerpt: ...d ultimately prove by clear and convincing evidence) facts establishing that defendant: (1) had responsibility for meeting the basic needs of the elder or dependent adult, such as nutrition, hydration, hygiene, or medical care; (2) knew of conditions that made the elder or dependent adult unable to provide for his or her own basic needs; and (3) denied or withheld goods or services necessary to meet the elder or dependent adult's basic needs, eit...

Excerpt: ...g that plaintiff cannot establish Flatiron was negligent because Flatiron had no operations on I-210 West before 10:40 p.m. on July 24, 2015 when the subject accident took place. Flatiron points out that plaintiff testified she never saw active construction work in the center median of the westbound 210 before or after the collision. (Def. UMF 5-11 and evidence cited.) Long and witness William Winters also testified that they do not know where on...

Excerpt: ...ystems/West (collectively, “Simi”) argue that the causes of action for professional negligence and loss of consortium fail because plaintiffs will be unable to establish that Simi breached any duty of care. In support, Simi submits the declarations of Janet Geier, RN, BSN and Samantha St. Omar Roy, RN. Plaintiffs object that the declarants do not establish that they are qualified to testify as expert witnesses because the curricula vitae refe...

Excerpt: ...tions Order compelling deposition of Alexis Lunn, contempt, sanctions FACTUAL BACKGROUND: Plaintiff Toni Lawson-Apana alleges that she leased a vehicle from defendant Sunrise Ford, which vehicle was manufactured by defendant Ford Motor Company, and which was equipped with a Power Liftgate System, an electrical opening and closing system. Plaintiff alleges that contrary to defendants' representations regarding the subject vehicle's safety and reli...

Excerpt: ...egelin RELIEF REQUESTED: Strike punitive damages CAUSES OF ACTION: from First Amended Complaint 1) Survival Action Negligence and Premises Liability 2) Wrongful Death SUMMARY OF FACTS: Plaintiffs the Estate of Richard Charles Wegelin and Jennafer Leigh Weglin, the natural daughter of Richard Charles Wegelin, bring this action against defendants Brilliant Management, Inc., Hsiao Ping Wang, and Debra Gray, alleging that defendants owned, leased, po...

Excerpt: ...AL BACKGROUND: Plaintiff Min Lu aka Victoria Lu alleges that while working as a server at a restaurant owned and operated by defendants Shanghailander Palace and Shanghailander Palace Arcadia, she was repeatedly touched in a sexual manner by defendant Qinguuan Yan, who was employed by the restaurant as one of its managers. Plaintiff alleges that Yan would also make sexualized comments about plaintiff's body, spread rumors about plaintiff, and exp...

Excerpt: ...CTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND: Plaintiffs Prashant Vaghashia and Mita Vaghashia allege that beginning in June of 2016, they became insurance policy holders with defendants Kookmin Best Insurance Co., Ltd. (“KBIC”) and Pro-Am Insurance Agency, Inc., pursuant to a policy which provides for General Commercial property and liability coverage, and covers plaintiffs and their business, motels and hotels, and requires defendants to defend plaintif...

Excerpt: ...intiff Diahanna Allen alleges that she is 87 years old, and disabled, and the sole owner of two residential properties in the City of Glendale, which are approximately one block from each other at 1538 Highland Avenue and 1613 Highland Avenue. Plaintiff alleges that the 1538 Property contains a one-story main house, a garage and guest house, and that in 2012, plaintiff met with defendants Oran Belillti (“Oran”) (Note: defendants appear to spe...

Excerpt: ...ntentional Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage 4) Negligent Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage 5) Civil Conspiracy 6) Unjust Enrichment 7) Unfair Business Practices 8) Quiet Title 9) Declaratory Relief SUMMARY OF FACTS: Plaintiff William Brad McAlpin alleges that in March of 2001 he obtained a judgment against Mark Blakey, which judgment was renewed, and has a present balance in excess of $600,000. Plaintiff alleges tha...

Excerpt: ... Mona Seraji improperly seeks an injunction in an attempt to attach defendant's property before judgment without complying with CCP § 483.010 et seq. The Court disagrees. The subject prayers for relief seek equitable and/or injunctive relief in connection with relief that might be afforded by a judgment entered in plaintiff's favor. By its very nature, such relief is post- judgment, and not impermissible pre-judgment relief. Further, the Court n...

Excerpt: ...complete medical records and billing records from Kaiser. Plaintiff has objected. Defendant Weitzel now seeks an order compelling plaintiff to provide authorization for the release of all such records. On February 21, 2020, the Court held a hearing on Defendant's Motion to Compel Plaintiff to Provide Authorization for the Release of Records from Kaiser Permanente. After continuing the hearing and receiving additional briefing and evidence from th...

Excerpt: ...se Management Conference (“CMC”) was held on June 4, 2018. During the CMC, the trial was initially set for June 3, 2019. This motion for judgment on the pleadings was not filed until January 30, 2020. However, § 438(e) provides explicitly for an untimely motion to be heard if the Court “otherwise permits,” and the Court in its discretion considers the motion on the merits, because the fraud causes of action are not pled with the required...

Excerpt: ...alleges that her disability resulted from her hip fracture, which limited her mobility. (Amended Compl. ¶¶ 30, 39, 41.) After plaintiff sought damages for the incident, defendants moved the rent check deposit box from the first floor to the second floor, which plaintiff could not access. (Id. ¶¶ 22, 39.) While defendants initially accommodated plaintiff's disability by picking up her rent check from plaintiff's first floor apartment, defendan...

Excerpt: ...gton Memorial Hospital (“Huntington”) had filed a demurrer and motion to strike with respect to the original Complaint on November 1, 2019. The Second Amended Complaint is hereby STRICKEN on the Court's own motion. Accordingly, the operative complaint is the First Amended Complaint (“FAC”), and the Court will address the instant demurrers and motion to strike, which concern that pleading. The Court notes that plaintiff Susan Harman's oppo...

Excerpt: ...or sanctions, entitled, in part, “Plaintiff's Response to All Defendants' Motion for Sanctions.” Per CCP § 1004(b), the opposition should have been filed and served at least nine court days in advance of the 2/21/20 hearing on the Motion for Sanctions. Plaintiff's Opposition was untimely filed on 2/14/20. In addition, based on the 2/13/20 Declaration of Reilley Lippman, the Court finds the opposition was untimely served as well. Indeed, acco...

Excerpt: ...clear whether Lobar is providing rhetorical background and atmospherics or is advancing an independent ground for judgment on the pleadings, Lobar argues or suggests in its moving papers that, because plaintiff itself discovered the Lobar Deed of Trust when conducting a pre- foreclosure investigation, plaintiff cannot rely on the purported negligence of other title companies that did not find and/or disclose the Lobar Deed of Trust “to conclude...

Excerpt: ...t records); Sosinsky v. Grant (1992) 6 Cal.App.4th 1548, 1564-69.) Defendants' requests for judicial notice as to Exhibits 2, 2A, and 6 is GRANTED, pursuant to Evidence Code § 452(d). Defendants' request for judicial notice as to Exhibit 5 is GRANTED. (Del E. Webb Corp. v. Structural Materials Co. (1981) 123 Cal.App.3d 593, 604-05 [“The court will take judicial notice of records such as admissions, answers to interrogatories, affidavits, and t...

Excerpt: ...complete medical records and billing records from Kaiser. Defendant Weitzel now seeks an order compelling plaintiff to provide authorization for the release of all such records. Defendant's Motion to Compel Plaintiff to Provide Authorization for the Release of Records from Kaiser Permanente is: (1) GRANTED as to plaintiff's medical records; and (2) GRANTED as to plaintiff's billing records, subject to the “first look” procedure set forth belo...

Excerpt: ...arbitration provision in the Retail Installment Sales Contract (“RISC”), which is signed by plaintiff and the dealership, governs claims pertaining to the purchase or condition of the vehicle encompassed in the RISC. Plaintiff does not dispute that the dealership is entitled to arbitration. Accordingly, the motion to compel arbitration is granted as to plaintiff's claims against defendant Fiat of Glendale. As for the manufacturer, it is undis...

Excerpt: ... two grounds: (1) uncertainty; and (2) lack of ripeness. Both grounds are unavailing. With respect to uncertainty, a demurrer for uncertainty must be “strictly construed” and only sustained where the subject pleading is so ambiguous and so unintelligible that it prevents a party from reasonably responding to the allegations before him or her. (Khoury v. Maly's of Cal., Inc. (1993) 14 Cal.App.4th 612, 616.) Here, the allegations in the Complai...

Excerpt: ...(“WORTHE”) Cross-Complaint, filed February 7, 2017, asserting six causes of action against TKE. I. REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE TKE's requests for judicial notice contained in TKE's points and authorities and separate statement are DENIED. TKE is required to make such requests in a separate filing. (Cal. Rule of Court 3.1113(l) [“Any request for judicial notice must be made in a separate document listing the specific items for which notice i...

Excerpt: ... Broadcasting Licensee, LLC (“MRB”) fails to adequately explain how the separate matter to which the TRO pertains is connected to this action. Defendant MRB's Objection Nos. 6 and 7 are SUSTAINED based on lack of personal knowledge. MRB's other objections are OVERRULED. II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION There are two overarching issues in the MRB's motion: (1) whether there is a triable issue as to whether co-defendant Cat Chao published the allege...

Excerpt: ...of the document, not for the truth of the matters asserted therein. (Evid. Code § 452(d) (court records); Sosinsky v. Grant (1992) 6 Cal.App.4th 1548, 1564-69.) Plaintiffs' and defendant's evidentiary objections are OVERRULED. With respect to plaintiffs' objection to the Declaration of Mark Needham, M.D. based on Garibay v. Hemmat (2008) 161 Cal.App.4th 735, the Court notes that the Garibay Court never stated that the entirety of the medical rec...

Excerpt: ...t Bank of the West (“Bank of the West”); (4) Defendants JCP, LP (“JCP”) and Rediger Investment Corporation (“Rediger”); and (5) Defendant Stewart Title of California, Inc. (“Stewart Title”). I. FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION: NEGLIGENCE “The elements of any negligence cause of action are duty, breach of duty, proximate cause, and damages.” (Peredia v. HR Mobile Services, Inc. (2018) 25 Cal.App.5th 680, 687.) As to Inter Valley, “no l...

Excerpt: ...ondition. Plaintiff alleges that, while she was a patient at CSJ Providence St. Joseph, she was denied adequate, reasonable medical care and treatment, causing plaintiff to suffer neglect, abuse, infection and serious injuries. Defendant CSJ Providence St. Joseph Medical Center has moved for summary judgment or alternatively summary adjudication. For the reasons that follow, the Court GRANTS summary judgment in favor of the moving defendant. II. ...

Excerpt: ...future. Pursuant to Evidence Code §451(a), the Court takes judicial notice of Streets and Highways Code §70(c). Defendants The People of the State of California, Acting by and through the Department of Transportation (“Caltrans”) and California Housing Finance Agency's (“CalHFA”) objections to the exhibits attached to plaintiff's opposition are SUSTAINED. The Court considers only the four corners of the complaint, as well as matters tha...

Excerpt: ... objections go to the weight, and not the admissibility, of the evidence. I. FIRST AND SECOND CAUSES OF ACTION Triable issues of fact remain as to the first (negligence) and second (premises liability) causes of action. Plaintiff has raised triable issues of material fact with respect to whether the wheel stop at issue was a dangerous condition of which defendant reasonably should have been aware. (See Response to UMF Nos. 16, 17, and evidence ci...