Excerpt: ...raud. The FAC alleges Plaintiff owns a commercial building, located at 730 North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. On February 28, 2002, Haque personally assumed a lease with Plaintiff's predecessor (the “Assumed Lease”) to rent the Premises for the purpose of operating a Koi restaurant. Later, the Assumed Leased was assigned to defendant Koi LP. The Assumed Lease, including all extensions thereof, was set to expire on July 23, 2...

Excerpt: ...ion has no merit or that there is no defense to the action or proceeding. (CCP, § 437c(a).) “The purpose of the law of summary judgment is to provide courts with a mechanism to cut through the parties' pleadings in order to determine whether, despite their allegations, trial is in fact necessary to resolve their dispute.” (Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (2001) 25 Cal.4th 826, 843.) “A party may move for summary adjudication as to one or...

Excerpt: ...(3) slander per se. According to the complaint, Plaintiff is a gaming professional that worked at Activision on various gaming projects throughout 1996 to 2017. Despite this successful career, Activision fired Plaintiff without cause in October 2021. He was fired because he was among a group of senior Activision employees terminated as “sacrificial lambs” to deflect negative publicity from allegations of widespread sexual harassment within th...

Excerpt: ...ce the judgment, and (2) complete and serve a notice of levy, which is directed to the judgment debtor or third person holding the debtor's property and notifies them of their duties and rights. (CCP §§ 699.510(a), 699.520, 699.540.) Code of Civil Procedure section 700.140 sets out the requirements for a levy on deposit accounts. A creditor's compliance with the prerequisites of section 700.140 (service of levy) and section 700.160 (levy on thi...

Excerpt: ... of implied warranty of quiet enjoyment; 4) breach of contract; 5) intentional infliction of emotional distress; 6) negligence; and 7) breach of implied warranty of habitability. On July 8, 2021, Defendant filed the instant demurrer and motion to strike the FAC. Plaintiff opposed and submitted a proposed Second Amended Complaint. LEGAL STANDARD A demurrer for sufficiency tests whether the complaint states a cause of action. (Hahn v. Mirda (2007) ...

Excerpt: ...D as to Plaintiff Meitsu Lisa Mireles's sole claim for loss of consortium. Defendant United Fabricare Supply's joinder is likewise GRANTED. BACKGROUND On June 20, 2018, Plaintiffs Jose Mireles and Meitsu Lisa Mireles filed this toxic tort action against Defendants R.R. Street & Co. (“Street”) and United Fabricare Supply Inc. (“UFS”), among others. Plaintiffs allege that Mr. Mireles developed kidney cancer arising from his exposure to toxi...

Excerpt: ...velopment Permit (CDP) because it is an attached improvement to a single family residence. However, the City processed the application as non-exempt, which subjected the ADU to additional set-back requirements under the California Coastal Act and Malibu's Local Coastal Program (LCP). The City subsequently denied their CDP on June 7, 2021. Petitioners filed a request for a disability accommodation, which was also denied. Petitioners appealed to th...

Excerpt: ... condition despite notices to Defendant. In April 2021, Defendant told Plaintiffs to vacate the premises by July 31, 2021. In May 2021, Plaintiffs discovered a severe rat infestation on the property and found previous failed attempts to control the rat population by Defendant. Plaintiffs deemed the lease terminated due to the uninhabitable condition of the infestation. The Complaint states seven causes for: 1. Breach of Contract; 2. Conversion; 3...

Excerpt: ...2) Breach of Contract Implied in Fact; (3) Fraud and Deceit - False Promise; (4) Negligence; (5) Open Book Account; (6) Account Stated; (7) Quantum Meruit; (8) Elder Abuse With Unfounded Threat by Defendant's Attorney Jon Feldon; (9) Theft; and (10) Indemnification. Generally, the FAC alleges that Defendants owe over $119,460.00 in rent, for damages to the Property, and for loss of personal property. Williams demurs to each cause of action. No op...

Excerpt: ...ed the instant motion for summary judgment and adjudication of each cause of action and punitive damages. Plaintiff opposes the motion. LEGAL STANDARD A party may move for summary judgment in any action or proceeding if it is contended the action has no merit or that there is no defense to the action or proceeding. (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c(a).) “The purpose of the law of summary judgment is to provide courts with a mechanism to cut through the...

Excerpt: ...elling. The matter proceeded to a jury trial from October 4, 2021, through October 15, 2021. The jury returned a verdict on October 15, 2021. On November 10, 2021, the Court entered the verdict in favor of Defendant. Notice of Entry of Judgment was served on November 29, 2021. The Court heard and denied Plaintiff's motion for new trial and motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict on January 21, 2022. Plaintiff filed a notice of appeal on F...

Excerpt: ...ampton Tedder Electric Co., and the State of California. Generally, Plaintiffs allege damages stemming from Defendants' negligent installation of a power pole in September 2019 through a culvert pipe on a California Department of Transportation (“Caltrans”) right of way (easement). The culvert supported and drained onto the adjacent Howell property causing flooding during heavy rain. The operative Second Amended Complaint alleges causes of ac...

Excerpt: ...nd 5) intentional infliction of emotional distress. Plaintiff owns real property located at 1150 Tellem Dr., Pacific Palisades. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants Warren and Leanna Tourtellotte are husband and wife, and Trustees of the Tourtellotte Family Trust dated January 26, 2018. The Tourtellottes own interest in a neighboring real property located at 1140 Tellem Dr., immediately downhill from Plaintiff's property. Defendants have renovated t...

Excerpt: ...or proceeding. (CCP, § 437c(a).) “The purpose of the law of summary judgment is to provide courts with a mechanism to cut through the parties' pleadings in order to determine whether, despite their allegations, trial is in fact necessary to resolve their dispute.” (Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (2001) 25 Cal.4th 826, 843.) “A party may move for summary adjudication as to one or more causes of action within an action, one or more affirm...

Excerpt: ...entitled to mandatory attorney's fees. The fee-shifting provision was apparently intended to discourage such strategic lawsuits against public participation by imposing the litigation costs on the party seeking to chill the valid exercise of the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and petition for the redress of grievances. The fee-shifting provision also encourages private representation in SLAPP cases, including situations when a SLAPP d...

Excerpt: ...hbali v. Jacobi (SC129016). Plaintiff alleges that due to Defendants' negligence, on January 13, 2020, Plaintiff's default judgment was taken in the underlying action in the amount of $1,278,690.45. On July 6, 2021, Defendants filed the instant demurrer. Plaintiff opposes the demurrer. LEGAL STANDARD A demurrer for sufficiency tests whether the complaint states a cause of action. (Hahn v. Mirda (2007) 147 Cal.App.4th 740, 747.) When considering d...

Excerpt: ...t by a resident/patient of Hargis Home, a residential group home where Plaintiff worked as a supervisor. The disabled and dependent adult, JC, was a patient/client of NLACRC. Defendant My Life Foundation contracted with the County of Los Angeles to provide day care services to JC. Defendants allegedly had notice of JC's dangerous and violent propensities prior to the attack. The Complaint alleges four causes of action for: 1) violation of Governm...

Excerpt: ...acity extends to the assignee of a suspended corporation under certain conditions. (Cal-Western Bus. Servs., Inc. v. Corning Capital Grp. (2013) 221 Cal. App. 4th 304, 312.) “In cases where the assignor of a chose in action is a suspended corporation, California courts generally have recognized that the assignee is subject to the same defenses that could have been asserted against the assignor.” (Id. at 311.) “[T]he assignee ‘stands in th...

Excerpt: ...buse, (2) professional negligence, (3) negligent hiring and supervision, and (4) loss of consortium. Plaintiff filed the instant motion for summary adjudication against certain affirmative defenses in Defendant Regent's answer. LEGAL STANDARD A party may move for summary judgment in any action or proceeding if it is contended the action has no merit or that there is no defense to the action or proceeding. (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c(a).) “The pur...

Excerpt: ...Complaint alleges causes of action for: 1) negligence; 2) fraud and concealment; 3) private nuisance; 4) public nuisance; 5) trespass; 6) inverse condemnation; 7) inverse condemnation; and 8) RICO (18 USC § 1962(b)). LEGAL STANDARD Under Code of Civil Procedure section 526(a), a preliminary injunction may be issued in the following cases: 1) When it appears by the complaint that the plaintiff is entitled to the relief demanded, and the relief, o...

Excerpt: ...dollars to Eli[yahu] [Cohen] on Nov 20, 2017.” Talasazan failed to repay the debt as agreed, repeatedly gave false assurances of repayment, and stopped responding to Plaintiff. The Complaint states four causes of action for Breach of Contract, Fraud, violation of Pen. Code § 496 and common counts-money had and received. On May 7, 2021, Plaintiff filed a proof of substituted service on Defendant, indicating service at 269 S. Beverly Dr. Unit 46...

Excerpt: ...f contract, 2) breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; 3) account stated; 4) money lent; 5) unjust enrichment; 6) conversion; 7) fraudulent conveyance; 8) conspiracy; 9) injunctive relief; and 10) quiet title. The Complaint alleges that Plaintiff and Khachtryan executed a written agreement in 2008 to sell an Armenian company, A.K.R.A.-KOM LLC, for $5.5 million. Khachatryan financed this with a Business Loan from Plaintiff. Foll...

Excerpt: ...tortfeasors or co-obligors on a contract debt, a party to that action may file a motion seeking a determination from the court that the settlement between the plaintiff or other claimant and one or more alleged tortfeasors or co-obligors was made in good faith. (CCP § 877.6(a).) The notice of motion or application for good faith determination must list each party and pleading or portion of pleading affected by the settlement and the date on whic...

Excerpt: ...iel filed a sur-reply on May 24, 2022. LEGAL STANDARD If a party fails to obey a court order compelling it to provide a discovery response, “the court may make those orders that are just, including the imposition of an issue sanction, an evidence sanction, or a terminating sanction . . . In lieu of or in addition to this sanction, the court may impose a monetary sanction . . ..” (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2030.290(c), 2030.300(e), 2031.300(c), 20...

Excerpt: ...upon repairs, Defendants sold the vehicle to a third party. The operative Fourth Amended Complaint (4AC) states three causes of action for 1) breach of contract; 2) fraud; and 3) intentional tort. On April 5, 2022, Defendants filed the instant demurrer to the fraud cause of action, and motion to strike punitive damages and attorney's fees. LEGAL STANDARD A demurrer for sufficiency tests whether the complaint states a cause of action. (Hahn v. Mir...

Excerpt: ...e CC states seven causes of action for: 1. Fraud; 2. Breach of Contract; 3. Interference with Contract; 4. Interference with Contract; 5. Interference with Contract; 6. Negligent Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage; and 7. Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage. The CC concerns the lease of commercial real property. Rosamond owns the two commercial properties at issue: (1) 3049 La Cienega Boulevard, Culver City,...

Excerpt: ...he date of this order until the funds are disbursed and proof of service is filed with the Court. BACKGROUND On September 26, 2012, Plaintiff Paricher C. Kashani, Trustee of the Kashani Family Trust, dated October 13, 1995, filed the instant action against Defendant Shahram Elyaszadeh. The Complaint stated three causes of action for Breach of Unsecured Promissory Note, Money Lent, and Money Had and Received. The Court entered default judgment aga...

Excerpt: ...0.00 in sanctions to Plaintiffs. On January 24, 2022, Plaintiffs filed a motion for sanctions against KCL on the grounds that they failed to comply with the Court's July 2, 2021, order. On March 18, 2022, the Court granted the motion for sanctions, agreeing with Plaintiffs that KCL waived privileges by failing to timely object to the subpoena. KCL was ordered to pay an additional $3,400.00 in monetary sanctions. On March 25, 2022, KCL filed a mot...

Excerpt: ... interfered with JCTLA's main asset – the 433 South Beverly Glen Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90024 property (hereinafter, the “Property”). Plaintiff allegedly performed construction services on the Property and eventually got it rented. Defendants allegedly interfered with the rental income being generated by the Property thereby breaching various duties. JCTLA brought a cross-action against Plaintiff. JCTLA alleges that it owns the ...

Excerpt: ...blind person. Plaintiff cannot use a computer without the assistance of screen reader software (“SRS”). Defendants operate a hotel in Los Angeles. The Hotel offers digital booking to patrons online via a website. Plaintiff visited the Hotel's website in September 2020 with the intent to reserve a room at Defendant's Hotel. Plaintiff encountered accessibility design faults that prevented him from navigating the site successfully using SRS. On ...

Excerpt: ...ction and development of a single-family home at 2218 Glencoe Ave, Venice, CA. The operative Second Amended Complaint alleges three causes of action for (1) breach of joint venture agreement, (2) promissory fraud, and (3) quantum meruit. By way of relevant background, on August 4, 2021, Plaintiffs' motion to deem RFAs admitted was denied, but the Court issued sanctions against Biafora and counsel in the amount of $750.00. On October 7, 2021, Plai...

Excerpt: ...side default/default judgment. The Court denied this motion on December 15, 2021. On January 13, 2022, Defendant filed a second motion to set aside the default/default judgment. LEGAL STANDARD Relief under section 473(b) is either discretionary or mandatory. Where a party cannot obtain an attorney affidavit of fault, the party may seek discretionary relief under section 473(b) due to “mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.” (C...

Excerpt: ... (5) declaratory relief; and (6) injunctive relief On April 26, 2022, Plaintiff the UCLA Foundation (“UCLA”) filed the two instant motions to compel initial discovery responses from Defendant Cognein (responding party or “RP”) as to 1) form interrogatories, special interrogatories, and requests for production of documents and 2) deem matters admitted. No opposition was filed. LEGAL STANDARD Where there has been no timely response to a Cod...

Excerpt: ...and coverage for damages relating to business interruption. According to the complaint, on December 22, 2019, employees of the City of Santa Monica, serviced and emptied two dumpsters, including the Subject Dumpster, in the alley next to Insured's Property. Plaintiff alleges that the City did not allow the Insured to secure the dumpsters or the alley with locks. The Subject Dumpster was placed and stored within five feet of combustible walls, ope...

Excerpt: ... operative SAC. The SAC claims four causes of action against UMPG for: 1) breach of contract, 2) common count for services rendered/quantum meruit, 3) lost profits, and 4) account stated. The following relevant facts are alleged in attachments 4-5 to the SAC, pp. 27-47. Plaintiff owned, operated, and produced music for a Seattle based internet recording service company, Five Guys with Laptops. In April 2016, Plaintiff's agent negotiated an agreem...

Excerpt: ...ey cancer as a result of certain chemicals in defendants' products. On June 20, 2018, Plaintiffs Jose Mireles and Meitsu Lisa Mireles filed the instant action against several defendants. The operative First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) asserts causes of action for (1) negligence, (2) strict liability – failure to warn, (3) strict liability – design defect, (4) fraudulent concealment, (5) breach of implied warranties, and (6) loss of consorti...

Excerpt: ...been entered. On March 28, 2022, Defendant filed a motion to set aside the default. Plaintiff opposes the motion. LEGAL STANDARD Relief under section 473(b) is either discretionary or mandatory. Where a party cannot obtain an attorney affidavit of fault, the party may seek discretionary relief under section 473(b) due to “mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.” (CCP § 473(b).) A motion for discretionary relief must be made �...

Excerpt: ...e CC states seven causes of action for: 1. Fraud; 2. Breach of Contract; 3. Interference with Contract; 4. Interference with Contract; 5. Interference with Contract; 6. Negligent Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage; and 7. Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage. The CC concerns the lease of commercial real property. Rosamond owns the two commercial properties at issue: (1) 3049 La Cienega Boulevard, Culver City,...

Excerpt: ...lante (“Antonio”). The operative First Amended Complaint (FAC) alleges eight causes of action for: 1) elder and dependent adult financial abuse; 2) breach of fiduciary duty; 3) conspiracy to defraud; 4) constructive fraud; 5) violation of unfair competition law; 6) civil theft; 7) conversion; and 8) accounting. The FAC alleges that Defendants are siblings. Patricia was Plaintiff's personal assistant, and caregiver. Antonio acted as an investm...

Excerpt: ...tself and was completely uninhabitable. Defendants cosmetically concealed or otherwise fail to disclose the evidence of extensive water damage and dry rot. On June 2, 2021, Plaintiffs filed the instant motion to quash Defendants' third-party subpoena. Defendants oppose the motion to quash. LEGAL STANDARD CCP section 1987.1 provides in part: If a subpoena requires the attendance of a witness or the production of books, documents, electronically st...

Excerpt: ...GRANTED as to: 1) punitive damages as to Marvin Avent and Michael Shahin without leave to amend; 2) treble damages with leave to amend as to WAL and the Members; and 3) Justin Wells' cause of death, all without leave to amend. The remainder of the motion to strike is DENIED. BACKGROUND This dispute arises out of the alleged breach of a property lease between Plaintiff Lake George, LLC and Wells Ament, LLC (“WAL”). Plaintiff leased a remodeled...

Excerpt: ... and Jacques Wylan Plumbing Inc. (“JWP”). The operative Third Amended Complaint states four causes of action for negligence, premises liability, private nuisance, and trespass. On March 7, 2022, MMLK filed the instant motion for consolidation of this action (Case No. 19STCV43863) and Topa Insurance Company v. The Abbot Kinney Grill, LLC, et al. (Case No. 21STCV38655). Plaintiffs filed a limited opposition. The cases were related on April 14, ...

Excerpt: ...arises from an alleged assault by a resident/patient of Hargis Home, a residential group home where Plaintiff worked as a supervisor. The disabled and dependent adult JC was a patient/client of NLCRC. Defendant My Life Foundation contracted with the County of Los Angeles to provide day care services to JC. Defendants allegedly had notice of JC's dangerous and violent propensities prior to the attack. On March 14, 2022, NLACRC filed a motion for s...

Excerpt: ...nt Arc Gardner LLC, LB Property Management, Inc., Marisol Ruiz, and Greg De Rubeis (“Defendants”). Plaintiff alleges numerous habitability issues with her apartment, including pest infestation, plumbing issues, wiring issue, mold infestation, failure to provide adequate notice prior to entry, inadequate heat, missing smoke detectors, missing carbon monoxide detector, and other safety issues. Defendants also denied her possession of the Premis...

Excerpt: ... is DENIED. BACKGROUND This action arises from the production of a film entitled London Fields. In 2013, MTG and NSL entered into an agreement for production services in connection with the picture. MTG performed these services through Kosinski, who secured acting and directing talent. NSL failed to pay pursuant to the agreement. NSL filed a cross-complaint, generally alleging that cross-defendants interfered with the production and distribution ...

Excerpt: ...No opposition was submitted. LEGAL STANDARD In an action in which it is alleged that two or more parties are joint tortfeasors or co-obligors on a contract debt, a party to that action may file a motion seeking a determination from the court that the settlement between the plaintiff or other claimant and one or more alleged tortfeasors or co-obligors was made in good faith. (CCP § 877.6(a).) The notice of motion or application for good faith det...

Excerpt: ... their promotional materials and on-line materials that the subject electric scooter was in “good condition” and “maintained” by Defendants in a safe manner. While riding the scooter, the acceleration throttle malfunctioned, causing the scooter to accelerate uncontrollably. As a result, Plaintiff was unable to control the scooter and was thrown to the ground. The FAC states four causes of action for gross negligence, strict product liabil...

Excerpt: ...pleading or via proper judicial notice. (Donabedian v. Mercury Ins. Co. (2004) 116 Cal.App.4th 968, 994.) A demurrer tests the pleadings alone and not the evidence or other extrinsic matters. Therefore, it lies only where the defects appear on the face of the pleading or are judicially noticed. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 430.30, 430.70.) At the pleading stage, a plaintiff need only allege ultimate facts sufficient to apprise the defendant of the fact...

Excerpt: ...onversion; 3. Fraud in the Inducement; 4. Negligent Misrepresentation; 5. Negligence; 6. Nuisance; and 7. Declaratory Relief. On December 6, 2021, Defendant filed the instant motion to strike Plaintiff's request for punitive damages. LEGAL STANDARD Any party, within the time allowed to respond to a pleading may serve and file a notice of motion to strike the whole or any part thereof. (Code Civ. Proc., § 435(b)(1); Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 3.13...

Excerpt: ...bert Binns. The operative Fourth Amended Complaint (FAC) states seven causes of action for: 1) violation of the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“CUTSA”) (against all Defendants, except Ferry); 2) Breach of the Proprietary Information Agreement against Lockheed by Sky Lift); 3) Breach of Fiduciary Duty (against Binns by Sky Lift); 4) Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing (against Lockheed and Korn Ferry by Sky Lif...