Excerpt: ...tember 27, 2022. Having considered Plaintiff's memorandum in opposition to the Court's motion, the Court finds that Plaintiff's claim necessarily involves less than $25,000. [Walker v. Sup.Ct. (1991) 53 Cal. 3d 257, 269-270.] Plaintiff seeks as award of damages for unpaid attorney's fees of $21,105 plus prejudgment interest. Plaintiff admits the amount in controversy only exceeds $25,000 if prejudgment interest is included in the calculation of d...

Excerpt: ...e TENTATIVE RULING Defendants Screamline Investment Coprporation, Kamrouz Farhadi, Shoehleh Sapir and Starline Tours of Hollywood's Demurrer to the First Amended Complaint (FAC) is OVERRULED. Defendants' Motion to Strike the FAC is DENIED. Defendants to answer in 10 days. Plaintiffs' Request for Judicial Notice (RJN) is DENIED. Plaintiff's RJN references Exhibits 2 and 3 but no such exhibits are attached. Defendants demur to the complaint on grou...

Excerpt: ... Elsenhans and Sam Branco's Motion to Set Aside/Vacate Default is DENIED. Judgment Debtors' Motion to Set Aside/Vacate Default pursuant to CCP §473(b) is DENIED as untimely. The judgment was entered on 7-26-21. The motion was not filed until 6-17-22, almost a year later. CCP §473(b) imposes a mandatory deadline of six months (“within a reasonable time, in no case exceeding six months, after the judgment, dismissal, order, or proceeding was ta...

Excerpt: ...s Ltd.'s Motion to Compel Arbitration is GRANTED. The action is stayed pending completion of arbitration pursuant to 9 USC §3 and CCP §1281.4. Plaintiff and Defendant agree that an arbitration agreement applicable to the controversy exists. Plaintiff seeks specific performance of the parties' Purchase Agreement. The Purchase Agreement contains a clearly applicable arbitration clause: “The parties agree that any dispute or claim in law or equi...

Excerpt: ...VE RULING Defendants Oscar Ramirez and Law Offices of Oscar Ramirez PC's Motion for Fees Pursuant to CCP §425.16(c) is GRANTED. The Court awards $108,750 in attorney's fees as the reasonable fee for the work performed by counsel for the Ramirez defendants. I. Applicable Law “[A]bsent circumstances rendering the award unjust, an attorney fee award should ordinarily include compensation for all the hours reasonably spent, including those relatin...

Excerpt: ...r is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND as to the 5 th cause of action for private nuisance, SUSTAINED WITH 10 DAYS LEAVE TO AMEND as to the 9 th cause of action for violations of Rent Escrow Account Program (Chapter XVI) and OVERRULED as to the 8 th cause of action for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED). Defendants' Motion to Strike is DENIED as to the punitive damages claim and GRANTED as to the treble damages claim. I. 5 th caus...

Excerpt: ...ntiff CAS-Concrete Asphalt Specialists, Inc.'s Motion to Compel Arbitration is DENIED. I. Applicable Law “On petition of a party to an arbitration agreement alleging the existence of a written agreement to arbitrate a controversy and that a party to the agreement refuses to arbitrate that controversy, the court shall order the petitioner and the respondent to arbitrate the controversy if it determines that an agreement to arbitrate the controve...

Excerpt: ...Inc. and Adrian Jesus Hernandez RESP. PARTY: (1) Defendant Pacific West Construction Services, Inc. (2) Cross-Defendant Serfin Construction TENTATIVE RULING Cross-Defendant Serfin Construction Inc.'s Application for Determination of Good Faith Settlement is GRANTED. Defendants Pacific West Constructions Services, Inc. and Adrian Jesus Hernandez's (collectively referred to as “Pacific West”) Motion to Contest Good Faith Settlement is DENIED. P...

Excerpt: ...3 MOVING PARTY: Plaintiffs/Cross-Defendants Porfirio Ballardo and Irene Ballardo RESP. PARTY: Defendants/Responding Parties Venice Terrace, LLC and Michael J. Dobson TENTATIVE RULING Plaintiffs/Cross-Defendants Porfirio Ballardo and Irene Ballardo's Motion for Summary Judgment, or in the Alternative Summary Adjudication is DENIED. The Ballardos move for summary judgment or adjudication of (1) the sole cause of action in their complaint against De...

Excerpt: ...ary Objections to M. Lambert Dec.—OVERRULE Defendants' Evidentiary Objections to R. Kavanaugh Dec.—SUSTAIN as to identified references to “illegally,” “false” and “falsely” and “defamatory” and ¶18(3:1-16) and OVERRULED as to remaining objections. Defendants' Evidentiary Objections to Dec. of T. Clare—SUSTAIN as to Exhibits N, S, T, U, ¶¶6, 8, 9 and reference to “defamatory” in ¶5 (2:7). Defendants' Evidentiary Objec...

Excerpt: ...of $225/hr for a total of 122.81 hours or a total of $27,632.25, plus costs in the amount of $1,357.73. Defendant is to submit the proposed order. I. Defendant Tsai is entitled to fees as partially prevailing party A defendant who partially succeeds on an anti-SLAPP motion generally is considered a prevailing party and therefore entitled to fees and costs, unless the results of the motion were so insignificant that defendant did not achieve any �...

Excerpt: ...RULING Defendant John Nguyen's Demurrer to the Complaint is OVERRULED and the Motion to Strike is DENIED. Defendant Jack Sweener's Joinder is GRANTED. “Anything which is injurious to health ... or is indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property” is a nuisance. See CC §3479; Citizens for Odor Nuisance Abatement v. City of San Diego (20...

Excerpt: ...h Smith TENTATIVE RULING Defendants Bruce B. McLucas M.D., Bruce B. McLucas, MD and Fibroid Treatment Collective's Motion for Terminating Sanctions is DENIED. No lesser sanction for discovery abuse was requested. I. Applicable Law Terminating sanctions should not be imposed lightly and a graduated imposition of sanctions should be used if possible. See Mileikowsky v. Tenet Healthsystem (2005) 128 Cal.App.4th 262, 279-280 (decision to impose termi...

Excerpt: ...ING Defendant Steven Madden, Ltd.'s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED. Plaintiffs' Objections to the Dec. of K. Klinsport—OVERRULED Defendant Madden's Objections to Plaintiffs' evidence—(1) Court declines to rule on Objection Nos. 1-4, 6-26 per CCP §437c(q); (2) SUSTAINED as to Objection Nos. 27-38; (3) OVERRULED as to Objection No. 5. I. No triable issues of fact remain as the 2 nd cause of action for conspiracy to commit fraud A. Law ...

Excerpt: ...ck TENTATIVE RULING Defendants Misti Schwartz, Courtney Schwartz and Kitti Kittiyachavalit's Demurrer to the FAC is OVERRULED as to the 1 st cause of action for violation of the SMMC and SUSTAIEND WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND as to the 2 nd cause of action for quiet title. Defendants' Motion to Strike is GRANTED as to the portions of the FAC identified in ¶¶1, 2, 8, 12 and 16 of the Notice of Motion to Strike, DENIED as to the portions of the FAC ide...

Excerpt: ... New York, LLC's Motion for Summary Adjudication of Plaintiff's First and Fourth Causes of Action of First Amended Complaint and Defendants First and Fifth Causes of Action of Defendants' Cross‐Complaint is DENIED. Defendants' Request for Summary Adjudication of the 5 th Cause of Action for Reformation in the First Amended Complaint is GRANTED. Evidentiary Objections The Court OVERRULES Defendants' Objections to paragraph 9, and SUSTAINS the ob...

Excerpt: ...s SUSTAINED with leave to amend. Defendant City demurs to the first cause of action for negligence and fourth cause of action for trespass on grounds that Plaintiff has failed to allege specific statutes imposing mandatory duties to prevent the alleged damage. A public entity is not liable for an injury unless that liability is provided for by statute. Gov. Code § 815(a). “[T]o state a cause of action every fact essential to the existence of s...

Excerpt: ...D as to the 7 th cause of action for medical malpractice and 9 th cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty and SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND as to the 8 th cause of action for battery. Defendant to answer in 10 days. I. Demurrer based on statute of limitations under CCP §340.5—OVERRULE Defendant Bromberg demurs to the 7 th through 9 th causes of action for medical malpractice, battery and breach of fiduciary duty based on the one-year p...

Excerpt: ...Ehrlich, MD and Mark S. Litwin, MD RESP. PARTY: Plaintiff Patrick Bertranou TENTATIVE RULING Defendants The Regents of the University of California, Richard M. Ehrlich, MD and Mark S. Litwin, MD's Motion for Summary Judgment, or in the alternative Summary Adjudication is DENIED. I. 1 st cause of action for medical negligence—DENY A. Applicable Law The elements of a medical malpractice cause of action are (1) the duty of the professional to use ...

Excerpt: ...ick Bertranou TENTATIVE RULING Defendants The Regents of the University of California, Richard M. Ehrlich, MD and Mark S. Litwin, MD's Motion for Summary Judgment, or in the alternative Summary Adjudication is DENIED. I. 1 st cause of action for medical negligence—DENY A. Applicable Law The elements of a medical malpractice cause of action are (1) the duty of the professional to use such skill, prudence, and diligence as other members of his pr...

Excerpt: ...ch reflects a reduction based on the amount of fees charged by counsel Heller and his firm. I. Petitioners are entitled to seek post‐judgment attorney's fees through either a memo of costs or a noticed motion Respondents argue on reply that Petitioners were required under CCP §1033.5(c)(5)(A) to file a noticed motion for recovery of attorney's fees. However, CCP §1033.5(c)(5)(A) sets forth the procedure for recovery of pre-judgment attorney's...

Excerpt: ... by the Court with the stipulation of the parties- is DENIED. Twitter originally moved for reconsideration of the Court's 6-6-22 Order granting Plaintiff's ex parte application for expedited discovery, etc. At the Court's invitation, the parties agreed on 7-1-22 that the request for reconsideration would be construed as a motion to quash, mooting any issues of notice as discussed below, and would be considered by the Court without prejudice to an...

Excerpt: ...efendants LA Apartment Rentals, Inc., Cheryl Williams, Shelley Lozdon and Jonathan Paul Orenshein's Demurrer to the SAC is (1) OVERRULED as to the 1 st cause of action for breach of contract as to Defendant LA Apartment Rentals, Inc. and SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND as to the 1 st cause for breach of contract as to Defendants Williams, Lozdon and Orenshein; (2) OVERRULED as to the 2 nd cause of action for intentional misrepresentation, 5 th c...

Excerpt: ... and Shahar Golan TENTATIVE RULING I. Requested discovery Watt Defendants ask that the Court reopen fact/percipient discovery to allow them to propound subpoenas and other written discovery regarding Ken Babalyan's support care and income from decedent. Watt Defendants seek bank and tax records relevant to Ken's standing to sue for wrongful death per CCP §377.60(b)(1). II. Length of pending action and trial date continuances Using the trial date...

Excerpt: ...Defendants Kevin Mahoney and Mahoney Law Group, APC's Motion for Fees pursuant to CCP §425.16(c) is GRANTED. Defendants are awarded fees in the amount of 74,775.00. Defendants request for costs in the amount of $1,054.38 is GRANTED. Supplemental Briefing The Court continued this matter from April 7, 2022, so that the Plaintiffs could file a supplemental opposition and Mahoney Defendants could file a supplemental reply. The supplemental briefing ...