Excerpt: ...FCF Holdings LLC, fka FSLA Holdings LLC (FSLA) move for summary judgment or, in the alternative, summary adjudication on the causes of action asserted by plaintiff and cross-defendant Santos Laguna, S.A. de C.V. (Santos) in its First Amended Complaint. Santos moves for summary adjudication of the sole remaining cause of action in FSLA's Cross-Complaint, its first cause of action for breach of contract. I. Legal Standard The court may grant summar...

Excerpt: ...ejudice on January 4, 2023. Plaintiff therefore cannot obtain judgment against Sharma. Unknown Defendants Plaintiff's second amended complaint names as defendants all persons unknown, claiming any legal or equitable right, title, estate, lien, or interest in the property described in the complaint adverse to plaintiff's title under Code of Civil Procedure section 762.060(a). Those defendants have “the same rights as are provided by law in cases...

Excerpt: ...to produce responsive documents, and to attend a second session of his deposition. This motion is procedurally defective. As defendant acknowledges, discovery is closed. (Motion, pp. 12-13.) “[A]ny party shall be entitled as a matter of right to complete discovery proceedings on or before the 30th day, and to have motions concerning discovery heard on or before the 15th day, before the date initially set for the trial of the action.” (CCP § ...

Excerpt: ...ts for judicial notice are granted. Demurrer Defendants Marc A. Collins, Azim Khanmohamed, and Collins & Khan LLP demur to the second and third causes of action alleged in the second amended complaint by plaintiffs Marshall Knoll and Reni Knoll, as an individual and in his capacity as trustee of the Hawkland Living Trust. 2nd Cause of Action: Extortionate Threats Plaintiffs do not allege sufficient facts for this cause of action. Civil extortion ...

Excerpt: ...17, Koplowitz filed a motion to quash service of summons and vacate her default. The court first heard the motion on December 6, 2017. The court's minute order notes process server Henrik Agasyan testified and was “ordered to return on” January 5, 2018. On January 5, 2018, Agasyan testified again. The court denied Koplowitz's motion. Koplowitz moved for reconsideration of that order and to vacate her default. On March 19, 2018, the court hear...

Excerpt: ...rising from the noise produced by defendants' air conditioning (AC) and pool equipment. The court ordered defendants to move all their AC and pool equipment to the area on the south side of their property—away from plaintiffs' property to the north. Defendants now seek an order dissolving the injunction or modifying it to permit them to relocate their two AC condensers to the roof of their property. A court may modify or dissolve a preliminary ...

Excerpt: ...cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of state or federal statute, or a violation of or noncompliance with a local, state, or federal rule or regulation.” Rather than disclosing an actual violation of law, “the employee must show only that he or she reasonably believed that there was a violation of a statute, rule, or regulation.” (Nejadian v. County of Los Angeles (2019) 40 Cal.App.5th 703, 719 [contrasting subdivisio...

Excerpt: ...de § 452(d). (Steed v. Department of Consumer Affairs (2012) 204 Cal.App.4th 112, 120.) Defendant also requests judicial notice of “The State Bar of California's listing of licensed attorneys (calbar.ca.gov) which shows neither Janice Deutsch or Duff Shidaker are licensed to practice law in the State of California.” That fact is subject to judicial notice as an official act of the judicial department and a fact not reasonably subject to disp...

Excerpt: ...n essential testimony, documents, or other material evidence despite diligent efforts” indicates good cause. (Rule 3.1332(c)(6).) Plaintiff shows good cause to continue the trial by 90 days. Plaintiff has shown an excused inability to obtain essential testimony or other evidence despite diligent efforts. Plaintiff's deposition of defendant Chong H. Park shows plaintiff could not obtain essential evidence despite diligent efforts. After Chong H....

Excerpt: ...omplaint. (2) Set forth the facts on which the plaintiff seeks to recover. (3) Describe the premises with reasonable certainty. (4) If the action is based on paragraph (2) of Section 1161, state the amount of rent in default. (5) State specifically the method used to serve the defendant with the notice or notices of termination upon which the complaint is based.” The complaint meets all five requirements. First, it includes a verification and t...

Excerpt: ...rty as a result of actions or tactics, made in bad faith, that are frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay.” (CCP § 128.5(a).) “ ‘Actions or tactics' ” include, but are not limited to, the making or opposing of motions or the filing and service of a complaint, cross-complaint, answer, or other responsive pleading.” (Id., subd. (b)(1).) “ ‘Frivolous' means totally and completely without merit or for the sole purpose ...

Excerpt: ...misrepresentation, (3) concealment, and (4) negligent concealment. The fifth cause of action alleges comparative indemnity. Cross-defendants' demurrer does not directly address the elements of any of these causes of action. The demurrer argues that the first amended cross-complaint's claims all arise from the complaint by plaintiff Arcadia Ramos against defendant/cross-complainant Salvador for various wage and hour violations under the Domestic W...

Excerpt: ... are sustained. Objection Nos. 1 and 2.a, 2.b, 2.e, and 2.g-2.n are overruled. Lifting Stay On August 22, 2022, the court issued an order finding this civil action related to the unlawful detainer action and staying the unlawful detainer action. The court ordered the stay is subject to the following conditions: “(1) David Abbasi must pay defendant Jerry Davidson his monthly mortgage costs; (2) David Abbasi must pay Jerry Davidson all taxes on t...

Excerpt: ...he complaint is part of the court's file in this action. Defendants' request for judicial notice is denied. Plaintiff requests judicial notice of 26 facts or exhibits labeled A through Z. Assuming any of those facts or documents may be subject to judicial notice under Evidence Code section 452, they are not relevant or necessary to the court's analysis. (See Jordache Enterprises, Inc. v. Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison (1998) 18 Cal.4th 739, 748, fn....

Excerpt: ...er, or other proceeding taken against him or her through his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.” (CCP § 473(b).) “Because the law favors disposing of cases on their merits, ‘any doubts in applying section 473 must be resolved in favor of the party seeking relief from default.' ” (Rappleyea v. Campbell (1994) 8 Cal.4th 975, 980.) Defendants present sufficient evidence that their defaults and the default judgment...

Excerpt: ...uction, set one. When a party fails to timely respond to interrogatories or demands for inspection, the requesting party may move for an order compelling responses. (CCP §§ 2030.290(b) [interrogatories]; 2031.300(b) [demands for inspection].) Failure to timely respond waives any objections. (CCP §§ 2030.290(a); 2031.300(a).) Defendant served form interrogatories – general, set one and request for production, set one by mail to plaintiff on ...

Excerpt: ...f it “is so incomprehensible that a defendant cannot reasonably respond.” (A.J. Fistes Corp. v. GDL Best Contractors, Inc. (2019) 38 Cal.App.5th 677, 695.) A complaint must sufficiently apprise defendants of the claims against them. (Ibid.) Plaintiff's second amended complaint is not uncertain. It clearly and concisely alleges the basis for defendant's liability. Plaintiff alleges she had surgery at Cedars- Sinai in 1995. (SAC, ¶ 5.) “Duri...

Excerpt: ...hich the opposing party has relied on the absence of a list of expert witnesses. (b) The court has determined that any party opposing the motion will not be prejudiced in maintaining that party's action or defense on the merits. (c) The court has determined that the moving party did all of the following: (1) Failed to submit the information as the result of mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. (2) Sought leave to submit the info...

Excerpt: ...ing Act (FEHA) based on disability, including the portions of the first and second causes of action for discrimination and harassment, the ninth cause of action for failure to provide reasonable accommodation, and the 10th cause of action for failure to engage in the interactive process. A party may move to “[s]trike out all or any part of any pleading not drawn or filed in conformity with the laws of this state, a court rule, or an order of th...

Excerpt: ...ll confirm the award as made, whether rendered in this state or another state, unless in accordance with this chapter it corrects the award and confirms it as corrected, vacates the award or dismisses the proceedings.” (CCP § 1286.) Evidentiary Objections Koplowitz makes 14 objections to the declaration of Robert Shtofman in support of Sunset's petition to vacate the arbitration award. Objection Nos. 1, 3, and 7-14 are sustained. Objection Nos...

Excerpt: ...se discovery disputes. These disputes carried on for months. Plaintiff's counsel made numerous attempts to meet and confer over that time. In the circumstances, these efforts were sufficient. Requests for Admission Plaintiff Dana Moon moves to compel defendant Chong H. Park to serve further responses to requests for admission Nos. 8, 10, 22, 23, 24, 36, 37, 41, 42, 43, 66, 80, 84, 97, 103, and 105. A party requesting admissions may move to compel...

Excerpt: ...ation any matter relevant to the leave requested, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) The necessity and the reasons for the discovery. (2) The diligence or lack of diligence of the party seeking the discovery or the hearing of a discovery motion, and the reasons that the discovery was not completed or that the discovery motion was not heard earlier. (3) Any likelihood that permitting the discovery or hearing the discovery motion wil...

Excerpt: ...antively identical to a general demurrer—after the time to demur has expired. (CCP § 438(f)(2); Korchemny v. Piterman (2021) 68 Cal.App.5th 1032, 1054-1055 [defendant may move for judgment on the pleadings under § 438 or under common law].) Overruling the demurrer because it is late would thus serve no useful purpose. The court will treat Aaron Green's demurrer as a motion for judgment on the pleadings. 2nd Cause of Action for Fraud Against A...

Excerpt: ...not meet and confer with defendant Farmers Group, Inc. as required before moving to compel the deposition of its person(s) most qualified. A motion to compel deposition under Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.450, subdivision (a) “shall be accompanied by a meet and confer declaration under Section 2016.040, or, when the deponent fails to attend the deposition and produce the documents, electronically stored information, or things described i...

Excerpt: ...greement. Equitable Estoppel Defendants rely on the doctrine of equitable estoppel and the opinion in Felisilda v. FCA US LLC (2020) 53 Cal.App.5th 486 (Felisilda). “[A] nonsignatory defendant may invoke an arbitration clause to compel a signatory plaintiff to arbitrate its claims when the causes of action against the nonsignatory are intimately founded in and intertwined with the underlying contract obligations.” (Id. at p. 495.) After defen...