Excerpt: ...not their truth. Plaintiff's objections 1, 2, and 4 are overruled. Plaintiff's objection 3 is sustained as to the first sentence. OPSEC's motion to compel arbitration pursuant to the Mutual Arbitration Agreement (“MAA” or “Agreement”) is granted as to the non-Private Attorneys' General Act (“PAGA”) causes of action, except the Court severs the confidentiality provision. OPSEC's request to stay the PAGA cause of action until the arbitr...

Excerpt: ...urt filings but not their truth. Attorney Fees Attorney fees are not recoverable under Labor Code section 218.5 and Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5. Some attorney fees are recoverable under Labor Code section 1194. The Court finds that the claims were inextricably intertwined up to February 2019, the date when Judge Hogue decided Plaintiffs' motion for summary adjudication. The attorney fees incurred after her ruling are stricken because t...

Excerpt: .... BACKGROUND This is an alleged class action. Brand builds and removes scaffolding at construction sites. Plaintiff worked for Brand until January 2020. He alleges “wage and hour” causes of action regarding overtime, meal breaks, rest breaks, etc. under the Labor Code, Unfair Competition Law, and PAGA. At issue is Brand's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's PAGA cause of action. The Southern California Association of Scaffold Contractors (“Contra...

Excerpt: ...tions 1 through 6 to the declaration of Jennifer Steger are overruled. Defendant's objections 1 through 18 are overruled. The current record supports granting Defendant's motion to change venue under Code of Civil Procedure sections 393 and 395.5. The Court is inclined to continue the matter to provide Plaintiff and opportunity to respond to Defendant's reply evidence. BACKGROUND Plaintiff alleges that she worked at Defendant's restaurant as a di...

Excerpt: ...TATIVE RULING Altria's reply request for judicial notice is granted as to exhibits 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 and denied as to exhibit 1. The Court judicially notices the existence of the documents but not the truth of the contents. Plaintiffs' request for judicial notice is granted. The Court judicially notices the existence of the Orange County trial court's decision but does not rely on it as authority. Altria's demurrer to the public nuisance claim is...

Excerpt: ...ment is fair, adequate, and reasonable; (3) Class counsel, Haines Law Group, APC and Sani Law, APC, are awarded $78,325 in attorney fees and $14,598.49 in costs; (4) Class representative Lazaro Vindel is awarded an enhancement payment of $ 5,000 ; (5) The settlement administrator, CPT Group, Inc., is awarded $11,500 in costs; (6) Payment of $18,000 (75% of $24,000 PAGA penalty) payable to the LWDA is approved; and (7) Class Counsel is ordered to ...

Excerpt: ...respond to Atlas's reply evidence. The current record supports granting Atlas's motion to compel arbitration. The current record supports granting Atlas's request to stay the case as to the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) cause of action. BACKGROUND This is an alleged class action. Atlas is a manufacturer and assembler of aerospace components. Plaintiff worked for Atlas from December 29, 2014 to December 30, 2019. She alleges “wage a...

Excerpt: ...; (2) Grant conditional class certification; (3) Appoint Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai LLP and Valli Kane & Vagnini LLP as Class Counsel; (4) Appoint Plaintiffs Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal as Class Representatives; (5) Approve the notice; (6) Set the scheduled matters as indicated below; and (7) Plaintiff's counsel shall file a proposed Order, consistent with this ruling by __________________, 2021. That order shall include two distinct proc...

Excerpt: ...nd denied as to the Fauteux action. The Court recommends that the appropriate site of the coordination proceedings is Los Angeles County Superior Court, and the designated reviewing court is the Second Appellate District. Petitioner's stay request is granted. RELEVANT PROCEDURAL HISTORY On 8/31/21, Living Spaces submitted a petition to the Chairperson of the Judicial Council for pretrial coordination of the following three cases (the “Coordinat...

Excerpt: ...' request for judicial notice is granted in full. Plaintiffs' request for judicial notice is granted in full. The demurrer to the second cause of action for human trafficking under Civil Code section 52.5 is sustained. The Court orders supplemental briefing on whether section 52.5 and Penal Code section 236.1 recognize direct or ratification liability against non-perpetrator entity employers. The demurrer to the ninth cause of action for sexual h...

Excerpt: ...ENTATIVE RULING Defendants' motions to compel arbitration are granted as to Plaintiff's individual wage-and-hour claims. The class claims are dismissed. Plaintiff is free to amend to pursue the PAGA representative action, but the PAGA claim will be stayed until the arbitration is complete. BACKGROUND This is a putative class action and PAGA representative action filed by Plaintiff against Defendants. The putative class allegedly consists of Defen...

Excerpt: ...s members' rights to precertification contact discovery outweigh the potential abuses of the class procedure. BACKGROUND This is a putative class action. Plaintiff alleges that Blue Shield wrongly denied coverage for surgeries involving Coflex, “an interlaminar stabilization device inserted into the spine to treat lumbar spinal stenosis[.]” (Opposition, p. 1.) At issue is Blue Shield's motion for protective order in response to Plaintiff's de...

Excerpt: ...s Counsel are awarded $100,000 in attorney fees and $18,000 in costs.; (4) Class representative Estuardo Giordani is awarded an enhancement payment of $15,000; (5) The claims administrator, Phoenix Settlement Administrators, is awarded $6,250 in costs; and (6) Plaintiffs' counsel shall file a proposed Order and Judgement, consistent with this ruling the class definition and full release language by_____________________, 2021. TERMS OF SETTLEMENT ...

Excerpt: ...ts conditional class certification; (3) Appoints Gunn Coble LLP as Class Counsel; (4) Appoints Plaintiff Catrina Martinez as Class Representative; (5) Approves the notice; (6) Sets the scheduled matters as indicated below; and (7) Plaintiff's counsel shall file a proposed Order, consistent with this ruling by __________________, 2021. PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT As a “fiduciary” of the absent class members, the trial court...

Excerpt: ...settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable; (3) Class counsel, Lauby, Mankin & Lauby LLP and Bokhour Law Group, PC, are awarded $608,000 in attorney fees and $14,721.14 in costs; (4) Class representative Yvonne Labra is awarded an enhancement payment of $5,000 [reduced]; (5) The settlement administrator, CPT Group, Inc., is awarded $10,500 in costs; (6) Payment of $37,500 (75% of $50,000 PAGA penalty) payable to the LWDA is approved; and (7) Cl...

Excerpt: ...final approval by the Court; (2) Grant conditional class certification; (3) Appoint Lauby, Mankin & Lauby LLP and Bokhour Law Group, PC as Class Counsel; (4) Appoint Plaintiff Yvonne Labra as Class Representative; (5) Approve the notice; (6) Set the scheduled matters as indicated below; and (7) Plaintiff's counsel shall file a proposed Order, consistent with this ruling by __________________, 2021. PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT ...

Excerpt: ...D. Defendants' motion to seal is GRANTED. DISCUSSION I. OMNIBUS MOTION TO QUASH OR DISMISS BASED ON PERSONAL JURISDICTION AND FORUM NON CONVENIENS Pursuant to CCP §418.10, (1) specially appearing defendant Wright Medical Group, Inc. (“WMG”) moves to quash service of summons or to dismiss the complaints of plaintiffs in 22 [1] cases; (2) specially appearing defendant Wright Medical Technology, Inc. (“WMT”) moves to quash service of summon...

Excerpt: ...ky. In Carr, Petitioner seeks damages against Riverside Community Hospital, Jack Akmakjian, M.D., and Jack Akmakjian, M.D., Inc. (collectively, “Defendants”) for injuries she sustained during and after spinal fusion surgery performed by Dr. Akmakjian at Riverside Community Hospital on 7/20/15.[1] Petitioner primarily alleges that, contrary to what she agreed to in her signed consent form, the spinal fixation devices implanted into her were in...

Excerpt: ...and Holiday AL NIC Management LLC (“NIC”) (collectively, “Petitioners”) submitted a petition to the Chairperson of the Judicial Council for coordination of two PAGA-only representative actions. The Included Actions are:  Schafer v. Harvest Management Sub LLC (“Schafer”), Case No. 20STCV01731, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on 1/14/20  Hansen v. Holiday AL Sub LLC, et al. (“Hansen”), Case No. CIVMSC20-00779, filed...

Excerpt: ...  Armstrong, et al. v. Ralphs Grocery Company (“Armstrong”), Case No. 30-2014-00761239-CU- OE-CXC, filed in Orange County Superior Court on 12/12/14  Contreras v. Ralphs Grocery Company (“Contreras”), Case No. 19STCV46030, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on 12/20/19  Torres v. Ralphs Grocery Company, et al. (“Torres”),[1] Case No. 20STCV12856, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on 4/1/20 On 12/15/20, the Ch...

Excerpt: ...ditional class certification; (3) Appoints Haig B. Kazanjian Lawyers, APC as Class Counsel; (4) Appoint Plaintiffs Robert Martinez and Maiku Braxton as Class Representatives; (5) Approve the notice; (6) Set the scheduled matters as indicated below; and (7) Plaintiffs' counsel shall file a proposed Order, consistent with this ruling by __________________, 2021. PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT As a “fiduciary” of the absent clas...