Excerpt: ... first and fourth causes of action. (The caption of the Cross-Complaint lists a trade libel cause of action but it is apparently subsumed under the first cause of action for defamation.) Cross-Defendant's Demurrer is otherwise OVERRULED. (2) The Court intends to conduct a CMC to gauge an outline of expected discovery and ADR prospects. I. BACKGROUND¿ ¿ On August 16, 2021, Plaintiff DTI Services, Inc. filed a Complaint for: (1) Fraud; (2) Theft ...

Excerpt: ...ntative Rulings: (1) Defendant Malhotra's Demurrer is SUSTAINED. The Court will take argument as to whether Plaintiffs' counsel believes an amendment could cure the statute of limitations issue given the fact that the self- represented plaintiffs neglected to include Doe allegations and a basis for later naming Dr. Malhotra as a Doe Defendant until after the one- year statute had run (2) the RFJN is granted as to items 1-4, but is denied as to it...

Excerpt: ...hort-form good faith settlement application provided insufficient basis for the Court to grant Westwood's application once HH filed an expert declaration in its challenge to the good faith application. Westwood settled for $20k, and per Clinch-on's 11/3/22 short-form application it settled for $30k in the face of a lawsuit seeking over $350k. The Court is concerned that it lacks declarations from all affected parties who are seeking a good faith ...

Excerpt: ..., Zouki for America Corporation, a Delaware Corporation ¿ TRIAL DATE: February 14, 2023 ¿ ¿ MOTION:¿ (1) Defendants' Motion to Compel (“MTC” Further Responses to Special Interrogatories, Set One; and (2) Defendants' MTC Further Responses to Requests for Production of Documents (“RFP”), Set One Tentative Rulings: (1) Defendants' MTC further responses to Special Interrogatories 57 and 58 is DENIED, ON CONDITIONS; and (2) Defendants' MTC...

Excerpt: ...reasons, Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Further Responses is mostly GRANTED as detailed below. (2) The Protective Order sought by both parties will be GRANTED in the form of the Plaintiff's version of the proposed protective order as revised by LMU, and specifically as revised to provide for masking of the true identifies of the students. The Court further orders that LMU shall create a list marked “Confidential” pursuant to the protective orde...

Excerpt: ...ourth Cause of Action for Breach of Oral Contract, Plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed that cause of action from the Complaint. This action arises out of a dispute in which Plaintiffs are asserting a right to a view from the second floor of their home over the property owned by Defendants Clark and Sherry Hsu (“The Hsus”). Plaintiffs, the Hsus and the Wangs are members of the Palos Verdes Homeowner's Association. (“PVHA”). The PVHA and its m...

Excerpt: ...endants' Demurrer is DENIED I. BACKGROUND ¿ ¿ A. Factual ¿ On November 17, 2020, Plaintiff DRAKK Holdings, LLC (“DRAKK”) filed this action against Defendant, PSIP SN Vermont, LLC (“PSIP”). On September 29, 2021, Plaintiff filed a Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) alleging cases of action for: (1) Specific Performance/Express Written Contract; (2) Specific Performance/Promissory Estoppel; (3) Specific Performance/Breach of Implied Co...

Excerpt: ..., a California professional corporation. RESPONDING PARTY: Plaintiff, Garry Cassidy doing business as Garry Cassidy Construction TRIAL DATE: None set MOTION: (1) Special Motion of Defendants to Strike the Sixth and Seventh Causes of Action in the Second Complaint (2) Request for Judicial Notice Tentative Rulings: (1) Deny based on prong 2 of the 2-step anti-SLAPP analysis. “Lawyers argue for a living. Some do more than argue.” (Falcon Brands,...

Excerpt: ...ration Motion to Expunge Several Lis Pendens, or in the Alternative, Require an Undertaking The Court considered the moving, opposition, and reply papers, including various declarations, exhibits, objections to evidence, and the parties' briefs. TENTATIVE RULING The Court will entertain oral argument as to several points identified below, and then will take the motion under submission. Although the motion has been pending for some time, this case...

Excerpt: ...ground On June 24, 2021, Plaintiff Lennette Johnson filed this action against Defendant Kevin Chambers. The Complaint asserts causes of action for (1) assault; (2) battery; (3) defamation; (4) slander; (5) malicious prosecution; (6) perjury; (7) intentional infliction of emotional distress. On 6/3/22, Mr. Chambers moves pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 391 for an order declaring Plaintiff a vexatious litigant and requiring Plaintiff to...

Excerpt: ...RESPONSES TO DFPS, DEEM OBJECTIONS WAIVED, AND REQUEST FOR SANCTIONS 4. MOTION TO DEEM RFAS ADMITTED, DEEM OBJECTIONS WAIVED, AND REQUEST FOR SANCTIONS 5. DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM DEEMED ADMISSIONS AND FROM DEEMED WAIVER OF OBJECTIONS MOVING PARTY: Plaintiff, Iman Peykar (except as to Motion for Relief) RESP. PARTY: Defendant, BMW of North America, LLC (same exception) TENTATIVE RULINGS: 1. Plaintiff's Motion to Compel (MTC) Responses t...

Excerpt: ...ITH LEAVE TO AMEND as to the first cause of action for breach of contract, OVERRULED as to the second c/a for nuisance and third c/a for unfair competition, and SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND as to the fifth cause of action for failure to return security deposit.¿ (2) Set Trial and FSC Dates, discuss ADR options, and secure time estimates from both counsel as to duration of trial and expected completion of discovery ¿ I. BACKGROUND ¿ ¿ A. F...

Excerpt: ...ly within 5 days OPPOSITION: Yes, filed October 11, 2022 REPLY: None filed as of October 24, 2022 I. INTRODUCTION This action arises out of a residential eviction or unlawful detainer (UD) case based on non-payment of rent. On September 26, 2022, Plaintiff filed a Complaint against Defendants. On October 7, 2022, Defendants filed this motion to strike Plaintiff's Complaint in its entirety, indicating a hearing date of November 9, 2022. On October...

Excerpt: ... Judgment is GRANTED. Defendant's proposed Answer is deemed filed and served as of October 25, 2022. If both parties are present, the Court also will conduct a Trial Setting Conference. OPPOSITION: None filed as of October 24, 2022 [ ] Late [X] None REPLY: None filed as of October 24, 2022 [ ] Late [X] None ANALYSIS: ¿ Background This is a case involving an unlawful detainer arising from Defendant Miranda Emerson's (“Defendant”) alleged fail...

Excerpt: ...non-jury trial. The Court has posted Courtroom Information including the form of Trial Setting Order it uses for civil trials. The parties should come to the CMC prepared to discuss a trial date, ADR options, a discovery plan, and whether a dispositive motion is contemplated. Background On March 1, 2021 Plaintiffs Donnie Ray Muldrow (“Muldrow”) and Precession Business Consulting (“PBC”), LLC (“Plaintiffs”) filed a Complaint alleging c...

Excerpt: ... by Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Conjunction Junction LLC (“Cross-Defendant”), with no street address but designated as APN 7572-016-024 (“CJ Parcel”). The second parcel is owned by Defendant/Cross-Complainant Ashley Erin Ellison, as Trustee of The Porter Trust (“Cross-Complainant”) with a street address of 1 Pomegranate Road, Rancho Palos Verdes, California 90275 (“Porter Parcel”). On September 22, 2021, Cross-Defendant commenced th...

Excerpt: ...d by Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Conjunction Junction LLC (“Cross-Defendant”), with no street address but designated as APN 7572-016-024 (“CJ Parcel”). The second parcel is owned by Defendant/Cross-Complainant Ashley Erin Ellison, as Trustee of The Porter Trust (“Cross-Complainant”) with a street address of 1 Pomegranate Road, Rancho Palos Verdes, California 90275 (“Porter Parcel”). On September 22, 2021, Cross-Defendant commenced t...

Excerpt: ...e to a Sargon hearing and objections to specific questions at trial. If the latter, the Court would be inclined to grant the MIL. Analysis: Plaintiff's Complaint alleges 3 causes of action, the 3rd of which is negligence by the defendant The Terraces HOA. An essential element of any negligence c/a is breach of the relevant standard of care which the Complaint alleges. Plaintiff's MIL argues that Mr. Racobs' opinion as to the HOA standard of care ...

Excerpt: ...uld pursue recovery of its attorney's fees which were many multiples of the monetary damages claimed and proven. Cambria obtained the net monetary recovery and the greater relief in the action on the contract, making it the prevailing party for both attorney's fees and costs. Discussion As noted over two decades ago by the California Supreme Court, “the fee setting inquiry in California ordinarily begins with the ‘lodestar,' i.e., the number ...

Excerpt: ... steps to investigate or otherwise respond to behaviors observed by Ms. Doe's fellow students on school grounds or during school-related after-school programs. The parties should be prepared to argue whether a reasonable jury could draw an inference of the District's constructive knowledge of “grooming” behavior from the other students' testimony combined with Farr's and Plaintiff's testimony, plus Dr. Fraisse's opinion testimony as to the st...

Excerpt: ... Court to act as a “13th Juror” and weigh credibility and inferences. However, here the 13th juror is not convinced that the jury clearly should have reached a different result. 1. “The powers of a trial court in ruling on a motion for new trial are plenary. The California Supreme Court has held that the trial court, in ruling on a motion for new trial, has the power ‘to disbelieve witnesses, reweigh the evidence, and draw reasonable infe...

Excerpt: ...f public policy. The context of the claimed adverse employment decisions is TMMC's enforcement of its determination to mandate that all the Hospital's employees obtain COVID-19 vaccinations. Plaintiffs allege that they sought exemption from the Hospital's vaccination policy due to sincerely held religious beliefs and their religious creed protected by the California Constitution Art. I, §4 and by Government Code § 12940(a), but the Hospital rej...

Excerpt: ...when he was represented by counsel served evasive responses to four sets of written discovery, responses as to which Judge Hill granted motions to compel and ordered payment of monetary sanctions. On 5/5/22, Plaintiff now representing himself served meager but sworn responses to the four sets of discovery. Those meager responses are challenged by Defendant's pending motion for terminating sanctions, discussed more fully below. Also pending is a m...

Excerpt: ...r relief on page 18 line 13. Curiously, the MTS is not joined with a demurrer regarding the sufficiency of the allegations of fact to support a claim for punitive damages. The Court notes at the outset that the FAC alleges 9 causes of action with over 120 separately numbered paragraphs, and that the MTS seeks to address allegations beginning with ¶ 107 on page 15 of the First Amended Complaint. ¶ 107 is contained in the 7 th cause of action und...