Excerpt: ...laint against Defendant Christian Omar Dada, individually and dba Dada's Trucking, and Bessy Dinora Ramirez Aguilar, alleging a cause of action for motor vehicle negligence, arising out of the same collision that occurred on April 30, 2021. On November 4, 2022, this Court found all these two actions related. On November 30, 2022, Defendant Dada filed the instant motion to consolidate in both cases. No opposition has been filed. Legal Standard “...

Excerpt: ...he propounding party may move for an order compelling responses and for a monetary sanction. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.290, subd. (b).) The statute contains no time limit for a motion to compel where no responses have been served. All that need be shown in the moving papers is that a set of interrogatories was properly served on the opposing party, that the time to respond has expired, and that no response of any kind has been served. (Leach v. S...

Excerpt: ... admitted requests for admission served on Plaintiff. The truth of the matters in the request for admissions, set one, served on Plaintiff were deemed admitted. On June 16, 2023, Defendants filed this motion for judgment on the pleadings. No opposition has been filed. Request for Judicial Notice Defendants seek judicial notice of the following items: (1) Plaintiff's Complaint; (2) The Court order granting Defendant's Motion to Deem Requests for A...

Excerpt: ...o by the plaintiff . . . and one or more alleged tortfeasors or co- obligors . . . .” (Code. Civ. Proc., § 877.6(a)(1).) “A determination by the court that the settlement was made in good faith shall bar any other joint tortfeasor or co-obligor from any further claims against the settling tortfeasor or co-obligor for equitable comparative contribution, or partial or comparative indemnity, based on comparative negligence or comparative fault....

Excerpt: ... to Continue Trial, filed with the Court on January 26, 2023. The requests are granted pursuant to Evidence Code section 452(d). Legal Standard Trial dates are firm to ensure prompt disposition of civil cases. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1332, subd. (a).) Continuances are thus generally disfavored. (See id., rule 3.1332, subd. (b).) Nevertheless, the trial court has discretion to continue trial dates. (Hernandez v. Superior Court (2004) 115 Cal....

Excerpt: ... collision that occurred on February 2, 2022. On June 16, 2023, Uber filed this motion to compel arbitration and to dismiss or stay. No opposition has been filed. Legal Standard “A written agreement to submit to arbitration an existing controversy or a controversy thereafter arising is valid, enforceable and irrevocable, save upon such grounds as exist for the revocation of any contract.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 1281.) “On petition of a party ...

Excerpt: ... June Roberts (“Defendant”) filed her answer on November 16, 2021. On November 22, 2022, Defendant filed a motion to continue trial to a date after the date Defendant had reserved for her motion for summary judgment. The Court granted that motion (over the opposition of Plaintiff) on December 21, 2022. On November 23, 2022, Plaintiff filed a motion to compel Defendant's deposition. Defendant filed an opposition in which her attorney asserted ...

Excerpt: ...2, 2021, each of the Plaintiffs filed claims with the City of Industry under the Government Claims Act (the “GCA”). (Gutierrez-Robles Decl., Exhs. A & B.) In their claims, Plaintiffs stated that they were struck in an intersection and injured “due to a light malfunction.” (Ibid.) On February 10, 2022, Plaintiffs filed the Complaint in this action against Zarazua, the City of Industry, and other defendants. In the first two causes of actio...

Excerpt: ... the requests for admission that is in substantial compliance with Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.220). Plaintiff's request for sanctions is GRANTED in part. Defendant's law firm Martinez, Dieterich & Zarcone Legal Group is ordered to pay monetary sanctions in the amount of $1,230 within 30 days of this order. Background On February 22, 2022, Plaintiff Cosme Daniel Arriaga-Morales filed a complaint against Defendant Raniro Aguilera-Adame al...

Excerpt: ...NTED. The Court orders Plaintiff Israel Alberto Hernandez Saavedra and counsel of record Igor Fradkin to pay sanctions in the amount of $1,185, jointly and severally, within 30 days of this order. Legal Standard Contempt Contempt is any act, in or out of court, “which tends to impede, embarrass or obstruct the court in the discharge of its duties.” (In re Shortridge (1893) 99 Cal. 526, 532.) Particular acts constituting contempt are enumerate...

Excerpt: ... Legal Standard Trial dates are firm to ensure prompt disposition of civil cases. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1332, subd. (a).) Continuances are thus generally disfavored. (See id., rule 3.1332, subd. (b).) Nevertheless, the trial court has discretion to continue trial dates. (Hernandez v. Superior Court (2004) 115 Cal.App.4th 1242, 1246.) Each request for continuance must be considered on its own merits and is granted upon an affirmative showin...

Excerpt: ...trial dates. (Hernandez v. Superior Court (2004) 115 Cal.App.4th 1242, 1246.) Each request for continuance must be considered on its own merits and is granted upon an affirmative showing of good cause. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1332, subd. (c); Hernandez, supra, 115 Cal.App.4th at p. 1246.) Circumstances that may indicate good cause include: (1) the unavailability of an essential lay or expert witness due to death, illness, or other excusable ...

Excerpt: ...ion of a new party depriving the new party (or other parties) from conducting discovery and preparing for trial; (3) “excused inability to obtain essential testimony, documents, or other material evidence despite diligent efforts”; or (4) “[a] significant, unanticipated change in the status of the case” preventing it from being ready for trial. (Id., Rule 3.1332(c).) Other relevant considerations may include: “(1) The proximity of the t...

Excerpt: ...and general negligence against Defendants. On March 25, 2022, the Court granted the motion of Plaintiff's counsel to be relieved as counsel. The Order prepared by Plaintiff's counsel and signed by the Court identified Plaintiff's current address as “605 Fishburn Avenue” in Huntington Park, California. The proof of service of the Order filed by Plaintiff's counsel listed a slightly different address: “6058 Fishburn Avenue” in Huntington Pa...

Excerpt: ..., or excusable neglect. Application for this relief … shall be made within a reasonable time, in no case exceeding six months, after the … dismissal … was taken.” (CCP section 473(b).) The mandatory prong states: “The court shall, whenever an application for relief is made no more than six months after entry of judgment, is in proper form, and is accompanied by an attorney's sworn affidavit attesting to his or her mistake, inadvertence,...

Excerpt: ...lson v. Anderson (1999) 72 Cal.App.4th 111, 128-129 (citations and internal quotations omitted); Code of Civ. Proc. § 1032, subd. (b). The term “prevailing party” for costs purposes is defined by statute to include a) the party with a net monetary recovery; b) a defendant who is dismissed from the action; c) defendant where neither plaintiff nor defendant recovers anything; and d) a defendant as against those plaintiffs who do not recover an...

Excerpt: ... sought, or upon the court's own motion after giving counsel notice and an opportunity to be heard, may make an order quashing the subpoena entirely, modifying it, or directing compliance with it upon those terms and conditions as the court may specify. (See Code Civ. Proc. § 1987.1; Southern Pac. Co. v. Superior Court (1940) 15 Cal.2d 206.) The court can make an order quashing or modifying a subpoena as necessary to protect a person from “unr...

Excerpt: ...n objection under Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) section 2025.410. If such an objection is made within three calendar days before the deposition date, the objecting party must make personal service of that objection. (Code Civ. Proc. 2025.410, subd. (b).) CCP section¿2025.450(a) provides:¿“If, after service of a deposition notice, a party to the action . . . , without having served a valid objection under Section 2025.410, fails to appea...

Excerpt: ... upon any terms as may be just, relieve a party or his or her legal representative from a judgment, dismissal, order, or other proceeding taken against him through his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.” CCP §473(b). Where such an application for discretionary relief is made, the motion shall be accompanied by a copy of the answer or pleading proposed to be filed, or the application will not be granted. (Id.) The cou...

Excerpt: ...Continental Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. (Complaint ¶ 13.) Plaintiffs allege that the robbery was “orchestrated” by and/or “perpetrated with the direct assistance of” Defendant Ronald Elie, who was then a Director of Housekeeping of the hotel. (Id., ¶¶ 1, 6, 13.) According to the complaint, Elie, as a Director of Housekeeping, was “privy to certain security protocols of the Hotel, namely the placement of security cameras inside the...

Excerpt: ...1) unavailability of trial counsel or witnesses due to “death, illness, or other excusable circumstances”; (2) the addition of a new party depriving the new party (or other parties) from conducting discovery and preparing for trial; (3) “excused inability to obtain essential testimony, documents, or other material evidence despite diligent efforts”; or (4) “[a] significant, unanticipated change in the status of the case” preventing it...

Excerpt: ...n to Compel responses to Requests for Production: Motion to compel DENIED as moot; request for monetary sanctions GRANTED in the amount of $554.60 as against Plaintiff and her counsel, jointly and severally. Motion to Deem Admitted Requests For Admission: The Court has NO TENTATIVE and wishes to hear argument as to the Motion to deem admitted as it appears that Plaintiff may have served, before the hearing, a response to the requests for admissio...

Excerpt: ...he addition of a new party depriving the new party (or other parties) from conducting discovery and preparing for trial; (3) “excused inability to obtain essential testimony, documents, or other material evidence despite diligent efforts”; or (4) “[a] significant, unanticipated change in the status of the case” preventing it from being ready for trial.¿ (Id., Rule 3.1332(c).)¿¿¿ Other relevant considerations¿may¿include: “(1) The ...

Excerpt: ...sable neglect.” (CCP §473(b)). Where such an application for discretionary relief is made, the motion shall be accompanied by a copy of the answer or pleading proposed to be filed, or the application will not be granted. (Id.) The court must grant relief from dismissal where the application is accompanied by an attorney affidavit attesting to his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or neglect. (Id.) In either case, the application must be ...

Excerpt: ...t, or upon the court's own motion after giving counsel notice and an opportunity to be heard, may make an order quashing the subpoena entirely, modifying it, or directing compliance with it upon those terms and conditions as the court may specify. (See Code Civ. Proc. § 1987.1; Southern Pac. Co. v. Superior Court (1940) 15 Cal.2d 206.) The court can compel a witness' compliance with a subpoena on such terms and conditions as appropriate to prote...

Excerpt: ...ctions. Background On March 6, 2020, Plaintiff Juan P. Angeo (“Plaintiff”) filed a complaint against Defendants Secure Transportation Company, Inc. and Crystal C. Hernandez, alleging a cause of action for motor vehicle negligence, stemming from a vehicle collision that occurred on March 6, 2018. In July 2022, Defendant served Plaintiff with Requests for Production, Form Interrogatories, Special Interrogatories, and Requests for Admission. Whe...

Excerpt: ...CCP”) Section 437c(c) “requires the trial judge to grant summary judgment if all the evidence submitted, and ‘all inferences reasonably deducible from the evidence' and uncontradicted by other inferences or evidence, show that there is no triable issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” (Adler v. Manor Healthcare Corp. (1992) 7 Cal.App.4th 1110, 1119.) “The function of the plea...

Excerpt: ...s to Defendant in the amount of $1,500, jointly and severally, within 30 days of this order. Legal Standard “In any case in which a plaintiff is seeking recovery for personal injuries, any defendant may demand one physical examination of the plaintiff, if both of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) The examination does not include any diagnostic test or procedure that is painful, protracted, or intrusive; (2) The examination is conducte...

Excerpt: ...o, in person or telephonically, for the purposes of determining whether an agreement can be reached through a filing of an amended pleading that would resolve the objections to be raised in the demurrer and motion to strike. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 430.41.) Demurrer 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 demurrers, courts read the allegati...

Excerpt: ...e has not been made within two years after the action is commenced against the defendant. (Id., § 583.420(a)(1).) In determining whether the court should exercise its discretion in dismissing an action, the court must consider all relevant matters, including: “(1) The court's file in the case and the declarations and supporting date submitted by the parties and, where applicable, the availability of the moving party and other essential parties...

Excerpt: ...illness, or other excusable circumstances”; (2) the addition of a new party depriving the new party (or other parties) from conducting discovery and preparing for trial; (3) “excused inability to obtain essential testimony, documents, or other material evidence despite diligent efforts”; or (4) “[a] significant, unanticipated change in the status of the case” preventing it from being ready for trial. (Id., Rule 3.1332(c).) Other relevan...

Excerpt: ...ht, or upon the court's own motion after giving counsel notice and an opportunity to be heard, may make an order quashing the subpoena entirely, modifying it, or directing compliance with it upon those terms and conditions as the court may specify. (See Code Civ. Proc. § 1987.1; Southern Pac. Co. v. Superior Court (1940) 15 Cal.2d 206.) The court can compel a witness' compliance with a subpoena on such terms and conditions as appropriate to prot...

Excerpt: ... the defects must be apparent on the face of the 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.” (SKF Farms v. Superior Court (1984) 153 Cal.App.3d 902, 905.) “The only issue involved in a demur...

Excerpt: ...tions are DENIED. Defendant Yard House USA, Inc. (sued as The Yard House, L.P.) filed three motions to compel against Plaintiff Laurie Scott on March 6, 2023 (one relating to form interrogatories, one relating to special interrogatories, and one relating to document requests). Plaintiff filed her oppositions on June 1 and 5, 2023. Defendant filed replies on June 8 and 12, 2023. The Court has reviewed the filings of the parties and issues the foll...

Excerpt: ...fore the date initially set for the trial of the action.”¿ (Code Civ. Proc., § 2024.020(a).)¿ For expert witnesses, “[a]ny¿party shall be entitled as a matter of right to complete discovery proceedings … on or before the 15th day, and to have motions concerning that discovery heard on or before the 10th day, before the date initially set for the trial of the action.”¿ (Code Civ. Proc., § 2024.030.)¿ In general, a “continuance¿or...

Excerpt: ...sted by the parties, the court may retain jurisdiction over the parties to enforce the settlement until performance in full of the terms of the settlement. (b) For purposes of this section, a writing is signed by a party if it is signed by any of the following: (1) The party. (2) An attorney who represents the party. (3) If the party is an insurer, an agent who is authorized in writing by the insurer to sign on the insurer's behalf.” Because of...

Excerpt: ...ut limitation): (1) unavailability of trial counsel or witnesses due to “death, illness, or other excusable circumstances”; (2) the addition of a new party depriving the new party (or other parties) from conducting discovery and preparing for trial; (3) “excused inability to obtain essential testimony, documents, or other material evidence despite diligent efforts”; or (4) “[a] significant, unanticipated change in the status of the case...

Excerpt: ... If such an objection is made within three calendar days before the deposition date, the objecting party must make personal service of that objection. (Code Civ. Proc. 2025.410, subd. (b).) CCP section¿2025.450(a) provides:¿“If, after service of a deposition notice, a party to the action . . . , without having served a valid objection under Section 2025.410, fails to appear for examination, or to proceed with it, or to produce for¿inspection...

Excerpt: ...costs of enforcing a judgment. Attorney's fees incurred in enforcing a judgment are not included in costs collectible under this title unless otherwise provided by law. Attorney's fees incurred in enforcing a judgment are included as costs collectible under this title if the underlying judgment includes an award of attorney's fees to the judgment creditor pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (10) of subdivision (a) of Section 1033.5.” Purs...

Excerpt: ...nd will allow Plaintiff's counsel to use that test data in consulting with Plaintiff's experts and in conducting cross- examination of Defendant's experts. Legal Standard A court order is required to obtain a party's mental examination. (Code Civ. Proc. § 2032.310(a).) Such an order may be made only after notice and hearing, and for "good cause shown."¿ (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2032.310(c), 2032.320(a).) This standard, the Court of Appeal has exp...

Excerpt: ...�treat[s] the demurrer as admitting all material facts properly pleaded, but not contentions, deductions or conclusions of fact or law ….” (Berkley v. Dowds (2007) 152 Cal.App.4th 518, 525).) In a demurrer proceeding, the defects must be apparent on the face of the 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 extrin...

Excerpt: ...on is made within three calendar days before the deposition date, the objecting party must make personal service of that objection. (Code Civ. Proc. 2025.410, subd. (b).) CCP section¿2025.450(a) provides:¿“If, after service of a deposition notice, a party to the action . . . , without having served a valid objection under Section 2025.410, fails to appear for examination, or to proceed with it, or to produce for¿inspection any document . . ....

Excerpt: ... at the time the motion to change venue is made.' [Citations.]” (Lebastchi v. Superior Court (1995) 33 Cal.App.4th 1465, 1469 [citations omitted].) “If the plaintiff's complaint joins several separate causes of action, one of which is local and another transitory, the transitory action controls as to venue.” (Weil & Brown, CAL.PRAC. GUIDE: CIV. PRO. BEFORE TRIAL (The Rutter Group 2006) § 3:461, p. 3-113.) “Where the main relief sought is...

Excerpt: ... after opportunity for hearing, may impose... [monetary, evidence, and terminating] sanctions against anyone engaging in conduct that is a misuse of the discovery process...." CCP section 2023.010 provides that "[m]issues of the discovery process include, but are not limited to, the following:... (d) Failing to respond or to submit to an authorized method of discovery.... (g) Disobeying a court order to provide discovery...." "The trial court may...

Excerpt: ... stated on its website. The request is GRANTED pursuant to Evidence Code section 452(h). 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 demurrers, courts read the allegations liberally and in context. (Taylor v. City of Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power (2006) 144 Cal.App.4th 1216, 1228.) The court “treat[s] the demurrer as admi...