Excerpt: ...st Ms. Lo in the first through fifth causes of action are solely based on the allegation that Ms. Lo aided or abetted Dr. Vang in sexually assaulting her. (Complaint, "1 31, 37, 43, 50 and 58.) There is no allegation that Ms. Lo personally participated in the sexual assault, which was allegedly committed by Dr. Vang while he was alone with plaintiff in an examination room. (ld. at 7-19.) The only allegations of the Complaint that identify Lo spec...

Excerpt: ...wer. The Third Amended Answer shall be filed within thirty (30) days from the date of this order. (Code Civ. Proc., S 437, subd. The new amendments shall be in bold print. Explanation: "[A1 motion for judgment on the pleadings is the functional equivalent of a general demurrer[,]" - particularly when time calculations are involved. (See People v. $20,000 U.S. Currency (1991) 235 Cal.App.3d 582, 591-692.) As with the standards applicable to demurr...

Excerpt: ...ent. An agreement of the parties is not sufficient to establish a class for settlement purposes. There must be an independent assessment by a neutral court of evidence showing that a class action is proper. (Luckey v. Superior Court (2014) 228 Cal.App.4th 81, 93-95.) "Class certification requires proof (1) of a sufficiently numerous, ascertainable class, (2) of a well-defined community of interest, and (3) that certification will provide substant...

Excerpt: ...on: On July 11, 2022, plaintiffs La Daga Investments, LLC and Chure, LLC filed a complaint against defendant Noe Martnez. Rene Esquivel is not a party in the complaint, but he is described as the managing member of both plaintiff entities and the brother-inlaw and friend of defendant. At no point has the acton been amended to include Mr. Esquivel as a party. Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6 provides, in relevant part: If parties to pending l...

Excerpt: ...lass counsel will breach the fiduciary obligations they owe to the absent class members. As a result, such agreements must withstand an even higher level of scrutiny for evidence of collusion or other conflicts of interest than is ordinarily required under Rule 23(e) before securing the court's approval as fair." (Koby v. ARS National Services, nc. (9th Cir. 2017) 846 F. 3d 1071, 1079.) "[lln the final analysis it is the Court that bears the resp...

Excerpt: ...urth causes of action, with leave to amend. To sustain the demurrer to the fifth cause of action, without leave to amend. Plaintiff shall serve and file a First Amended Complaint within ten (10) days of the date of service of this order. All new allegations shall be in boldface. Explanation: On June 30, 2022, plaintiff filed suit against defendants California Department of State Hospitals ("CDSH"), Robert Withrow and Brandon Price for five causes...

Excerpt: ...of the date of mailing of this order. Explanation: Plaintiff's first amended complaint fails to allege that she complied with the requirements of the Government Tort Claims Act, and therefore it fails to state any valid causes of action against defendants West Park Elementary School District and Kimberly Vivenzi. "[Government Codel Section 905 requires the presentation of 'all claims for money or damages against local public entities,' subject to...

Excerpt: ... Bourn Family LLC's motions to compel for Form Interrogatories—Economic Litigation (Set One), Form Interrogatories—General (Set One), Special Interrogatories (Set One), and Request for Production (Set One). To grant defendant Bourn Family LLC's request to deem Requests for Admissions (Set One) admitted. The truth of the matters specified in the Requests for Admissions are to be deemed admitted unless plaintiff Valerie Gonzales serves, before ...

Excerpt: ...r an Order Compelling Plaintiff's Further Responses to Requests for Admission Tentative Ruling: To grant in part defendant's motion to compel plaintiff to provide further responses to Form Interrogatories — General, and order plaintiff to provide further responses to Nos. 2.11(b), 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8. To deny the motion as to Nos. 2.3, 2.11(a), 8.4, 11.1, 11.2. To grant in part defendant's motion to compel plaintiff to provide further responses ...

Excerpt: ...ial fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. (Code Civ. Proc., 5437c, subd. (c); Schacter v. Citigroup (2009) 47 Cal.4th 610, 618.) "A motion for summary adjudication shall be granted only if it completely disposes of a cause of action, an affirmative defense, a claim for damages, or an issue of duty." (Code of Civ. Proc., S 437c subd. (f)(l); see also Catalano v. Superior Court (2000) 82 Cal.App.4th 91, 97 [piecemeal...

Excerpt: ...oval, the court must conduct an inquiry into the fairness of the proposed settlement." Subsection (h) states: "If the court approves the settlement agreement after the final approval hearing, the court must make and enter judgment. The judgment must include a provision for the retention of the court's jurisdiction over the parties to enforce the terms of the judgment. The court may not enter an order dismissing the action at the same time as, or ...

Excerpt: ...laint within 20 days of service of the order by the clerk. To deny the moton to strike except as it relates to plaintiffs' claim for relief under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.4, as to Community Hospital of Central California only. Explanation: In deciding a demurrer, the test is whether the plaintiff has succeeded in stating a cause of action - the court does not concern itself with the issue of plaintiff's possible difficulty or inabilit...

Excerpt: ...ent can be amended and the distribution of any cy pres funds can be ordered. as to the amount paid to class members must be filed on or before March 5, 2024. Explanation: 1. Class Certification The court has already granted the motion for preliminary approval and certification of the class and found that the class is sufficiently numerous and ascertainable to warrant certification for the purpose of approving the settlement. In addition, there do...

Excerpt: ...e at bench on April 9, 2021. "After six months from entry of default, a trial court may still vacate a default on equitable grounds even if statutory relief is unavailable." (Rappleyea v. Campbell, supra, 8 Cal.4th 975, 981 (Rappleyea).) Equitable grounds include extrinsic fraud and mistake. (Ibid.; Aldrich v. San Fernando Valley Lumber Co. (1985) 170 Cal.App.3d 725, 736 (Aldrich).) Although "the terms 'fraud' and 'mistake' have been given a broa...

Excerpt: ...iminary approval of the proposed settlement. An agreement of the parties is not sufficient to establish a class for settlement purposes. There must be an independent assessment by a neutral court of evidence showing that a class action is proper. (Luckey v. Superior Court (2014) 228 Cal. App. 4th 81 (rev. denied); see also Newberg, Newberg on Class Actions (T.R. Westlaw, 2017) Section 7:3: "The parties' representation of an uncontested motion for...

Excerpt: ...d settlement. An agreement of the parties is not sufficient to establish a class for settlement purposes. There must be an independent assessment by a neutral court of evidence showing that a class action is proper. (Luckey v. Superior Court (2014) 228 Cal.App.4th 81, 93-95.) "Class certification requires proof (1) ofa sufficiently numerous, ascertainable class, (2) of a well-defined community of interest, and (3) that certification will provide ...

Excerpt: ...me with certain warranties. Problems with the vehicle ensued which form the basis of the instant complaint for damages. Plaintiffs brought seven causes of acton against defendant Nissan North America, Inc. for negligent repair and failure to replace the vehicle. All of the causes of action against defendant comprise alleged breaches of Civil Code, section 1790 et seq. regarding consumer warranties, and fraud by omission that defendant was aware o...

Excerpt: ...od moves for summary judgment, contending that it owed no duty to plaintiff and thus it cannot held liable for negligence. "To establish a cause of action for negligence, the plaintiff must show that the 'defendant had a duty to use due care, that he breached that duty, and that the breach was the proximate or legal cause of the resulting injury.' Recovery for negligence depends as a threshold matter on the existence of a legal duty of care." (Br...

Excerpt: ...y of the events leading up to this continuation is as follows: On June 30, 2022, defendant filed a demurrer to plaintiff's original Complaint on the grounds that it failed to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. On August 24, 2022, plaintiff filed the instant motion for summary adjudication and the hearing was originally set for January 25, 2023. On January 18, 2023, the court issued its adopted tentative ruling sustaining the ...

Excerpt: ...t Beau Pennington only. Plaintiff is granted 10 days' leave to file the Second Amended Complaint, which will run from service by the clerk of the minute order. New allegations/language must be set in boldface type. Explanation: Non-solicitation/Non-compete Agreements and Trade Secrets Business and Professions Code section 16600 states, "Except as provided in this chapter, every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful prof...

Excerpt: ... has made may petition the court to confirm, correct or vacate the award." (Code Civ. Proc., S 1285.) "A response to a petition under this chapter may request the court to dismiss the petition or to confirm, correct or vacate the award." (Code Civ. Proc„ S 1285.2.) "If a petition or response under this chapter is duly served and filed, the court shall confirm the award as made, whether rendered in this state or another state, unless in accordan...

Excerpt: ...t for Production of Documents, Set One (1), which Defendant propounded on the Plaintiff June 24, 2022, within 10 days of service of this Order. To order Plaintiff to provide objectionless and verified responses to Form Interrogatories, Set One (1), which Defendant propounded on the Plaintiff on June 24, 2022, within 10 days of service of this Order. To order Plaintiff to provide objectonless and verified responses to Special Interrogatories, Set ...

Excerpt: ...he motion for summary judgment is untimely, "highly prejudicial," and violates due process. (Opp. at p. 3:17.) However, the authority offered as support for proposition that - Gamble v. Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power (2W2) 97 Cal.App.4th 253 (Gamble) - specifically conditioned its reversal on the record's absence of a suggestion that the judge presiding over the summary judgment motion was unavailability. (ld. at p. 259.) Here, in light of ...

Excerpt: ... be amended will run from service of the order by the clerk. All new allegations shall be in boldface font. Explanation: On December 29, 2016 plaintiff purchased a new 2016 Hyundai Veloster from Lithia Hyundai of Fresno, which vehicle was manufactured or distributed by defendant Hyundai Motor America ("HMA"). Problems with the vehicle ensued, specifically with the 1.6L Gamma engine, and this "lemon law" action was filed on April 13, 2021, against...

Excerpt: ... to file the First Amended Cross-complaint, which will run from service by the clerk of the minute order. New allegations/language must be set in boldface type. Explanation: Cross-complaint Generally For a cross- complaint, claims against the plaintiff can be asserted regardless of the subject matter relationship; however, for claims against anyone else, the claims must relate to the subject matter or transaction alleged in the plaintiff's compla...