Excerpt: ...division (a), “[t]he court may, in furtherance of justice, and on any terms as may be proper, allow a party to amend any pleading or proceeding by adding or striking out the name of any party, or by correcting a mistake in the name of a party, or a mistake in any other respect; and may, upon like terms, enlarge the time for answer or demurrer. The court may likewise, in its discretion, after notice to the adverse party, allow, upon any terms as...

Excerpt: ... an action in which it is alleged that two or more parties are joint tortfeasors or co‐obligors on a contract debt shall be entitled to a hearing on the issue of the good faith of a settlement entered into by the plaintiff or other claimant and one or more alleged tortfeasors or co‐obligors, upon giving notice in the manner provided in subdivision (b) of Section 1005.” (Code Civ. Proc. § 877.6(a)(1).) “The issue of the good faith of a se...

Excerpt: ... plaintiff's double minimum wage claim. Plaintiff is granted 20 days' leave to file the first amended complaint, if necessary. If plaintiff cannot amend the complaint accordingly, plaintiff shall file a declaration indicating as such. The time to file the first amended complaint will run from service by the clerk of the minute order. All new allegations in the first amended complaint are to be set in boldface type. DMM Packaging, Inc.'s (“DMM�...

Excerpt: ...ne whether the proposed class meets the requirements for certification before it can grant preliminary 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 Acti...

Excerpt: ...ary adjudication of each separate cause of action. (Code Civ. Proc. § 437c.) Explanation: First, defendant Saint Agnes has moved for summary adjudication of the medical negligence cause of action on the ground that plaintiffs cannot prevail on their claim for malpractice against the hospital because the treating doctor, Dr. Iberdemaj, is not an employee or agent of the hospital and therefore the hospital cannot be held vicariously liable for his...

Excerpt: ...est for Production of Documents, Set Two, 15 days late. As a result, all objections were waived. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2031.300, subd. (a).) Relief from waiver of objections may be granted where both of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) The party has subsequently served a response that is in substantial compliance with Sections 2031.210, 2031.220, 2031.230, 2031.240, and 2031.280. (2) The party's failure to serve a timely response was th...

Excerpt: ...clerk to set the final approval hearing. Explanation: 1. Class Certification A precertification settlement may stipulate that a defined class be conditionally certified for settlement purposes. The court may make an order approving or denying certification of a provisional settlement class after the preliminary settlement hearing. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.769(d).) Before the court may approve the settlement, however, the settlement class must...

Excerpt: ...ourth Causes of Action for Racial and Age Harassment: Defendants demur to the third and fourth causes of action on the grounds that the Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) fails to allege sufficient facts to state a cause of action for harassment. Plaintiff's third and fourth causes of action alleges harassment in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), Government Code, section 12940, subdivision (j), by defenda...

Excerpt: ...es to special interrogatories, set one, numbers 1, 2 and 3, and requests for production of documents, numbers 3, 5, 7 and 9. (Code Civ. Proc. §§ 2030.300; 2031.310.) Defendant shall serve responses to the interrogatories 2 and 3 and requests for production 3, 5, 7, and 9 without objections within 21 days of the date of service of this order. The parties shall meet and confer regarding a Belaire‐West notice to be sent to the putative class mem...

Excerpt: ...vide responses as specified in the 2/28/22 order within 20 days of service of this order by the clerk. Explanation: On 2/14/22 plaintiff filed a Pretrial Discovery Conference (“PDC”) Request concerning production demands and special interrogatories propounded on defendant on 10/29/21. On 2/28/22 the court ordered defendant to provide discovery responses without objection due to defendant's failure to file an opposition to the PDC Request. On ...

Excerpt: ...ification a. Standards First, the court must determine whether the proposed class meets the requirements for certification before it can grant preliminary 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 (r...

Excerpt: ...28 Cal.App.4th 81 (rev. denied).) “Confronted with a request for settlement‐only class certification, a district court need not inquire whether the case, if tried, would present intractable management problems for the proposal is that there will be no trial. But other specifications of the rule ‐‐ those designed to protect absentees by blocking unwarranted or overbroad class definitions ‐‐ demand undiluted, even heightened, attention ...

Excerpt: ...complaint under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16, contending that the complaint is a strategic lawsuit against public participation (“SLAPP”), and thus subject to being stricken unless plaintiff can show by admissible evidence that he has a probability of prevailing on the merits of his claims. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16, “[a] cause of action against a person arising from any act of that person in furtherance of the ...

Excerpt: ...planation: “[U]nder a long‐standing common law rule of procedure, a corporation, unlike a natural person, cannot represent itself before courts of record in propria persona, nor can it represent itself through a corporate officer, director or other employee who is not an attorney. It must be represented by licensed counsel in proceedings before courts of record.” (CLD Construction, Inc. v. City of San Ramon (2004) 120 Cal.App.4th 1141, 1145...

Excerpt: ...the Award of Attorney's Fees Plaintiff may not collect postjudgment interest on the award of attorney's fees. “In order to be an enforceable judgment for attorney fees under the Song‐Beverly Act, to which postjudgment interest begins to run, the judgment or order must finally dispose of the rights of the parties in the action.” (Hyundai Motor America v. Superior Court (2015) 235 Cal.App.4th 418, 426.) The award of attorney's fees to plainti...

Excerpt: ...n. The court will reconsider the sanctions request if necessary in connection with the motion for class certification. To deny the motion to compel compliance with the order regarding request for production of documents and to impose $6,027 in monetary sanctions against plaintiff's counsel, the Parris Law Firm and the Downey Law Firm. Explanation: Motion to Compel Depositions Plaintiff moves to compel depositions of defendant Sun‐Maid employees...

Excerpt: ...aint. Tentative Ruling: To deny each of Pearson's motions for summary judgment as to the Complaint, the Second Cross‐ Complaint, and the First Amended Third Cross‐ Complaint. To deny summary adjudication as to the Complaint. To deny summary adjudication as to the First and Second Causes of Action of the Second Cross‐ Complaint due to lack of standing. To deny summary adjudication as to the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Causes of Action of the Fir...

Excerpt: ... court's order. Explanation: A special motion to strike provides a procedural remedy to dismiss nonmeritorious litigation meant to chill the valid exercise of the constitutional rights to petition or engage in free speech. (Code Civ. Proc., §425.16, subd. (a); see Martinez v. Metabolife Intern., Inc. (2003) 113 Cal.App.4th 181, 186.) The court engages in a two‐step process in determining whether an action is subject to the anti‐SLAPP statute...

Excerpt: ...y seeks relief from entry of default on March 9, 2021. Code of Civil Procedure section 473, subdivision (b) provides, in pertinent part: The court may, 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 or her through his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. Application for this relief shall be accompanied by a copy of ...

Excerpt: ...g: To grant plaintiff Guadalupe Vargas' (“Decedent Plaintiff”) motions to compel further responses to (1) Requests for Production of Documents, Set One, as to Request Nos. 3‐49; (2) Form Interrogatories, Set One, as to Request Nos. 1.1, 3.1‐3.7, 4.1‐4.2, 12.1‐ 12.7, 14.1 and 17.1; (3) Special Interrogatories, Set One, as to Request Nos. 1‐33; and (4) Requests for Admissions, Set One, as to Request Nos. 1‐13. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2...

Excerpt: ...challenging a particular, “cause of action, an affirmative defense, a claim for punitive damages, or an issue of duty.” (Paramount Petroleum Corp. v. Superior Court (2014) 227 Cal.App.4th 226, 242.) Furthermore, “[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., § 437c subd. (f)(1); see also Cata...

Excerpt: ...may be proper, allow a party to amend any pleading. (Code Civ. Proc., § 473, subd. (a)(1).) Judicial policy favors resolution of all disputed matters between the parties in the same lawsuit. Thus, the court's discretion will usually be exercised liberally to permit amendment of the pleadings. (Nestle v. Santa Monica (1972) 6 Cal.3d 920, 939; Mabie v. Hyatt (1998) 61 Cal.App.4th 581, 596.) The policy favoring amendment is so strong that it is a r...

Excerpt: ...rney's fees against plaintiff, in the amount of $5,000. (Code Civ. Proc. § 425.16, subd. (c).) Plaintiff shall pay attorney's fees to Lyft within 30 days of the date of service of this order. To overrule Lyft's demurrer as moot in light of the court's ruling on the motion to strike. To grant defendant Vaughn's request to join in Lyft's special motion to strike. To grant the motion to strike the entire complaint against Vaughn, without leave to a...

Excerpt: ...re considered in context and presumed to be true. (Clauson v. Superior Court (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 1253, 1255.) Civil Code section 3294, subdivision (a) provides: In an action for the breach of an obligation not arising from contract, where it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud, or malice, the plaintiff, in addition to the actual damages, may recover damages for the sake of example a...

Excerpt: ...o deny the motion to quash as moot in light of the order on the motion to amend. Explanation: On May 6, 2022, Fresno Community Hospital and Medical Center, d/b/a Community Health System (“CMC”) filed a motion for leave to amend its Complaint to substitute Central California Faculty Medical Group (“CCFMG”), University Neurosciences Institute (“UNI”), Joyce Fields‐Keene (collectively, “Substituted Defendants”) as Doe Defendants 1 ...