Excerpt: ...eady 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. There is no reason for the court to reconsider its decision granting certification of the class. Therefore, the court certifies the class for the purpose of final approval of the settlement. 2. Settlement a. Legal Standards "When, a...

Excerpt: ...ent thereon. Explanation: 1. Introduction under Labor Code section 2699, "[tlhe superior court shall review and approve any settlement of any civil acton filed pursuant to [PAGA]. The proposed settlement shall be submitted to the agency at the same time that is submitted to the court." (Lab. Code, S 2699, subd. (i)(2).) The statute does not explain what exactly the trial court should consider when reviewing a proposed PAGA settlement. However, re...

Excerpt: ...t 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 Secton 1005." (Code Civ. Proc. S 877.6, subd. "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...

Excerpt: ...he demurrer to the complaint and first amended complaint are rendered moot by plaintiff's filing of the second amended complaint. The court intends to sign the proposed order lodged on July 20, 2023. Explanation: Defendant Farmers Insurance demurs to the sole cause of action stemming from a motor vehicle acc:ident, contending that the complaint, first amended complaint, and second amended complaint fail to state cause of action, there is a nonjoi...

Excerpt: ... the second, third, fifth, and sixth causes of action, with leave to amend. (Code Civ. Proc. S 430.10, subd. (e).) To overrule on all other grounds. (Code Civ. Proc. S 430.10, subd. (e), Plaintiff shall serve and file an amended complaint within 10 days of the date of service of this minute order by the clerk. All new allegations shall be in boldface. Explanation: Defendants Yamaha Golf-Car Company ("Yamaha") and Cart Star Motors, LLC ("Cart Star...

Excerpt: ...of Civil Procedure, section 664.6 provides in relevant part: If parties to pending litigation stipulate, in a writing signed by the parties outside of the presence of the court or orally before the court, for settlement of the case, or part thereof, the court, upon motion, may enter judgment pursuant to the terms of the settlement. (Code Civ. Proc., S 664.6, subd. Here, the parties have a writing and litigation is still pending. The writing was c...

Excerpt: ...ative Ruling: To deny defendant Admiral Insurance Company's ("Admiral") motions for an order deeming requests to admit truth of facts against plaintiff Shaw Creek Homeowners Association admitted, and to compel plaintiff's responses to Form Interrogatories, Set Two, Special Interrogatories, Set Two, and Request for Production of Documents, Set Two, since plaintiff responded to the discovery requests on August 18, 2023. To award monetary sanctions ...

Excerpt: ...ffected." (Williams v. Superior Court (2017) 3 Cal.5th 531, 549, citing Labor Code secton "The superior court shall review and approve any settlement of any civil action filed pursuant to this part. The proposed settlement shall be submitted to the agency' at the same tme that it is submitted to the court." ) [A1 trial court should evaluate a PAGA settlement to determine whether it is fair, reasonable, and adequate in view of PAGAls purposes to r...

Excerpt: ...the First Amended Complaint, which will run from service by the clerk of the minute order. Explanation: Defendant SMART Sheet Metal Workers' Local Union No. 104 moved for summary judgment of plaintiff Earl Riley's complaint on the basis that there is no triable issue of material fact and defendant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The operative complaint was filed on March 16, 2022. Defendant filed its answer generally denying the alleg...

Excerpt: ... defendants whereby credit was given based upon the value of their used car lot inventory value secured by the title certificates of those vehicles until sold or for 120 days, which ever occurred first, at which time the loan was to be paid off. The loan agreement was secured by a promissory note, vehicle collateral, a personal guarantee, and a surety bond. Plaintiff alleges that defendants failed to perform. Plaintiff filed its original complain...

Excerpt: ...h Cause of Acton: Plaintiff has agreed to dismiss the fraud claim from the First Amended Complaint. Therefore, the court intends to sustain the demurrer to the sixth cause of action for failure to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action, without leave to amend. Demurrer to Eighth Cause of Action: Defendant contends that plaintiff's cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress fails to allege sufficient facts to ...

Excerpt: ..., rule 3.1113(d). Rule 3.1113(e) requires a party to obtain permission to file a brief exceeding 15 pages. Here, plaintiffs' counsel did not obtain leave of court to file a monumentally oversized brief. "A memorandum that exceeds the page limits of these rules must be filed and considered in the same manner as a late-filed paper." (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1113(g).) Thus, the court has discretion to disregard excessively long briefs filed with...

Excerpt: ...well as attorneys' fees under the franchise agreements. On 2/11/21 the court granted DDR's ex parte application for temporary restraining order and OSC re preliminary injunction. On 3/30/31 the court granted a preliminary injunction prohibitng plaintiff from displaying certain signage in his Deli Delicious restaurants, purchasing or serving bread from unapproved vendors, serving food in unapproved packaging, and required defendant to display requ...

Excerpt: ...portation Authority's Request for Judicial Notice Tentative Ruling: To grant respective requests for judicial notice. To grant motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff is directed to submit to this court, within 5 days of service of the minute order, a proposed judgment consistent with the court's summary judgment order. Explanation: Each request for judicial notice was unopposed. The matters of which judicial notce was requested to be taken consis...

Excerpt: ...ity Fruit Company, Inc. or, in the alternative, for a Protective Order Tentative Ruling: To deny the motion for summary judgment. To deny the motions to quash the deposition on Union Bank and U.S. Bank. To deny the motion to quash the deposition subpoena on Trinity Fruit Company, Inc. To deny the alternative relief sought for a protective order limiting the subject matter of the production. To deny every request for sanctions. To direct the parti...

Excerpt: ...tories, Set One and Request for Production of Documents, Set One, and to Establish Admissions Propounded on Defendant Samat Sok Kim and Request for Monetary Sanctions Tentative Ruling: To grant all motions. (Code Civ. Proc., SS 2030.290, 2031.300, 2033.280.) Within 20 days of service of the order by the clerk, defendants Jung Jay H. Kim and Samat Sok Kim shall serve objection-free responses to Form Interrogatories, Set One, and Request for Produc...

Excerpt: ...008) 167 Cal.App.4th 1174, 1182, internal citations omitted); see also Fiege v. Cooke (2004) 125 Cal.App.4th 1350, 1353-1355 [assent can be established where the parties were present but did not object to settlement terms].) Furthermore, "[w]hen parties intend that an agreement be binding, the fact that a more formal agreement must be prepared and executed does not alter the validity of the [oral] agreement." (Blix Street Records, Inc. v. Cassidy...

Excerpt: ...guez's moton to compel defendant Estate of Mine, LLC's responses to Form Interrogatories, Set One, Special Interrogatories, Set One, and Request for Production of Documents, Set One, unless evidence is submitted of Defendant's responses having been on served December 6 and 8, 2023. To grant plaintiff's motion to deem requests for admissions admitted, unless evidence is submitted of Defendant's responses to the requests for admission having been s...

Excerpt: ...iate Athletic Ass'n (1994) 7 Cal.4th 1, 26.) To grant the motion to compel further responses to Form Interrogatories, Set One, as to Request Nos. 1.1, 3.3, 3.6, 4.1, 4.2, and 15.1, and to deny as to Request Nos. 50.1-50.5. (Code Civ. Proc., S 2031.310, 2030.300.) Defendant shall serve verified supplemental responses without objections as specified above within 30 days of the date of service of this order. Explanation: Plaintiff moves to compel de...

Excerpt: ...tricken. Plaintiff may file the requests to enter defendants' defaults on the required Judicial Council forms. Explanation: Once a motion to compel discovery is granted, continued failure to comply may support a request for more severe sanctions. Code of Civil Procedure secton 2023.010, subdivision (g), makes "[dlisobeying a court order to provide discovery" a "misuse of the discovery process," but sanctons are only authorized to the extent permi...

Excerpt: ...: Demurrer The function of a demurrer is to test the sufficiency of a plaintiff's pleading by raising questions of law. (Plumlee v. Poag (1984) 150 Cal.App.3d 541, 545.) The test is whether plaintiff has succeeded in stating a cause of action; the court does not concern itself with the issue of plaintiff's possible difficulty or inability in proving the allegations of his complaint. (Highlanders, Inc. v. Olsan (1978) 77 Cal.App.3d 690, 597.) In a...

Excerpt: ...l demurrer on claims that "[t]he pleading does not state facts suffcient to constitute a cause of action." (Code Civ. Proc., S 430.10, subd. (e); Estate of Moss (2012) 204 Cal.App.4th 521, 535 ["'A demurrer can be utilized where the complaint itself is incomplete [Citations.l"].) In essence, "to withstand a demurrer, a complaint must allege ultimate facts, not evidentiary facts or conclusions of law." (Logan v. Southern Cal. Rapid Transit Dist. (...

Excerpt: ...n: Enforce Settlement "Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6 provides a summary procedure to enforce a settlement agreement by entering judgment pursuant to the terms of the settlement... The court retains jurisdiction to enforce a settlement under the statute even after a dismissal, but only if the parties requested such a retention of jurisdiction before the dismissal. Such a request must be made either in a writing signed by the parties or ora...

Excerpt: ...elease in a related matter to the present action. Plaintiffs seek this relief pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 187, which grants a trial court the inherent authority to control litigation procedure. In seeking to invoke the trial court's inherent authority, Plaintiffs submit that a waiver provision in a related matter may be applicable to the present matter. The waiver provision purports to be a settlement agreement between Plaintiffs ...

Excerpt: ...of the minute order. New Allegations/language must be set in boldface type. Explanation: Cross-defendant Najeeb K. Ansari, M.D. demurs to each cause of action in crosscomplainant Clinica Sierra Vista's Cross- Complaint on the basis that each fails to state facts sufficient to state a cause of action. (Code Civ. Proc. 5430.10, subd. The first and second causes of action are for equitable indemnity and comparative equitable indemnity, respectively,...

Excerpt: ...for sanctions against defendant. To grant defendant's request for monetary sanctions against plaintiff and his attorney, in the amount of $440. Plaintiff shall pay sanctions to defendant within 30 days of the date of service of this order. Explanation: under Code of Civil Procedure sections 2030.300, subdivision (c), and 2031.310, subdivision (c), unless notice of the motion to compel further responses is given within 45 days of the service of th...

Excerpt: ...liction of emotional distress, among others, all of which took place at the residence and with knowledge of the other defendants. Defendants Ravinder, Harbans and Parmjit Taggar ("Parents"), and Sahara SRL, Inc. ("Sahara SRL") now move for summary judgment, or in the alternative for summary adjudication. The Complaint asserts the following causes of action: 1. Sexual Battery (Civ. Code, S 1708.5) against Ravinder; 2. Domestic Violence (Civ. Code,...

Excerpt: ...ories (Set One), and Request for Produc
Ÿon of Documents (Set One). Cross-complainant Emory Merin is ordered to serve veriÞed responses, without objec
Ÿons, to cross-defendant within 30 days of service of the minute order by the clerk. To grant monetary sanc
Ÿons against cross-complainant in the total amount of $780. Monetary sanc
Ÿons are ordered to be paid within 30 calendar days from the date of service of the minute order by the clerk. E...

Excerpt: ...brought by the government. The act authorizes a representative action only for the purpose of seeking statutory penalties for Labor Code violations (Lab.Code, section 2699, subds. (a), (g)), and an action to recover civil penalties 'is fundamentally a law enforcement action designed to protect the public and not to benefit private parties. (Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC (2014) 59 Cal.4th 348, 381.) A PAGA representative action i...

Excerpt: ... method of discovery and disobeying court order to provide discovery. The clerk is directed to enter the defaults of Joshua Mitchell and JDM Landscape, Inc. To take the motion to compel and motion to strike off calendar as moot in light of the grant of terminating sanctions. Explanation: On 6/21/23, the court granted plaintiffs' motion to compel JDM Landscape, Inc., to serve verifications to Form Interrogatories, Set One, and Request for Producti...

Excerpt: ..., consists in restraining the commission or continuance of the act complained of, either for a limited period or perpetually. (2) When it appears by the complaint or affidavits that the commission or continuance of some act during the litigation would produce waste, or great or irreparable injury, to a party to the action. (3) When it appears, during the litigation, that a party to the action is doing, or threatens, or is about to do, or is procu...

Excerpt: ...days of the date of the service of this minute order. (Govt. Code, S 946.6, subd. (f).) Explanation: Petitioners Eileen and John Quinto petition to the court for relief from government claim filing requirements pursuant to Government Code, secton 946.6 on the ground that there was excusable neglect for the untimely filing of their government claims. Unless otherwise provided for, no suit for money or damages may be brought against a government en...

Excerpt: ...se the curb on which she tripped was not a dangerous condition, or even if it was, it was an open and obvious condition and thus defendant had no duty to warn plaintiff of it or remedy the condition. However, the question of whether a condition is dangerous, and whether it is open and obvious, is generally an issue of fact for the jury to decide. "Civil Code secton 1714, subdivision (a), provides in relevant part: 'Every one is responsible, not o...

Excerpt: ... page 18, line 6; page 19, lines 7-12; and page 19, line 28, with leave to amend. (Code Civ. Proc., S 436; Civ. Code, S 3294.) Plaintiff is granted 20 days' leave to file the second amended complaint. The tme to file the second amended complaint will run from service by the clerk of the minute order. All new allegations in the second amended complaint are to be set in boldface type. Explanation: Retaliation: Defendants, India Oven, Inc., Gurdev S...

Excerpt: ... unopposed and granted) motion to set aside a default was epically unprofessional and abhorrent. (See Rules Prof. Conduct, rules 3.1(a)(1), 3.2 and 8.4(a).) That truism aside, the court must now decide whether sanctions and attorneys' fees should be awarded against plaintiff and its counsel. Actons or tactics undertaken in bad faith which are frivolous and intended solely to cause unnecessary delay constitutes sanctionable conduct. (Code Civ. Pro...

Excerpt: ...notice of this proceeding. A writ of execution may be obtained through an ex parte application, however, "a taking such as that inwlved in claim and delivery procedure violates due process if it occurs prior to a hearing on the merits unless justified by weighty state or creditor interests." (Blair v. Pichess (1971) 5 Cal.3d 258, 278; see also Sea Rail Truckloads, Inc. v. Pullman, Inc. (1982) 131 Cal.App.3d 511, 515 ["An ex parte writ of possessi...

Excerpt: ...ause of action on the ground that defendant cannot ascertain whether the contract is written, oral or implied by conduct. (Code Civ. Proc. S 430.10, subd. To sustain the general demurrer to each cause of action, on the ground that each of them fails to state facts sufficient to adequately state a cause of action. (Code Civ. Prcyc., S 430.10, subd. (e).) Plaintiff is granted 30 days' leave to file the first amended complaint, which will run from s...

Excerpt: ...alian shall serve and file an amended complaint within ten (10) days of the date of service of this order. All new allegations shall be in boldface. Explanation: Demurrer Defendant GM demurs to the fifth cause of achon for "Fraudulent Inducementconcealment" on the basis that it is barred by the three-year statute of limitations. (Code Civ. Proc. S 430.10, (e).) Plaintiff purchased a 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 truck on April 19, 2017 and this action was...

Excerpt: ...nting Final Approval of Class Settlement which was filed late on November 28, 2023. To set a status conference for Wednesday, May 22, 2024, 3:30 p.m. in Department 501. Explanation: 1. Class Certification On February 15, 2021, the class was certified. 2. Settlement a. Legal Standards "[lln the final analysis it is the Court that bears the responsibility to ensure that the reccwery represents a reasonable compromise, given the magnitude and appare...

Excerpt: ...in's lymphoma ("NHL"), while employed by BNSF Railway Company. As applicable here, plaintiff seeks to hold Monsanto Co. responsible for his NHL, asserting eight claims against it: (1) strict liability failure to warn; (2) strict liability — design and manufacturing defect; (3) breach of express warranty; (4) breach of implied warranty; (5) negligence; (6) negligent misrepresentation; (7) fraud (intentional misrepresentation); and (8) fraud by c...

Excerpt: ...fendant's second summary judgment motion after the court denied its first motion. In both motions, defendant inexplicably contends plaintiffs "do not allege that Lifeway improperly invoked its early termination rights underthe lease. I' (Def.'s mem., at 1:21; see also mem. filed 2/7/23 at 1:21-22.) Yet, plaintiffs allege exactly that "Defendant (Lifeway) attempted to avoid its obligation to make lease payments ... by improperly, and in bad faith,...

Excerpt: ...it or that there is no defense to the achon or proceeding." (Code Civ. Proc., S 437c, subd. (a).) The court must determine from the evidence presented 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 ..." (Code Civ. Proc., S 437c, subd. (c).) "The workers' compensation exclusivity rule is the rule, embodied in [Labor Code sections et seq.l, that with certain exceptions, a...

Excerpt: ...� General, Set One, and Requests for Production of Documents, Set One, and Request for Monetary Sanctions 3) Plaintiff's Moton to Compel Attendance of Defendant Joshua O'Bannon at his Deposition and Request for Monetary Sanctons * *If timely requested, oral argument will be heard on Thursday, December 7, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. in Department 502* * Tentative Ruling: To grant all motions. Within 20 days of service of the order by the clerk, defendants ...

Excerpt: ... defendant SWH Mimi's Café', LLC to respond to the second set of form interrogatories, without objections. Defendant shall serve verified responses without objections within 10 days of the date of service of this order. To grant the motion to deem SWH Mimi's Café, LLC to have admitted the truth of the matters and the genuineness of all documents in the requests for admissions. Defendants are deemed to have waived all objections to the requests ...

Excerpt: ...on: Defendant's Procedural Objections: First, to the extent that defendant argues that the court should refuse to hear the merits of the moton to strike because of various procedural defects, the court will overrule the objections and hear the merits of the motion. Defendant argues that the motion was not properly served on defense counsel by electronic delivery, as plaintiff served the motion on the wrong email address. However, defendant has wa...

Excerpt: ...granted. The plaintiffs in the coordinated actions are owners and operators of pistachio orchards in the Central Valley. They allege that in the spring or summer of 2020 they applied to their pistachios the insecticide imidaclopris, manufactured by defendants Bayer, Albaugh, Rotan, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Inc., and Loveland Products, Inc. Plaintiffs thereafter delivered their 2020 pistachio crops to Horizon Nut Company, who informed plaintiffs that...

Excerpt: ...intiff to name said defendant by a fictitious name and later amend the complaint to substitute the true name of the defendant. (Code Civ. Proc., S 474.) When plaintiffs filed their Complaint on January 7, 2021, they were purportedly unaware of several defendants' names. Six months later, on July 16, 2021, they filed three amendments to the Complaint naming Justin Bell, Martin Padilla and Nicholas Palomino. On July 18, 2023, two and a half years a...

Excerpt: ...operty alleges is in the possession of defendant Colby McMillin ("Defendant"). On filing the complaint, a plaintiff may apply for a writ of possession under the claim and delivery statutes. (Code Civ. Proc. S 511.010 et seq.) The plaintiff must file a written application, executed under oath and must include: (1) a showng of the basis of the plaintiff's claim, that plaintiff is entitled to possession of the claimed property, and where the claim i...

Excerpt: ...thin twenty (20) days from the date of this order. Explanation: A "contract may impliedly as well as expressly permit [l recovery" of attorneys' fees. (Citizens Suburban Co. v. Rosemont Development Co. (1966) 244 Cal.App.2d 666, 683 (Citizens).) However, "[alttorney fees cannot be allowed a successful litigant without pleading and proof that there is a contract provision for them[]" (Ibid), and a demand for judgment not supported by allegations c...

Excerpt: ...f electronically filed his Complaint and Certificates of Merit by counsel and by a mental health practitioner in compliance with Code of Civil Proc:edure section 340.1. The filing was accepted by the court. On March 20, 2023, the court filed and served a Notce of Striking/voiding of Filed causing the Certificates of Merit filed on November 22, 2022, to be wided. The notice did not provide an explanaton for why the documents were voided, only that...