Excerpt: ...f no amended pleading is filed, defendant Miguel Torres, individually and doing business as ME Management Services (“defendant”) shall submit a proposed judgment consistent with this order. (Code Civ. Proc., § 438.) Explanation: In this case, defendant's motion for summary adjudication relies exclusively on the pleadings, rather than external affidavits or evidence. As such, it does not test the sufficiency of the evidence, but instead the s...

Excerpt: ...ared for this same date are covered under separate Tentative Rulings.) Tentative Ruling: To grant the motion to seal. To sustain the demurrer to the third cause of action, without leave to amend. To order the motion to strike off calendar as moot, given the ruling on demurrer. Cross‐defendant Intercare is directed to submit to this court, within 7 days of service of the minute order, a proposed judgment dismissing the cross‐complaint as to it...

Excerpt: ...edure sections 430.41 and 435.5. Moving party and cross‐complainant are ordered to meet and confer pursuant to these statutes and, if necessary, to calendar a new hearing date for new motions. Any new hearing date must be obtained pursuant to Fresno County Superior Court Local Rules, rule 2.2.1. If moving party wishes to file a demurrer and motion to strike, they shall be filed as two separate motions. Explanation: California Farm Management, I...

Excerpt: ... may be filed will run from service by the clerk of the minute order. Explanation: Defendant demurs to cause of action two, an alleged violation of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act § 1750 et. seq. Defendant argues: (1) pursuant to Civil Code section 1782, subdivision (a), proper notice was not provided; and (2) plaintiff has failed to allege an inadequate legal remedy before seeking equitable relief. Each argument is addressed below. 1. Was notic...

Excerpt: ...Fact and Law “California courts consider ‘pattern and practice evidence, statistical evidence, sampling evidence, expert testimony, and other indicators of a defendant's centralized practices in order to evaluate whether common behavior towards similarly situated plaintiffs makes class certification appropriate.” (Jaimez v. DAIOHS USA (2010) 181 Cal.App.4th 1286, 1298.) In the prior order the court expressed that no such evidence had been p...

Excerpt: ...position a second time on the basis that prior to the first deposition he withheld witness statements by plaintiff James Arena and non‐ party Paige Rafanan, and the black box information from the vehicle Primavera was driving during the accident. The court is less concerned with whether Primavera is to blame for not disclosing this information prior to his deposition (there appears to be little fault of Primavera) than the need for a second dep...

Excerpt: ...ules of Court, rule 3.769, subd.(a).) The approval of the settlement also requires certification of a preliminary settlement class. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.769, subd. (d).) “If the court grants preliminary approval, its order must include the time, date, and place of the final approval hearing; the notice to be given to the class; and any other matters deemed necessary for the proper conduct of a settlement hearing. (Cal. Rules of Court, R...

Excerpt: ...demnation, without leave to amend, for failure to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. (Ibid.) To sustain the demurrer to the fifth cause of action for unjust enrichment, with leave to amend, for failure to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. (Ibid.) To overrule the demurrer to the sixth cause of action for breach of implied warranty. (Ibid.) To deny defendant's motion to strike the specific allegations in t...

Excerpt: ...nd cause of action with leave to amend. (Code Civ. Proc., § 430.10, subd. (e).) Plaintiff is granted 20 days, running from service of the minute order by the clerk, to file and serve a second amended complaint. All new allegations in the amended complaint are to be set in boldface type. To deny defendant's motion to strike as moot in light of the court's February 17, 2021 order. Explanation: Demurrer A demurrer tests only the legal sufficiency o...

Excerpt: ...ype. Explanation: Code of Civil Procedure section 473 authorizes the trial court, in its discretion, to allow amendments in furtherance of justice. (Code Civ. Proc., § 473; Cherrigan v. City etc. of San Francisco (1968) 262 Cal.App.2d 643, 653.) Where no prejudice is shown to the adverse party, “courts are bound to apply a policy of liberality in permitting amendments to the complaint at any stage of the proceedings, up to and including trial....

Excerpt: ... compel further responses to Request for Production of Documents, Set One: To grant the motion as to Request for Production (“RFP”) Nos. 10 and 42, and to deny as to the remainder. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2031.310, subd. (c).) To the extent the motions are granted, defendant shall provide further verified responses, produce a privilege log as necessary, and produce all relevant documents, within 20 days of service of the order by the clerk. Expl...

Excerpt: ... 19CECG01922 Tentative Ruling: To grant the motion to consolidate. Pietro De Santis v. Pasquale and Carmela De Santis, et al., Case No. 19CECG01922, is consolidated with Pasquale and Carmela De Santis as Trustees et al. v. Pietro De Santis, Case No. 19CECG04121, and Pietro De Santis v. Pat De Santis, Case No. 20CECG02264. A copy of this order shall be filed in each case. Pietro De Santis v. Pasquale and Carmela De Santis, et al., Case No. 19CECG0...

Excerpt: ..., order, or other proceeding taken against him or her through his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 473, subd. (b).) The motion “shall be made within a reasonable time, in no case exceeding six months, after the … proceeding was taken.” (Ibid.) “The law favors judgments based on the merits, not procedural missteps.” (Lasalle v. Vogel (2019) 36 Cal.App.5th 127, 134; see also Riskin v. T...

Excerpt: ...��Any party to an arbitration in which an award has been made may petition the court to confirm, correct or vacate the award. The petition shall name as respondents all parties to the arbitration and may name as respondents any other persons bound by the arbitration award.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 1285.) “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 sta...

Excerpt: ...miss Action on the Ground of Inconvenient Forum Tentative Ruling: To grant the motion to quash service of the summons and complaint on defendants Theken Companies, LLC; Slice Mfg, LLC; e‐ Ceramics, LLC; and Theken Group, LLC. (Code Civ. Proc., § 418.10.) To deny the motion to quash service of the summons and complaint on defendant NextStep Arthropedix, LLC, and the alternative motion to stay or dismiss the action on the ground of inconvenient ...

Excerpt: ...dered to pay $3,600 in sanctions to defendant's counsel's law firm within 30 days of service of this order. Explanation: Compelling Further Responses A court “may” – but is not required to – address the merits of discovery responses filed after a motion to compel. (Sinaiko Healthcare Consulting, Inc. v. Pacific Healthcare Consultants (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 390, 409.) Accordingly, in light of plaintiff supplemental responses, defendant's m...

Excerpt: ...service of the minute order, a proposed judgment dismissing the action. Oral argument on this matter is continued to March 18, 2021, at 3:30 in Dept. 403 so that the petitioner may be present for oral argument via Court Call. Explanation: Petitioner is a civil detainee committed under the Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) Act, and is detained at the Department of State Hospitals, Coalinga (DSH‐Coalinga). The petition concerns DSH's statewide proh...

Excerpt: ...ral demurrer and, except as provided by Code of Civil Procedure section 438, the rules governing demurrers apply. (Cloud v. Northrop Grumman Corp. (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 995, 999; Southern Calif. Edison Co. v. City of Victorville (2013) 217 Cal.App.4th 218, 227; Templo v. State of Calif. (2018) 24 Cal.App.5th 730, 735.) Thus, a defendant will not be able to raise any issues in a motion for judgment on the pleadings that could have been, but were n...

Excerpt: ...n for violation of Labor Code section 226(a) on the ground that the cause of action is barred by the one‐ year statute of limitations under Code of Civil Procedure section 340. “[T]he one‐year statute of limitations set forth in Cal. Code Civ. Proc. section 340 applies to Plaintiff's claims under this section [Labor Code § 226] because she is seeking ‘penalties.'” (Elliot v. Spherion Pacific Work, LLC (C.D. Cal. 2008) 572 F.Supp.2d 116...

Excerpt: ...burden of showing that the plaintiff agreed to arbitrate the dispute. Under California Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.2, On petition of a party to an arbitration agreement alleging the existence of a written agreement to arbitrate a controversy and that a party thereto refuses to arbitrate such controversy, the court shall order the petitioner and the respondent to arbitrate the controversy if it determines that an agreement to arbitrate th...

Excerpt: ...cordingly, the words “Exemplary Damages” shall be stricken from the First Amended Complaint at paragraph 10(f). The check mark at box (2) paragraph 14(a) of the First Amended Complaint shall be stricken. Finally, page 9 of the First Amended Complaint (Form PLD‐PI‐001(6)) shall be stricken. Explanation: “In any action for damages arising out of the professional negligence of a health care provider, no claim for punitive damages shall be ...

Excerpt: ..., § 704.750.) Explanation: The court has already granted an order requiring defendants to pay plaintiff $10,711.50 for the receiver's work in carrying out the court's May 10, 2019 order, and ordering defendants to pay $33,065.97 for reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in the action. (See court's June 5, 2020 order.) The court also ordered plaintiff to record a lien against the subject property under Health and Safety Code section 17980...

Excerpt: ...hoe Regional Planning Agency v. King (1991) 233 Cal.App.3d 1365, 1375, fn 1.) Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment/Adjudication A plaintiff's motion for summary judgment asks the court to determine that there is no defense to the entire action. (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (a).) In contrast, a motion for summary adjudication deals only with one cause of action within a complaint and is not granted unless it entirely disposes of the cause o...

Excerpt: ...kar shall provide further answers as to all questions in the plaintiff's separate statement of disputed responses, except for questions 3, 5, 14, and 23 (Chandrasekar depo., pp. 28:8‐20; 29:5‐ 9; 71:22 ‐ 72:8; 169:19 ‐ 170:2), which seek improper expert testimony from this percipient witness. To grant plaintiff's motion to compel Dr. Pietz to provide further answers to all of the disputed deposition questions. To grant plaintiff's motion ...

Excerpt: ...3.010 defines “misuses of the discovery process” as including, “failing to respond or submit to an authorized method of discovery” and “disobeying a court order to provide discovery.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.010, subds. (d) & (g).) Section 2023.030 states, in relevant part: To the extent authorized by the chapter governing any particular discovery method or any other provision of this title, the court, after notice to any affected p...