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: ...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: ...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: ...A complaint showing on its face the cause of action is barred by the statute of limitations is subject to general demurrer." (Iverson, Yoakum, Papiano & Hatch v. Berwa d (1999) 76 Cal.App.4th 990, 995, citaton omitted.) A demurrer based on the statute of limitations is properly brought as a general demurrer for failure to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of achon even though the section 430 does not mention the statute of limitation a...

Excerpt: ...in that Notice of Deposition as set forth herein, except with respect to Request nos. 14-18. Explanaton: Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.280 provides, in relevant part: "The service of a deposition notice under Section 2025.240 is effective to require any deponent who is a party to the action or employee of a party to attend and to testify as well as to produce any document for inspection and copying." (Code Civ. Proc., S 2025.280, subd. Cod...

Excerpt: ... of the settlement of plaintiff's action for PAGA penalties against defendant set forth in its February 23, 2023 ruling. However, the request for one-third of the gross settlement to be awarded as attorney's fees remains unsupported. The court intends to perform a lodestar calculation to double check the reasonableness of the fee request. (Laffitte v. Robert Half Internat. (2016) 1 Cal.5th 480, 504- 506.) Labor Code section 2699, subdivision stat...

Excerpt: ...gment law turns on issue finding rather than issue determination. (Diep v California Fair Plan Assln (1993) 15 Cal.App.4th 1205, 1207.) The court does not decide the merits of the issues, but merely discovers, through the medium of affidavits or declarations, whether there are issues to be tried and whether the parties possess evidence that demands the analysis of a trial. (Melamed v City of Long Beach (1993) 15 cal.App.4th 70, 76; Molko v Holy s...

Excerpt: ... (the "underlying Action"). Labiak moves for summary judgment on the ground that the claim is barred by the one-year statute of limitations. " he applicable statute of limitations for legal malpractice claims is secton 340.6." (Truong v. Glasser (2009) 181 cal.App.4th 102, 110, 103 cal.Rptr.3d 811.) It provides that a malpractice action must be commenced "within one year after the plaintiff discovers, or through the use of reasonable diligence sh...

Excerpt: ...dings: (1) The party has a substantial interest in the action as a whole. (2) The health of the party is such that a preference is necessary to prevent prejudicing the party s interest in the litigation. Civ. Proc., S 36, subd. "upon the granting of such a motion for preference, the court shall set the matter for trial not more than 120 days from that date and there shall be no contnuance beyond 120 days from the granting of the motion for prefer...

Excerpt: ... 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, 697.) In assessing t...

Excerpt: ...he opposing party disclosed to the expert with an expectation of confidentiality. (Shadow Traffic Network v. Superior Court (1994) 24 Cal. App. 4th 1067, 1078-80.) "Because the burden is on the party seeking to disqualify the expert, that party should point to specific and unambiguous disclosures that if revealed would prejudice the party." (Hewlett-Packard co. v. EMC corp. (N.D. cal. 2004) 330 F.supp.2d 1087, 1094.) The party should not be requi...

Excerpt: ...to the demurring defendants. Explanation: 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...

Excerpt: ... eighth [sic, tenthl cause of action. (Code Civ. Proc. (Code Civ. Proc. S 430.10, subd. (f).) Leave to amend is granted to correct the mis-numbering of the ninth and tenth causes of action in addition to the two causes of action for breach of fiduciary duty. 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. ...

Excerpt: ...rd in Department 502 on Wednesday, November 1, 2023 at 3:30 pm ** Tentatve Ruling: To grant. (Code Civ. Proc., SS 2030.290, 2031.300.) Within 20 days of service of the order by the clerk, defendant Maria Angelica Ruiz Maciel shall serve objection-free responses to Form Interrogatories, Set One, Special Interrogatories, Set One, and Request for Production of Documents, Set One, and produce all responsive documents. The matters specified in plainti...

Excerpt: ...murrer to the fourth cause of action and to sustain the general and s#cial demurrers as to the first, second, third, and sixth causes of action, with thirty (30) days leave to amend, which will run from service by the clerk of the minute order. New allegations/language must be set in boldface type. Explanation: General and Special Demurrers The basis for this demurrer is that the complaint, in its entirety, fails to state facts sufficient to cons...

Excerpt: ...d claims are barred by the economic loss rule, as the defendants/cross-complainants have only alleged that they suffered financial harm due to plaintiffs' alleged breach of their contractual duties. Plaintiffs contend that, because defendants only allege economic harm from a contract breach, they cannot reccwer in tort as well. It is true that "[a] person may not ordinarily recover in tort for the breach of duties that merely restate contractual ...

Excerpt: ... justifying the exercise of jurisdiction." (Vons Companies, Inc. v. Seabest Foods, Inc. (1996) 14 Cal.4th 434, 449.) Once the plaintiff meets their burden of establishing minimum contacts, the burden shifts to the defendant to demonstrate that exercising jurisdiction would be unfair or unreasonable. (Secrest Machine Corp. v. Superior Court (1983) 33 Cal.3d 572.) Personal jurisdiction is either general, where the nonresident's contacts with the fo...

Excerpt: ...ney, jointly and severally, payable no later than 30 days from the date of this order, with the time to run from the service of this minute order by the clerk. Civ. Proc. SS 2030.31W, subd. (d), 2023.010, subd. (h).) Explanation: A motion to compel further responses lies where the responses to the interrogatories are deemed improper by the propounding party, i.e., meritless or overly general objections, evasive or incomplete answers. (Code Civ. P...

Excerpt: ...ent with the court's summary judgment order. Explanation: As the moving party, defendant bears the initial burden of proof to show that plaintiffs cannot establish one or more elements of their cause of action or to show that there is a complete defense. Civ. Proc., S 437c, subd. Only after the moving party has carried this burden of proof does the burden of proof shift to the other party to show that a triable issue of one or more material facts...

Excerpt: ...ries (Set One), Special Interrogatories (Set One), and Request for Prtxluction of Documents (Set One). Plaintiff Dwayne Williams is ordered to serve verified responses, without objections, to defendant within 30 days of service of the minute order by the clerk. To grant defendant Jaene Ojeda Mendoza's requestto deem Requests for Admissions admitted. The truth of the matters specified in the Requests for Admissions, Set One, are to be deemed admit...

Excerpt: ...injured on the job while working for an electrical subcontractor on September 25, 2019 at a constructon site at 570 N Magnolia Ave., Clovis, California 93611. Defendants Perch Construction, Inc. and Frontline Plastering were the general contractor and subcontractor, respectively. Perch's cross-complaint against Frontline seeks to enforce the defense and indemnity provisions of their subcontract pursuant to which Frontline agreed to provide plaste...

Excerpt: ...nia Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Offcers in State Employment ("Plaintiff") brings one cause of action for declaratory relief against defendants California Department of Human Resources and Eraina Ortega as Director for the California Department of Human Resources (collectively "Defendants"). Plaintiff seeks a judicial declaration of its rights as affected by Defendants' interpretation of certain state law. This court previousl...

Excerpt: ...ruling. Explanation: A plaintiff is entitled to summary judgment if they have met their burden that '"each element of' the 'cause of action' in question has been 'proved,' and hence that 'there is no defense' thereto." (Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (2CM) 25 Cal.4th 826, 8%'.) "A plaintiff has met his or her burden if that party has proved each element of the cause of action entitling the party to judgment on the cause of action. Once the pla...

Excerpt: ...ounsel 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 responsibi...

Excerpt: ...on: Defendant Stella Villagomez moves for summary judgment, or adjudication of the first amended complaint against her. Although moving defendant denies having taken, secreted, appropriated, obtained or retained any property from the plaintiff or the assistance of another of the same, plaintiff has demonstrated there is a dispute of these material facts. As a result, the motion is denied. Statute of Limitations and Plaintiff's Status as an "Elder...