Excerpt: ...) Explanation: "California law like federal law, favors enforcement of valid arbitration agreements." (Armendariz v. Foundation Health Psychcare Services, Inc. (2000) 24 Cal.4th 83, 97.) "When presented with a petition to compel arbitration, the initial issue before the court is whether an agreement has been formed." (Diaz v. Sohnen Enterprises (2019) 34 Cal.App.5th 126, 129.) In addition, arbitration is a " 'matter of consent, not coercion,'" an...

Excerpt: ...ng findings: (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. (Code 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 motio...

Excerpt: ... order. Explanation: As the moving party, defendant bears the initial burden of proof to show that plaintiffs cannot establish one or more elements of the at-issue cause of action or to show that there is a complete defense. (Code Civ. Proc. CCP S 437c, subd. (p)(2).) 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 exists — ...

Excerpt: ... to as the American rule, which provides that each party to a lawsuit must ordinarily pay his own attorney fees. (Trope v. Katz (1995) 11 Cal.4th 274, 278.) Code of Civil Procedure section 1021 provides: "Except as attorney's fees are specifically provided for by statute, the measure and mode of compensation of attorneys and counselors at law is left to the agreement, express or implied, of the parties; but parties to actions or proceedings are e...

Excerpt: ...gant. To order plaintiff to obtain permission from the presiding judge of the court before filing any new actons in pro per. Explanation: Demurrer: Defendant demurs to the entire complaint on the grounds that of "failure to include any causes of action" and "unintelligibility." However, "failure to include any causes of action" and "unintelligibility" are not statutory grounds for a demurrer. It appears that defendant is arguing that the complain...

Excerpt: ...ility issues. (Wershba v. Apple Computer, Inc. (2001) 91 Cal.App.4th 224, 240; see Dunk v. Ford Motor Co. (1996) 48 Cal.App.4th 1794, 1803, fn. 9, 19.a) The trial court has a "fiduciary responsibility" as the guardian of the absentee class members' rights to decide whether to approve a settlement of a class action. (Luckey v. Superior Court (2014) 228 Cal.App.4th 81, 95.) A precertification settlement may stipulate that a defined class be conditi...

Excerpt: ...ettlement. Explanation: A prevailing buyer in an action under the Song—Beverly Act "shall be allowed by the court to recover as part of the judgment a sum equal to the aggregate amount of costs and expenses, including attorney's fees based on actual time expended, determined by the court to have been reasonably incurred by the buyer in connecton with the commencement and prosecution of such action." (Civ. Code, S 1794, subd. (d).) The statute "...

Excerpt: ... to Enforce Settlement Agreement "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.„." (Hines v. Lukes (2008) 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 termsl.) Furth...

Excerpt: ...lacks jurisdiction, the claims are barred by the doctrine of res judicata, and defendant's promise was an unenforceable gift. Cause of Action Improperly Labelled To survive a demurrer, the complaint need only allege facts sufficient to state a cause of action or that "he is entitled to some relief." (Amid v. Hawthorne Community Medical Group, Inc. (1989) 212 Cal.App.3d 1383, 1386-1387.) Additionally, the court "treat[sl the demurrer as admitting ...

Excerpt: ...by their first names, not out of disrespect, but for ease of reference.) Robert Kloppenburg (the decedent) passed away in November 2022. Brent is the trustee of his fathers (the decedent's) trust and Paz is the decedent's widow. Brent has known Paz for over 30 years. The plaintiff owns a home (the residence) in Fresno. Upon the decedent's death, the terms of the trust grant Paz the right to occupy the residence, provided she keeps the residence i...

Excerpt: ...ory Miyake, DMD ("Defendant") seeks an award of attorney fees pursuant to Civil Code section 1717 following the dismissal of the Complaint by plaintiff Mehdi Jafarinejad, DMD ("Plaintiff"). The Complaint stated five causes of action: (1) breach of written contract; (2) breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; (3) interference with prospective economic advantage; (4) fraud; and (5) injunction. Trial was set for this matter for Ju...

Excerpt: ...esno Code Enforcement Division and John Giannetta's demurrer to the Third Amended Complaint, without leave to amend. (Code Civ. Proc. S 430.10, subd. (e).) Defendants Fresno County Tax Collector Oscar Garcia, City of Fresno, City of Fresno Code Enforcement Division, and John Giannetta are directed to submit a proposed judgment. Explanation: Defendants Fresno County Tax Collector Oscar Garcia ("Garcia"), and City of Fresno, City of Fresno Code Enf...

Excerpt: ...d all aggrieved employees under Labor Code section 2698 et seq. Defendant now seeks an order compelling plaintiff to private arbitration of his individual claims, and dismissal of the class claims. A trial court is required to grant a motion to compel arbitration "if determines that an agreement to arbitrate the controversy exists." (Code Civ. Proc., S 1281.2.) However, there is "no public policy in favor of forcing arbitration of issues the part...

Excerpt: ...t 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 Actions (T.R. Westlaw, 2017) Section 7:3: "The parties' representation of an uncontested moti...

Excerpt: ... pay monetary sanctions to defendant within 30 days of the date of service of this order. Explanation: Under Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.450, "If, after service of a deposition notice, a party to the action without having served a valid objection under Section 2025.410, fails to appear for examination, or to proceed with it, or to produce for inspection any document, electronically stored information, or tangible thing described in the d...

Excerpt: ...On October 31, 2022, plaintiff John Doe, a minor by and through his guardian ad litem, Sara Parker, filed suit against defendants Fresno Unified School District and William Duprey regarding claims of sexual abuse, and negligent hiring and supervision in or around September 2019.1 On May 18, 2023, plaintiff A.J., a minor by and through his guardian ad litem Jose Miguel Juarez, filed suit against defendants Fresno Unified School District and Willia...

Excerpt: ...ke plaintiff's objections in the responses, as plaintiff waived the right to object when he failed to serve timely responses and thus the objections are improper. Explanation: under Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.280, If a party to whom requests for admission are directed fails to serve a timely response, the following rules apply: (a) The party to whom the requests for admission are directed waives any objection to the requests, including ...

Excerpt: ...gainst plaintiff in the amount of $1800, payable within 10 days of the date of this order, with the time to run from service of this minute order by the clerk. Explanation: Discovery Motions Generally As a preliminary matter, motions to compel compliance with separate discovery requests ordinarily should be filed separately. Despite the fact that plaintiff has only set one motion on the court's calendar, the court will rule on the motion, which i...

Excerpt: ...ntiff"). The Complaint stated five causes of action: (1) breach of written contract; (2) breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; (3) interference with prospective economic advantage; (4) fraud; and (5) injunction. Trial was set for this matter for July 28, 2023. On July 27, 2023, Plaintiff filed a request for dismissal of the Complaint without prejudice; the dismissal was entered the same day. Defendant asserts that he is the p...

Excerpt: ...t first asking for leave of court to amend. (Code Civ. Proc., S 436; Hedwall v. PCMV, LLC (2018) 22 Cal.App.5th 564, 578.) To sustain the demurrer to the first, second and third causes of action as to defendants Mitch Herr, Vilay Lee, Cher Yang, and the Hmong Cultural New Year Celebration, Inc., to the entire operative complaint, without leave to amend. (Code Civ. Proc., S 430.10, subd. (e).) To sustain the demurrer to the first cause of achon as...

Excerpt: ...set in boldface type. Explanation: The Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA") exempts religious associations or corporations which are not orgarized for private profit. (Gov. Code, S 12926, subd. (d).) Plaintiff argues that religious organizations are subject to FEHA, and that if they are not, then the doctrines of waiver and estoppel act to make defendant subject to FEHA as if the exemption did not apply. Essentially, plaintiff argues that def...

Excerpt: ...ve and file supplemental opposition by the close of business on February 15, 2024. Defendant shall serve and file its supplemental reply by the close of business on February 22, 2024. Explanation: Defendant General Motors has moved for summary judgment, or in the alternative summary adjudication of the plaintiff's claims for breach of express and implied warranties under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act. (Civil Code, S 1790, et seq.) Defend...

Excerpt: ... aside or judgment is entered (i.e„ giving the defendant the right to appeal). (Devlin v. Kearny Mesa AMC/Jeep/Renault, Inc. (1984) 155 Cal.App.3d 381, 385.) Due process would not be served by allowing plaintiffs to give the defendant notice of a motion when defendant's right to defend herself regarding that motion had already been cut off. Further, Plaintiffs have already been told, via the court's Order Denying Application for Default Judgmen...

Excerpt: ...intervene where the nonparty "claims an interest relating to the property or transaction that is the subject of the action and that person is so situated that the disposition of the action may impair or impede that person's ability to protect that interest, unless that person's interest is adequately represented by one or more of the existing parties." (Code Civ. Proc., S 387, subd. (d)(1)(B).) Where the court finds the nonparty's interests are a...

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...