Excerpt: ...mages from the complaint. To grant leave to amend the complaint. Plaintiff shall serve and file her first amended complaint within 10 days of the date of service of this order. All new allegations shall in boldface. Explanation: In order to seek punitive damages, the plaintiff must allege facts showing that the defendant was guilty of fraud, malice, or oppression. (Civil Code S 3294, subd. Also, "[aln employer shall not be liable for damages purs...

Excerpt: ...ourt intends to overrule the demurrer to the other affirmative defenses. Defendant shall serve and file its first amended demurrer within ten days of the date of service of this order. All new allegations shall be in boldface. Explanation: under Code of Civil Procedure secton 430.20, "A party against whom an answer has been filed may object, by demurrer as prov-ded in Section 430.30, to the answer upon any one or more of the following grounds: (a...

Excerpt: ...ising out of Cuttone's representation of Guadalupe Villagomez, plaintiffs mother, against plaintiff, Villagomez Farms, lnc„ 2 Boyz, Inc., Stella Villagomez, All Ag, Inc., and Frank Villagomez in the related action Villagomez v. Villagomez, et al., case no. filed February 15, 2022. ("The Elder Abuse action." ) However, plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that he has standing to move for the disqualification of Cuttone or his firm, as Leonel Vill...

Excerpt: ...ed in opposition to the motion to compel that the motion is untimely, since plaintiff did not file it within 60 days of the date when the record was completed, which defendant claims is the date it served its objections to the deposition notice. (Code Civ. Proc. S 2025.480, subd. (b); Unzipped Apparel v. Bader (2007) 156 Cal.App.4th 123, 115-118.) However, defendant is incorrect. Defendant relies on Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.480, which...

Excerpt: ...ections Initially, the court notes that it sustains Defendants' objections 5, 7, 8, 11,12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, and 20to the declaration of Russel Martone, filed May 24, 2023. The remainder of the objections are overruled. Merits In considering whether to issue a preliminary injunction, the court should consider (1) the likelihood that the moving party will prevail on the merits at trial, and (2) the interim harm that the moving party is likely to...

Excerpt: ...77, 78 and 80 of Plaintiff's request for production of documents, set three within twenty (20) days from the date of this order. Explanation: Discovery requests are generally afforded liberal construction. (See Code of Civ. Proc., S 2017.010; Williams v. Superior Court (2017) 3 Cal.5th 531, 541.) A motion seeking further responses in a request for further production of documents "shall set forth specific facts showing cause justifying the discove...

Excerpt: ...e Whelan Decl.; Jenkins Decl.) While there has been much discussion between counsel, it is apparent that the parties had arrived at an impasse. The court finds that the parties have sufficiently engaged in the meet and confer process. Merits Request Numbers 40, 42, and 43—Waiver of Privilege The primary issue with these requests appears to be the existence of an "ADA List" which is referenced in defendant's produced documents, but was not itsel...

Excerpt: ...s and their attorneys. Explanation: under Code of Civil Procedure section 1008, subdivision (a), a party moving for reconsideration of a court order must show that there are "new or different facts, circumstances, or law" that justify reconsideration of the order. (Code Civ. Proc. S 1008, subd. (a).) "The party making the application shall state by affidavit what application was made before, when and to what judge, what order or decisions were ma...

Excerpt: ...order. All new allegations shall be in boldface. Explanation: Plaintiffs' third cause of action alleges that defendant AAA Tree Service, LLC made a fraudulent promise without the intent to perform it. "'Promissory fraud' is a subspecies of the action for fraud and deceit. A promise to do something necessarily implies the intention to perform; hence, where a promise is made without such intention, there is an implied misrepresentation of fact that...

Excerpt: ... Jones ("Jones") argues that the defendant Daniel Ash ey's ("Ashley") present motion is untimely, the motion is timely. As Ashley states, the deposition occurred on August 2, 2022. Following meet-and-confer efforts, documents responsive to the disputed Deposition Request for Production No. 3 were produced on January 11, 2023. Pursuant to the parties' agreement, all compel deadlines were to be calculated from the January 11, 2023 production date. ...

Excerpt: ...e extent authorized by the chapter governing any particular discovery method or any other provision of this title, the court, after notice to any affected party, person, or attorney, and after opportunity for hearing, may impose the following sanctions against anpne engaging in conduct that is a misuse of the discovery process: * * * (d) The court may impose a terminating sanction by one of the following orders order dismissing the action or any ...

Excerpt: ...motion to compel arbitration, defendant Sunshine Raisin Corporation dba National Raisin Company (hereinafter "National") has moved to compel arbitration of the claims of plaintiff's complaint pursuant to an arbitration clause alleged to be in the "standard terms" preprinted on the back page of the seven Grower Contracts that are the subject of the plaintiffs' complaint and the Raisin Bargaining Association —Individual Agreement (RBA Agreements)...

Excerpt: ... 17, and 19, subject to the discussion below. The court will allow defendant to raise objections as to closed session meetings, deliberative process privilege, and attorney-client privilege where appropriate, subject to the discussion below. To deny as to Requests Numbers 6, 7, 8, and 9. Defendant, City of Parlier, shall serve verified supplemental responses within 20 days of the date of the service of this order. To find that plaintiff's motions...

Excerpt: ...to raise objections as to closed session meetings, deliberative process privilege, and attorney-client privilege where appropriate, subject to the discussion below. To deny as to Requests Nos. 12, 15, 15, 18, 19, and 20. Defendant, City of Parlier, shall serve verified supplemental responses within 20 days of the date of the service of this order. To order monetary sanctions against defendant and its counsel in the amount of $4,887.50. Monetary s...

Excerpt: ...fendants Folmer and Kearney: First, to the extent that plaintiff seeks to compel further responses from defendants Corrine Folmer and Kevin Kearney, plaintiff has not shown that she ever served these defendants with discovery requests or that they provided inadequate responses to the requests. Therefore, there is no basis for her to compel them to provide further responses to discovery, as they were apparently never served with any discovery requ...

Excerpt: ...ssues the parties have not agreed to arbitrate." (Garlach v. Sports Club Co. (2012) 209 Cal.App.4th 1497, 1505) "Thus, in ruling on a motion to compel arbitration, the court must first determine whether the parties actually agreed to arbitrate the dispute." (Mendez v. Mid-Wilshire Health Care Center (2013) 220 Cal.App.4th 534, 541.) The party moving to compel arbitration bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence the existence...

Excerpt: ...son, the court considers the likelihood that the moving party will prevail on the merits at trial, and the interim harm that the moving party is likely to sustain the injunction were denied as compared to the harm that the opposing party is likely to suffer if the preliminary injunction were issued. (IT Corp. v. County of Imperial (1983) 35 Cal.3d 63, 69-70.) In considering these factors, the court "balances the relative hardships." (Ibid.) The s...

Excerpt: ...es, Set One, and Request for Production of Documents, Set One. The truth of all matters specified in the Request for Admissions, Set One, are deemed admitted. (Code Civ. Proc., S 2033.280, subd. (bj.) To impose reasonable sanctions in the sum of $3,001.50 against JOM and in favor of plaintiffs Miguel Lopez and Maria Lopez, to be paid to plaintiffs' counsel within 30 days of service of the order by the clerk. To grant the motion to compel depositi...

Excerpt: ...0 days' leave to file a second amended answer. The time in which the first amended answer can be amended will run from service by the clerk of the minute order. All new allegations in the second amended answer are to be set in boldface type. To deny the motion to strike affirmative defenses 1-7, 9-25, and 27-28, as moot in light of the ruling on the demurrer. To deny the motion to strike the request for attorney's fees due to a failure to provide...

Excerpt: ...lease and breach of guarantee. The first cause for breach of lease is brought against Daphne's Restaurant-Fresno, lnc„ and the cause of achon for breach of guaranty is brought against defendants Mosa Gazali and Husein Alamoodi. "A cause of action for breach of contract requires proof of the following elements: (1) existence of the contract; (2) plaintiff's performance or excuse for nonperformance; (3) defendant's breach; and (4) damages to plai...

Excerpt: ... defend the action, the court is empowered to grant relief from a default. (Code Civ. Proc„ S 473.5.) Defendant Bhupinder Singh ("Defendant") argues that he was never served the summons in this case. Though the filing of a proof of service creates a rebuttable presumption that service was proper (Lebel v. Mai (2012) 210 Cal.App.4th 1154, 1163), "a declaration of non-service if credited by the trial court can rebut the presumption of proper serv...

Excerpt: ...for judgment on the pleadings is a nonstatutory but well-established procedure with the purpose and effect of a general demurrer. Because the motion is, in effect, a general demurrer, the same rules apply. Thus, to prevail on a motion for judgment on the pleadings, a defendant must show a complaint fails to state a cause of acton. (Sofas v. Bank of America (1985) 172 Cal.App.3d 583, 586, citations omitted.) "'A motion for judgment on the pleading...

Excerpt: ...court intends to deny plaintiff's motion to the extent that plaintiff seeks a determination that the settlement does not affect its claims against the non-settl-ng defendants, as such a determination is beyond the scope of section 877.6. Also, the court intends to deny plaintiff's moton to the extent it seeks to declare the settlement null and void and vacate the judgment. Explanation: Under Code of Civil Procedure section 877.6, subdivision (a),...

Excerpt: ...parties are ordered to appear so that the court may determine whether such an interested party exists and if so, set a new court trial date. Explanation: Burden on Summary Judgment As the party moving for summary judgment, plaintiff bears an overall burden of persuasion that there is no triable issue of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. (Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (2001) 25 Cal.4th 826, 850; Woodridge Es...

Excerpt: ... minute order, a order consistent with the court's summary adjudication ruling. Explanation: Successive Motions for Summary Judgment/Adjudicabon "A party shall not move for summary judgment based on issues asserted in a prior motion for summary adjudication and denied by the court unless that party establishes, to the satisfaction of the court, newly discovered facts or circumstances or a change of law supporting the issues reasserted in the summ...