Excerpt: ...oldface. Explanation: Defendant State of California ("the State") argues that plaintiff County of Fresno ("the County") has sued the wrong partyl because it was the federal government and not the State that mandated the name change from "Sq Valley" 2 to "Yokuts Valley", the County has adequately alleged that the State passed AB 2022, which prohibited the use of the word "sq_" for geographic names and place names, and to change the names of places...

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: ...laint Tentative Ruling: To continue the hearing on the motion for a protective order to November 9, 2023. Plaintiff Daniel Real is authorized to file, no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 3, 2023, the declarations of Susan M. Fosnot, Ph.D and Dana Chidekel, Ph.D that were served on the parties. No other documents are authorized to be filed. To deny each of the motions to quash third-party subpoenas as moot. To grant the motion for leave to...

Excerpt: ...nary 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 pro#r. (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 motion for cl...

Excerpt: ... its answer to the Complaint within 10 days of service of the order by the clerk. Explanation: It is "the established rule that as against a general demurrer a complaint will be liberally construed that any mere ground of special demurrer for uncertainty will be resolved in support of the complaint and the demurrer overruled, when the necessary facts are shown to exist, although inaccurately or ambiguously stated, or appearing only by necessary i...

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: ...quest for oral argument is made, such argument will be entertained on Thursday, November 2, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. Explanation: Under Code of Civil Procedure section 1048, subdivision (a), "[w]hen actions involving a common question of law or fact are pending before the court, it may order a joint hearing or trial of any or all the matters in issue in the actions; it may order all the actions consolidated and it may make such orders concerning procee...

Excerpt: ...y be amended within 10 days of service of the order by the clerk. All new allegations shall be in boldface type. If a timely request for oral argument is made, such argument will be entertained on Thursday, November 2, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. Explanation: The motion provided for in this section may only be made on one of the following grounds: (A) If the moving party is a plaintiff, that the complaint states facts sufficient to constitute a cause or c...

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: ...s, Angel Gomez and Tomas Gomez who owned the property as joint tenants, and accomplished the transfer through a Grant Deed from Angel Gomez to himself and a Grant Deed from defendant Tomas to plaintiff executed by attorney Thornton Davidson as Attorney-in-Fact for defendant. (Complaint, '14.) Plaintiff has not submitted evidence to support these asserted facts to establish his right to legal title to the property. The evidence plaintiff has submi...

Excerpt: ...ng's Commercial Transfer, Inc. ("YCT) filed the instant action and were later named as defendants in Fresno County Superior Court Case Number 22CECG01986, which was consolidated with this lead case. Both cases arose out of a head-on motor vehicle accident involving two big rigs at the intersection of Highway 33 and Panoche Road, in Fresno County. Prior to the collision, another big rig, operated by defendant Harjot Singh, allegedly failed to heed...

Excerpt: ...d no later than November 28, 2023. If a timely request for oral argument is made, such argument will be entertained on Thursday, November 2, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. Explanation: Plaintiffs move the court for leave to file a second amended complaint following the death of plaintiff Parmjit Sekhon after the filing of this action. The motion is brought pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 473 and seeks to add Jasbir Sekhon (originally decedent's g...

Excerpt: ...letion of arbitration. If a timely request for oral argument is made, such argument will entertained on Thursday, November 2, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. Explanation: Plaintiff Kelly Roberts ("plaintiff") brings a single cause of action under PAGA on behalf of herself and all aggrieved employees under Labor Code section 2698 et seq. Defendants Sally Beauty Holdings, lnc„ and Beauty Systems Groups LLC (together "defendants") now seek an order com#lling p...

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: ...ions as set forth below. To grant the motion to compel further verified response to Demand for Production, Set One. Within 20 days of service of the order by the clerk, plaintiff shall provide a second amended response to each document demand and produce all responsive documents, if they have not pr(Nluced already. To impose $3,120 in monetary sanctions against plaintiff Megan Zupancic and in favor of Platinum Coast Inc., to be paid to Platinum C...

Excerpt: ..., "The court may, in furtherance of justice, and on any terms as may be proper, allow a party to amend any pleading or proceeding by adding or striking out the name of any party, or by correcting a mistake in the name of a party, ora mistake in any other respect; and may, upon like terms, enlarge the time for answer or demurrer. The court may likewise, in its discretion, after notice to the adverse party, allow, upon any terms as may be just, an ...

Excerpt: ...e clerk of the minute order. New allegations/language must be set in boldface type. To find plaintiffs' moton for leave to amend moot. Explanation: JUDGEMENT ON THE PLEADINGS A motion for judgment on the pleadings has the same function as a demurrer, but is made after the time for demurrer has passed. Civ. Proc., S 438; Prickett v. Bonnier Corporation (2020) 55 Cal.App.5th 891, 896.) The grounds for the motion must appear on the face of the chall...

Excerpt: ...dard for Awarding Attorney's Fees Probate Code section 4545 provides that when a challenge is made to a power of attorney by someone other than the attorney in fact, "the court may in its discretion award reasonable attorney's fees" to the attorney in fact, if the court determines that the proceeding was commenced without any reasonable cause." The Probate Code does not define reasonable cause" as it is used in section 4545. However, California c...

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: ... claims from arbitration. To dismiss the plaintiff's class claims. To stay the litigation of the PAGA claim until the arbitration has been resolved. Explanation: Pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure secton 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 ...

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: ...d Avenue, Fresno, California 93726 (the "Property"). Plaintiff alleged having exclusive, complete, open, continuous and notorious possession of the property for more than five years. Plaintiff now seeks summary judgment. A party may move for summary judgment in an action if is contended that there is no defense to the action. (Code Civ. Proc. S 437c, subd. (a)(l).) Notice of the motion and supporting papers shall be served on all other parties to...

Excerpt: ....App.4th 224, 240; see Dunk v. Ford Motor Co. (1996) 48 Cal.App.4th 1794, 1803, fn. 9.) 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 conditionally certified for settlement purposes. The court may make an o...

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: ...equests for Production, Set One. (Code Civ. Proc. S 2031.320, subd. (a).) The documents shall be served no later than 30 days from the date of this order, with time to run from the service of this minute order by the clerk. To deny the request for sanctions pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2031.310, subdivision (h). Explanation: The motion at bench was calendared as a motion to compel initial responses to discovery. However, the moving...