Excerpt: ... making a traffic stop for plaintiff exceeding the speed limit. Plaintiff used the services of the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office to serve defendant by substitute service, delivering a copy to the CHP office on Sunday, May 6, 2018, and mailing a second copy. Defendant contends this was improper and moves to quash service. Plaintiff has filed a “motion to strike defective motion to quash, motion to show cause for contempt, motion for entry of...

Excerpt: ...which were “recently paid”. Defendant opposes contending plaintiff has filed suit in the state of Nevada to recover the same $6,195.14 in damages stemming from this same accident against this same defendant. Defendant's request for judicial notice of Exhibit “A” is granted pursuant to Evidence Code Sections 452 and 453. Although plaintiff is correct that the general rule is liberality in allowing amendment of pleadings, this is not an abs...

Excerpt: ...ior rulings by this Court confirmed on appeal by the Third District Court of Appeals have resolved all issues other than the cause of action for elder abuse, including those to quiet title and for partition. As a result, there is no longer any real property claim being asserted by plaintiff thereby removing the foundational basis under CCP § 405.20 for recording a lis pendens. Lacking this condition precedent, defendant is entitled to the relief...

Excerpt: ...ndents and real parties in interest demur contending petitioners failed to exhaust their administrative remedies under the “pay first, litigate later” doctrine and alternatively that the petition and complaint fail to plead facts constituting a cause of action largely based upon their interpretation of “registration” and “applicant” under the provisions of then‐existing county code chapter 17.95. Respondents' request for judicial no...

Excerpt: ... to conform to provisions of CEQA. Respondents seek to have the CEQA portions of the petition dismissed for petitioners' failure to request a hearing within 90 days of the filing of the petition pursuant to Public resources Code Section 21167.4. Petitioners oppose, contending the 90 days was triggered by the filing of the operative petition, i.e., the first amended petition filed on 4/26/18 or, alternatively, seek relief for attorney mistake purs...

Excerpt: ...ttorney's fees provision, as well as Civil Code Section 5975, defendant now seeks an award of attorney's fees in the amount of $264,777.47. Plaintiff contests certain of the fees as unreasonable and unnecessary, and requests that the Court reduce the amount of attorney's fees to be awarded to $262,361.97. In general, the Court does not find persuasive the contentions that given tasks should have been completed in less time than what was billed �...

Excerpt: ...d duty to indemnify by payment of the settlement in the related underlying case of State Farm v Tidwell 12CV38248. Defendants concede the duty to defend (albeit contesting the effective date that said duty arose) and opposes the MSA on the issue of a duty to indemnify, both on macro grounds that coverage under the policies has not been established and micro grounds that the underlying settlement was excessive and/or the product of collusion and f...

Excerpt: ...n of produced documents. (The Court notes plaintiff's labeling of the motion as one to “compel production” oversimplifies the relief sought.) Plaintiff additionally seeks imposition of “monetary and contempt sanctions”; the Court notes its consideration of any sanctions involves provisions of the discovery act contained within the Code of Civil Procedure as there is no contempt proceeding before the Court. Defendants have not filed any op...

Excerpt: .... Plaintiff infers the dismissal was based solely on the motion to dismiss critically leaving out that on 12/16/16 this Court sustained a demurrer to the complaint, without leave as to two causes of action, and with twenty (20) days leave to amend as to the remainder of the complaint. Plaintiff never filed a first amended complaint. Therefore, a motion to dismiss pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 581(f)(2) could have been timely filed i...

Excerpt: ... Petitioners contest the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors' action taken on January 10, 2018, banning cannabis cultivation in the county, seeking a preliminary injunction or, alternatively, an administrative stay, alleging in essence a failure to comply with the environmental impact report (EIR) requirements of CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act, codified as Public Resources Code Sections 2100 et seq.). Respondents oppose contending a...

Excerpt: ...lement in the related underlying case of State Farm v Tidwell 12CV38248. The Court notes that plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint on 5/8/18 that was served by mail making defendants' answer due to be filed and served no later than 6/13/18, i.e., five (5) days after the date noticed for hearing on the present motion. Although it is possible that any changes contained in the second amended complaint and any changes that might be contained i...

Excerpt: ...s and request this Court to schedule an Order To Show Cause hearing to determine if defendants are in contempt of the default judgment and consider other means for enforcement of court orders. Plaintiff has provided a sufficient affidavit under penalty of perjury containing the necessary prima facie showing of facts consisting of the making of the court order, defendants' knowledge of the order, defendants' ability to comply with the order, and d...

Excerpt: ...ugust 2018. Subsequently, counsel for defendant submitted a stipulation and proposed order to “reinstate” jury trial which was denied by this Court for the failure to assert the necessary good cause, albeit without prejudice to renew the request by way of noticed motion. Defendant now moves this Court to “reinstate” a jury trial asserting as the requisite good cause an inadvertence on the part of counsel to timely post the jury fee deposi...

Excerpt: ...firmatively evident from the pleading itself without consideration of any extrinsic evidence. (Sheehan v San Francisco 49ers, Ltd. (2009) 45 Cal.4th 992.) In ruling on a demurrer, the Court must liberally construe the allegations in the pleading with the goal of attaining substantial justice among the parties. (Code of Civil Procedure Section 452; King v Central Bank (1977) 18 Cal.3d 840. (Even if the facts are not clearly stated, a pleading show...

Excerpt: ... responses have ever been provided. Code of Civil Procedure Section 2030.260 provides that responses to interrogatories be served within 30 days and CCP § 2030.290 provides that failure to timely provide responses waives any right to exercise the option to provide writings as responses and also waives any objections. Code of Civil Procedure Section 2031.260 provides that responses to requests for production of documents be served within 30 days ...

Excerpt: ... expressing that as a successor to the original contract it is not bound by the arbitration clause. Part of the Court's analysis of defendant's motion is taking into consideration that defendant represents herself while plaintiff is represented by counsel. Although the court has a general duty to treat a self‐represented litigant in the same manner as a person represented by counsel – i.e., no different, no better, no worse (Taylor v Bell (19...

Excerpt: ...ed to deposit with the Court to be distributed upon agreement or determination among the competing claims regarding said funds. Plaintiff has been holding the funds in escrow since 12/28/11 and has received no response from the seller to two notices of escheat of unclaimed property leading to the filing of this interpleader action. No opposition having been filed and the requested relief appearing appropriate, the Court intends to sign the submit...

Excerpt: ...fin Llp Tentative Ruling: On January 31, 2018, defendant Nationstar Mortgage LLC served requests for admission on plaintiff Rodney E. Weathers dba All Weather Construction. No responses have been served to date and Nationstar seeks to have the requests deemed admitted and sanctions imposed in the amount of $920. Code of Civil Procedure Section 2033.280 (c) mandates that the Court deem facts admitted and the genuineness of documents, and award san...

Excerpt: ...as moved to strike paragraph 70 of the first amended complaint and the associated portion of the prayer for relief seeking injunctive and restitution relief consisting of auditing, changing, and overseeing defendant's claims practices. A motion to strike is used to challenge the legal sufficiency of all or part of a pleading, in particular to challenge pleading defects that cannot be challenged by demurrer. (CLD Construction, Inc. v City of San R...

Excerpt: ...plaintiffs failed to comply with the notice requirements of Local Rule 3.3.7 as amended January 1, 2018. Said Local Rule explicitly includes a provision that failure to comply “may be a basis for the Court to deny the motion”. However, in light of defendant's disregard for the discovery statutes and the obligations they place on parties, the Court exercises its discretion to rule on the merits of the motion rather than its procedural shortcom...

Excerpt: ...secured by a deed of trust on the involved property. After completion of the trustee's sale, defendants herein prevailed on a separate unlawful detainer action in which plaintiff herein's defense consisted of contesting the validity of the trustee's sale. When this matter proceeded to trial, the Court took judicial notice of the unlawful detainer action and then excluded evidence on the claim of irregularity in the foreclosure process ultimately ...

Excerpt: ... constructively terminated from his employment at Mark Twain Medical Center stemming from his having raised numerous concerns about concerns about policies, practices and equipment at the medical facility, including a cause of action based on a claim he was retaliated against in violation of Health & Safety Code Section 1278.5. Defendant Dignity Health's motion seeks to strike that portion of the cause of action that includes a jury demand. Notin...

Excerpt: ... THE ALTERNATIVE, SUMMARY ADJUDICATION OF ISSUES Plaintiff alleges defendant Poker Flat Property Owners Association, Inc. breached her employment contract and committed various associated torts primarily by disclosing confidential employee information. Defendant Poker Flat moves for summary judgment or alternatively summary adjudication as to every cause of action. Poker Flat's Request for Judicial Notice is Granted as to Exhibits P and Q pursuan...

Excerpt: ...atisfy the first mortgage lien on the property held by Umpqua Bank. Global Equity moves for judgment on the pleadings contending the complaint fails to state a basis for a breach of the contract or for unjust enrichment. (The Court notes that Global Equity requests judgment on the pleadings “against the Complaint” but asserts arguments only concerning the causes of action for breach of contract and unjust enrichment; the complaint actually co...

Excerpt: ..., Robert G; O'shea, Michael; Parker, Stacey; Schink, Julian; Schink, Roger Allan; Steenbakkers, Trevor J; Wingerter, Pamela W Atty: Towner, Bruce M; McCormick Barstow Sheppart Wayte & Carruth Llp TENTATIVE RULING ON DEFENDANTS MORRIS/WINGERTER/STEENBAKKERS' DEMURRER TO SECOND AMENDED VERIFIED COMPLAINT This shareholder derivative action contends the shareholders of the Burnette Company other than plaintiff damaged the company through improper...