Excerpt: ...n for Forum non Conveniens, based on a clause of the CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 39 HEARING DATE: 02/27/20 ‐ 2 ‐ Employment Agreement calling for any such dispute to be litigated in Franklin County, Ohio. Because that forum selection clause is voidable under Labor Code section 925, the motion is denied. Key Facts Plaintiff began working for defendant in October 2014 as a Sales Manager in Training under a writt...

Excerpt: ...taneously pending, the trial court in which the unlimited action is pending [1] may stay the unlawful detainer action until the issue of title is resolved in the unlimited action, or [2] it may consolidate the actions. (Martin‐Bragg v. Moore (2013) 219 Cal.App.4th 367, 385 [Bracketed numbers added].) While Martin‐Bragg and other cases mention consolidation as a theoretical possibility, plaintiff has failed to cite the Court to a decision wher...

Excerpt: ...) § 1008 on the grounds that had it known the Court would grant the motion it would have argued that Defendant's performance was a condition concurrent rather than a condition precedent (as it argued at the hearing). Code of Civil Procedure § 1008(a) provides that a party affected by a prior court order may, “based upon new or different facts, circumstances, or law, make application to the same judge or court that made the order, to reconside...

Excerpt: ...ntiff has shown the threat of irreparable harm, in the form of the loss of a unique parcel of real property. The Factual Merits. The evidence is in conflict. The Court does find it somewhat odd that plaintiff had in his possession a full written agreement for the repayment of arrearages, CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 33 HEARING DATE: 02/27/20 ‐ 7 ‐ if the agreement was just a working draft that had not been appr...

Excerpt: ...motions for summary judgment rely on the same evidence and made nearly identical arguments. In addition, Plaintiffs provided one opposition to all three motions. Therefore, the Court's analysis below applies to all three motions equally. Plaintiffs are suing the Defendants for fraudulent transfer and civil conspiracy. In 2016, Chou transferred his ownership interest in five properties to five separates trusts. At the same time, Cui transferred he...

Excerpt: ...me Foods”). For the following reasons, the Motion for Summary Judgment is granted. Standard Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) §§ 437c(c) provides, in relevant part: The motion for summary judgment shall be granted if all the papers submitted show that there is no triable issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Section 437c(p)(1) provides: A plaintiff or cross‐complainant has me...

Excerpt: ... amended complaint on or before March 27, 2020. Special Demurrer. The special demurrer is sustained because plaintiff's Complaint is ambiguous as to whether plaintiff is seeking reimbursement for both emergency and nonemergency services, or just emergency services. Plaintiff concedes that it has no legal basis to seek reimbursement for non‐ emergency services. 1st C/A. Implied Contract. Plaintiff has failed to allege facts giving rise to an imp...

Excerpt: ...dant”) filed this action for breach of a lease agreement against its former tenants, Anrol International, Inc. and Carol Y.W. Liao (collectively, “Cross‐Complainants”). As alleged in the original complaint, CrossComplainants entered into a commercial lease agreement with Cross‐Defendant's predecessor in interest for a unit in a mall, the term of which was three years, beginning May 1, 2018. (Complaint, ¶¶1‐2.) Cross‐Defendant then...

Excerpt: ...ies to business customers. The assets of KBA Docusys were acquired by Kyocera. The present plaintiff, KBA Document Solutions, is the corporation formed by Kyocera to acquire the assets and carry on the acquired business. Part of the compensation for that acquisition was allocated to goodwill. Kim and Costa, as minority shareholders, received substantial six‐ figure payouts from the purchase. They were also required to sign new employment contra...

Excerpt: ...tion of Emotional Distress. Plaintiff shall file and serve the amended complaint on or before March 13, 2020. The Court sustains without leave as to the first three causes of action because plaintiff has voluntarily abandoned them. The Court has no occasion to analyze whether they would have survived demurrer otherwise. As to the two infliction torts, the existing complaint is unclear as to just what is intended to be adduced as the operative act...

Excerpt: ...Buck, an employee of the County's Regional Medical Center, failed to tell her during an emergency room encounter on February 7, 2018, that she had a serious heart condition that required hospitalization and/or a cardiac consultation. Further, plaintiffs, who are the husband and minor son of Sarah, claimed they did not have sufficient knowledge or suspicion for the statute of limitations to start to run until August 27, 2018. Plaintiffs then prese...

Excerpt: ...Theatre in Antioch. Over time, the business grew and changed into a real estate ownership, management and development company. George Stamm (“George I”) left the CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 33 HEARING DATE: 02/20/20 ‐ 18 ‐ business to his children, George II and Mary Ann Balocco. This created two factions of owners, Plaintiffs (Stamm Family) and Defendants (Balocco Family.) On February 17, 2017, the Stamm ...

Excerpt: ...uise Wilkins (the Brown plaintiffs). Both complaints allege injuries to the plaintiffs resulting from a fence owned and maintained by Caltrans. Code of Civil Procedure section 437c(c) provides, in relevant part: “The motion for summary judgment shall be granted if all the papers submitted show that there is no triable issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Based on the papers sub...

Excerpt: ...ows. A. The Pleading Of Plaintiffs' Complaint. A motion for summary adjudication “necessarily includes a test of the sufficiency of the complaint.” (American Airlines, Inc. v. County of San Mateo (1996) 12 Cal.4th 1110, 1117‐18.) In this context, the courts consider the motion under the same standards applicable to a motion for judgment on the pleadings. (Id.) B. The First And Second Causes of Action. The First and Second Causes of Action a...

Excerpt: ...s dispute over the charges with the Illinois‐based merchant, plaintiff The Parts Place, Inc. Plaintiff obtained a judgment in California for $10,418.39 based on the Illinois sister‐state judgment. Defendants now move to vacate that judgment, arguing that Illinois lacked personal jurisdiction over them, they were not properly served, and, their motions are timely. For the reasons stated below, each defendant's motion is granted. Factual backgr...

Excerpt: ...COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 21 HEARING DATE: 02/19/20 ‐ 6 ‐ Her First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) sets forth seven causes of action: (1) Negligence; (2) Battery; (3) Nuisance; (4) Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress; (5) Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress; (6) Breach of Contract; and (7) Breach of Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment. After meeting and conferring with plaintiff's counsel by phone, and failing to reach an ...

Excerpt: ...her students; and school administrators, her supervisors, and the District knew this but failed to act. On February 22, 2018, she ordered a student, plaintiff Austin Swope, to stand for the duration of her lecture. As a result, he fainted and fell, fracturing his skull and suffering permanent brain damage. (TAC, ¶ 22.c.) CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 21 HEARING DATE: 02/19/20 ‐ 3 ‐ The complaint has gone throug...

Excerpt: ...awsuits. The Court described their substance in granting consolidation: These three lawsuits present different plaintiffs and different forms of legal claims. Two of them are wrongful‐discharge claims asserted by terminated executives of Garaventa Enterprises. The third is a shareholder derivative action, challenging the action of Garaventa's management in (among other things) terminating those same two executives. Speaking in non‐legal terms...

Excerpt: ...dic Specialists. The motion is granted. Defendants have successfully shifted the burden to plaintiff to demonstrate a triable issue of material fact, and plaintiff has failed to introduce admissible evidence of defendants' breach of the standard of care, a necessary showing for medical negligence, and on his intentional misrepresentation cause of action. CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 12 HEARING DATE: 02/14/20 ‐ 8 ...

Excerpt: ...ill be dismissed as against the County. Facts Alleged by Plaintiff The facts alleged in the SAC are straightforward, though quite conclusory in some respects. Plaintiff O'Brien alleges that at approximately 11:57 p.m. on April 7, 2017, he was walking south on the western edge of Berry Drive in Pacheco north of the intersection of Berry Drive and Center Avenue. SAC ¶ 14. That portion of the western side of Berry Drive had “a curb, and an appare...

Excerpt: ... Court takes judicial notice only that the notice of default was recorded – not that the default it asserts is factually established as having occurred. CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 12 HEARING DATE: 02/14/20 ‐ 16 ‐ 1st C/A. The demurrer to the First Cause of Action for breach of contract is overruled. A plaintiff may allege performance in conclusory terms. (Code of Civil Procedure § 457.) Also, the Court may...

Excerpt: ...ime to answer the remaining causes of action will run from that date. Defendants demur to causes of action (1) breach of fiduciary duty (demurrer by Pritchard), (2) fraud (demurrer by all), (7) breach of contract (demurrer by Martin and Pritchard), and (8) Business and Professions Code §17200 (demurrer by all) for failure to state a cause of action. The FAC is confused and contradictory as to the shareholdings of defendants in plaintiff. Kejet a...

Excerpt: ...mmand that PAGA settlements be approved by the court necessarily implies that there is some substantive dimension to the review. (Labor Code § 2699(l).) The Court has found no binding authority, but one federal District Court has addressed the issue. In O'Connor v. Uber Techs, Inc. (N.D. Cal. 2016) 201 F.Supp.3d 1110, 1133, the court denied approval of class action settlements that included PAGA claims in part because the plaintiffs' claims adde...

Excerpt: ...t, unlawful, or procedurally unfair.” More particularly, Plaintiff has not demonstrated a violation of his right to Due Process under the California Constitution. Petition for Writ of Mandate Petitioner is now proceeding on the Fourth Amended Petition for Writ of Mandate, pursuant to CCP § 1085. Petitioner Nowicki challenges the legal decision made by the Contra Costa County Employees Retirement Association Board (“CCCERA”), following a he...

Excerpt: ...Defendants also seek their allowable costs. Defendants assert they are entitled to an order determining that they are the parties prevailing on the “contract” for purposes of Civil Code Sections 1717 and 1947.11, Code of Civil Procedure 1021.5, and mutuality of remedies doctrines, and based on that finding entitled to an award of attorney's fees as an item of costs. In opposition, Plaintiff argues that because the gravamen of the FAC and evid...