Excerpt: ...d), (h).) Evidentiary Issues Initially, the Declaration of Plaintiff in Support of Motion to Set Aside Summary Judgment is not actually a declaration of Plaintiff David Litachevsky, despite the title. While the Declaration states that David Litachevsky "declares as follows:" the document is signed by "Dylan Hackett Attorney for Plaintiff David Litachevsky." "Although it would appear obvious, a declaration must be signed by the declarant personall...

Excerpt: ...fore the Court is also Defendant Juan Mejia's Motion to Quash Service of Summons. Defendant's Motion to Quash Service of Summons relates to Plaintiff's aforementioned Complaint. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 18 JUDICIAL OFFICER: DANIELLE K DOUGLAS HEARING DATE: 07/17/2023 Page 2 of 30 For the following reasons, Defendant's Motion to Set Aside Default is granted. Defendant's Motion to Quash Service of Su...

Excerpt: ... this matter is continued until August 20, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. in Department 18 to allow time for additional briefing by the Parties, as discussed below. Factual Background: Plaintiff John Scott ("Plaintiff") worked for Defendant Golden Rain Foundation ("Defendant" or "GRF" from early 2002 until September 2022. While the papers do not indicate if Plaintiff was fired or quit, the Complaint alleges that he was wrongfully terminated on September 16, 2...

Excerpt: ...s third surviving heir who could not or would not join as a plaintiff and is therefore named as a defendant. Plaintiffs have sued the driver of the vehicle, defendant Joseph Heath, and Heath's employer, defendant Spearhead Protection, Inc. Spearhead moves for summary judgment on the ground that Heath was commuting to work at the time of the accident, and Spearhead cannot be held liable for SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MART NE...

Excerpt: ...nt's twenty-third affirmative defense fails. The two "issues" included in the notice of motion are just different reasons why Plaintiff thinks that the twenty-third affirmative defense fails. Thus, the Court will discuss the two summary adjudication issues together. Plaintiff worked as a speech therapist at Morello Park Elementary, a school in Defendant's district. While working at this school, Plaintiff alleges that she was to toxins from a sewa...

Excerpt: ..."), Rule 2.551(b)(5), parties must notify the Court that the lodged records are to be filed, unredacted and unsealed, within 10 days. (Because defendants failed to lodge any unredacted version of their memorandum of points and authorities in support of defendants' motion for summary adjudication, they must also file the unredacted brief should defendants wish to proceed with the unredacted briefing.) Alternatively, if no notification is received,...

Excerpt: ...e. Cycle Gear shall serve and file notce of entry of order. Legal Standard CCP section 877.6(a)(1), provides, in relevant part, that, on noticed motion, "[alny party to an acton wherein it is alleged that two or more parties are joint tortfeasors or co-obligors on a contract debt shall be entitled to a hearing on the issue of the good faith of a settlement entered into by the plaintiff and one or more alleged tortfeasors or co-obligors . "A deter...

Excerpt: ...bject to judicial notice. (Cal. Evid. Code S 452.) Procedural Background This matter generally relates to issues arising from the construction and sale of real property located at 2030 Hoover Avenue in Pleasant Hill (the "Property"). The original parties were previously ordered to arbitration. Then, when the arbitration failed to move forward due to Defendants' dismissal of their attorney and failure to hire other counsel, it was put back on the ...

Excerpt: ...t that school (and thus an employee of Defendant School District), as well as Plaintiff's social sciences teacher and faculty advisor for the school's Black Student Union, of which Plaintiff was a member. (Ibid.) It is generally alleged that Doe 2 engaged in 'highly inappropriate and sexual behavior with his minor students,' kept students in his classroom during the lunch period, shared vulgar stores about sex with his students, often hugged mino...

Excerpt: ...OP relates to Plaintiff Vahid Haghiri ("Plaintiff" or "Haghiri")'s First Amended Complaint ("FAC") for (1) Breach of Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing; (2) Promissory Estoppel; (3) Negligent Misrepresentation; (4) Wrongful Foreclosure; (5) Cancellation of Instruments; and (6) Declaratory Relief. For the following reasons, the WOP is granted, without leave to amend. Request for Judicial Notice Defendants' unopposed Request for Judicial Notic...

Excerpt: ...f contract. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 21 (925) 608-1121 JUDICIAL OFFICER: JILL C FANNIN HEARING DATE: 07/05/2023 Defendant moves for summary adjudication on several grounds including the statute of limitations and the statute of frauds. For the following reasons, Defendant's Motion is granted-in-part and denied-in-part. Legal Standard Code of Civil Procedure ("CCP") SS 437c(o)(1) and 437c(p)(2) prov...

Excerpt: ...ntiffs") Complaint for (1) violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act by breach of express authority; (2) violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warrant Act by breach of implied warranty; (3) violation of Business and Professions Code S 17200; and (4) negligent repair. For the following reasons, the Defendants' Mohon to Compel Arbitration is denied. Factual Background Plaintiffs' underlying Complaint in this case relates to Plaintiffs' p...

Excerpt: ...This is a property case wherein plaintiffs gave the City easements over their land. They claim the grants were the result of fraudulent inducement by the City. The City essentially told them the easements already existed and needed to be modified. Plaintiffs deeded what they believed were modified easements, but learned in 2019 that the City had no easement rights pursuant to a settlement with a prior owner, and the City had misrepresented fts ow...

Excerpt: ...the sufficiency of particular responses to discovery and particular objections. If so, those will be the subject of a further motion to compel addressing discoverability (though the Court frankly hopes the parties will have resolved those disputes by meet-and-confer in the meantime). This, however, is not that motion. The present motion does not call on the Court to referee any discoverability issues or the validity of any objections. Rather, fts...

Excerpt: ...r 30, 2020. The complaint was pleaded as a class action and alleged nine causes of action for various wage and hour violations under the Labor Code and Industrial Wage Order No. 5-2001. Defendant The Counter Walnut Creek LP filed a demurrer to the original complaint, which was sustained with leave to amend. (9/13/2021 Order.) Plaintiff filed a first amended complaint on September 3, 2021 which added as the tenth cause of action a representative c...

Excerpt: ...e Arbitration Proceeding, or in the alternative, Stay Arbitration Proceedings. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is denied. The Relevant Parties This set of disputes involves multiple claims in both directions. As did the Court's prior ruling, for ease of reference and avoidance of confusion, the Court will refer to the competing sides by summarizing names rather than litigation designators. Plaintiffs in this court case (respondents in...

Excerpt: ..., that ruling can be viewed less as an order requiring plaintiff to comply, than as one giving plaintiff an opportunity to comply. The cost of noncompliance will not be any further discovery sanctions; it will be the inevitable granting of motons in limine barring most or all of plaintiff's case, for failure to identify facts, documents, and witnesses in support of plaintiff's trial contentions. This topic was discussed at considerable length in ...

Excerpt: ...imes at some of those restaurants. The present Gonzalez complaint was filed on January 5, 2021, and subsequently amended. This settlement also covers two other cases asserting similar claims. Plaintiff Frank filed his complaint in SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 12 JUDICIAL OFFICER: CHARLES S TREAT HEARING DATE: 06/22/2023 13 Alameda County in 2018; plaintiff Collins, in Santa Clara County in 2018. Those ...

Excerpt: ...EZ, CA DEPARTMENT 12 JUDICIAL OFFICER: CHARLES S TREAT HEARING DATE: 06/22/2023 10 A. Background of the Case and Terms of Settlement This a PAGA case (not a class action), alleging a variety of violations of the Labor Code concerning failure to provide rest and meal breaks, failure to pay minimum wages and overtime, and cascading derivative violations. Because of the preclusive effect of prior PAGA cases against defendants, this case was limited ...

Excerpt: ...and other "similarly situated" employees of defendant, Dolan's of Pinole Lumber and Building Materials Co. Specifically, plaintiff alleges the action is on behalf of "[all' persons who worked for any Defendant in California as an hourly-paid or non-exempt employee at any time during the [relevant time period]." (Complaint, 8:4- 5.) The entire complaint is alleged on information and belief. (Complaint, 1:1-2.) Plaintiff alleges SUPERIOR COURT OF C...

Excerpt: ...ction, and overruled with respect to the second, third, and fifth causes of action. The motion to strike is granted with respect to attorneys fees and denied as to punitive damages. Plaintiff has leave to amend. The amended complaint shall be filed and served on or before July 3, 2023. Background Plaintiff's complaint alleges that, on December 13, 2021, plaintiff was rear-ended while at an intersection in Brentwood. (Complaint, 915.) The other dr...

Excerpt: ...ant Amip Management (collectively, "Defendants")'s Demurrer. The Demurrer relates to Plaintiff Ricknauth Karan and Plaintiff Davitri Karan (collectively, First Amended Complaint ("FAC") for (1) wrongful foreclosure, (2) violations of Civ. Code 2923.5, (3) violations of Civ. Code 2924.11, and (4) declaratory relief. For the following reasons, the Demurrer is sustained, with leave to amend. Factual Background This is a wrongful foreclosure case. Pl...

Excerpt: ...the action filed by the other two defendants heard concurrently with the demurrer. Background This action arises out of a long-running dispute among five siblings, the children of Silvio Garaventa, Sr. and Mary Garaventa, following the death of Mary Garaventa. The siblings are direct and indirect owners of the plaintiff, Garaventa Enterprises, Inc., a closely held corporation. (Compl. "115-25.) The Court will use first names of the siblings in th...

Excerpt: ...e; (4) quiet title; (5) breach of fiduciary duty; (6) constructive trust; (7) partition by sale of real property; and (8) partition by sale of real property. Defendant demurs to all Plaintiff's causes of action pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure ("CCP") S 430.10 on several grounds; in the alternative, Defendant moves to stay or enjoin pursuant to CCP S 418.10 and 526(a) based on pending family law proceedngs in Contra Costa Case No. D22-03945. F...

Excerpt: ...s the burden on both these issues. (Code of Civil Procedure 5405.30; see also, Kirkeby v. Superior Court (2004) 33 Cal.4th 642, 647.) A motion to expunge a lis pendens usually involves two questions. First, is whether the complaint involves a real property claim. (Code of Civil Procedure 5405.31.) Defendant concedes that the complaint here involves a real property claim. Probable Validity of Plaintiff's Claim Next, the Court considers the merits ...

Excerpt: ...il October 20, 2023, and a CMC shall be set for 8:30 a.m. on September 19, 2023. Any party seeking to extend the stay will need to file a noticed motion seeking such relief. Background This action arises out of a long-running dispute among five siblings, the children of Silvio Garaventa, Sr. and Mary Garaventa, following the death of Mary Garaventa. The siblings are direct and indirect owners of the plaintiff, Garaventa Enterprises, Inc., a close...

Excerpt: ...alendar days before the next CMC. The parties shall update the court as to the status of the stay and whether it can be vacated. (4) Plaintiff shall file and serve notce of entry of this order. Background Plaintiff Kevin Winans filed this acton to recover damages for battery, use of excessive force, civil rights violations pursuant to 42 USC section 1983, etc., against Defendants City of Brentwood Police Department and Officers Jonathan Davis and...

Excerpt: ...013. For illustration purposes only, below is a picture of area in dispute: The red pinpoint (left) indicates Defendants' house. The purple square (center) identifies Plaintiff's house. The road leading from Defendants' home to Pleasant Hill Road is a roadway ingress/egress easement that the three houses jointly possess. That easement does not appear to be at issue in this proceeding. Instead, in the general area of the orange circle is the so-ca...

Excerpt: ...s ruling and in accordance with the applicable Local Rules. Background Plaintiff and defendant California Custom Metals, Inc. ("CCM") entered into a Settlement Agreement, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit A to the moton and supporting declaration of Plaintiffs counsel. The Settlement Agreement provides for a $70A)O payment to be made within 15 days after all parties executed the Settlement Agreement. (Mot./Yasman Decl. Exh. A, p. 7, Para. D....

Excerpt: .... Code S 2923.7; (4) negligence; (5) negligent misrepresentation; (5) violation of Bus. & Prof. Code S 172CK) et seq.; (7) declaratory relief; (8) breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing; and (9) promissory estoppel. Before the Court is Plaintiff's Motion for preliminary injunction pursuant to Code of Civ. Proc. ("CCP") S 526, 527 and Civ. Code S 2924.12(a) (the "Motion"). The Motion is opposed by Defendant Fay Servicing, LLC ("Defe...

Excerpt: ...lth's Request for Judicial Notce is denied. Although a court may judicially notice a SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 21 (925) 608 1121 JUDICIAL OFFICER: JILL C FANNIN HEARING DATE: 06/14/2023 Page 17 of 31 variety of matters (Evid. Code, S 450 et seq.), only relevant material may be noticed. (See, People ex rel. Lockyer v. Shamrock Foods Co. 24 Cal.4th 415, 422 ["any matter to be judicially noticed must b...

Excerpt: ...with California Rule of Court 3.112 regarding the required papers for Motions. Rule 3.1112 requires that the papers filed in support of a motion must consist of at least a notice of hearing on the motion, the motion itself, and a memorandum in support off the motion. (CRC 3.1112(a).) Defendant's Motion consists of just a single document, which moves the Court to dismiss the Complaint "on the basis of claim preclusion (Res Judicata), collateral es...

Excerpt: ...unopposed MSJ is granted. Procedural Background Defendant GTE Mobilenet of California Limited Partnership (erroneously sued as Verizon California, lnc and GTE Corporation) filed its MS] on January 6, 2023. The hearing on the MS] was scheduled for April 10, 2023. Thus, Plaintiff's opposition was due on or before March 27, 2023. No opposition was filed at that time. Instead, on April 6 — two court days before the hearing — Plaintiff filed a mot...

Excerpt: ...ide at property located at 180 Riverside Drive in Bay Po-nt. Defendants Ying Zhong Su and Zi Wen Yao are the trustees of the revocable trust that owns the adjacent property at 176 Riverside Drive in Bay Point. (Defs.' Separate Statement of undisputed Material Facts ("UMF") No. 1.1; Plfs.' Separate Statement of Additional Material Facts ("AMF") Nos. 1, 2.) Both properties had a downward slope in the backyard. (AMF No. 4.) Defendants' predecessor o...

Excerpt: ...s denied. District shall file its answer to the complaint of Jane Doe 3 by June SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 18 JUDICIAL OFFICER: DANIELLE K DOUGLAS HEARING DATE: 05/12/2023 22, 2023. Background Plaintiffs, who filed this action under the pseudonyms "Jane Doe #1," "Jane Doe #2," and "Jane Doe #3," are three former students of defendant Miramonte High School, which is a high school operated by defendant...

Excerpt: ...s sufficient to constitute a defense. (b) The answer is uncertain. As used in this subdivision, "uncertain" includes ambiguous and unintelligible. (c) Where the answer pleads a contract, it cannot be ascertained from the answer whether the contract is written or oral." "Under general rules of civil procedure, an answer must contain the general or specific denial of the material allegations of the complaint controverted by the defendant and a stat...

Excerpt: ...0 class members and 128 PAGA aggrieved employees. Two packets were returned by the post office. Follow up resulted in one new address, leaving only one non-deliverable. No objections have been received, and only one class member opted out. E. Background and Settlement Terms The original complaint was filed on June 1, 2021. It remains the operative complaint. The alleged violations are of a technical nature. Defendant is not alleged to have underp...

Excerpt: ...se of Acton and denied, in part, as to the Second and Third Causes of Action, as fully explained below. Discussion Legal Standard "The function of a demurrer is to test the sufficiency of the complaint as a matter of law." (Holiday Matinee, Inc. v. Rambus, Inc. (2004) 118 Cal.App.4th 1413, 1420.) A complaint "is sufficient if it alleges ultimate rather than evidentiary facts" (Doe v. City of Los Angeles (2007) 42 Cal.4th 531, 550), but the plaint...

Excerpt: ..., filed this suit to recover for injuries sustained while operating a motor grader. Defendant American Equipment Company ("AMECO") allegedly manufactured, sold, or leased the defective equipment and defendant NorCal Rental Group, LLC ("NorCal") allegedly helped manufacture, supply and/or repair the defective equipment. On August 24, 2022, NorCal filed a cross- complaint against AMECO for express contractual indemnity. The cross-complaint alleged ...

Excerpt: ...uired Victory in January 2021, and continued its business with the same work force. Victory and Thorpe were in the business of designing and installing fire protection systems. Delamora was employed as a pipefitter from 2016 to 2021; Cardenas, as a carpenter from 2020 to 2022. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 12 JUDICIAL OFFICER: CHARLES S TREAT HEARING DATE: 06/08/2023 2 Delamora's original complaint was ...

Excerpt: ...s filed their motion for summary judgment or, in the alternative, summary adjudication ("MSJ") on June 10, 2022. Plaintiff filed fts initial opposition to the MS] on August 11, 2022. Thereafter, on August 24, 2022, the Court issued a tentative ruling continuing the hearing on the MSJ and ordering Defendant to re-file its opposition so as to comport with the applicable California Rules of Court and Code of Civil Procedure. No party contested this ...

Excerpt: ...endant is the parent of Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa. Plaintiff was employed with defendant as a neuromuscular therapist in the spring of 2021, though only briefly. The original complaint was filed on October 25, 2021. A PAGA claim was added by amendment in January 2022. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $150,000. The class representative payment to the plaintiff would be $5,000. Attorney's fees would be $50,000 (one-t...

Excerpt: ...aintiff was employed there as a stylist in the summer of 2021. The original complaint was filed on October 17, 2021. A PAGA claim was added by amendment in December 2021. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $450,000. The class representative payment to the plaintiffs would be $10,000. Attorney's fees would be $150,000 (one-third of the settlement). Litigation costs would not exceed $15,000. The settlement administrator's costs ...

Excerpt: ... dba Certified Heating and Air Conditioning and dba Certified Solar, Heating & Air Conditioning ("Certified") and Brian Arlaud arises out of Plaintiffs' purchase of a heating and air conditioning system ("HVAC") from Certified. (Pl. Sep. Stmt. of Undisputed Material Facts ("LJMF"), Issue l, UMF No. 1.) They allege Certified gave them a written "18 Month Certified Trust Guarantee" when they bought the system. (UMF No. 3.) The Huslers contend they ...

Excerpt: ...mately 2016 through 2018. (Separate Statement of Undisputed Material Fact in Support of Plaintiff's Motion, hereinafter "Plaintiff's SSUMF," Fact No. 1, and defendants' response.) Defendant Vivek Bansal is the sole owner and CEO of Vivek Bansal M.D., Inc. (Plaintiff's SSUMF, Fact No. 2, and defendants' response.) In 2018, plaintiff sued defendants in another county for violations of the California Labor Code and that case was transferred to this ...

Excerpt: ...time to be determined at the hearing and supplemental briefing as set forth. Background This case arises out of a boundary dispute between adjoining landowners. The parties both agree that they engaged in a mediation before a third party mediator, and that as a result of the mediation, the parties entered -nto a written settlement agreement entitled "Settlement Agreement and Mutual Release" (the "Settlement Agreement") which, pursuant to paragrap...

Excerpt: ...gilio Gulingan own and reside at property located at 180 Riverside Drive in Bay Point. Defendants Ying Zhong Su and Zi Wen Yao are the trustees of the revocable trust that owns the adjacent property at 176 Riverside Drive in Bay Point. (Defs.' Separate Statement of undisputed Material Facts ("UMF") No. 1.1; Plfs.' Separate Statement of Additional Material Facts ("AMF") Nos. 1, 2.) 80th properties had a downward slope in the backyard. (AMF No. 4.)...

Excerpt: ...l Notice ("RJN") regarding the documents recorded in the Contra Costa County Recorder's Office is granted. (Cal. Evid. Code 452(h); Evans v. California Trailer Court, Inc. (1994) 28 Cal.App.4th 540, 549, overruled in part by Black Sky Capital, LLC v. Cobb (2019) 7 Cal.5th 156, 245.) Legal Standard The standard for granting a moton for judgment on the pleadings is essentially the same as that applicable to a general demurrer. (Burnettv. Chimney Sw...

Excerpt: ...son Village Homes Corporation filed this action for breach of contract and negligence on SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 36 JUDICIAL OFFICER: CLARE MAIER HEARING DATE: 06/01/2023 6 February 7, 2023. Plaintiff is a nonprofit mutual housing corporation. Plaintiff currently has several hundred members who occupy over 400 housing units in Richmond, California. Rather than own individual properties themselves,...

Excerpt: ...ad litem) is suing the Defendant for negligence claims related to an accident. Defendant was driving when she hit Plaintiff who was crossing the street while in the crosswalk. Plaintiff is seeking punitive damages based on malice. The facts supporting punitive damages are that at the time of the accident, Defendant's driver's license was suspended for "lack of knowledge or skill". Defendant's license was suspended because she had slowed her vehic...