Excerpt: ...t Plaintiff has failed to state facts sufficient to constitute such causes of action. (CCP §431.10(e).) Defendant demurrers to all five causes of action on the basis that the court lacks jurisdiction over the subject matter of each cause of action as the proper venue is the family law court before which the parties' divorce is currently pending. (CCP §430.10(a).) Additionally, Defendant moves to strike the portion of the Prayer in the Complaint...

Excerpt: ...ition. Alternatively, they seek to set aside and vacate the judgment pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure, section 663. The motion is denied. Procedural Background Petitioner filed this matter to enforce his inspection rights to the books and records of BookFactory, pursuant to Corporations Code § 17704.10. In their Answer, filed on September 17, 2021, respondents took the position that petitioner has no member rights because he was dissociated f...

Excerpt: ... twelfth (injunctive relief) causes of action, as well as to the eighth cause of action with respect to defendants Gurinder K. Sandhu, Narinder Singh Sandhu, or Rajwinder Kaur Sandhu. The demurrer is overruled as to the third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and ninth causes of action. Leave to amend is granted. For clarity, plaintiff may amend the first cause of action (against defendant Stephen Yatsko) if he deems appropriate. Any amended complaint sha...

Excerpt: ...aff notes, (2) county documents related to Urban Line Limits and (3) EBMUD's 2020 Urban Water Management Plan. As an initial matter, this motion is a request to have certain document included as part of the record. Although judicial notice is discussed in the papers, the notice of motion does not the Court to take judicial notice of any documents. Therefore, the Court is not deciding whether any of these documents can be considered under Evidence...

Excerpt: ...ncern, nor any prejudice to the opposing party, such as delay in trial, loss of critical evidence, or added costs of preparation.” (Solit v. Tokai Bank (1999) 68 Cal.App.4th 1435, 1448.) Further, under section 128 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the Court has inherent discretionary power to “provide for the orderly conduct of proceedings before it.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 128, subd. (a)(3); see, People v. Alvarez (1996) 14 Cal.4th 155, 209.) ...

Excerpt: ...lidated for purposes of pretrial proceedings, filed by multiple homeowners against EBMUD and numerous other parties arising out of a landslide in March 2020. Though the cause of the landslide has not been determined, the landslide resulted in serious damage to the roadway of Tappan Terrace and affected at least seven properties on Tappan Terrace, Tappan Lane, and Ichabod Lane. (Am. Memo ISO Mot. pp. 5‐7.) Tappan Terrace property owners are memb...

Excerpt: ... who was injured at work on December 12, 2017 after tripping on a 2x4 that was negligently nailed to the roof he was working on. (Complaint at ¶ 5.) Plaintiff filed a workers' compensation claim pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Act of the State of California and sought benefits under the California Labor Code and applicable regulations for his injuries. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 36 HEARING DAT...

Excerpt: ...st allege destroyed their home in Orinda. (Memo. ISO Mot. p. 2.) Defendants Steven Yee and June Yee own the property next door to the Plaintiffs' residence. (Memo ISO Mot. p. 2, ¶ 2.) They allege the defendants altered the natural flow of surface water across their properties which contributed to the landslide on Plaintiffs' property. (Memo ISO Mot. pp. 2‐3, ¶¶ 4, 5.) The Yees have filed a crosscomplaint for damages they contend their proper...

Excerpt: ...nt Terms The original complaint was filed March 10, 2021, raising claims under PAGA and a class action on behalf of non‐exempt employees alleging that defendant violated the Labor Code in various ways, including unpaid overtime, unpaid minimum wage, con‐compliant meal and rest periods, unreimbursed business expenses, failure to provide one day of rest in seven, failure to provide reporting time, failure to maintain payroll records, waiting ti...

Excerpt: ...e violations. Defendant provides medical care for elderly patients. The total settlement payment is $95,000. This is composed of attorney's fees of $31,666.66 (one‐third of the recovery), $10,063.84 in in litigation costs, and up to $4,200 in costs to the settlement administrator (Phoenix). PAGA penalties of $44,133.34 would be apportioned 75% to the LWDA and 25% to the aggrieved employees. Counsel's motion indicates that there are an estimated...

Excerpt: ...f stock equaling 25% of authorized shares of Plaintiff Risoftdev. Plaintiff alleges Defendants breached the agreement and conspired to retain and use Risoftdev's propriety information and trade secrets. Defendant Joel McVay was one of the senior investment partners at Chatfield and lead contact for the Risoftdev‐Chatfield business deal. Motion Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure § 1281.2, Defendant Joel McVay moves to compel arbitration and st...

Excerpt: ...iff's argument that defendants have failed to adequately authenticate the employment agreement containing the arbitration clause defendants seek to enforce. Plaintiff's objections to the opening declaration of Michael James are sustained; Mr. James does not have personal knowledge that plaintiff signed the agreement, and does not attempt to authenticate the agreement as a business record. (See, Ruiz v. Moss Bros. Auto Group, Inc. (2014) 232 Cal.A...

Excerpt: ...ate and time on the motion. The proof of service attached to the moving papers shows the motion pleadings were served on the other parties by overnight mail on February 23, 2022, the same date they were filed and served without a hearing date. (See Braun Decl. Exh. 1.) The hearing date assigned to the motion by the Clerk on the face of the notice of motion after it was filed is June 9, 2022. The Court file does not contain any amended notice of t...

Excerpt: ...ctively “Plaintiffs”) own property located at 4123 Happy Valley Road in Lafayette, California. Sometime in approximately 2007, Defendant East Bay Municipal Utility District (“EBMUD” or “Defendant”) approached Plaintiffs seeking to purchase an approximately .58‐acre portion of Plaintiffs' undeveloped property (the “Property”) as a site for the Sunnyside Pumping Plant (the “Plant”). The parties spent the next few years negotia...

Excerpt: ...e of Civil Procedure § 1048(a) on the grounds that the cases involve common questions of law or fact as all three of the lawsuits “arise out of the same motor vehicle collision” and “involve the same liability and related damages issues and will have the same evidence and witnesses.” Plaintiffs in MSC19‐01455 Jessica Goodbar and Jeremy Kemp, request the Court deny the motion “unless and only if the parties in the Adebote case [MSC20�...

Excerpt: ... of contract; and (5) abuse of process. The MSJ is opposed by the Defendant James C. Venhaus, and Defendant Colene Venhaus (“Venhaus Defendants”) and Defendant Richard Pontes, Defendant Marian Pontes dba Realty WorldDelta Country (“Pontes Defendants”) (collectively, “Defendants”). The Court notes the procedural objections of Defendants; specifically, the Venhaus Defendants' argument that Plaintiff did not comply with the mandate of Ca...

Excerpt: ...inclined to grant the application, plaintiff neglects several statements from his declaration that are required, pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 484.020 (c)‐(e). (See Judicial Council Form AT‐ 105.) Background Plaintiff brought the complaint in this matter to recover money he invested with defendants in a failed business venture. Central to the dispute is a promissory note executed by plaintiff and each of the Gilads. After an app...

Excerpt: ...e in various ways, primarily focused on the allegation that defendant paid sick leave at the base rate of pay instead of the regular rate of pay. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $3,250,000. The class representative payment to plaintiff would be $10,000. Counsel's attorney's fees would be $1,083,333.33 (one‐third of the settlement). Litigation costs would not exceed $30,000. The settlement administrator (Phoenix) would cap...

Excerpt: ... non‐exempt employees alleging that defendant violated the Labor Code in various ways, including unpaid wages due to rounding and off‐the‐clock work, rest period and meal break violations, and unreimbursed business expenses. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $390,000. The class representative payment to plaintiff would be $10,000. Counsel's attorney's fees would be $130,000 (one‐third of the settlement). Litigation co...

Excerpt: ...e following reasons, Petitioner's Writ of Mandate denied. Petitioner's request for payment of attorney's fees pursuant to Government Code §800 is also denied. Statement of Facts: On September 3, 2020, Petitioner was convicted of violating Vehicle Code §23152 (b) for driving with a blood alcohol content of .08 or more. (Suppl. Points and Authorities in Support of Petition for Writ of Mandate, Ex. C at p.2 (hereinafter “Ex. C”).) This convict...

Excerpt: ... Fact (“UMF”) Nos. 9, 11, 24; Plaintiffs' Additional Fact (“PAF”) Nos. 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 44, 45, 46 47, 65, 66, 74, 75.) Protective's alternative motion for summary adjudication is granted as to the First Cause of Action (UMF 27; PAF 78, 85, 88), the non‐recoverability of Brandt attorney's fees (UMF 5, 16, 27, 30, and 31; PAF 76, 78, 85, 88), and the non ‐recoverability of punitive dam...

Excerpt: ...ntwood facility near Los Angeles in September 2017, when she was 17 years old. Her employment with Westmont ended in May 2020. She filed this lawsuit in July 2021. The complaint makes class action allegations and pleads a single cause of action for violation of the Unfair Competition Law, Business & Professions Code section 17200, et seq. ("UCL") based on Westmont's alleged violation of numerous Labor Code statutes governing wages, hours, and oth...

Excerpt: ...nate forum is a ‘suitable' place for trial. If it is, the next step is to consider the private interests of the litigants and the interests of the public in retaining the action for trial in California. …[Citation.]” (Stangvik v. Shiley Inc. (1991) 54 Cal.3d 744, 751.) “On a motion for forum non conveniens, the defendant, as the moving party, bears the burden of proof.” (Ibid.) The ultimate question is whether the balancing of the Stang...

Excerpt: ...efault judgment was entered on December 14, 2021. Heath filed this motion on March 2, 2022, arguing that service was improper. This motion is based on Code of Civil Procedures sections 418.10, 473(d) and 473.5. The motion also includes section 473(b), but the Court found it unnecessary to consider that subsection. Where there has been proper service of summons, but lack of actual notice, section 473.5 applies. “Discretionary relief based upon a...

Excerpt: ...o to charity upon the deaths of the couple's two adult children. To lawfully avoid the potential massive tax penalties, which could exceed $100M, the Braddock trust developed a two‐step plan to assure the estate passed to the charities. The first step was approval of certain trust modifications by the probate court. The second step involved transferring the family's interest in nine entities from one Braddock family trust (Marital Trust) to ano...