Excerpt: ...ew Dau ghters as individual defendants, add a cause of action for intentional tort against them, and to seek punitive damages against Martina Animal Rescue and the individual board members. Defendant Martina Animal Rescue opposes the motion on several grounds inc luding inadequate counsel declaration and substantive challenges to the proposed causes of action against Laura Plunkett and Matthew Daughters. For the following reasons, the motion is g...

Excerpt: ...uit in May 2023, alleging nine causes of action against Hagar, including Breach of Contract (C/A 1), Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing (C/A 2), Conversion (C/A 3), Financial Elder Abuse (C/A 4 and 5), Fraud (C/A 6 and 7), Negligent Mis representation (C/A 8 and 9). Hadar answered the complaint in July 2023. Hagar then filed a separate unlawful detainer action in October of 2023 (MS23 -0864). In the UD complaint, Hagar...

Excerpt: ...ns alleging various v iolations of the Labor Code. This case, No. C23 -02498, is filed as a class action. The other, No. C23 - 03184, is filed as a PAGA -only case, but asserts essentially the same set of violations of the law. Although the cases would call for different treatment if AAA's motion to compel arbitration were to be granted, the cases raise essentially the same issues. Defendant's motion is denied. A court must order arbitration if...

Excerpt: ...fications needed to be included as part of the “project” as described in the EIR; (2) include consideration of Unit 250 in the cumulative impacts analysis; and (3) reconsider the Odor Prevention and Management Plan. The lengthy background of these orders is included in the Court's Statement of Decision and will not be repeated here. In response, respondents certified a Revised EIR that does the following: (1) concludes that the NuStar Termi...

Excerpt: ...levant time s” as an hourly-paid or nonSUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 12 JUDICIAL OFFICER: CHARLES S TREAT HEARING DATE: 02/29/2024 22 exempt employee. While Defendant is a Utah limited liability company, Plaintiff worked for Defendant in California. In May 2022, Defendant required all new employees to agree to the terms of a 25 -page document containing various policies and agreements titled the “Ap...

Excerpt: ...igence, int entional misrepresentation, and negligent misrepresentation. Defendants Shapell Industries and Toll Brothers move to compel arbitration of Plaintiff's claims and stay the action pending arbitration. Plaintiff opposes the motion. For the following reasons, the motion is granted. Request for Judicial Notice Defendants' unopposed request for judicial notice is granted. (Evid. Code §§ 452, 453.) Analysis Legal Standard on Motions to Com...

Excerpt: ..., however: T he Court believes that the analysis provided below should assist the parties in resolving most if not all of the open points of debate, and should provide a road map for how the sides can go about getting to a bottom -line result as to fees. Accordingly, the parties are SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 12 JUDICIAL OFFICER: CHARLES S TREAT HEARING DATE: 02/29/2024 39 directed to engage in subst...

Excerpt: ...ney's fe es, litigation costs, administration costs, and representative payment. The motion is granted with a modification. 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 c oncerning failure to provide rest and meal breaks, failure to pay minimum wages and overtime, and cascading derivative violations. In particular, plaintiff asserts alleged violations ...

Excerpt: ...d file an amend ed cross-complaint. If they decline to do so, Cross -Defendants' time to answer the surviving counts will run from then. Judicial Notice Cross- Defendants request Judicial Notice of a Lease and Lease Amendment between Cross -Defendant 1403 Locust Street LLC a nd Cross-Complainants Taleb and Abughaban. The lease agreements are not attached to the cross -complaint but they are directly referred to in it, and are the basis for two o...

Excerpt: ...o comply w ith mandated reporter law, (7) concealment, and (8) negligent misrepresentation. Defendants demur to Plaintiff's cause of action for (2) breach of contract and (4) IIED pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) § 430.10(e) on several grounds. As a threshold issue, the meet and confer in this case does not meet with the technical requirements of CCP § 430.41(a), which requires that “the demurring party shall meet and confer in...

Excerpt: ... to strike are gran ted. Considering plaintiff has had multiple attempts to allege the requisite facts, the demurrer is sustained without leave to amend. Should plaintiff have any facts that she could plead to remedy the deficiencies herein, she may come to the hearing prepa red to present those facts and, ideally, include them in any request to contest this tentative. Otherwise, defendants shall file their answers on or SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIF...

Excerpt: ...epresentation ; and (4) negligence. Cross- Defendant demurs to each of the causes of action. On the same date Calicraft filed its opposition papers, it also filed a Request for Dismissal of the false promise and negligent misrepresentation causes of action. As such, th e Court will only address the demurrer with respect to the concealment and negligence claims. Mr. Cormier's demurrer is sustained with leave to amend for the reasons set forth be...

Excerpt: ...s consolid ated and it may make such orders concerning proceedings therein as may tend to avoid unnecessary costs or delay." (CCP § 1048(a).) Under California Rules of Court, rule 3.350, a notice of a motion to consolidate must: (A) list all named parties in each ca se, the names of parties who have appeared, and the names of the parties' respective attorneys of record; (B) contain the captions of all cases sought to be consolidated, wit...

Excerpt: ...a Spears , Olajuwon Spears, Shante Ray Jackson, LaShanda Ray, and Latondiwe Hasty (collectively, the “Beneficiaries”), in a Wills and Trust case filed in Contra Costa County (Case no. P21 -00824). (¶ 5.) The matter pertained to a Trust established by the parents/gra ndparents of the Beneficiaries – Willie L. Spears St. and Bobbie Jean Spears. (Ibid.) In accordance with the Beneficiaries SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY...

Excerpt: ...d part and denied in part. Weed shall answer the FAXC no later than March 8, 2024. Background Plaintiff Weed and Defendant Mendes are former law partners of Mendes Weed, LLP whose relationship deteriorated. In or around September 19, 2022, the parties began negotiating regarding the dissolution of the firm. For approximately two months, the parties negotiated an agreement to wind up the law partnership. These negotiations culminated in an agreem...

Excerpt: ... inform gift of public funds, that it does not state sufficient facts to constitute a cause of action (CCP § 430.10(e)), and that is it is uncertain (CCP § 430.10(e)). For the following reasons, the Demurrer is sustained SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 18 JUDICIAL OFFICER: DANIELLE K DOUGLAS HEARING DATE: 02/23/2024 without leave to amend. Joinder by Contra Costa County The Court grants Defendant Contra...

Excerpt: ...nt City's certification of the P lan Orinda Final Environmental Impact Report/Responses to Comments on the Draft EIR ("FEIR") in connection with the approval of zoning modifications and general plan amendments (the "Project" or "Plan Orinda") approved on January 31, 2023. (Administrative Record ("AR") 1-116.) OSEE contends the City failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act, Public Resources C...

Excerpt: ... governing these employment relationships at the time of the asserted claims. Plaintiff thereafter filed a claim in arbitration with the American Arbitration Association (AAA). Defendant has refused to participate in that arbitration proceeding, to respond to the arbitra tion claim, or to pay AAAA's fees. Hence, plaintiff has filed the present motion to vacate the Court's prior order compelling arbitration, asking instead that this case proceed...

Excerpt: ...s member s. None of the packets was returned as undeliverable. No objections or requests to opt out have been received. The motion is granted. A. Background and Settlement Terms The pleadings do not identify what business defendant is in, but from its website it is apparently in the business of locating buried utility lines for construction. The complaint alleges that plaintiff was employed at defendant during the relevant period, though it does ...

Excerpt: ...P ruling tha t denied defendant's anti -SLAPP motion in part. Any renewal or amendment of the motion will be deemed timely by relation back to this motion. This case arises from a dispute between plaintiff SMP Construction and defendant Donna Holsten. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 12 JUDICIAL OFFICER: CHARLES S TREAT HEARING DATE: 02/22/2024 22 Holsten hired SMP to do some foundation work on her home. A...

Excerpt: ...ey do not do so, Mitchell is given a further 28 days after that in which to answer the remaining counts of the cross -complaint. Background and the Pleadings This case arises from the buyout of plaintiff Mitchell's majority ownership in SPC, a painting contracting busine ss. SPC was founded by Mitchell and run by him until 2019. It encountered a number of business difficulties, including incurring substantial losses; being subject to an audit con...

Excerpt: ...h, the demurrer by Budde and Ross to the first and second causes of action is sustained without leave to amend. If plaintiff contests the tentative to seek leave to amend, he should come to the hearing prepared to discuss in detail what he has in mind and how it will be sufficient. Budde does not demur to the third cause of action for negligence, which is asserted only against Ross. To the extent that Ross's cursory filing can be taken as demur...

Excerpt: ...s denied as to the first and eleventh causes of action. If plaintiff contests this tentative to seek leave to amend those counts, he should come to the hearing prepared to discuss in detail how he proposes to amend, and how that will suffice. Because this is the firs t challenge to the complaint, plaintiff is given leave to amend as to all remaining causes of action. Plaintiff shall file and serve any amended complaint by March 21, 2024. Shoul...

Excerpt: ...ty to e nforce all its conditions for the development of that specific property. The defendant City of Lafayette opposes the petition on the bases that plaintiff did not exhaust her administrative remedies and that the court is without authority to order the City to remove structures already built as such an order violates the rights of the property owners at 4069 Happy Valley Road. For the reasons et forth below, the court denies the petition f...

Excerpt: ...iracy and alter ego theories. (Notice of Demurrer p. 2: 1 -11.) For the following reasons, the Demurrer is overruled as to the breach of written contract and voidable transfer causes of action and sustained as to the breach of oral contract, concealment(fraud) , promissory estoppel, and unjust enrichment causes of action. Meet and Confer Requirement Defendants satisfied their meet and confer requirement regarding their demurrer in detailing thei...