Excerpt: ...claims is granted. The motion to stay the proceedings in this action is granted in part. The PAGA claims asserted in the eighth cause of action of Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint shall be stayed until the arbitration proceeding on Plaintiff's individual claims is fully resolved or November 1, 2022, whichever occurs first. Background Defendant E‐Tech designs, develops and builds clean energy telecommunications and transportation infrastructu...

Excerpt: ...meal breaks, failure to pay wages, and derivative violations. Defendant operates a single El Pollo Loco franchise. The total settlement payment is $65,000. This is composed in part of attorney's fees of $22,750 (35% of the total recovery), $2,500 in litigation costs, and up to $7,500 in costs to the CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 39 HEARING DATE: 01/20/22 ‐ 13 ‐ settlement administrator, ILYM. (ILYM currently est...

Excerpt: ... reside or resided in the apartment building located at 1760 Diane Court in Concord, bring this landlord‐tenant habitability case. The parties have reached an impasse in settlement negotiations. A dispute has arisen regarding the one‐sided attorney's fees provisions in the Mold Notification Addendum and the Bedbug Addendum to the leases. Plaintiffs filed the First Amended Complaint on August 12, 2021, adding the Sixth Cause of Action for Decl...

Excerpt: ...ub was open and incurring the obligation to pay dues and both operational and capital assessments. (Complaint, ¶ 8, 10, 15.) In January 2016, he gave his membership back to the Club without compensation in exchange for becoming a Senior Non‐Equity Member, with limited golfing privileges, in exchange for the promise that his dues would be one‐half that of Regular Equity Members and that he would be liable for only one‐half of operational as...

Excerpt: ... battery (civil), (5) intentional infliction of emotional CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 36 HEARING DATE: 01/20/22 ‐ 10 ‐ distress, and (6) claim for punitive damages. Only the first cause of action for negligence is pled against Defendant. Defendant moves for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) § 438 on the grounds that the Defendant did not owe Plaintiff a duty. As a thres...

Excerpt: ...on District (also “Con Fire”), Contra Costa County, and Erick Hoglund. Erik Hoglund filed a general denial on March 8, 2019. Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint (“FAC”) on March 29, 2019, and while it is unclear the FAC was ever served on Erik Hoglund, the allegations against him are substantially the same in both pleadings. Both the original complaint, as well as the FAC, allege that on 11/16/2017 at or about 12:47 pm Joanna Papageorge...

Excerpt: ...nd. The deadline to amend will be ten days after the date of the hearing on defendant Khawaja's demurrer, currently scheduled for February 9, 2022. Should plaintiff elect not to amend, defendants' time to answer will run from that date. I. Background Sometime during the night of January 31, 2021 or the early morning of February 1, 2021, while plaintiff and his wife were sleeping in their home, defendants Tara Khawaja and Mark Lewis Hinton (collec...

Excerpt: ...nd Stuart Barker are the owners of real property located at 59A Saddle Road in Walnut Creek. Defendants James Willson and Monique Willson are the owners of real property located at 59 Saddle Road. The Barker Property and Willson Property share a driveway and property line at the Willson Property's southern border. There were two easements that burdened the Willson Property, benefitting the Barker Property. Plaintiffs allege Defendants made certai...

Excerpt: ...specificity.” (Plaintiffs' Opposition, filed on 12‐27‐21, p. 2, lines 6‐7.) Many of the specific facts plaintiffs allege, however, concern irrelevant background matters. The Court requests that plaintiffs brief the following matters not addressed with adequate specificity, either in plaintiff's Complaint or in plaintiffs' cursory opposition memoranda. 1. Plaintiffs' Standing. Plaintiffs' allegations and arguments concerning their standing...

Excerpt: ...v. Code § 1788.17; (4) negligence; and (5) Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200. Defendant demurs to all Plaintiffs' causes of action pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) § 430.10(f), and demurs to Plaintiffs third, fourth, and fifth causes of action pursuant to CCP § 4430.10(e) as well. For the following reasons, the Demurrer is sustained, with leave to amend. Legal Standard “The function of a demurrer is to test the sufficiency of the com...

Excerpt: ...e, Mesler v. Bragg Management Co. (1985) 39 Cal.3d 290, 296‐297 [denial of leave to add alter ego theory six weeks before trial was reversible error].) There is an adequate explanation for plaintiffs' delay in seeking leave to amend: this action was stayed for a protracted period of time pending arbitration; plaintiffs gained CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 07 HEARING DATE: 01/14/22 ‐ 4 ‐ new information concern...

Excerpt: ...be remain on calendar and all references to the First Amended Complaint will be to the Second Amended Complaint. The Court will construe the request for summary judgment as one for summary adjudication of all issues, except for the new issues added in CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 07 HEARING DATE: 01/14/22 ‐ 11 ‐ the Second Amended Complaint. (2) The trial date of March 4, 2022 is continued to August 5, 2022. If...

Excerpt: ...of whether the denial of plaintiff's first motion for summary adjudication was with or without prejudice to filing a renewed motion that cured the defects of the first motion. Having looked at the issue now, the Court's preliminary assessment is that plaintiff has impermissibly renewed its previous motion. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (f)(2); Code Civ. Proc., § 1008; Bagley v. TRW, Inc. (1999) 73 Cal.App.4th 1092, 1096 ‐97.) The Court ...

Excerpt: ... declaratory relief against Defendant Bas of Tassajara II Homeowners Association (“HOA”) on November 2, 2018. Plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) on May 20, 2021 which added causes of action for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of the CC&Rs, and negligent failure to maintain and/or repair property. The FAC brought in each of the HOA Board of Directors as a Doe Defendant, including Defendant Shawn Hanshaw (“Defendant” or...

Excerpt: ...conformity with the laws of this state.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 436, subd. (b). Cf. Center for Self‐ Improvement & Community Development v. Lennar Corp. (2009) 173 Cal.App.4th 1543, 1552‐54 [the taking of a default judgment against a suspended corporate defendant is not a statutory right].) Of course, Performance Settlement will not be able to appear at court hearings, and will not be able to effectively represent itself in response to discov...

Excerpt: ...rive, in Walnut Creek. Plaintiff allegedly defaulted on the loan on February 1, 2010. Defendant Attorney Lenders Services, Inc. was appointed as Trustee for the sale. On April 15, 2021, Defendant Attorney Lender Services conducted the Trustee's sale. At the auction, the Property was sold for $950,000 by credit bid from US Bank as Legal Title Trustee for the Truman Trust. The Trustee's Deed Upon Sale was recorded on May 3, 2021. Motion Defendant U...

Excerpt: ...4.) A court must order arbitration if it determines that a valid agreement to arbitrate exists. Here, such agreement exists, as discussed below. Background This lawsuit was filed by plaintiff, Katherine Betz, who is a registered nurse who was employed by defendants from 2006 until 2021. The complaint alleges four causes of action: (1) Retaliation in Violation of Health & Saf. Code § 1278.5, (2) Retaliation in Violation of Cal. Labor Code § 1102...

Excerpt: ...��) Nos. 7, 14‐18, 21‐26, 29, 33, 36; Plaintiff's Additional Fact (“PAF”) Nos. 2‐5, 7‐14.) Background Plaintiff argues he was promised he would be given, and, in part, had already been given, an ownership interest in one of defendant Stephen Sutta's companies, but was never given the share certificates evidencing that interest and did not know that he would never receive the remaining ownership interest or any of the share certificate...

Excerpt: ...cause of action included in this case. Plaintiff sued Defendant for premises liability. Plaintiff was injured when he entered the Goodwill location while a couch was being moved. Plaintiff somehow connected with the couch or the dolly being used to move the couch and was injured in the process. Defendant is moving for summary judgment, arguing that the dangerous condition was open and obvious and thus, it was not foreseeable that Plaintiff would ...

Excerpt: ...nd (2) Responses to Requests for Production of Documents and for sanctions. Defendant has attached verified responses to Plaintiff's Requests for Production of Documents, Set One, and Form Interrogatories‐General, Set One. Defendant‘s Opposition entirely omits any reference to the portion of Plaintiff's motion which asks the court to deem Admissions 1‐10 admitted. Based on the facts below, the motion is denied as to the Requests for Product...

Excerpt: ...iv. Proc., § 437c, subd. (p)(1).) If the plaintiff meets this burden, it is up to the defendant ‘to show that a triable issue of one or more material facts exists as to that cause of action or a defense thereto.' ” (S.B.C.C., Inc. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. (2010) 186 Cal.App.4th 383, 388.) Plaintiff has met its burden on summary judgment by showing that it has evidence to meet all elements of its common counts claim. “An account s...

Excerpt: ...) 25 Cal.4th 826, 850.) If the defendant meets its initial burden, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to establish, through admissible evidence, that one or more material facts is disputed or that the defendant is not entitled to judgment as a matter of law. (See Aguilar, supra.) The admissible evidence that may be considered on a motion for summary judgment includes “affidavits, declarations, admissions, answers to interrogatories, [and] depos...

Excerpt: ...dant BPG in connection with the purchase of a residence by plaintiffs Wei Li and Aaron Hobson. BPG prepared an inspection report for Plaintiffs dated January 28, 2020. They contend BPG failed to detect failures in the foundation of the home that required repairs, though its inspection report stated there were no conditions at the property indicating foundation failures that required repair. (Compl. ¶¶ 7‐9.) Plaintiffs allege causes of action ...

Excerpt: ... was wrongfully “disassociated” to have merit, the petition is granted. Background In 2002, BookFactory was formed. In 2004, when both petitioner and Murray were members, an Amended and Restated Operating Agreement took effect. (Neither side has submitted that document in connection with this proceeding.) In 2009, petitioner divorced from his wife, Patricia, and an Ohio divorce court entered a decree of dissolution adopting a settlement agree...

Excerpt: ...2000 as part of approval of a subdivision map. (FAC ¶¶ 5‐6.) The easement is known as “S‐ 3 Access Condition” and includes the following language: “private right‐of‐way easement shall be left open for pedestrian access between Happy Valley Road and Glen Road”. (FAC ¶6.) The easement route is sometimes called “the Dips” and members of the public “regularly and continuously” use the easement. (FAC ¶16.) Plaintiffs were u...