Excerpt: ... response, plaintiff filed a Request for Dismissal, dismissing the entire action and all causes of action. The Court accepted the request and entered the dismissal on April 10, 2018. Plaintiff now files a motion to set aside the dismissal. He states no facts in support of this motion, however, nor does he argue any legal basis for his motion beyond quoting the California CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 12 HEARING DATE...

Excerpt: ...motion on May 10, 2018, but the parties stipulated to hearing it concurrently with St. Mark Pittsburg's motion. (See Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Capital, LLC v. Danning, Gill, Diamond & Kollitz (2009) 178 Cal.App.4th 1290, 1301 [“The statutorily mandated minimum notice period for summary judgment may be waived by the parties…”].) The Court addresses both motions in this ruling. The motion of St. Mark Pittsburg is granted to the exte...

Excerpt: ...ses of action (and thus as to the complaint as a whole). On still other causes of action the Court denied the motion, but did not view those contentions as frivolous. Having secured a ruling that defendant's anti‐SLAPP motion was frivolous in part, plaintiffs now bring the present motion for attorney fees under subd. (c)(1) of the anti‐SLAPP statute, Code of Civil Procedure § 425.16(c)(1): “If the court finds that a special motion to strik...

Excerpt: ...istricting map by which they argue this could be done, and effectively ask the Court to adopt that map as mandatory. The motion is denied. Plaintiff's Complaint, and the Setting for This Motion Plaintiffs' complaint generally alleges that the District's current at‐large voting structure impermissibly dilutes the votes of racial minorities, namely Latinos and black people. The result of the District's at‐large voting system is that it deprives...

Excerpt: ... 2018. If he does not do so, the third cause of action will be deemed abandoned and crossdefendants must file and serve answers to the FAXC by August 27. The FAXC's first cause of action is for fraud; the second, for fraudulent concealment; and the third, for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The FAXC is lengthy, containing a detailed narrative of Romero's side of the story on this home‐remodeling contractor dispute. His actual CONT...

Excerpt: ...d to judgment as a matter of law. (CCP § 437c (c).) Triable issues of fact exist and/or Wilmington has not established it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. (See law discussed below and Disputed Material Fact Nos. 1, 2, and 6; Plaintiff's Ex. 14, p. 3 (disclosing the Smith Deed of Trust); Ex. A to Bone Decl. filed 4/23/18, Fama Depo., at 19:8‐20:5; 22:5‐23:10; 43:9‐44:14; 51:25‐52:4; 58:3‐11; 59:1‐8; 61:6‐10; 69:10‐20; 7...

Excerpt: ...nd provides a declaration of a process server saying as much. The process server also says that a proof of service was mailed to Attorney Higgins, who formerly represented plaintiff Williams. Attorney Higgins died in CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 39 HEARING DATE: 06/28/18 ‐ 2 ‐ early 2018. Williams also argues that by virtue of the large number of coordinated cases making essentially the same claims about the 20...

Excerpt: ...thew and Arlene Sirott Family Trust, filed a cross‐complaint, against Dr. Patel, as a manager of 400 Taylor Holdings, LLC. Dr. Sirott's cross‐complaint is a derivative suit on behalf of 400 Taylor Holdings, LLC (“400 Taylor”), named as a nominal cross‐defendant. The cross‐complaint alleges Dr. Patel caused harm to 400 Taylor by improperly failing to consider the CRTC Lease Proposal to lease the vacant suite in the 400 Taylor building....

Excerpt: ...try on March 22, 2017 into a Memorandum of Understanding with real party in interest Pacific Gas and Electric (“PG&E”). EBRPD demurrers to the second cause of action on the grounds that (1) the cause of action to set aside project approval as contrary to planning and zoning law and park district ordinance 38 fails as a matter of law because (a) the park's decision is not subject to the City's general plan and tree protection ordinance and (b)...

Excerpt: ...had a personal relationship, obtained entry to his house wrongfully, after their relationship ended, by using a realtor to provide access through a lock box while the property was being listed for sale. Actual damages are not an element of either cause of action. (Kornoff v. Kingsburg Cotton Oil Co. (1955) 45 Cal.2d 265 (trespass); Fairfield v. American Photocopy Equipment Co. (1955) 138 Cal.App.2d 82, 88 (invasion of privacy).) Further, each cau...

Excerpt: ... that no one did so. Finally, he attaches documents from the same process server in another case in which a motion to quash was granted. While Defendant asserts that there was a finding in that case that the process server's proof of service was false, the documents provided show no such finding. Plaintiff has responded to the motion with a proof of service by a registered process server, which establishes a presumption of valid service. (Evidenc...

Excerpt: ...t they have been willing to stipulate to a stay of this action all along. Dismissal under Section 583.150 Trilogy contends that the Court ought to exercise its discretion under CCP section 583.150 and dismiss this action with prejudice. The Court declines to exercise its discretion in that manner. Section 583.150 affirms that the Court has inherent discretionary authority to dismiss an action. Pearlson v. Does 1 to 646 (1999) 76 Cal.App.4th 1005,...

Excerpt: ...ed to comply with Code of Civil Procedure section 415.50 before serving by publication. Second, Acosta contends that Dorsey did not comply with the Court's February 14 Order concerning service by CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 33 HEARING DATE: 06/28/18 ‐ 18 ‐ publication. The Court's February 14 Order The February 14 Order required Dorsey to: (1) Publish the summons, complaint, and statement of damages in the Con...

Excerpt: ...C (“Leisure”) moves to strike the prayer for punitive damages (made as a check mark on a form complaint) from Plaintiff's Complaint. The issue presented is whether Plaintiff has pleaded sufficient facts to warrant recovery of punitive damages. Relevant Allegations Plaintiff alleges she was a hotel guest at the Clarion Inn on October 16, 2015, and she was sexually assaulted during her stay by a third party. (Complaint Attachment p. 1.) Plainti...

Excerpt: ..., that they are not shown to be reasonably necessary. No particular objection to any proposed cost is raised. Plaintiffs have responded with significant documentation of the fees. Harris has not replied. The matters for which reimbursement is sought all appear to fall within categories eligible for recovery, and were reasonably necessary, with the exception of $16,966.12 in costs for ordering medical and other records The expense for document sub...

Excerpt: ...ts administrators or directors of care, Mark Callaway and Phylene Sunga. Defendants argue that neither count states a cause of action, and both need to be alleged more specifically. Defendants further argue that plaintiff may not sue the individual defendants. First Cause of Action, Elder Abuse The demurrer to this cause of action is overruled. Plaintiff alleges she was injured on August 8, 2015 while she was a resident at Lone Tree's skilled nur...

Excerpt: ...tration as an expeditious and costeffective way of resolving disputes.” (Avila v. Southern California Specialty Care, Inc. (2018) 20 Cal.App.5th 835, 843.) “Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.2 requires a trial court to grant a petition to compel arbitration ‘if [the court] determines that an agreement to arbitrate the controversy exists.' (Code Civ. Proc., § 1281.2.)” (Hernandez v. Ross Stores, Inc. (2016) 7 Cal.App.5th 171, 176.) “...

Excerpt: ...osed. For the following reasons, the MSJ is granted. At the outset, the Court notes that Plaintiff's Exhibits to the Hennessee Declaration in support of the MSJ are not tabbed, in violation of Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1110, subd. (f). See also Local Rule 3.42, subd. (3). Defendants are directed to tab their exhibits in all future filings or risk monetary sanctions. Standard Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) §§ 437c(c) provides, in relevant...

Excerpt: ...ly rent in the amount of $2883 payable on the 30th day of each month. The rent shall be paid to the law firm of McCarthy & Holthus, LLP, who shall hold all accumulating rent in its trust account, subject to further order of the Court. Upon entry of judgment in this action, the accumulated rent shall be paid to the prevailing party. Third, Plaintiff shall file and serve a declaration under penalty of perjury, every two months, confirming that all ...

Excerpt: ...ing documents on a “rolling” basis pursuant to the subpoena. The Court will consider Plaintiff's request for attorney's fees for the period prior to February 2018 which were necessitated by Merrill Lynch's initial delay in responding to the subpoena. Parties to appear to address attorney's fees. ...

Excerpt: ...e argument for its relevance, and the Court assumes that the interrogatory responses might be helpful to plaintiff on the summary judgment motion. What plaintiff does not do, however, is to demonstrate any plausible excuse for not having sought this discovery more timely. As Jacobs points out, this is an unusual case in that his summary judgment motion has been in plaintiff's hands since last September. Plaintiff responded to it fully in January ...

Excerpt: ...of the Order After Hearing hereon. HOLA Preemption Wells first argues that the entire FAC is preempted by the federal Home Owners Loan Act (HOLA), 12 USC §§ 1461 et seq., and its implementing regulation, 12 CFR § 560.2. See generally, e.g., Lopez v. World S&L (2003) 105 Cal.App.4th 729. Such preemption is limited to federal savings banks, which Wells admittedly is not. Wells Fargo nevertheless argues that HOLA preemption applies here because t...

Excerpt: ...30 days after service of the Order After Hearing hereon. If he elects not to do so, the case will be dismissed. Defendants' attorney, Thomas Crowell, submitted a declaration showing compliance with the meet and confer requirements in Code of Civil Procedure § 430.41. Plaintiff submitted a declaration stating that he does not recall Crowell calling him on April 11, 2018 to discuss the FAC. The Court accepts Crowell's statement that he discussed t...

Excerpt: ...arge voting structure impermissibly dilutes the votes of racial minorities, namely Latinos and blacks. The result of the District's at‐large voting system is that it deprives racial minorities of the opportunity to elect the trustees that comprise the District's five‐member Board. The District's Board governs five cities – Richmond, San Pablo, Hercules, El Cerrito, and Pinole – and eight unincorporated areas. The totality of the circumsta...

Excerpt: ...TE: 06/22/18 ‐ 2 ‐ (2) for defendants to cure the existing default on the mortgage (which defendants were supposed to pay, but on which plaintiff was the obligor); and (3) for defendants, if possible, to arrange to refinance the house or assume the mortgage, so as to relieve plaintiff of any debt obligation as to the property. If defendants did not cure the mortgage default, or if they did not or could not arrange to get plaintiff off the loa...

Excerpt: ... of the Court's prior grant of leave to amend. (The Court notes with disapproval that neither side has filed and served an Order After Hearing concerning either of those rulings.) In the meantime, however, the principal statute underlying plaintiffs' claims (Civil Code § 2923.6) ceased to be in force, having reached its sunset date without re‐enactment (at least not under the same section number). At a CMC in January the Court directed the att...

Excerpt: ...kground On Monday, January 25, 2016, plaintiff was walking west, on the north sidewalk of Olympic Boulevard in Walnut Creek, California, just west of South Main Street. (Undisputed Material Fact (“UMF”) Nos. 2, 3.) As she was approaching the scene of the accident, she noticed a metal pole bent at an angle in her path of travel, approximately 50 feet in front of her. (UMF No. 3; see Ex. 5 to O'Donnell Decl. filed 6/8/18.) She believed she coul...

Excerpt: ...act nothing of the kind was attached or otherwise filed. Defendant does belatedly provide the proof of service now, however, as well as a declaration stating that a notice of motion bearing the date and time was served. In any event, it is apparent that plaintiff has been able to ascertain the date and respond to the motion. Plaintiff has also belatedly served discovery responses, none of which includes any objections. That moots the motion. Defe...

Excerpt: ...ill resend (and revise) the mailing, using both reported addresses for Ms. Toy. She is admonished, however, that if she wants to receive the court's mailings, she must see to it that she updates her address in the court's files. For the same reason, the Court is concerned to ensure that the 1390 Market address is a valid address for service of any papers on Ms. Toy. If that is not confirmed, then the present motions would have to be denied for la...

Excerpt: ...Dolores Street Community Services (together, “Wells”) when deciding Lillian Larios's motion and the evidence submitted by Larios when deciding Wells' motion. This appears to have been the intent of the defendants – Larios referenced evidence submitted by Wells in her motion, and Wells filed a joinder to Larios' motion. However, this intent was not clearly stated in the notice of motions and the Court wants to avoid any prejudice to Plaintif...

Excerpt: ...ich the unlimited action is pending [1] may stay the unlawful detainer action until the issue of title CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 33 HEARING DATE: 06/21/18 ‐ 6 ‐ is resolved in the unlimited action, or [2] it may consolidate the actions. [Bracketed numbers added.] Martin‐Bragg v. Moore (2013) 219 Cal.App.4th 367, 385. While Martin‐Bragg and other cases mention consolidation as a theoretical possibility, p...

Excerpt: ...rally construed, with a view toward substantial justice.” (Stevens v. Superior Court (1999) 75 Cal.App.4th 594, 601.) Plaintiff Howard S. Leight & Associates, Inc. dba Leight Capital brings this action to quiet title to real property commonly known as 1100 Russelman Park Road in Clayton. Plaintiff seeks title, free and clear of all right, title, liens, and interests in the property created between 3‐14‐ 2001 and 2‐23‐2011. Plaintiff's o...

Excerpt: ...ertainty and the failure to state a claim. The Court refers to the property currently owned by Plaintiff as “Plaintiff's Property”, and not as the “disputed slice”. The property currently owned by Klamczynska and Klamczynski is referred to as Lot 9. And the property currently owned by the Oznowiczes is referred to as Lot 8. Plaintiff argues that his property became landlocked in 1967 when Lots 8 and 9 engaged in a lot line adjustment and ...

Excerpt: ...t petition before the Court by way of a noticed motion. The Court has considered carefully the material the parties have presented, and rules as follows. Background Work and Injury History Fernandez began working for Contra Costa County in either 1996 or 1998. (The briefing and the administrative record diverge on this date. For purposes of this ruling, the distinction is immaterial.) On three separate occasions, she was injured at work. In July ...

Excerpt: ...hed to Defendants' pleadings belies this argument, which the Court finds disingenuous. The email from Plaintiff dated May 10, 2018, (Exhibit D to the moving papers), unequivocally extends to May 18, 2018 Defendants time to respond to the Second Amended Complaint. The parties had been in the process of discussing the possible demurrer to the Second Amended Complaint. Plaintiff's “surprise attack” of filing the Request to Enter Default on May 1...

Excerpt: ...urt notes that Kessler filed a reply brief supporting the antiSLAPP motion on June 12, 2018. The reply was due to be filed on June 11, 2018. The Court strikes the late‐filed reply brief and declines to consider it. Section 425.16(f) As a preliminary matter, the Court rejects Longmire's position that CCP section 425.16(f) requires the Court to deny the motion. Section 425.16(f) imposes a requirement on the clerk of the court to schedule an anti�...

Excerpt: ...eir motion is not tabbed, in violation of Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1110, subd. (f). See also Local Rule 3.42, subd. (3). Defendants are directed to tab their exhibits in all future filings or risk monetary sanctions. Standard Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) §§ 437c(o)(1) and 437c(p)(2) provide the relevant legal standard for deciding the MSJ. Section 437c(o)(1) provides, in relevant part: A cause of action has no merit if one or more of ...

Excerpt: ...ovide a formal response to Plaintiffs' Second Request for Production of Documents which complies with the Code of Civil Procedure as previously ordered by the Court. A judge has broad discretion to impose sanctions for violations of court orders, including those intended to compel compliance with a party's disclosure and discovery obligations. The Court has the authority to impose more drastic sanctions, such as issue sanctions, evidence sanction...

Excerpt: ...ion of Business and Professions Code section 17200 et seq.). The Court addresses each cause of action separately below. Breach of Contract In light of the Court's ruling on Kessler's anti‐SLAPP motion, the Court need not, and therefore does not, address the demurrer to the breach of contract cause of action pled in Longmire's cross‐complaint. Fraud It appears that the cross‐complaint attempts to state a claim for fraud based on one or more ...

Excerpt: ...er, never filed the settlement agreement itself, or any § 664.6 judgment thereon. Nor did the Notice inform the Court of any of the terms of the settlement, beyond reporting that the date by which a final dismissal of the case would be filed was March 15, 2017. In particular, there is nothing by which the Court reserved jurisdiction to enforce the settlement. Because March 15 came and went with no dismissal filed, the Court sent an OSC why the c...

Excerpt: ... the other case were not pending. In this case, Uecker (as liquidating trustee) is suing defendants Ng and Wild Game to collect on a note and guaranty made by defendants in favor of Horwitz. Defendants are defending the case on the theory that the purported note and guaranty were sham transactions intended to conceal Horwitz's alleged equity participation in Wild Game by falsely depicting Horwitz's involvement as a debt. The Court of Appeal has h...

Excerpt: ... motion was not filed until May 2. Plaintiffs' reply asserts that the 30‐day deadline in the Local Rule is “intended as a deadline for a party to raise objection to the facilitator's recommendation, not the filing of a motion to compel after participation in the program.” The plain language of the Rule is contrary; it states that the 30‐day deadline is for filing and service of “a formal Discovery Motion”. That means either a motion t...

Excerpt: ...o sanctions are awarded. In the event that defendant has served responses prior to the hearing, no matters will be deemed admitted, but sanctions are awarded to Plaintiff in the amount of $1,000. The Court has read defendant's opposition brief, laying out in general terms the reasons why defendant thinks plaintiff should not be suing her. None of that is before the Court on this motion, however, and none of it bears on the present motion. This mo...

Excerpt: ... might be (at least part of) Bidsmart's response. There is nothing in the declaration identifying what that page is, though, let alone authenticating it under oath as accurate and complete. On the contrary, the page is presented simply as part of a meet‐andconfer letter. Without more, the Court has no way of reliably knowing what responses Bidsmart made or didn't make, let alone judging whether they are appropriate or not. The Court also notes ...

Excerpt: ...AC until their reply. As best the Court can tell, defendants seek to strike the FAC because it is a sham pleading – by which defendants apparently mean nothing more than that the FAC is defective for the reasons argued in their demurrer. The Court rules on the demurrer in Line 20. The motion to strike adds nothing. CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 12 HEARING DATE: 06/15/18 ‐ 34 ‐ 22. TIME: 9:00 CASE#: MSC17‐015...

Excerpt: ...2 ‐ Code of Civil Procedure § 436(b) permits the court to grant, or deny, a motion to strike if the challenged pleading is not in conformity with an order of the court. However, It is the policy of the law to favor, wherever possible, a hearing on the merits, and appellate courts are much more disposed to affirm an order where the result is to compel a trial upon the merits than they are when the judgment by default is allowed to stand and it ...

Excerpt: ... claim for punitive damages from Plaintiff's complaint. Following that Order, on February 28, 2018, Plaintiff filed a first amended complaint (“FAC”) that, by comparison to the original complaint, substantially increases the factual allegations supporting a prayer for punitive damages in this case. Plaintiff's FAC alleges that Plaintiff, then a 5th or 6th grade student at the School, was subjected to disability discrimination after he slipped...

Excerpt: ...denied in all other respects. The Court starts with the observation that this motion represents a failure to meet and confer. There is no formal requirement to do so in this setting, but prudent counsel on both sides would have given it more of a try before proceeding with motion practice. Probably the parties would have had to litigate at least the § 998 issue (absent a compromise of the issue, which was certainly a possibility). But a couple o...

Excerpt: ...n Loan Servicing, LLC (“Defendant” or “Shellpoint”). The Demurrer relates to the Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) filed by Plaintiff Dean Oduah (“Plaintiff” or “Oduah”). The SAC pleads causes of action for (1) breach of contract; (2) promissory estoppel; (3) negligent failure to fulfill promise; (4) breach of contract & interference with 3rd party beneficiary contract; (5) negligent misrepresentation in loan modification; (6) ...

Excerpt: ...his is because California law has a strong preference for resolving disputes on their merits. Fasuyi v. Permatex, Inc. (2008) 167 Cal.App.4th 681, 696. The answer included with the moving papers is deemed filed and served on all parties who have appeared in this action as of the date of this order. The Court sets a case management conference for 9:00 a.m. in Department 15 on August 9, 2018. At that time, the parties should be prepared to set a tr...