Excerpt: ...lleging two causes of action, trespass and nuisance. He alleges that Kalin rides his bicycle on a private road, Calle Arroyo, in the residential community known as Diablo, and that he encourages others to do so in violation of a judgment by the Court in a related action which declared that Calle Arroyo is private and not subject to a general right of access or use by the public. The anti‐SLAPP motion was not directed at the trespass cause of ac...

Excerpt: ...d, “Clergy Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Diocese of Oakland, Diocese of San Jose.” Defendants included Plaintiff's photograph as one of the 135 priests who had been accused of sexual abuse. Plaintiff's picture is mistakenly included as the picture of “Fr. Edward F. Beutner.” Additionally, Plaintiff's photograph was displayed during a news conference held by Defendants and appeared on the front page of the East Bay Time...

Excerpt: ...sician who interacted with plaintiff only on March 14, 2017, but did not take over plaintiff's cardiology care because plaintiff elected to keep Dr. Tsang as her cardiologist then. Plaintiff's expert has not established he knows anything about the role of on‐call cardiologists in the United States or what the standard of care is for telephone consultations obtained from on‐call cardiologists by emergency room doctors in the United States. (Se...

Excerpt: ...der to show cause (“OSC”) on August 19, 2020. The OSC concerned defendant's unexcused failure to appear at the further case management conference on August 18, 2020. The OSC directed defendant to appear at a CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 36 HEARING DATE: 02/22/21 ‐ 9 ‐ hearing on September 22, 2020, and to file a written response to the OSC by September 15, 2020, five court days before the hearing. On Septem...

Excerpt: ...edural Grounds Code of Civil Procedure section 437c(f)(2) provides, in relevant part, “A motion for summary adjudication may be made by itself or as an alternative to a motion for summary judgment and shall proceed in all procedural respects as a motion for summary judgment.” (Emphasis added.) The Motion here purports to be made in the alternative, but requests both summary adjudication and summary judgment as to separate pleadings. Specifica...

Excerpt: ...(See Goodman v. Kennedy (1976) 18 Cal.3d 335, 349.) Introduction Plaintiff, Tarrar Enterprises, sues its insurer, Associated Indemnity Corp. (“AIC”), for property damage and other losses caused by the Covid‐19 epidemic and/or resulting shelter in place orders. AIC demurs to the complaint, arguing that the pandemic and the orders have not caused “direct physical loss or physical damage,” which is a prerequisite to coverage. Plaintiff arg...

Excerpt: ...) – sustained, with leave to amend, but demurrers for uncertainty overruled. Factual Background Plaintiff Liberty Business Advisors of San Francisco, Inc. ("Liberty") is a licensed California real estate broker. It alleges the company was engaged by defendant Mr. Nguyen to sell his business pursuant to a written Representation Agreement dated June 20, 2019. Plaintiff alleges five causes of action in its complaint for breach of contract, breach ...

Excerpt: ... sessions was recommended. The second deep cleaning resulted in bleeding that lasted for several hours and at the third cleaning, Plaintiff refused service and requested a different dentist. In July 2019, Defendant referred Plaintiff to UCSF because, she alleges, “Western Dental realized that the treatment they had recommended was not the right treatment” for her symptoms. Plaintiff therefore seeks damages for the medical (dental) malpractice...

Excerpt: ...nd confer before filing this demurrer were insufficient. Counsel failed to engage in such efforts “in person or by telephone.” (Code Civ. Proc., §430.41(a).) However, failure to meet and confer in compliance with the statute is not a permissible basis for either sustaining or overruling a demurrer. Given the improbability that meeting and conferring in the correct format would change the results here, the Court proceeds with its ruling. Back...

Excerpt: ...ga, which the town rejected. This lawsuit followed. Standards for Ruling on Demurrer In ruling on the demurrer, the Court must accept as true all well‐pled factual allegations of the complaint, but not legal or factual conclusions or contentions of law. (City of Dinuba v. County of Tulare (2007) 41 Cal.4th 859, 865; Carloss v. County of Alameda (2015) 242 Cal.App.4th 116, 123 [citing Blank v. Kirwan (1985) 39 Cal.3d 311, 318].) In determining w...

Excerpt: ...e to provide accurate itemized wage statements. The total settlement payment is $127,500. This is composed of $50,000 in PAGA penalties (of which 75% will be paid to the LWDA, and the aggrieved employees will receive 25%, allocated based on the number of pay periods that they worked), $50,000 in attorney's fees and costs, $2,500 in costs to the settlement administrator, Phoenix, and $25,000 to plaintiff in exchange for her individual claims. Plai...

Excerpt: ... provide meal periods and rest breaks. Specific allegations include, but are not limited to, alleging that defendant had a policy of failing to pay commission employees separately for rest periods. PAGA notice was provided to the LWDA on August 1, 2019. The parties informal discovery in preparation for mediation, and eventually reached a resolution with the assistance of an experienced mediator. CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DE...

Excerpt: ...rs at the Chevron refinery in Richmond. Plaintiffs challenge Defendant Chevron's practice of scheduling refinery Operators for mandatory “standby” shifts and failing to pay the required reporting time pay. Pursuant to Paragraph 5 of the Wage Order 1‐2001, an employee is entitled to reporting time pay when he or she “is required to report for work and does report, but is not put to work or is furnished less than half said employee's usual ...

Excerpt: ... supplemental information. Plaintiff filed a supplemental declaration and memorandum for this hearing. A. Background and Settlement Terms The original complaint was filed May 3, 2019. It is a class action complaint alleging failure to pay wages and/or overtime, failure to provide meal periods and rest breaks, failure to provide appropriate wage statements and failure to reimburse necessary business expenses. A Second Amended Complaint was filed o...

Excerpt: ...and were directed to send the court the names of 3 qualified nominees, along with their hourly rates. On July 8, 2020, the court selected Judge Hight, a referee nominated by the defendants. Plaintiff timely prepared the order. Unfortunately, the court was slow to process it and the order was not filed until September 2, 2020. The order appoints Judge Hight “pursuant to CCP 639(a)(5) to serve as discovery referee for the management of all discov...

Excerpt: ...‐bedroom ground‐floor apartment. On the morning of November 19, 2015, a neighbor saw Plaintiff Noe Silva outside trying to access his apartment via a window and called the San Pablo Police Department to report a possible break‐in. SPPD dispatched officers. At least six officers responded. The officers called out a canine announcement in English. Plaintiff Noe Silva did not respond. Plaintiff was in a locked bedroom. The officers opened the ...

Excerpt: ... the three plaintiffs and used by another to mine sand from the bottom of the San Francisco Bay for sale to a third, related company. CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 33 HEARING DATE: 02/11/21 ‐ 2 ‐ Resolution of the cross‐motions turns on the question whether the sand is considered “freight” under a constitutional exemption from property taxes for vessels “engaged in the transportation of freight” when t...

Excerpt: ...ent was that the contract between the parties included a duty for Interactive to defend the District in the underlying action between Roebbelen and the District. Of course, in ruling on the MJoP, the Court was not permitted to consider evidence. Now, the District moves for summary adjudication, seeking a decision on an issue of duty; namely, that Interactive owes it a duty to defend the Roebbelen lawsuit under the relevant contract, and given the...

Excerpt: ..., meal and rest periods, proper wage statements, and reimbursement of employee business expenses. The case does not include a claim under PAGA. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $1,500,000. The class representative payment would be $15,000. Counsel's attorney's fees would be $600,000 (40% of the settlement). Litigation costs would not exceed $75,000. The settlement administrator (Phoenix Settlement Administrators), would cap ...

Excerpt: ...ling to provide meal and rest periods, and premium pay. PAGA allegations were added in the Second Amended Complaint, filed September 14, 2020. The submitted materials do not document that initial PAGA notices or notice of the settlement were provided to the LWDA. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $630,000. The class representative payment would be $7,500. Counsel's attorney's fees would be $210,000 (33% of the settlement). Li...

Excerpt: ...filed this petition, seeking a writ of mandate compelling removal of the LAVD initiative, naming the City of Antioch, the City Clerk, and the County Clerk‐Recorder as respondents, and the LAVD sponsor (itself called Let Antioch Voters Decide) as real parties in interest. The petition alleged that the LAVD initiative violated state law, specifically Government Code section 66300. On August 31, 2020, Oak Hill Park filed an ex parte application fo...

Excerpt: ...reassert a demand for punitive damages if Plaintiff can demonstrate he can allege facts sufficient to support such relief under Civil Code § 3294. Paragraph 3 of the prayer for relief at page 8, line 19 of the FAC, which states "3. For punitive and exemplary damages as may be just and proper," is hereby stricken. FAC Allegations Relevant to Motion Plaintiff alleges he purchased a ladder from defendants which defendants designed, manufactured, an...

Excerpt: ...is case. (See, Farmers Ins. Exchange v. Superior Court (1992) 2 Cal.4th 377.) Defendant General Logistics Systems, U.S.'s demurrer is sustained with leave to amend as to cause of action one and otherwise overruled. Plaintiff may file and serve an amended complaint by March 4, 2021. CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 39 HEARING DATE: 02/11/21 ‐ 12 ‐ Judicial Abstention “[A] trial court may abstain from adjudicating ...

Excerpt: ...ion. Code Civ. Proc., § 1281.2 provides that when none of the statutory exceptions apply, “On petition of a party to an arbitration agreement alleging the existence of a written agreement to arbitrate a controversy and that a party to the agreement refuses to arbitrate that controversy, the court shall order the petitioner and the respondent to arbitrate the controversy if it determines that an agreement to arbitrate the controversy exists.”...

Excerpt: ...iscussed below. Relevant Background On March 9, 2018 cross‐ defendants Greg and Jennifer Jerum (“Jerums” or “Buyers”) entered into a contract for the purchase of vacant land from cross‐complainant, First Group Investments, LLC (“First Group”). The legal description of the property set forth in the agreement did not include certain adjacent vacant areas that formed part of a roadway abandoned by the City of Richmond in 1963 (“Aba...