Excerpt: ... notify th e Court and opposing counsel by 4:00 p.m. on the date of this posting, April 24. In short, the Court now rules: • Although there is a question about the report being read by Judge Campins, there is no broader prohibition on the Court generally (a differen t Judge) seeing and reviewing the report. • The District Attorney's office, however, may not see the report, at least not at this point. • The Court can and should review the re...

Excerpt: ...emurrer is otherwise overruled. The Dis trict shall file and serve its answer by May 9, 2024. In addition, as discussed below, the matter is set for June 5, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. (the next CMC date) for an order to show cause why the complaint should not be dismissed for the inappropriate attempted representation of a trust by a non-attorney. Background and Allegations Plaintiff is one of the trustees of the Jordan Family Trust, which owns real prop...

Excerpt: ... locations . Plaintiff is a former nonexempt employee of defendants, though her job description and employment dates are not provided. The original complaint was filed on March 3, 2021. Several amendments were made, one of which (in September 2022) added PAGA claims. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $625,000. The class representative payment SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 12 JUDICI...

Excerpt: ...laintiff als o moves for approval of his attorney's fees, litigation costs, administration costs, and representative payments. The motion is granted. A. Background of the Case and Terms of Settlement This a PAGA case (not a class action), alleging violations of the Lab or Code. The allegations have been revised by amendments, but as framed in the second amended complaint they center principally on untimely payment of wages. This case was first �...

Excerpt: ... granted, the administrator has mailed notices to 120 class members. No packets were returned by the post office, and there are thus no nondeliverable notices. One additional person came forward and, after inquiry, was determined to be a class member as well. No o bjections or requests to opt out have been received. The motions are granted. E. Background and Settlement Terms Defendant is in the home warranty business. Plaintiff worked there as a ...

Excerpt: ...l of th e party's intention to contest, specifying the issues to be contested. As stated in last week's tentative ruling, however, even if there is no contest, counsel are to appear (Zoom okay) to discuss scheduling and the future course of this case. The Court va cated last Friday's scheduled Issue Conference/Mandatory Settlement Conference in light of its not having decided this motion yet. Moreover, the Court predicted last week that the prese...

Excerpt: ...parties have made , given that there have been both multiple “settlement agreements” entered into since the original one, and multiple recitations to the Court of unresolved issues requiring further negotiation and agreement. The motion before the Court purports to say that the settlement to be enforced is the one that was “agreed to at the Mediation conducted in this matter on October 15, 1998 in front of Mediator Hon. Mark Eaton”. That ...

Excerpt: ...ote") secured by a deed of trust on Plaintiffs' single - family residence located at 1452 Club View Drive in El Cerrito. (First Amended Complaint (with errata) ("FAC") ¶¶ 1, 4, 12 -15; P. Pan Decl. Exh. C [deed of trust].) Defendants Peter Pan and Jenny Pan (the "Pans" fo r convenience) are the lenders under the Note. On March 22, 2022, the Pans issued a Notice Pursuant to California Civil Code § 2966 ("Section 2966...

Excerpt: ...or concer ts and similar events. Plaintiffs state that they were employed in non -exempt positions, though their job descriptions and employment dates are not provided. Plaintiff King filed her original complaint as a PAGA case on March 7,2023. She filed a parallel c lass action on May 15, 2023. The class action was amended in December to combine the two cases and to add plaintiff Hill. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $80...

Excerpt: ...E: 04/11/ 2024 23 A. Background and Settlement Terms Defendant is in the business of providing extended vehicle service programs and ancillary finance and insurance products. This class -action case arises from its alleged former practice of recording consumer pho ne calls, made on cellular or wireless phones, without proper consent or notification. Plaintiff made two such calls in October and November 2022. The original complaint was filed on...

Excerpt: ..., administr ation costs, and representative payment. The motion is granted. A. Background of the Case and Terms of Settlement The total settlement payment is $275,000. Out of this is to come attorney's fees of $91,667 (one -third of the recovery); $22,305 in litigation costs, and $3,950 in costs to the settlement Administrator. The This a PAGA case (not a class action), alleging a variety of violations of the Labor Code concerning failure to prov...

Excerpt: ...May 10 in which to file and serve a second amended complaint, if they choose to. In the event that they elect not to amend, defendants Puri and Compass are given to June 7 in which to answer the surviving contract count of the complaint. (If there is no amendment there will remain no claim pending against defendant Mehringer. There will also remain no live claim being asserted by plaintiff Kandola.) The Court further observes that although it is...

Excerpt: ...e defenses. For the following reasons, Plaintiff's Demurrer to Defendants First, Second, Ninth, Tenth, Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Affirmative Defense is overruled, and Plaintiff's Demurrer to Defendant's Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Eleventh and Fifteenth Affirmative Defense is sustained, with leave to amend as to all but the fifteenth affirmative defense. Legal Standard Code of Civil Procedure § 430.20(a) provides for...

Excerpt: ...remaining counts. Plaintiff alleges that she was rear -ended in a traffic accident by defendant Renee Thomas. Ms. Thomas said she was calling the Brentwood police, but the officer who actually showed up was a CHP officer who falsely identified himself as Officer Spe ars. Plaintiff alleges that in fact “Officer Spears” was Officer Donnie Thomas, Renee Thomas's husband. Officer Thomas engaged in various investigative steps such as taking plain...

Excerpt: ...e, but in which Judge Devine granted defendant's motion to designate plaintiff as a vexatious litigant. The present suit is not technically barred by that prefiling- screening order due to the overlapping timing; this suit was filed while the vexatious -litigant moti on was pending, but before it was granted. Nevertheless, this suit appears clearly to constitute a continuation of the same abusive litigation misconduct that caused Judge Devine t...

Excerpt: ...nd amended cros s-complaint by April 19, 2024. This is a lawsuit between two former cohabitants, previously involved romantically and otherwise with each other; the female plaintiff is substantially younger than the male defendant. The male party has filed a first amende d cross-complaint against the female. This is her demurrer to his FAXC. The Court had previously sustained a demurrer to the original cross -complaint. The grounds for that rul...

Excerpt: ...oyed ther e as nurses – two of them from 2016 to 2020, though the third plaintiff's dates are not provided. The original complaint was filed on October 1, 2021 as a class action. Plaintiff Hudson separately filed a PAGA action on the previous day. The parties stipul ated to consolidate the actions. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $3,000,000. The class representative payments to the plaintiffs would be $10,000 each. Atto...

Excerpt: ...tions. F or that reason the Court does not view this as cause for recusal. Plaintiff Nicole Paris moves for preliminary approval of her class action and PAGA settlement with defendant Allergy & Asthma Medical Group of the Bay Area, Inc.. The motion is granted. A. Background and Settlement Terms Defendant is a medical group treating patients in the specialty of allergies. Plaintiff was employed as a non -exempt employee, though her dates of employ...

Excerpt: ...eged breach of confidential data. The proposed settlement terms involve an array of offered curative steps rather than the more typical cash payments. And, refreshingly, the items usually to be deducted from the gross settlement amount (such as attorney's fees, administrative costs, and representative payments) are being funded directly by the defendant outside of the settlement fund. A. Background , Subject Matter, and Course of Proceedings Cli...

Excerpt: ...age in viol ation of Labor Code § 1194(a), and the fourth cause of action for failure to provide timely paystubs in violation of Labor Code § 226(e). Plaintiff's MSA is granted as to the fourth cause of action. As to the first cause of action, the motion is continued to April 11, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. for consideration of a supplemental and corrective submission by plaintiff as to the damages calculations. Request for Judicial Notice In support of...

Excerpt: ... 15, 2023 as a class action. PAGA claims were added by amendment on June 2. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $220,000. The class representative payment to the plaintiff would be $7,000. Attorney's fees would be $73,333 (one -third of the settlement). Litigation costs would not exceed $15,000. The settlement administrator's costs are estimated at $8,000. PAGA penalties would be $30,000, resulting in a payment of $22,500 to th...

Excerpt: ... resolved in t heir favor, it was the operative catalyst in securing the relief petitioners sought, namely the termination of the Tree Removal Agreement (TRA) between Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and the City of Lafayette. Although petitioners' present motion does not limit itself to seeking an award against only PG&E (rather than the City), only PG&E has filed an opposition. The Court would have welcomed the City's input on the issu...

Excerpt: ...mended complaint (FAC), namely count 3 (covenant of quiet enjoyment), count 4 (intentional infliction of emotional distress), and count 6 (covenant of good faith and fair dealing). The demurrer is sustained without leave to amend. FPI is given 21 days in which to a nswer the remaining causes of action against it. If plaintiff contests this tentative ruling to seek leave to amend, he should attend the hearing prepared to discuss in detail what am...

Excerpt: ...violation of the California family rights act; (7) failure to provide meal & rest periods; (8) failure to provide overtime wages; (9) unfair business practices; (10) retaliation and wrongful termination in violation of public policy; and (11) intentional infliction of emotional distress. Defendant demurs to Plaintiff's causes of action for (1) disability harassment and (11) intentional infliction of emotional distress pursuant to Code of Civil ...

Excerpt: ...rom a Go ogle search it appears that it operates a restaurant in Brentwood. Plaintiff alleges that she worked at defendant in a non- exempt hourly job, though her job duties and dates of employment are not identified. The original complaint was filed on May 15, 2023 as a class action. There are no PAGA claims and the case is being settled on a class action basis. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $172,500. The class represe...

Excerpt: ...iff worke d for defendant as a customer service representative between April and November 2019. The original complaint was filed on March 26, 2021 as a class action. It was amended to add a PAGA claim, and further amended again. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $910,000. The class representative payment to the plaintiff would be $7,500. Attorney's fees would be $303,333 (one -third of the settlement). Litigation costs would...

Excerpt: ... motion, though without separate argument or exposition. Plaintiff's opposition raises no points or arguments that would apply only to Amazon, nor does it make any arguments (aside from the filing date) as to why a ruling in EVLO's favor should not also apply to Am azon. Accordingly, the motion is granted for Amazon as well. Factual Background EVLO was a delivery service based in San Jose that began doing business on or about August 17, 2018, an...

Excerpt: ...reekside") al leges it is the owner of an apartment complex in El Cerrito known as Creekside Walk Apartments (the "Project"). (Def. Sep. Stmt. ("SS") of Undisputed Material Facts ("UMFs") No. 2.) Creekside has filed two lawsuits concerning alleged construction defects a t the Project, one against the general contractor (which the parties and the SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT...

Excerpt: ...y, Western Surety Company for (1) breach of contract, (2) intentional misrepresentation, (3) false promise, (4) negligent misrepresentation, (5) accounting and refund, and (6) enforcement of contractor's license bond. Defendants Red Door, Zhobin Safdari, and Cynthia Safdari move to compel arbitration of Plaintiffs' claims and stay the action pending arbitration. Plaintiffs oppose the motion. For the following reasons, the motion is granted. Reque...

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: ...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: ...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: ...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: ...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: ...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: ...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: ... 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: ...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: ...as clean ers in 2020 and 2021. The case's procedural history is a little complicated. The original complaint was filed by plaintiff Grande on November 12, 2021 as a class action. PAGA claims were added by amendment in January 2022. However, upon presentation to pla intiff of an arbitration provision, plaintiff dismissed her class and individual claims, narrowing the case to a representative PAGA claim, and the parties stipulated to stay the case...

Excerpt: ...Mirda (2007 ) 147 Cal.App.4th 740, 747.) In a demurrer proceeding, the defects must be apparent on the face of the pleading or via proper judicial notice. (Donabedian v. Mercury Ins. Co. (2004) 116 Cal.App.4th 968, 994.) "A demurrer tests the pleading alone, and not o n the evidence or facts alleged." (E -Fab, Inc. v. Accountants, Inc. Servs. (2007) 153 Cal.App.4th 1308, 1315.) Accordingly, the court assumes the truth of the complaint'...

Excerpt: ... Þrst sets of form interrogatories to each plainti
¯, served on or about April 26, 2023; and (2) defendant's Þrst sets of requests for production of documents to each plainti
¯, served on or about May 7, 2023. Within ten days thereafter, plainti
¯s are ordered to produce all responsive documents, without objections. These discovery requests were served last April and May. Purported responses were served last August. The responses, however, w...

Excerpt: ...perpetrator. He has sued the person who assaulted him (named as John Doe), the landlord of the apartment complex, and DoorDash. DoorDash has moved for an order compelling plainti
¯ to arbitrate his claims against DoorDash and staying the remainder of the action pending the arbitration. Procedures for Enforcement of Arbitration Agreement Whether the arbitration agreement is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq., or by t...

Excerpt: ...egligence cause of action on the grounds that: [Issue 1] Plainti
¯ failed to plead the existence of any mandatory duty, [Issue 2] Plainti
¯ cannot establish the breach of any mandatory duty owed, and [Issue 5] the primary assumption of risk doctrine bars said claim against the City. Defendant moves for summary adjudication on the premises liability cause of action on the grounds that: [Issue 3] Plainti
¯ cannot establish the existence of a dan...

Excerpt: ... the Complaint Defendants Claire and David Aschwanden and plainti
¯s Cathleen and Wilrolan Ravelo were friends for a number of years David and Wilrolan served in the military together, then both worked on the San Francisco Police Department SWAT team since approximately 2017 (SSUMF 31) For clarity, and meaning no disrespect, the discussion will use Þrst names where necessary to distinguish the parties The Aschwandens invited the Ravelos to ...

Excerpt: ...ligence. Defendants move on the grounds that (1) Defendants owed plainti
¯ no duty of care and were not negligent; (2) Defendants had no actual or constructive notice of an unreasonably dangerous condition; and (3) Defendants' acts or omissions did not cause or contribute to Plainti
¯'s injuries. For the following reasons, Defendants' Motion is denied. Brief Factual Background It is undisputed that on the evening of February 4, 2018, Plainti
¯...

Excerpt: ...pproval was granted, the administrator has mailed notices to 1160 class members. 42 packets were returned by the post o
¯ice. Follow up resulted in 35 new addresses, leaving 7 nondeliverable. No objections have been received, and only one request or exclusion. The motions are granted. A. Background and Settlement Terms Deendant is a country club. Plainti
¯ was employed there as a banquet server rom July 2019 to March 2020. The original compl...