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: ...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: ...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: ... 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...

Excerpt: ...for breach of the peace. Commercial Code § 9609 provides that “after default, a secured party may … take possession of the collateral … without judicial process, if it proceeds without breach of the peace.” Plainti
¯ does not allege that Location ever did actually repossess his vehicle. He alleges that Location made an initial, but unsuccessful, attempt to do so on May 22, 2020. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ...

Excerpt: ...eek the Court's approval of it as a good-faith settlement. Defendant Taylor Morrison has belatedly Þled an objection to the good- faith settlement. Taylor Morrison's basic argument is that although the settlement motions say the settlement releases plainti
¯'s claims against everyone – including Taylor Morrison – for all claims relating to the sub-soil work, Taylor Morrison raises doubts about whether the release e
¯ectively being provided...

Excerpt: ...th leave to amend as to defendant Steven Thomas. Plainti
¯ is given to February 23 in which to Þle and serve a second amended complaint. If it elects not to do so, Steven Thomas will be dismissed as a defendant, as the FAC's other cause of action is not asserted against him. Defendants request judicial notice of the FAC. The Court does not need judicial notice for a pleading in its own case docket. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COU...

Excerpt: ...rd Code of Civil Procedure § 437c(o)(1) and (p)(2) provides 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 the elements of the cause of action cannot be separately established, even if that element is separately pleaded. Section 437c(p)(2) provides, in relevant part: A defendant or cross-defendant has met his or her burden of showing that a cause o...

Excerpt: ...n clean and rentable condition. Defendants propounded routine written discovery to plainti
¯, to which plainti
¯ has not timely responded. This motion for a protective order does not dispute the content or form of the discovery. The motion contends only that “plainti
¯” should be granted a protective order, of undeÞned duration, due to “plainti
¯'s” inability to respond to discovery for medical reasons. “Plainti
¯” is said to be...

Excerpt: ...orting to show service on November 8, 2023. The Þrst motion to quash (Line 10) is granted. As to the second motion (Line 11), plainti
¯ and counsel to appear (Zoom okay) to discuss whether or not plainti
¯ has belatedly complied with the requirement of mailing. This case arises from a car loan and repossession. In plainti
¯'s c u r r e n t pleading, his Þrst amended complaint, there are only two defendants. Simple Cash Loans, Inc. (dba Monta...

Excerpt: ...ion petition, and recommends that the coordination proceedings be SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 12 JUDICIAL OFFICER: CHARLES S TREAT HEARING DATE: 01/25/2024 11 assigned to San Francisco Superior Court. Coordination All parties are in agreement that these cases are complex under California Rule of Court 3.502. They are likewise in unanimous agreement that these actions should be coordinated, proceeding ...

Excerpt: ...violation of Labor Code SS 1194 and 510; (3) violation of Labor Code S 2802; (4) violation of Labor Code S 226; (5) violation of Labor Code SS 201-204; (6) violation of Labor Code S 2598 et seq.; and (7) Business and Professions Code S 17200 et seq. Defendant moves pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act to compel Plaintiff to submit all individual claims and non-representatve PAGA claims asserted in his FAC to arbitration. Defendant also moves o...

Excerpt: ... packets were returned by the post office. Follow up resulted in 14 new addresses, leaving 3 nondeliverable. No objections or requests to opt out have been received. The motion is granted. A. Background and Settlement Terms Defendant is a financial services company offering a variety of services. Plaintiff was employed there in a non-exempt offce position. The original complaint was filed on August 31, 2021 as a class action. PAGA claims were add...

Excerpt: ...emailed to corrected addresses, leaving 2 undeliverable. There have been no objections or requests for exclusion. The motion is granted, subject to clarification as to the proposed dates of payment (see below). Counsel are to appear (Zoom okay) to clear this point up. A. Background and Settlement Terms Defendant operates two car washes located in Concord and Fremont. Plaintiff has been employed there as a car washer since the mid-2000s. The origi...

Excerpt: ...issolution of partnership) or seventh cause of action (declaratory relief). The Court notes that it does not appear that anpne in this case contends that there is any partnership to be dissolved, however, so count 3 may be moot. The Court further notes that the SAC as filed had two plaintiffs, namely Olivarez personally and JR National Floral Network, LLC (referred to by all parties as "JR LLC"). Plaintiff has since filed a dismissal with prejudi...

Excerpt: ... to exercise its discretion to reconsider the prior arbitration ruling at this point, for two reasons. First, while plaintiff has accurately described the state of the law, the legal issue must be regarded as unsettled in light of the pending Supreme Court review. And second, it is unclear that it would make practical sense to reverse only part of the prior ruling at this juncture, in light of the pendency and progress in the arbitration proceedi...

Excerpt: ...e administrator has mailed notices to 283 class members. After follow-up, no notices were non-deliverable. No objections or requests to opt out have been received. The motion is granted. A. Background and Settlement Terms Defendant operates an oil refinery in Martinez. Plaintiffs are employed there as Operators. The original complaint was filed on July 2, 2020 as a class and PAGA action. It was amended twice, including deletion of one named plain...

Excerpt: ... solicited funds from him for purchase of Structured Assets. (ld. at 10.) According to Plaintiff, Defendant "represented to Plaintiff that Plaintiffs retirement funds would be loaned to individuals and in exchange the individuals would secure payment to Plaintiff from their monthly vested Federal Government Pension payments. Adao further advised Plaintiff that he could purchase options from a Performance Arbitrage company, Inc. SUPERIOR COURT OF ...

Excerpt: ...general negligence; (2) medical malpractice; and (3) premises liability. For the following reasons, the motion for summary judgment is denied. The alternative moton for summary adjudication is granted in part and denied in part. It is granted as to the premises liability claim (count 3), but denied as to the medical malpractice claim (counts 1 and 2, treated as a single claim). Legal Standard Code of Civil Procedure S 437c(o)(1) and provide the r...

Excerpt: ...a's motion is continued to that date to ascertain compliance. This is a lawsuit by plaintiff Nichols alleging defective home repair work. The contracts attached to the complaint are unclear as to whether the contracting entity was CalProHome or Bina personally, but it is uncontested that Bina was the principal of CalProHome. Bina, suing as "doing business as CalProHome", filed a small claims case against Nichols. ay order of SUPERIOR COURT OF CAL...

Excerpt: ...RNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 12 JUDICIAL OFFICER: CHARLES S TREAT HEARING DATE: 01/18/2024 5 All matters included in Atlantic Casualty's first set of requests for admissions (served on or about June 21, 2023) are deemed admitted. In its Order After Hearing, Atlantic Casualty should spell those matters out verbatim to avoid any ambiguity as to what is so deemed. Plaintiff is further ordered to serve complete responses, verifie...

Excerpt: ... defective design and installation of a fire suppression sprinkler system at the residence they built on their property located at 2 Crane Court, Orinda, California (the Property). Plaintiffs allege they engaged defendant and cross-complainant Advanced Automatic Sprinkler, Inc. to design and install the fire sprinkler system. Advanced filed a cross-complaint on January 27, 2022 and added Supreme Glass Company by Roe amendment as Roe No. 26. (UMF ...

Excerpt: ...01/11/2024 31 supplemental declaration as stated herein. A. Background and Settlement Terms Defendant is in the home warranty business. Plaintiff worked there as a non-exempt employee from September 2016 to December 2020, although her job description is not provided. The original complaint was filed on April 12, 2021 as a class- action and PAGA case. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $285,000. The class representative payment...

Excerpt: ...ts, and representative payment. Since preliminary approval was granted, the administrator has mailed notices to 68 class members. 3 packets were returned by the post office. Follow up resulted in 3 new addresses, leaving none nondeliverable. No objections were received, and only one class member opted out. The motion is granted, with a modification. Background and Settlement Terms Defendant provides safety monitoring services for utility lines an...

Excerpt: ...inistration costs, and representative payment. The moton is granted. A. Background of the Case and Terms of Settlement This is a PAGA case (not a class action), alleging a variety of violations of the Labor Code concerning failure to provide rest and meal breaks, failure to pay minimum wages and overtime, and cascading SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 12 JUDICIAL OFFICER: CHARLES S TREAT HEARING DATE: 01/1...

Excerpt: ... to the first and eleventh causes of action. If plaintiff contests this tentatve 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 first challenge to the complaint, plaintiff is given leave to amend as to all remaining causes of acton. Plaintiff shall file and serve any amended complaint by February 8, 2024. Should plaintiff ele...

Excerpt: ...fficient to constitute a cause of action (Code of Civil Procedure S 430.10(e). They also demurrer to the second cause of action separately claiming that it "is not properly justiciable", without citing any statutory source for that basis of the demurrer. Cross-Defendants' demurrer is overruled for the reasons set forth below. Factual Allegations and Background This matter pertains to a property dispute between two neighbors. Plaintiffs own proper...

Excerpt: ...he arbitration award (or this Court's order confirming it) operates as res judicata as such, because the claims and defendants involved were different from those now asserted in the SAC against Budde. However, may operate as collateral estoppel. Is there authority supporting or rejecting the argument that a confirmed arbitration award establishes collateral estoppel binding the losing party to all legal conclusions reached in the arbitration awar...

Excerpt: ...y logistical history since then. The parties missed their originally scheduled date for final approval in February 2023. The notice to the class was sent, but it was discovered that it had been sent to an overbroad list including salaried employees. This required a stipulation to send out corrective notices. The parties then found themselves in a Catch-22 where they couldn't send the notices until they had a hearing date for final approval, but t...

Excerpt: ...ion. Plaintiff's motion is denied. As the Court will explain, Plaintiff's argument skips a step and cannot establish as a matter of law that defendants have no right to discharge storm water into the Park because they have no easement. Procedural Objections The Court rejects Defendants' objections. They are contrary to the express directions of the Court at pretrial conferences. Defendants point out that in seeking a ruling on what Plaintiff cont...

Excerpt: ...tz. He first argues, with no citation to authority or other rationale, that discovery must be strictly limited to the issue of class certification. Who says so? First, the complaint includes non-class claims. Second, even if class certification were denied or abandoned, there would remain individual and representative claims to litigate. And in any event, this case has now been pending for over three years. If the parties have not gotten started ...

Excerpt: ... by unspecified forms of cyber harassment and traumatization by agents of the Chinese government on account of plaintiffs' political opposition to the Chinese regime. The events giving rise to this complaint occurred in June 2020. Plaintiff Yue Ma admitted herself to an emergency psychiatric facility in Santa Clara County for trauma allegedly induced by the repressive acts of the Chinese government. She was transferred to John Muir Health Behavio...

Excerpt: ...twice during each calendar month, on days designated in advance by the employer as the regular paydays." Defendant demurs. The demurrer is overruled. Defendant is given 28 days in which to file and serve its answer. Demurrer Standards "The function of a demurrer is to test the sufficiency of the complaint as a matter of law." Holiday Matinee, Inc. v. Rambus, Inc. (2004) 118 Cal.App.4th 1413, 1420. A complaint "is sufficient if it alleges ultimate...

Excerpt: ...by Plaintiff Praveen Gupta. For the follow-ng reasons, the Mohon is granted. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 12 JUDICIAL OFFICER: CHARLES S TREAT HEARING DATE: 12/07/2023 26 Legal standard lis pendens is recorded by someone asserting a real property claim, to give notice that a lawsuit has been filed which may, if that person prevails, affect title to or possession of the real property described in the no...

Excerpt: ... action. The other, No. C23-01484, is filed as a PAGA-only case, but asserts essentially the same set of violations of the law. In both cases, defendants bring substantially the same motion to compel arbitration, based on an arbitration agreement found in Wynn's employment contract. (See Line 12.) Although the two motons would call for slightly different treatment if they were to be granted, they raise essentially the same issues; the parties' ar...

Excerpt: ...in addition to whatever other costs it may be entitled to. Background and Substance of the Case Plaintiff filed this lawsuit against two residents to compel them to correct a number of what plaintiff said were violations of the HOA rules concerning defendants' unit and common areas. To make a long story short, after some litigation and extensive discussion, plaintiff now acknowledges that defendants have taken all the corrective actions that plai...

Excerpt: ...ral negligence, and her third cause of action for premises liability. Accordingly, summary judgment is also denied. The trial date previously set in Department 36 is no longer available because that Department is vacant. The trial date and all related dates are vacated, and the case is set for Case Management Conference and trial-setting in Department 12 on December 19, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. l. Background This is a wrongful death action. Plaintiff Re...

Excerpt: ... to file and serve a first amended complaint. In the event that he elects not to amend, FPI is given to January 5, 2024 in which to answer the surviving counts of the complaint. Legal Standard "The function of a demurrer is to test the sufficiency of the complaint as a matter of aw." (Holiday Matinee, Inc. v. Rambus, Inc. (2Cu) 118 Cal.App.4th 1413, 1420.) A complaint "is sufficient if alleges ultimate rather than evidentiary facts" (Doe v. City ...

Excerpt: ...e returned by the post offce. Follow up resulted in 12 new addresses, leaving 5 nondeliverable. No objections or requests to opt out have been received. The motion is granted. A. Background and Settlement Terms Defendant operates a number of addiction treatment clinics. Plaintiff was employed there as a nonexempt employee. The original complaint was filed on June 3, 2022, and amended shortly thereafter to add PAGA claims. The settlement will crea...

Excerpt: ...rmanent injunction. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 12 JUDICIAL OFFICER: CHARLES S TREAT HEARING DATE: 11/09/2023 5 Defendants demur to all Plaintiffs' causes of action for pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure S 430.10(e) on several grounds. For the follow-ng reasons, the Demurrer is overruled. Defendants are given to December 8 in which to file and serve their answer. Legal Standard "The function of a dem...

Excerpt: ...er is to test the sufficiency of the complaint as a matter of law." (Holiday Matinee, Inc. v. Rambus, Inc. (2W4) 118 Cal.App.4th 1413, 1420.) A complaint "is sufficient if it alleges ultimate rather than evidentiary facts" (Doe v. City of Los Angeles (2W7) 42 Cal.4th 531, 550), but the plaintiff must set forth the essential facts of his or her case "with reasonable precision and with particularity sufficient to acquaint [thel defendant with the n...

Excerpt: ...s granted. Legal Standard "In an employment or consumer arbitration that requires, either expressly or through application of state or federal law or the rules of the arbitration provider, that the drafting party pay certain fees and costs during the pendency of an arbitration proceeding, if the fees or costs required to continue the arbitration are not paid within 30 days after the due date, the drafting party is in material breach of the arbitr...

Excerpt: ...eement, the agreement by its own terms excludes the present dispute from its scope, because the law in existence at the time of contracting did not allow for arbitration agreements for individual PAGA claims. That law has since changed, but the contract itself excludes "claims that are not subject to arbitration under current law" — meaning the aw of 2019. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 12 JUDICIAL OFF...

Excerpt: ... to 175 class members. 32 packets were returned by the post office. Follow up resulted in 15 new addresses, leaving 17 nondeliverable. No objections or requests to opt out have been received. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 12 JUDICIAL OFFICER: CHARLES S TREAT HEARING DATE: 11/02/2023 28 A. Background and Settlement Terms Despite its clever name, Rodd & Gunn is not a sporting goods business but a retail s...

Excerpt: ... The moton is granted. Since preliminary approval was granted, the administrator has mailed notices to 407 class members. 31 packets were returned by the post office. Follow up resulted in 27 new addresses, leaving 4 nondeliverable. No objections have been received, and only one request for exclusion. A. Background and Settlement Terms Defendant is in the business of providing clinical outpatient intervention to autistic teens, and their SUPERIOR...