Excerpt: ...tion. They all involve relevant issues, such as timekeeping and payroll, complaints, job titles and descriptions, reimbursement policies, surveys, documents sent to covered employees, declarations obtained by defendant. Plaintiff argues that defendant has been relying on arbitration agreements all along, and now objects to producing them, and that defendant has made numerous boiler plate objections on trade secret grounds. Since the motion was fi...

Excerpt: ...parties agree that there is no per se rule barring the corporate attorneys from communicating with the employees. (Howard Gunty Profit Sharing Plan v. Superior Court (2001) 88 Cal.App.4th 572, 578.) That is not the end of the matter, however. A trial court has both the duty and authority to exercise control over communications between the parties and potential class members to prevent unfairness. (Barriga v. 99 Cents Only Stores LLC (2020) 51 Cal...

Excerpt: ... the party's interest in the litigation.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 36(a), (f).) Isaak attests that he falls within the terms of the statute, being 84 years old and in failing health. On its face, section 36 admits no exceptions. It has been strictly construed in ordinary civil cases to require preference even where a variety of circumstances indicate that trial within 120 days is not appropriate. (Swaithes v. Superior Court (1989) 212 Cal.App.3d 10...

Excerpt: ...9 HEARING DATE: 09/30/21 ‐ 12 ‐ The demurrer filed by defendants East Bay Coyotes, Inc., Jason Wolenik, and Michael Topf (collectively, “EBC Defendants”), is overruled. The demurrer filed by defendants Dos Coyotes Development Company, LLC, Dos Coyotes Sunrise, Inc., Robert H. Davidson, Trumax, LLC, Colmax, LLC, Coltam, Inc., Dos Coyotes Concord, Inc., Coyote Sunshine, LLC and Coyote R15, Inc. (collectively, “DCDC Defendants”), is sust...

Excerpt: ...ave to amend; (b) the demurrer to the 8th cause of action is sustained, without leave to amend; and (c) demurrer to the 11th cause of action based on the statute of limitations is overruled. Factual Background Plaintiff alleges that she is a former employee of YDesign. (FAC ¶¶ 24, 25.) She alleges she was employed by Defendant in California from "approximately April 2019 to approximately November 2019." She alleges a class action as well as ind...

Excerpt: ...from activity protected by section 425.16. [Citation.] If the defendant makes the required showing, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to demonstrate the merit of the claim by establishing a probability of success. We have CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 39 HEARING DATE: 09/16/21 ‐ 6 ‐ described this second step as a ‘summary‐judgment‐ like procedure.' [Citation.]” (Baral v. Schnitt (2016) 1 Cal.5th 376, 3...

Excerpt: ... affirmative defenses that do not state facts sufficient to constitute a defense under sections 936 and 945.5 of the Civil Code” and “on the grounds that the affirmative defenses are still too conclusory and/or not supported by the additional allegations.” (Not. of Demurrer at 2:3‐6.) CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 39 HEARING DATE: 09/16/21 ‐ 2 ‐ For the following reasons, the Demurrer is overruled. Analy...

Excerpt: ...d on the Court's ruling on the demurrers, the motion to strike is denied as moot. Background and Plaintiff's Claims Plaintiff Francis Clay was a tenant at a property owned or under the control of the Richmond Housing Authority ("RHA"). In December 2018, RHA began eviction proceedings against Mr. Clay for non‐payment of rent in Richmond Housing Authority v. Francis Clay, Case No. RS19‐ 0017 (the "Unlawful Detainer Action"). (RJN Exh. 1.) The p...

Excerpt: ...portation services in the coastal and harbor San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Northwest Puget Sound region. This is a class action suit. Plaintiffs seek to represent a proposed class composed of and defined as: All employees who worked one or more shifts as a boat captain, junior captain, or crew member on a sea bearing vessel for Starlight Marine Services, Inc. in the State of California since (4) years prior to the filing of this action to the...

Excerpt: ...ust enrichment causes of action based on the failure to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. (Code of Civil Procedure § 430.10(e).) Defendant demurs to the breach of contract claim for the failure to allege if the contract is oral or written (Code of Civil Procedure § 430.10(g) and for uncertainty (Code of Civil Procedure § 430.10(f)). Consumer Legal Remedies Act (cause of action three) Defendant argues that the complaint do...

Excerpt: ... Gutierrez action, Dennis Gutierrez v. Homegoods, Inc., et al, San Bernardino County Superior Court, Case No. CIV‐DS‐2017556, is finally resolved (by judgment, settlement, or otherwise), or until lifted by court order. The present order is expressly made without prejudice to any intervention / coordination motion / petition that plaintiff may bring in the Gutierrez case. The basis for this ruling is as follows. Background In this PAGA case, p...

Excerpt: ...eeding must be completed and the award rendered.” (Bosworth v. Whitmore (2006) 135 Cal.App.4th 536, 550.) Plaintiffs raise two threshold issues. First, they assert that defendant must move to lift the stay before it can file the motion. Section 1283.8 allows the time for the award to be fixed “within such time as the court orders on petition of a party to the arbitration.” This does not expressly require that the stay be lifted in order to ...

Excerpt: ...ning") at its Martinez facility. (Proposed FAC ¶¶ 11, 12.) They filed this action on behalf of themselves and as proposed class representatives alleging violations of the IWC Wage Order No. 1‐2001, the California Labor Code, and the Unfair Competition Law, Business & Professions Code § 17200 ("UCL"). They are also the plaintiffs in a related action previously filed in this Court against another refining company, Equilon Enterprises LLC. That...

Excerpt: ...e recovery of money or damages is demanded, the amount demanded shall be stated.” “[T]he specific dollar amount is necessary only when a default judgment is to be entered. The purpose of such a requirement is to ensure that the defendant is sufficiently aware of the consequences of not answering the complaint. [Citation.] However, ‘in any other case, the court may grant the plaintiff any relief consistent with the case made by the complaint...

Excerpt: ... requested supplemental information and continued the hearing. After that hearing, on February 18, 2021, the Court granted preliminary approval. 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 expens...

Excerpt: ...nse reimbursements, unlawful deductions, waiting time penalties, and non‐ compliant wage statements. It also includes PAGA allegations, which were added in the First Amended Complaint, filed December 12, 2019, based on a notice provided to the LWDA on September 16, 2019. A Second Amended Complaint was filed on March 22, 2021. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $950,000. The class representative payment to plaintiff would be ...

Excerpt: ...(3) failure to pay overtime wages; (4) failure to pay minimum wages; (5) failure to pay all wages due to discharged and quitting employees; (6) failure to maintain required records; (7) failure to indemnify employees for necessary expenditures CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 39 HEARING DATE: 08/26/21 ‐ 10 ‐ incurred in discharge of duties; (8) failure to indemnify employees for necessary expenditures incurred in d...

Excerpt: ... 2020, and were due on April 6, 2020. Nearly all of the time during which these requests have been pending has occurred during the COVID‐19 pandemic, and defendant has requested, and received, extensions due to the logistical difficulties cause by the pandemic. Responses were further stayed while the parties engaged in unsuccessful settlement efforts. Moreover, some further extensions were directed by the Court as part of an Informal Discovery ...

Excerpt: ...y, she moves for approval of an award of attorney's fees and expenses, as well as a service award for plaintiff. A. Background and Settlement Terms The original complaint was filed November 5, 2015, as a class action. It alleged that defendants Zagaris and Disclosure Source entered into an agreement under which PMZ obtained Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD) reports to be used in real estate transactions from Disclosure Source, identified them as ha...

Excerpt: ...(premised on a violation of Civil Code §§ 1749.45 et seq.) Defendant demurs pursuant to CCP § 430.10(e) on the grounds that Civil Code § 1749(b)(2) does not require immediate cash refunds of gift cards with an outstanding balance of less than $10.00 and that Chevron's policy, requiring consumers seeking a redemption to use a toll‐free number or web address, does not constitute an impractical and unreasonable barrier to a consumer's right of...

Excerpt: ...�filed opposition papers. B. The Governing Standard. The Bridgeford decision cited in defendant's opening memorandum states the standard governing this demurrer: The decision whether a case is suitable to proceed as a class action ordinarily is made on a motion for class certification. [Citation omitted.] A court may decide the question earlier by sustaining a demurrer to the class action allegations of a complaint only if it concludes as a matte...

Excerpt: ...e it required plaintiff to show that Favro's conduct “increased the risk” to plaintiffs. The requirement that the jury find that Favro's conduct “increased the risk” to the plaintiffs was appropriate. (MOFD also states that the special instruction based on CACI 473 as given by the Court was inappropriate, but the rationale for the argument essentially is based on Question 1 of the verdict form.) Both Siebert and the previous appellate dec...

Excerpt: ...es. Plaintiff also seeks approval of attorney's fees and a representative incentive payment. A. Background and Settlement Terms The original complaint was filed November 26, 2018, as a class action. Plaintiff amended complaint in order to raise PAGA allegations, which were not included in the original complaint. CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 39 HEARING DATE: 08/05/21 ‐ 10 ‐ The PAGA notices were provided to the ...

Excerpt: ... one‐year statute of limitations. Plaintiffs argue that any claims subject to a one‐year statute of limitations are timely because of a Doe amendment filed two years after this litigation started. To determine which party is correct requires a detailed examination of the procedural history of the litigation. This case arises out of alleged medical malpractice and elder abuse committed at two healthcare facilities, Martinez Convalescent Hospit...

Excerpt: ...filing of the amended pleading. To the extent parties can agree, plaintiff may make agreed changes prior to filing. Otherwise, the amended complaint shall be filed in the form attached as Exhibit A to the Declaration of Mark A. Milstein. Background This is a construction defect case. Defendant Arbor Building Group is a general contractor, who contracted with owner and plaintiff, Creekside Walk Ventures, LLC, for the construction of an apartment c...