Excerpt: ...ves for a new trial on damages, asserting that the damages were excessive. There are actually seven separate awards of damages here. As to the family of Gary Eaves, the jury awarded $950,000 for loss of financial support from his death to the present, $1 million for loss of financial support from the present to Gary's expected date of death, and damages of $9 million for the loss of Gary's “love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protec...

Excerpt: ...oduce substantial evidence that the alleged defects in rubber solvents cause the harm to plaintiffs. A. Standard for JNOV The standards for the motion are well‐described by the parties and are not materially in dispute. In summary, the court does not simply determine whether it agrees with the jury's findings, but whether the verdict is without foundation. (Oakland Raiders v. Oakland‐ Alameda County Coliseum, Inc. (2006) 144 Cal.App.4th 1175,...

Excerpt: ...�) (collectively, “Defendants”). The Demurrer relates to Plaintiff Abbington Owners' Association (“Plaintiff” or “Abbington”)'s Complaint for (1) Violation of Civil Code Section 895, et. seq.; (2) Violations and Enforcement of Governing Documents; (3) Breach of Fiduciary Duty; (4) Breach of Construction Contracts; (5) Strict Liability; (6) Negligence; and (7) Breach of Implied Warranty. Defendants demur to the fourth, sixth, and seven...

Excerpt: ...been entitled to a point‐by‐point admission or denial of the Complaint's allegations only if he had verified the Complaint. (Ibid.) B. Not Affirmative Defenses. Plaintiff demurs to certain affirmative defenses on the ground that they are not really affirmative defenses, but rather constitute extraneous legal contentions more appropriately asserted in law and motion papers. These defenses are as follows: the First (“failure to state facts su...

Excerpt: ... the names of all parties named to the lawsuit in the consolidated action, (2) correct a misspelling, (3) substitute the correct names of real parties in interest for several properties, and (4) add a cause of action for negligence based on a change of ownership and subsequent work by Defendant. For the reasons described further, below, the motion for leave to amend is granted. Analysis Code of Civil Procedure § 473(a)(1) provides the Court disc...

Excerpt: ...amen of the dispute is the alleged rest period violations, with the remaining violations relying entirely on the rest period violations. Defendant Hospital Couriers Nevada LLC demurs as to the rest period claims, arguing that they are preempted by federal law. Defendant correctly points out that, pursuant to the Federal Hazardous Material Transportation Law, the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORN...

Excerpt: ...the meet‐and‐confer requirement of Code of Civil Procedure section 430.41, at 8:30 a.m., on July 24, 2019, and to file a response to the Order to Show Cause no later than Thursday, July 18, 2019. The basis for this ruling is as follows. A. Preliminary Matters. Defendant Luk's unopposed request for judicial notice is granted. Counsel for plaintiff J.H. Fitzmaurice, Inc. (“JHF”) do not dispute that they failed to meet and confer with defend...

Excerpt: ...or when a pre‐suit demand on the board of directors is excused. Under Nevada law, and because there is no board‐considered transaction at issue, the applicable standard is that articulated by the Delaware Supreme Court in its Rales decision: Rales v. Blasband (Del. 1993) 634 A.2d 927, 936. (Kahn v. Dodds (In re AMERCO Derivative Litig.) (2011) 127 Nev. 196, 218‐219.) Under Rales, the court must evaluate whether particularized facts in the s...

Excerpt: ... 1 and 2 in Plaintiff's Third Amended Notice of Deposition of a Person Most Knowledgeable on specified topics. ALS provides collection services to Homeowners' Associations in collecting debts from HOA members, and plaintiffs allege that ALS has violated various laws in the course of doing so. Plaintiff moves for an order compelling notice to the class, which was certified by order of the Court dated August 27, 2018. In order to provide mailed cla...

Excerpt: ...rk and a variety of parties, not including McHale Engineering. Trademark, however, filed its own cross‐complaint naming its subcontractors, including McHale Engineering. Trademark's claims against McHale are indemnity, equitable indemnity, and contribution. After some expert reports were obtained and discovery taken, two experts (Peter Curry and Glen Tofani), opined that McHale's work met the standard of care. The Allards and McHale then reache...

Excerpt: ...mployee suffering injury as a result of a knowing and intentional failure to comply with itemized statement requirements], 2699(g)(1) [employee who prevails in any Labor Code Action], and Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.420 [cost of proving matters that should have been admitted in discovery]. She seeks $115,683.75 in fees, based on a lodestar of $77,122.50, with a 1.5 multiplier. She also seeks costs of $4,843.89. Defendant Security Officer...

Excerpt: ... defendant by virtue of a voluntary dismissal. Thus, the motion remains on calendar.) When a party files a motion for summary judgment in an unlawful detainer, defendant is entitled to present opposition “orally at the time of hearing or in writing.” (C.R.C. 3.1351(b).) Defendant Shawna Frasier moves for summary judgment on the ground that she is a tenant entitled to either a 30 or 90 day notice under both state and federal law. More specific...

Excerpt: ...ts. Plaintiffs allege that the notices were adequate, and Shea has improperly refused to act on them. They argue that both sides agree that the matter is subject to arbitration, and that the issue of whether the notices are valid is a threshold issue of arbitrability, which should be decided by the arbitrator. Accordingly, they seek an order compelling arbitration. Shea argues that such relief cannot be granted in opposition to their motion, but ...

Excerpt: ... This would apply to all pending and future discovery. “Any broader discovery” would be permitted only after the Court approves a “trial plan establishing that trial of Plaintiff's PAGA claim would be manageable.” Only after the Court approves the trial plan would any other discovery, including a Belaire‐West notice, be permitted. Defendant's argument centers around “manageability,” with the goal being to “enable the Court to dete...

Excerpt: ...olidation. The Court of Appeal has held as follows: When an unlawful detainer proceeding and an unlimited action concerning title to the property are simultaneously pending, the trial court in which the unlimited action is pending [1] may stay the unlawful detainer action until the issue of title 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 3...

Excerpt: ... amount of $250 should not issue for failure to follow the relevant statutes for timely filing and service. The hearing on the order to show cause is set for June 18, 2019, 8:30 a.m. Response to be filed by June 11, 2019. All requests for judicial notice are unopposed and granted. The motion of defendant William Lyon Homes to compel arbitration is granted as to the three remaining homes owned by original purchasers, whose covenant to arbitrate ap...

Excerpt: ...CA 94517 (the “Subject Property”) at a foreclosure sale. Plaintiff seeks recovery of possession from Defendant, the tenant of the former owner of the Subject Property. Defendant demurs pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure § 430.10(e) on the grounds that Defendant's claim against her does not comply with the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009 (“PTFA” or “the Act”). Specifically, she asserts that she is a “bona fide” tena...

Excerpt: ...tion alleging a variety of wage‐and‐hour violations, including minimum wage, meal breaks, rest breaks, overtime, and misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Defendants are K2 Health Care, LLC, a corporation running a temporary services agency, and a number of related persons and entities. On May 2, 2017, a First Amended Complaint was filed identifying two additional plaintiffs (Josel Vasquez and Jericho Francisco), and asse...

Excerpt: ... capacity as “owners, principals, officers, directors managers, members, partners, agents, and/or employees” of High CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 39 HEARING DATE: 05/23/19 ‐ 4 ‐ End Development, Inc. (“High End”). (SAC ¶ 4(d).) Defendants argue that plaintiffs' allegations are uncertain and insufficient to state a cause of action. (See Code of Civil Procedure § 430.10 (e)‐(f).) The tort liability of...

Excerpt: ...CO is the general contractor for one, and Discovery Builders is the contractor for another. Plaintiffs allege that the two contractors are alter egos, that some of the involved employees work for both companies, that the two developments are close to each other, that a number of the subcontractors are the same for each development, and that many of the experts in the trial would be the same. Code of Civil Procedure section 1048(b) provides that s...

Excerpt: ...and New Lifestyle eventually paid it off. On July 29, 2014, the parties entered into a second agreement for a $50,000 revolving line of credit. (Declaration of Bert Simons, Exh. A.) As part of the packet of loan documents, Erridge executed a Commercial Guaranty, personally obligating himself to the debt and acknowledging that he read the document itself. The debt went into default in 2018 after the company shut down. As of the date of this motion...

Excerpt: ...r Co. (1996) 48 Cal.App.4th 1794, 1801, including “the strength of plaintiffs' case, the risk, expense, complexity and likely duration of further litigation, the risk of maintaining class action status through trial, the amount offered in settlement, the extent of discovery completed and the state of the proceedings, the experience and views of counsel, the presence of a governmental participant, and the reaction … to the proposed settlement....

Excerpt: ...d by either side and became the order of the Court. The order granting the motion was filed on September 26, 2018. Judgment for defendants was also entered on September 26, 2018. Notices of entry of the order and judgment were mailed to plaintiff on October 2, and filed with this Court on October 4, 2018. Plaintiff filed these two motions on March 25, 2019. Plaintiff's motion to vacate summary judgment is based upon an argument that she did not r...

Excerpt: ...however, relied primarily on the argument that the Court ought not to reach the merits of the issue, and therefore did not provide evidence in support of its opposition. Plaintiff asserts that this is a straight‐forward post‐foreclosure unlawful detainer, i.e., that the plaintiff foreclosed on the property in a non‐judicial foreclosure complying with all statutory notice requirements, that title was perfected, that a notice to quit was issu...

Excerpt: ...ed pleading motions on calendar. While settlement is a noble goal, these eleventh‐hour stipulations pose difficulties because they would not permit the Court to continue all matters, which leads to confusion and potential decisions on some of the issues that some parties may wish to settle. For example, Save Mount Diablo's stipulation would continue Oak Hill Park Company's Motion for Judgment on the First and Tenth Causes of Action in its Petit...