Excerpt: ...as not reached a final decision on this matter, but has provided a tentative ruling to assist the parties in preparing for argument. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 39 JUDICIAL OFFICER: EDWARD G WEIL HEARING DATE: 12/15/2022 4 Real Party In Interest Reabold California, LLC has two oil wells in the Brentwood oil field that produce 300 barrels of oil and 300 barrels of water per day. Currently, the water is...

Excerpt: ...sons, the MJOP is granted, with leave to amend. Request for Judicial Notice Plaintiff's unopposed Request for Judicial Notice is granted. (Evid. Code §§ 452, 453.) Legal Standard The standard for granting a motion for judgment on the pleadings is essentially the same as that applicable to a general demurrer. (Burnett v. Chimney Sweep (2004) 123 Cal.App.4th 1057, 1064.) As a consequence, it may be granted if, from the pleadings, together with ma...

Excerpt: ...mber 19, 2020, raising claims under PAGA and a class action on behalf of non‐exempt employees, alleging that defendant violated the Labor Code in various ways, including unpaid overtime, unpaid minimum wage, non‐compliant meal and rest periods, failure to provide reporting time, failure to reimburse employee expenses, waiting time, and wage statement claims. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $1,715,000. The class represen...

Excerpt: ...round and Settlement Terms The original complaint was filed October 16, 2019, raising claims under PAGA and a class action on behalf of non‐exempt employees alleging that defendant violated the Labor Code in various ways, including unpaid wages due to rounding and off‐the‐clock work, rest period and meal break violations, and unreimbursed business expenses. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $390,000. The class represent...

Excerpt: ...ultiple defects in violation of express and implied warranties covering the car and that despite efforts to have the vehicle repaired at authorized Nissan repair facilities, the vehicle is still defective. (Def. RJN Exh. 1 [Compl. ¶¶ 7‐16].) Plaintiff's complaint alleges seven causes of action, including various violations of the Song‐Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, Civil Code section 1790 et seq. ("Song‐Beverly Act" for convenience) (1st�...

Excerpt: ...of non‐exempt employees alleging that defendant violated the Labor Code in various ways, including unpaid overtime, rest period and meal break violations, and unreimbursed business expenses. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $1,520,000. The class representative payment to plaintiffs would be $5,000 each. Counsel's attorney's fees would be $532,000 (35%). Litigation costs would not exceed $55,000. The settlement administrato...

Excerpt: ...y the issues raised by the Court previously will be discussed. Responses to the Court's Inquiries: 1. “There is no estimate of the number of aggrieved employees involved.” The parties advise that there are eleven aggrieved employees. 2. “There is no assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the case.” Counsel for plaintiff has provided a somewhat general, but sufficient evaluation of the case. 3. “There is no provision for follow up...

Excerpt: ...40 rendered under California law. Prob. Code §§ 15681, 16423, 16247. In a proceeding to determine an award of fees, the court always has discretion in the exercise of its supervisory role over the administration of trusts to determine the reasonableness of fee requests. Donahue v. Donahue (2010) 182 Cal. App. 4th 259, 268‐270. II. TRUSTEE'S FEES Debra requests an order authorizing her to pay herself $13,250.00, for trustee's fees for the peri...

Excerpt: ...fy an award of fees for services rendered to her 1 The court very nearly denied this Motion in its entirety. As stated above, the court was under the apparently mistaken understanding that no fee declarations had been filed in support of the Motion at all, as stated in the court's tentative ruling that became the order of the court on October 27, 2022. Evidently, the fee Declaration of Carolyn Cain was filed on August 30, 2022, nine days before t...

Excerpt: ... the Holders of WaMu Mortgage Passthrough Certificates, Series 2600‐AR14 (“Cross‐Defendant” or “U.S. Bank”)'s motion for judgment on the pleadings (“MJOP”). The MJOP relates to Cross‐Complainant Simone Braxton (“Cross‐Complainant” or “Braxton”)'s Cross‐ Complaint for (I) declaratory relief and cancellation of instruments, (II) prohibitive injunction, (III) mandatory injunction, (V) disgorgement, (alternative count VI...

Excerpt: ...nctruck to provide delivery services in California and Utah. The Plaintiffs are drivers employed by Synctruck, and allegedly by Amazon as a joint employer. A. Background and Settlement Terms The original complaint was filed by Brown and Gordon on December 10, 2018, raising class action claims on behalf of non‐exempt employees, alleging that defendant violated the Labor Code in various ways, including failure to pay minimum and overtime wages, f...

Excerpt: ...nt at ¶ 2.) A. Litigation Background This particular case arises out of a nationwide class action complaint originally filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, titled Villalobos v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., No. 2:21‐cv‐13049‐JMV‐JBC (D.N.J.) on June 28, 2021, by Plaintiff Ricardo Villalobos. (Byrd Decl. at ¶ 7.) On August 9, 2021, Plaintiff Villalobos filed a First Amended Class Action Complaint...

Excerpt: ...elow, is granted, and Plaintiffs' individual PAGA claims are ordered to arbitration. The motion to stay action pending the decision on the motion is denied as moot. The Court denies the motion to the extent it seeks dismissal of the action and grants the motion to the extent it seeks a stay of the action as to Plaintiffs' representative PAGA claims, as described below. This action shall be stayed through May 15, 2022. The case management conferen...

Excerpt: ...21.5(b), i.e., whether “the necessity and financial burden of private SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 39 JUDICIAL OFFICER: EDWARD G WEIL HEARING DATE: 12/01/2022 30 enforcement…are such as to make the award appropriate[.]” To meet this test, a party must show that “the cost of the claimant's legal victory transcends his [or her] personal interest, that is, when the necessity for pursuing the lawsu...

Excerpt: ...”). For the following reasons, Defendant's Motion to Compel Arbitration, Dismiss Plaintiffs' Class Claims, and Stay Action is granted. Plaintiffs class claims are dismissed. This matter is stayed as to the individual causes of action pending resolution of the Parties arbitration of those claims. Factual Background Plaintiff Brett Roche was hired by Defendant as a Tow Service Driver in February 2020. He worked for Defendant until March 2021. Pla...

Excerpt: ... dismiss representative PAGA claims alleged in the Complaint is denied without prejudice. The Court further orders the action with respect to the representative PAGA claims shall be stayed until May 15, 2023. The case management conference presently set November 30, 2022 is vacated, and a new case management conference is set for 8:30 a.m. on April 28, 2023. The parties shall include with their case management conference statements a report on th...

Excerpt: ...aims on behalf of nonexempt employees, alleging that defendant violated the Labor Code in various ways, including failure to pay minimum and overtime wages, failure to provide meal and rest breaks, failure to provide proper wage statements, failure to reimburse necessary business expenses, and failure to pay all wages due on separation. The complaint included PAGA claims, based on notices previously provided to the LWDA. A First Amended Complaint...

Excerpt: ...cedural Background This is a putative class action arising out of a data breach. (Complaint at ¶ 2.) Proposed Intervenor is a putative class member in this action. (Id. at ¶¶ 88, 89.) This case arises out of a nationwide class action complaint originally filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, titled Villalobos v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., No. 2:21‐cv‐13049‐JMV‐JBC (D.N.J.) on June 28, 2021 by...

Excerpt: ...nses. (An order after hearing was entered on August 17, 2022.) On August 7, 2022, plaintiff served supplemental responses, which ARAG asserts were still deficient. Further meeting and conferring resulted in further supplemental responses, which ARAG asserts still remain deficient. Evidentiary sanctions are appropriate where previous attempts at gaining compliance through orders to supplement have been ineffective, and the court must make such ord...

Excerpt: ...rsuant to the Arbitration Agreement. Plaintiff's representative PAGA claims are not dismissed but stayed pending arbitration. However, if the California Supreme Court issues a ruling in the interim, Defendant may revisit the ruling on the stay. (Review granted in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc., Cal. Ct. App. Case No. G059860,) Background Plaintiff Laurie Johnson is a former employee of Defendant AmSpec, LLC, a New Jersey limited liability comp...

Excerpt: ...rden of proof on that issue. (Tech‐Bilt, Inc. v. Woodward‐Cycle & Associates (1985) 38 Cal.3d 488, 499 (“Tech‐Bilt”); City of Grand Terrace v. Superior Court (1987) 192 Cal.App.3d 1251, 1261, 1264.) The party asserting that the settlement was not made in good faith must demonstrate that the settlement is “so far out of the ballpark in relation to [the Tech‐Bilt] factors as to be inconsistent with the equitable objectives of the stat...

Excerpt: ...ure to pay minimum wages and overtime, and cascading derivative violations. The total settlement payment is $25,000. This is composed of attorney's fees of $8,333. (onethird of the recovery), and a PAGA penalty of $16,667, of which $12,500.25 will be forwarded to the LWDA and $4,166.75, to be distributed to the aggrieved employees. Plaintiff also entered into a separate settlement of his individual claims, which is confidential. Counsel's motion ...

Excerpt: ...ve class consists of employees who directly provide those services. For the Court's October 20, 2022, calendar, the Court issued a tentative ruling identifying certain issues as to which it requested supplemental briefing. Plaintiff has now provided that information. A. Background and Settlement Terms The original complaint was filed on April 4, 2019, raising class action claims on behalf of nonexempt employees, alleging that defendant violated t...

Excerpt: ...nd a class action on behalf of non‐exempt employees, alleging that defendant violated the Labor Code in various ways, including unpaid overtime, unpaid minimum wage, non‐compliant meal and rest periods, SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 39 JUDICIAL OFFICER: EDWARD G WEIL HEARING DATE: 11/03/2022 11 unreimbursed business expenses, failure to provide reporting time, failure to maintain payroll records, wa...

Excerpt: ...ants demur to the Cross‐Complaint in its entirety on the basis that it fails to state facts sufficient to state a cause of action (CCP §430.10(e).) Cross‐Defendants also demur to each of the above causes of action individually on the basis that they fail to state facts sufficient to state a cause of action (CCP §430.10(e).) For the following reasons, Cross‐Defendants' demur is sustained. Cross‐Complainants are granted leave to amend. Fa...