Excerpt: ... provide meal periods and rest breaks. Specific allegations include, but are not limited to, alleging that defendant had a policy of failing to pay commission employees separately for rest periods. PAGA notice was provided to the LWDA on August 1, 2019. The parties informal discovery in preparation for mediation, and eventually reached a resolution with the assistance of an experienced mediator. CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DE...

Excerpt: ...e to provide accurate itemized wage statements. The total settlement payment is $127,500. This is composed of $50,000 in PAGA penalties (of which 75% will be paid to the LWDA, and the aggrieved employees will receive 25%, allocated based on the number of pay periods that they worked), $50,000 in attorney's fees and costs, $2,500 in costs to the settlement administrator, Phoenix, and $25,000 to plaintiff in exchange for her individual claims. Plai...

Excerpt: ...ent was that the contract between the parties included a duty for Interactive to defend the District in the underlying action between Roebbelen and the District. Of course, in ruling on the MJoP, the Court was not permitted to consider evidence. Now, the District moves for summary adjudication, seeking a decision on an issue of duty; namely, that Interactive owes it a duty to defend the Roebbelen lawsuit under the relevant contract, and given the...

Excerpt: ..., meal and rest periods, proper wage statements, and reimbursement of employee business expenses. The case does not include a claim under PAGA. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $1,500,000. The class representative payment would be $15,000. Counsel's attorney's fees would be $600,000 (40% of the settlement). Litigation costs would not exceed $75,000. The settlement administrator (Phoenix Settlement Administrators), would cap ...

Excerpt: ...ling to provide meal and rest periods, and premium pay. PAGA allegations were added in the Second Amended Complaint, filed September 14, 2020. The submitted materials do not document that initial PAGA notices or notice of the settlement were provided to the LWDA. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $630,000. The class representative payment would be $7,500. Counsel's attorney's fees would be $210,000 (33% of the settlement). Li...

Excerpt: ...filed this petition, seeking a writ of mandate compelling removal of the LAVD initiative, naming the City of Antioch, the City Clerk, and the County Clerk‐Recorder as respondents, and the LAVD sponsor (itself called Let Antioch Voters Decide) as real parties in interest. The petition alleged that the LAVD initiative violated state law, specifically Government Code section 66300. On August 31, 2020, Oak Hill Park filed an ex parte application fo...

Excerpt: ...is case. (See, Farmers Ins. Exchange v. Superior Court (1992) 2 Cal.4th 377.) Defendant General Logistics Systems, U.S.'s demurrer is sustained with leave to amend as to cause of action one and otherwise overruled. Plaintiff may file and serve an amended complaint by March 4, 2021. CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 39 HEARING DATE: 02/11/21 ‐ 12 ‐ Judicial Abstention “[A] trial court may abstain from adjudicating ...

Excerpt: ...ject. A. Statutory Provisions. Objections to a discovery request ordinarily are waived by failure to file a timely response. A party may move for relief from the waiver, however, where the failure to serve a timely response was because of mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect, and has served a compliant response. (§ 2030.290(a)(2), § 2031.300(a).) Even without such a motion, however, courts may relieve a party from the waiver. (Deyo v. Ki...

Excerpt: ...AC”). The FAC alleges causes of action for (1) violation of Civil Code §§ 896, 897; (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. Defendant demurs to the second, third, fourth, sixth, and seventh causes of action. The sixth cause of action is not alleged against Defendant. The seventh cause of ...

Excerpt: ...nal distress. Any amended complaint shall be filed and served on or before February 11, 2021. Background CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 39 HEARING DATE: 01/28/21 ‐ 15 ‐ Plaintiff, Prasad Shankar, filed the complaint in this case on September 22, 2020. On October 8, 2020, before any defendant appeared, he filed the FAC. Plaintiff is representing himself. The FAC alleges that attorneys provided to plaintiff through...

Excerpt: ...ho allegedly were CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 39 HEARING DATE: 01/28/21 ‐ 7 ‐ misclassified as “exempt” employees, and therefore did not receive appropriate paychecks, were not paid for all hours work, and did not receive rest or meal breaks. The second class, Wage Statement Class Members, allegedly received wage statements that did not contain all required information, but are not alleged to have received...

Excerpt: ...al periods and rest breaks, failure to provide appropriate wage statements and failure to reimburse necessary business expenses. A Second Amended Complaint was filed on December 30, 2019, which added the PAGA claims. Plaintiff Medina had filed a separate action in Ventura County, but that case was dismissed without prejudice, and Medina's claims were made part of this case. The parties undertook discovery as part of the matter, and eventually rea...

Excerpt: ...spond. First, the parties dispute whether the discovery was properly served. Defendant served the requests by electronic mail on May 19, 2020, making responses due June 22, 2020 (if properly served). (Defendant has not provided proof of service of the discovery, but states by declaration that they were served electronically.) Plaintiff did not respond by June 22, 2020. Plaintiff's counsel asserts that defendant did not inquire as to whom email se...

Excerpt: ...“Doe Statute”). The Motion is granted in part. While service is quashed, the request for dismissal is premature. Service on Hilltop Compliance with the statutory procedures for service of process is essential to establish personal jurisdiction. (Renoir v. Redstar Corp. (2004) 123 Cal.App.4th 1145, 1152.) A defendant improperly served may therefore serve and file a notice to quash service of summons on the ground of lack of jurisdiction of the...

Excerpt: ...e) +1 669 219 2599 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 980 3412 7433 Passcode: 613244 Find your local number: https://cc‐courts.zoom.us/u/arAHun9bC The Court has provided a draft of its ruling below. The Court has questions regarding this case, which are provided at the end. Counsel also should be prepared to address whether further briefing on specified issues would be appropriate. Petitioners own 186 acres of undeveloped property in an area called Boll...

Excerpt: ...ly 31, 2020.”); #8 (“Copies of all Balance Sheets for the period of January 1, 2015, to July 31, 2020”); and #9 (“Copies of all Financial Statements for the period of January 1, 2015, to July 31, 2020”). 7 Stars objects on the grounds that the requests are not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence; that the burden and expense outweigh the likelihood that the information will lead to the discovery of admis...

Excerpt: ...filing of this complaint. From approximately February 2018 to approximately May 2018, Plaintiff was employed as an hourly‐paid warehouse employee of Vici, a women's apparel retailer, located in Contra Costa County. Plaintiff alleges various Labor Code violations, including failure to pay overtime, provide meal and rest periods, failure to pay minimum wage, and other derivative wage and hour claims. In May 2018, Vici asked its employees to sign ...

Excerpt: ...city as Superintendent of Public Instruction (“State Defendants”). The demurrer by the State Defendants is overruled. The demurrer by the County is overruled as to the first and ninth causes of action, and sustained with leave to amend as to the second cause of action. I. Alleged Factual Background This case stems from the claims of four current and former students of the Floyd I. Marchus School (“Marchus”). Marchus is a school for studen...

Excerpt: ...ipulation, that the claims be sent to arbitration “with the exception of the PAGA claims[.]” The matter was stayed pending arbitration, and plaintiffs retained their right to pursue PAGA claims after the arbitration was completed. Plaintiffs have now filed a motion “to approve PAGA settlement and to dismiss PAGA claim.” At mediation, the parties reached an agreement resolving the individual claims. In addition each plaintiff “releases t...

Excerpt: ...uez, and Zeaad M. Handoush (collectively, “moving parties” or “Defendants”). The Motion is denied. Plaintiff, Richmond Compassionate Care Collective (“Plaintiff” or “RCCC”), a California Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation, brought this action against Defendants, alleging they violated the Cartwright Act through engaging in a conspiracy to restrain trade and monopolize the local medical marijuana market. Specifically, RCCC claims...

Excerpt: ...of the settlement. A. Background and Settlement Terms The original complaint was filed May 25, 2018. It is a class action complaint alleging failure to pay wages and/or overtime, failure to provide meal periods and rest breaks, and failure to pay for time or expenses associated with obtaining mandatory drug tests. Pursuant to stipulation, an amended complaint adding a PAGA cause of action was filed on May 3, 2019. A Second Amended Complaint was f...

Excerpt: ...(1) negligence and (2) negligent hiring & retention against Defendant Goldman Inc. and a single cause of action for (3) negligence against Hanover. Defendant demurs on several grounds. For the following reasons, the Demurrer is sustained. Factual Background Plaintiffs allege that Defendant Goldman Inc. had two laptops with confidential patient information and cell phones stolen from Dr. Goldman's car in July 2016 (hereinafter, the “Data Breach�...

Excerpt: ... wage statements that did not identify “the inclusive dates of the period for which the employee is paid.” It does not allege that defendant failed to pay any wages that were due. The case does not include a claim under PAGA. The settlement would create a gross settlement fund of $275,000. The class representative payment would be $5,000. Counsel's attorney's fees would be $91,666.67. Litigation costs would be $5,000. The settlement administr...

Excerpt: ...ound and Settlement Terms The original complaint was filed April 30, 2018. It alleges that defendants provide alarm services to homes and businesses, and plaintiff was a customer. The standard contract used provides that a customer may cancel the contract in writing 30 days before the end of the contract term, or it automatically renews. Plaintiff alleged that she cancelled, yet defendants continued to bill her under the contract, and that defend...

Excerpt: ...andate, the City sought costs and Petitioners moved to strike. The matter was heard by the Court and the Court granted costs in CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 39 HEARING DATE: 12/03/20 ‐ 19 ‐ the amount of $16,028.12. While the appeal on the merits was pending, the parties reached a stipulation in which they agreed that “[i]n exchange for PETITIONERS waiving the right to appeal the Order on Costs, CITY and PETI...

Excerpt: ...Muir did not respond. Defendants sent two meet‐and‐confer letters, but not until July 24, 2020, and September 30, 2020. John Muir still did not respond. Defendants filed this motion on October 30, 2020. The subpoena included the notice to consumer required by Code of Civil Procedure section 1985.3. Where the subject of the record is a non‐party, the subject may serve objections to the subpoena, which relieves the recipient of the subpoena f...

Excerpt: ... A. Terms of Settlement The proposed class would consist of all consumers in California who have or had a Mendocino Farms gift card with a balance of $10 or less from November 18, 2015 to the date of preliminary approval of the settlement. The relief provided is that Mendocino Farms would update its policies to assure compliance, by revising its written policies, and training both existing and new employees concerning the requirements of the law....

Excerpt: ...vate nuisance shall be stricken from Plaintiff's complaint: paragraph 13, page 5, lines 11‐12 ["and encouraged others to use Calle Arroyo, for CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 39 HEARING DATE: 12/03/20 ‐ 6 ‐ recreational purposes"]; paragraph 21 in its entirety; paragraph 22, second sentence ["Defendant's encouragement of the general public to violate the judgment is damaging Plaintiff's property value, causing a...

Excerpt: ...cussing the overall merits of the case and the conduct of opposing counsel. For the most part, this is not material to the Court's decision and will not be discussed. Where a party seeks to prevent the issuance of a commission to take an out‐of‐state deposition, the moving party has the burden of establishing good cause for the requested relief. (Dow Chemical Co. v. Superior Court (1969) 2 Cal.App.3d 1, 6.) Generally, anything relevant to the...

Excerpt: ...one defendant from the complaint and removing one defendant from the FEHA claims; (2) reorganizing the factual allegations and adding new allegations; (3) clarifying that the FEHA claims exist for the entire alleged employment of six years and not just for the time period that Defendants claim Plaintiff was an employee and that Plaintiff suffered retaliation beyond the termination of her employment; and (4) adding a new fraud claim based on facts...

Excerpt: ...ruary 21, 2018. The operative complaint is the First Amended Complaint, filed January 16, 2019. (Plaintiffs at one point filed a motion to leave to file a second amended complaint, but the motion was never heard and the pleading was not filed.) The First Amended Complaint alleges failure to pay required overtime, failure to maintain accurate records, failure to furnish proper wage statements and derivative waiting time violations. The agreement p...

Excerpt: ...the voters, because it was inconsistent with a prior initiative, the Richland initiative, that had been adopted by the City Council shortly before. (See Elections Code, § 9217.) Save Mount Diablo intervened, defending the City Council's adoption of the initiative. Ultimately, this Court agreed with Zeka and ordered that the LAVD initiative be submitted to the voters at the November, 2020 election. Save Mount Diablo appealed. Zeka Ranch, a respon...

Excerpt: ...ilure to provide meal periods and rest breaks, failure to pay wages at termination, failure to provide sick days, failure to properly itemize wage statements, failure to pay employees twice per month, and failure to reimburse business expenses. A gross settlement of $600,000, non‐reversionary, will be paid to the Settlement Administrator. The employer's share of payroll taxes (not income tax withholding) on the wage portions of the payments wil...

Excerpt: ...not tabbed. A‐2. Timeliness. The Timeliness Of The First Amended Complaint Defendant argues that plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint was not timely filed. The Court finds that this argument lacks merit. Section 472 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides as follows: (a) A party may amend its pleading once without leave of the court at any time before the answer, demurrer, or motion to strike is filed, or after a demurrer or motion to strike is ...

Excerpt: ...s. Specific allegations include, but are not limited to, alleging that defendant had a policy of failing to pay commission employees separately for rest periods. PAGA notice was provided to the LWDA on August 1, 2019. The parties informal discovery in preparation for mediation, and eventually reached a resolution with the assistance of an experienced mediator. A gross settlement amount of $449,250, non‐reversionary, will be paid to the Settleme...

Excerpt: ...rly found the project categorically exempt from preparation of an Environmental Impact Report under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Second, Petitioners claim that the City improperly applied the state housing statute and local ordinance allowing “density bonuses” for projects that provide units for low‐income people. The project sits on three lots totaling 3.2 acres at the corner of High Street and Marsh Creek Road. The ini...

Excerpt: ...paragraph opposition. Defendant demurs pursuant to Code of Civ. Proc. § 430.10(a), (c), (e) and (f) on several grounds, including that the Complaint is barred by the doctrine of res judicata. For the following reasons, the Demurrer is sustained, without leave to amend. Request for Judicial Notice Defendant requests judicial notice of several documents from the Contra Costa County Recorder Office. This Request is unopposed. Defendant's request fo...

Excerpt: ...at Smart & Final's approximately 250 California stores were denied appropriate seating while performing their duties. The total settlement payment is $500,000. This is composed of $284,584 in PAGA penalties (of which 75% will be paid to the LWDA, and the aggrieved employees will receive 25%), $166,666 in attorney's fees, $34,000 in costs, (the agreement says $32,000) and $14,750 in settlement administration costs. The employee share of the PAGA p...

Excerpt: ...t be provided to the Court for in camera review; and (2) plaintiff's counsel file a supplemental declaration addressing certain issues identified by the Court. Counsel provided the required information, and the Court granted the motion on December 12, 2019. Background: The original complaint was filed August 25, 2017. The operative Second Amended complaint, includes seven causes of action: failure to pay minimum wages, failure to pay for all hour...

Excerpt: ... and Cross‐Complaint. Factual/Procedural Background Plaintiff is the owner of a medical office building in Lafayette (the "Property"). (Compl. ¶ 1.) Plaintiff entered into an agreement with defendant GTE Mobilnet of California Limited Partnership ("GTE") allowing GTE to install telecommunications equipment on the roof of the building and other locations at the Property. (Compl. ¶ 9.) GTE engaged defendant Quality Telecom Consultants, Inc. ("Q...

Excerpt: ...from the Cross‐Complaint: Paragraph 41 in its entirety (p. 10, ll. 1‐5); Prayer for Relief ¶ 6 (p. 11, l. 27). Factual Background Plaintiff and Cross‐Defendant Derek Guido De Petra, a Sole Trustee of the Irrevocable Trust Created by the de Petra Family 1998 Revocable Trust, Amended and Restated February 4, 2014 ("De Petra") is the owner of a medical office building in Moraga in which PPS was a tenant under a lease of Suite 205. (Cross‐Co...

Excerpt: ...is overruled. Factual Allegations Plaintiff is the owner of a medical office building in Lafayette (the "Property"). (Compl. ¶ 1.) Plaintiff entered into an agreement with defendant GTE Mobilnet of California Limited Partnership ("GTE") allowing GTE to install telecommunications equipment on the roof of the building and other locations at the Property. (Compl. ¶ 9.) GTE engaged defendant Quality Telecom Consultants, Inc. ("QTC") to install the ...

Excerpt: ...8, which alleged meal and rest break violations, as well as derivative violations arising from the meal and rest break violations. The agreement provides a settlement class consisting of non‐exempt employees employed from January 22, 2015, through the date of preliminary approval, and is estimated to include 340 to 395 members. A gross settlement of $315,000, non‐ reversionary, will be paid to the Settlement Administrator. The employer's shar...

Excerpt: ...iness and Professions Code §§ 17200 et seq.; (9) negligent misrepresentation; (10) civil assault; and (11) negligent retention, hiring and supervision. For the following reasons, the demurrer is overruled‐in‐ part and sustained‐in‐part, with leave to amend. Factual Background Defendant Bill Brandt Ford employed Plaintiff as a Finance Manager at its Brentwood, California facility. (FAC ¶ 1,2,17.) Defendant Rob Brandt and Defendant Bobby...

Excerpt: ...ile a formal discovery motion. (Local Rule 3.301(d)(7).) Pursuant to Rule 3.301(d)(9), the Court “will consider the recommendations of the Discovery facilitator in deciding the merits of the motion.” The Facilitator made four recommendations: (1) that plaintiff be granted three more hours of deposition of Mr. Zhang, and that it be conducted by video; (2) that Defense counsel limit instructions not to answer; (3) that plaintiffs be permitted a...

Excerpt: ... a.m. Allegations On April 4, 2017, Franklin was shot and killed by her ex‐ boyfriend, McBride, while she was taking two of her children, plaintiffs Eric and Aiden, to school. (FAC ¶¶1, 11.) Erin and Aiden witnessed their mother's murder. (FAC ¶¶1, 64, 65.) The night before the killing, Franklin had called 911 and reported that McBride was stalking her and she need police assistance. (FAC ¶13.) The call was documented as one for domestic v...

Excerpt: ...endant Carquinez Women's Club (“CWC”), which owns the Property and operates it as an event venue. CWC cross‐complained against CrossDefendants for breach of contract ‐ insurance; breach of contract ‐ indemnity; equitable indemnity; apportionment; and declaratory relief regarding an alleged duty to indemnify and duty to defend. Cross‐Defendants move for summary judgment on the basis that they have no contractual or other duty to defend...

Excerpt: ...e statements. In essence, plaintiff alleges that he and five other aggrieved employees, who worked installing granite countertops, were paid a salary, when they should have been paid hourly and received overtime. Mr. Gonzales also has individual wage claims, which are resolved in the agreement. The individual wage claims of the other aggrieved employees are not resolved by this settlement. The total settlement payment is $146,144.61. This is comp...

Excerpt: ...20, 2018. Plaintiff's complaint was filed with the Clerk's office on April 21, 2020. CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 39 HEARING DATE: 09/17/20 ‐ 8 ‐ Defendant originally filed a demurrer to the Complaint on June 26, 2020 which was scheduled for hearing on August 6, 2020. The Court took the demurrer hearing off‐calendar because there was no proof of service on file indicating Defendant had served the Plaintiff wi...

Excerpt: ...ailure to pay overtime, failure to provide accurate itemized wage statements, failure to reimburse required expenses, and failure to provide wages when due. The matter was filed in 2017, but was stayed while the parties arbitrated plaintiff's individual non‐PAGA claims. It was settled with the assistance of an experienced mediator. There is a separate settlement between Ms. Karr and Defendant of her individual claims, which is not submitted to ...