Excerpt: ...nate forum is a ‘suitable' place for trial. If it is, the next step is to consider the private interests of the litigants and the interests of the public in retaining the action for trial in California. …[Citation.]” (Stangvik v. Shiley Inc. (1991) 54 Cal.3d 744, 751.) “On a motion for forum non conveniens, the defendant, as the moving party, bears the burden of proof.” (Ibid.) The ultimate question is whether the balancing of the Stang...

Excerpt: ... Fact (“UMF”) Nos. 9, 11, 24; Plaintiffs' Additional Fact (“PAF”) Nos. 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 44, 45, 46 47, 65, 66, 74, 75.) Protective's alternative motion for summary adjudication is granted as to the First Cause of Action (UMF 27; PAF 78, 85, 88), the non‐recoverability of Brandt attorney's fees (UMF 5, 16, 27, 30, and 31; PAF 76, 78, 85, 88), and the non ‐recoverability of punitive dam...

Excerpt: ...o to charity upon the deaths of the couple's two adult children. To lawfully avoid the potential massive tax penalties, which could exceed $100M, the Braddock trust developed a two‐step plan to assure the estate passed to the charities. The first step was approval of certain trust modifications by the probate court. The second step involved transferring the family's interest in nine entities from one Braddock family trust (Marital Trust) to ano...

Excerpt: ...te with examples of plaintiff filing “unmeritorious motions, pleadings, or other papers …” The Court will consider plaintiff's oral argument, take the matter under submission, and issue an order after hearing. The Court rules as follows on procedural matters: • Plaintiff's request that the hearing on this Order To Show Cause be transferred to another judge is denied. • The Court concurs with plaintiff's position that an order declaring ...

Excerpt: ...ty boundary and the ownership of a freestanding garage. After plaintiffs filed the action, parties arrived at a settlement agreement in October 2018 during mediation before Mediator Hon. Mark Eaton. As part of the settlement, defendants Jeffrey and Sharon Steinman agreed the garage was on their neighbors' side of the property line. Parties agreed that they would seek a lot line adjustment and that the Steinmans would make all efforts and pay all ...

Excerpt: ...ss, and (6) claim for punitive damages. Only the first cause of action for negligence is pled against Defendant. Defendant demurs pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) § 430.10(e) on the grounds that the TAC fails to allege facts sufficient to support a finding of foreseeability required to impose a duty on Defendant Tankersley. As a threshold issue, the Court declines to consider the Declaration of David Yen in support of Plaintiff's ...

Excerpt: ... the Dealer advertised the vehicle as a Kia Certified Pre‐Owned and the vehicle had passed a “165 Point Inspection.” Kia America's website also provides a copy of the Kia Certified Pre‐Owned inspection sheet and it is required to accompany every certified pre‐owned Kia. Plaintiff alleges he viewed the Dealer's advertising about the vehicle and the Pre‐Owned program prior to purchasing the vehicle. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA ...

Excerpt: ...hen states that, “Any Abstract of Judgment related to the Judgment may be recorded on 12/31/2021, or any date thereafter, if Defendant has not yet paid Plaintiff the remaining balance of $200,000. In such case, Defendant will make monthly payments to Plaintiff in the amount of $1,666.66 per month, for 10 years, with no interest, beginning on August 1, 2022.” (Settlement Agreement p. 1‐2.) After 10 years of payments, Defendants will have pai...

Excerpt: ...(Code Civ. Proc., § 1281.4.) A court must order arbitration if it determines that a valid agreement to arbitrate exists. Here, such an agreement exists. This case comes before the Court on remand following a previous denial of the petition. In a published decision, Gordon v. Atria Management Co., LLC (2021) 70 Cal.App.5th 1020, 1030, the First District Court of Appeal stated: The trial court erred in concluding that Randall lacked authority to b...

Excerpt: ...eeking leave to amend to (1) name Tyler Rad Holstein (“Holstein”) as a Defendant; (2) add claims for violations of the Unruh, Ralph and Bane Act; (3) remove claims and prayers for relief that are not recoverable in a survival action; (4) include allegations of Defendant Holstein's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”) and Defendant Securitas' knowledge thereof; and (5) add allegations regarding Plaintiffs' status as successors in intere...

Excerpt: ...se of action and is fatally uncertain; and, (2) the third cause of action, for injunctive relief under the Consumer Legal Remedies Act (“CLRA”), both fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action and is fatally uncertain. Introduction & Preliminary Considerations Before specifically addressing the merits of Renew's contentions, the Court first deals with some preliminary matters as a backdrop to that endeavor. First, the Cou...

Excerpt: ...§ 3273.10, and (4) violation of Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 et seq, the body of the Complaint alleges only two causes of action: one for violation of Civil Code § 2923.6 (labeled first cause of action) and one for violation of Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 et seq. (labeled third cause of action). For the following reasons, Plaintiff's motion for preliminary injunction is denied. The Temporary Restraining Order issued on February 14, 2022 is dissolv...

Excerpt: ...) As used in this section, “act in furtherance of a person's right of petition or free speech under the United States or California Constitution in connection with a public issue” includes: … (2) any written or oral statement or writing made in connection with an issue under consideration or review by a legislative, executive, or judicial body, or any other official proceeding authorized by law … The first question before the Court is whe...

Excerpt: ...RisoftDev CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 36 HEARING DATE: 03/24/22 ‐ 2 ‐ in return for 2,500,000 shares of stock equaling 25% of authorized shares of Plaintiff RisoftDev. Plaintiff alleges Defendants Chatfield and McVay breached the agreement and conspired to retain and use RisoftDev's propriety information and trade secrets. Defendant Joel McVay was one of the senior investment partners at Chatfield and lead con...

Excerpt: ...r to the TAC, the Court issued an Order after Hearing (the “Order”), sustaining the demurrer without leave to amend. Plaintiff now moves for a new trial. While such a motion is ordinarily made only after a trial of an issue of fact to the court or a jury, it may also be filed after the court has tried a pure CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 36 HEARING DATE: 03/24/22 ‐ 31 ‐ issue of law by sustaining a challenge...

Excerpt: ...G DATE: 03/24/22 ‐ 13 ‐ Any amended complaint shall be filed and served on or before April 4, 2022. Background Plaintiff purchased a 2014 Ford Escape on September 4, 2013, which had a large variety of defects "at the time of purchase, or within one‐year [sic] thereafter," which substantially impair the use, value, or safety of the Escape. (Complaint, ¶¶8, 10, 33.) In connection with the purchase, plaintiff received an express written warr...

Excerpt: ...to Code of Civil Procedure sections 430.10(e) and (f) as uncertain because the Complaint's Exhibit B contradict the Complaint's allegations and fail to allege facts to support Plaintiff's own performance; (2) Second Cause of Action for Conversion pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure sections 430.10(e) and (f) for failure to state a cause of action because the Complaint's Exhibit B states that title to the products does not transfer to the Plaintif...

Excerpt: ...section 226. The 12th cause of action seeks “waiting time penalties” (relief afforded employees who are not timely paid wages due and owing) under Labor Code sections 201 and 203. As Defendants observe, these causes of action are “derivative” in that the damages allegedly owing under sections 226 and 203 result from other alleged conduct—here, the failure to pay Stephens for meal and rest breaks (that alleged conduct is separately the b...

Excerpt: ...efendants together. (CCP §430.10 (f).) Any amended complaint shall be filed and served on or before April 7, 2022. If plaintiff amends again, the Court anticipates that it will make a final ruling on the validity of the Second Cause of Action on the next demurrer, without further leave to amend. In the event of any further demurrer, plaintiff shall file a redlined copy of the amended complaint, so the Court can track the changes The Court denies...

Excerpt: ... should not be sanctioned. Plaintiff's ex parte application to seal the proceedings was granted on July 27, 2020. At that time, Defendants had not been served with the summons and complaint; they had no notice and no opportunity to oppose. (Defendants were served almost a year later in April 2021.) CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 36 HEARING DATE: 03/17/22 ‐ 21 ‐ In its application to seal the proceedings, Plaintif...

Excerpt: ...units owned by Mr. Luecker and by Robert J. Mann, now deceased. (3AC ¶¶ 1, 5, 7.) Plaintiff alleges he is the personal representative of the estate of Robert J. Mann. (3AC ¶ A p. 5.) Based on the 3AC and Exhibit A attached, Robert J. Mann was granted a joint tenancy interest in Unit #63 of the condominium development. (3AC ¶¶ 1, 8, Exh. A.) As relevant to Mr. Luecker's demurrer, the original complaint was filed in the name of "Estate of Robe...

Excerpt: ... that defendants were guilty of ‘oppression, fraud, and malice' simply pleaded a claim for punitive damages in the language of the statute authorizing such damages. . . . Pleading in the language of the statute is not objectionable when sufficient facts are alleged to support the allegation.”)) Whether a plaintiff has a basis to request punitive damages in an action for elder abuse turns on whether the she has pleaded enough facts to support ...

Excerpt: ...s International shall prepare the order after hearing on this demurrer. Fire Wings Concord The Court previously overruled the demurrer to cause of action three against Fire Wings Concord (“Concord”.) The first amended cross‐complaint made no substantive changes to the third cause of action. Concord has again demurred to the third cause of action. CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT: 36 HEARING DATE: 03/17/22 ‐ 6 �...

Excerpt: ...s for violation of the Homeowner Bill of Rights (“HBOR”). Plaintiff has adequately alleged the HBOR violation of conducting a trustee's sale while a complete application for a loan modification was pending. (Complaint, ¶¶ 12‐24, 26‐29, and 34. See Valbuena v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC (2015) 237 Cal.App.4th 1267, 1275 [a plaintiff adequately alleged an HBOR cause of action by alleging that a complete application was pending at the time ...

Excerpt: ... is otherwise denied. Background Plaintiffs allege Defendant Camille Kimball decided to intoxicate herself with heroin and alcohol for several hours. She then drove in the wrong direction on I‐ 680 northbound. At 3:47 a.m., her vehicle came in contact with the vehicle driven by Nettie Darlene Perkett. Taurean Dorotae Lee was a passenger in Perkett's vehicle. Perkett and Lee died of the injuries resulting from the collision. Motion Pursuant to C...