Excerpt: ...e Complaint. The Court further orders the action with respect to the representative PAGA claims shall be stayed until May 1, 2023. The case management conference presently set for November 29, 2022 is hereby vacated, and a new case management conference is set for 8:30 a.m. on April 25, 2023. The parties shall include with SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 18 HEARING DATE: 10/03/2022 their case management c...

Excerpt: ...g reasons, Defendant's Motion is granted as set forth below. Plaintiff's motion is denied. Procedural Background This matter involves a medical malpractice action wherein Plaintiff Jerry D. Smith (“Plaintiff”) alleges that Defendant Grace S. Chou (“Defendant”) was negligent in providing medical care in February 2018. (Defendant Stanford Health Care was dismissed prior to settlement conference discussed below.) On June 21, 2022, the Partie...

Excerpt: ... the Court's ruling on the first demurrer, a detailed account of the facts, as stated in the original complaint, was provided. It need not be repeated here. In sum, this case was filed by plaintiff, Frank Souza, who was the tenant of former property owner, defendant Stephen W. Yatsko. Plaintiff claims he had continuing tenancy rights pursuant to an amended lease at the time Sandhu Defendants purchased the property. The Court partially sustained a...

Excerpt: ...ings suit to recover investments allegedly procured and converted by defendant Kevin Hampton through his fraudulent actions as the agent and co‐conspirator of the named co‐defendants, including cross‐complainants Michael Coleman III and Coleman Property Holdings, LLC. Abrahams' Fourth Amended Complaint (“4th AC”) alleges a fraudulent real estate scheme through a network of LLCs, which involved shifting debt from one property to another ...

Excerpt: ...2, and had accrued 27 years of service credit. On SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 18 HEARING DATE: 10/03/2022 December 15, 2015 he pled no contest to a single charge of felony violation of Penal Code §§ 503‐ 508, based on misconduct arising out of the performance of his official duties. His pension benefits were adjusted pursuant to Government Code 7522.72 following the felony conviction. Petitioner s...

Excerpt: ...dant's Motion is denied. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 36 HEARING DATE: 09/29/2022 2 Summary of Allegations This matter pertains to a motor vehicle accident that occurred on December 14, 2020 on the westbound side of Route 4 in Martinez, California. According to the Complaint, Defendant caused the accident by rear‐ending Plaintiff Laura Hinton (“Plaintiff”) after losing control of his vehicle. (Co...

Excerpt: ...a judgment, dismissal, order, or other proceeding taken against him or her through his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect." (CCP § 473(b).) "Application for this relief shall be accompanied by a copy of the answer or other pleading proposed to be filed therein, otherwise the application shall not be granted, and shall be made within a reasonable time, in no case exceeding six months, after the judgment, dismissal, order...

Excerpt: ...inst Defendants. (CCP § 583.310.) This action was commenced on August 31, 2016. Defendants contend that Plaintiff was required to bring the case to trial no later than August 1, 2022. On April 29, 2020, the California Judicial Council issued Emergency Rule 10(A) which extended the five‐year statute by six months. Defendants contend that filing of the complaint on August 31, 2016, plus six months for the pandemic places the deadline on February...

Excerpt: ...) wrongful foreclosure; (6) cancellation of instruments; (7) declaratory relief; and (8) quiet title. Defendant demurs to Plaintiff's causes of action (1), (2), (3), (6), (7), and (8) pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) § 430.10(e) on several grounds. For the following reasons, the Demurrer is sustained‐in‐part and overruled‐in‐part. Legal Standard “The function of a demurrer is to test the sufficiency of the complaint as a...

Excerpt: ... violation of Civil Code § 2924h(g); (3) fraud; (4) violation of Civil Code § 2924f; (5) wrongful foreclosure; (6) cancellation of instruments; (7) declaratory relief; and (8) quiet title. Defendants demur to each cause of action of the FAC pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) § 430.10(e) and (f) on several grounds. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 36 HEARING DATE: 09/29/2022 4 For the follow...

Excerpt: ...ff may file and serve an amended complaint by October 10, 2022. I. Background According to the First Amended Complaint (“FAC”), plaintiff engaged defendants Reallaw, APC and Michael J. Hassen on May 15, 2018, and later engaged defendant Thomas J. Kensok on October 17, 2018, for representation in an action “against or brought by” Mojgan Kavianinejad. (FAC, 3:20‐28.) Defendants agreed to “perform legal services to resolve any and all ma...

Excerpt: ...ENT 36 HEARING DATE: 09/29/2022 17 must be filed and served by October 10, 2022. Should plaintiff elect not to amend, the time to answer will run from that date. Background In May of 2019, plaintiff worked with defendant McMorrow, who was acting as an agent for IP Investors, Inc., to refinance his existing home loans. (Complaint, ¶8; see also ¶15.) Plaintiff alleges he was wrongly induced to enter into a loan transaction (including a promissory...

Excerpt: ...forth, the demurrer is overruled. Factual Background The FACC at issue in the demurrer alleges that the Menascos breached an agreement for the sale of a timeshare interest to Jerry Kilarr, now deceased. (FACC ¶¶ 15‐18 and Exhs. G and H.) The Menascos agreed to sell a timeshare interest in property in South Lake Tahoe (the "Timeshare") to Kilarr as part of a settlement of litigation that began in 2016 between the Menascos, on one hand, and Jer...

Excerpt: ...bout August 30, 2010 Plaintiff Ishaq Shariff (“Plaintiff”) was hired by Defendant ERAC SF to work at their Concord, California location. On that date, as part of the hiring process, he was presented with a Mutual Arbitration Agreement (“Arbitration Agreement”). Plaintiff does not deny that he signed the Arbitration Agreement. (Declaration of Ishaq Shariff (“Shariff Decl.”) ¶2.) He does contend, however, that he was ‘forced' to sign...

Excerpt: ...ein as the "Driver" or "Barturen"), when that vehicle made a left turn from Moraga Way onto Coral Drive. That defendant and two others who were the owners of the vehicle defendant Barturen was driving, have settled with Plaintiff pursuant to a good faith settlement approved by the Court on April 11, 2022. Defendant Jane Sayre owns the property bordering the public right‐of‐way next to the bike lane just before the intersection where Plaintiff...

Excerpt: ... and Sheriff Eviction is denied. Background Plaintiff Jet Airways of India, Inc. is a California corporation. Plaintiff was the owner of property commonly known as 10 Brewin Court in San Ramon. Plaintiff, acting through its corporate secretary, Minda De Santos, and with its counsel Richard Taguinod, agreed and entered into a real estate purchase agreement (“RPA”) on February 3, 2020, with Juanetta Stephens. On February 14, 2020, Juanetta Step...

Excerpt: ...Mr. Arnold Borgen was driving home when he struck Petitioner Ryan Thibodeaux (“Petitioner”), who was apparently in the middle of the roadway, injuring him. Mr. Borgen was an off‐duty San Francisco Police Department Traffic Officer driving home from an overtime shift in his personal vehicle. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CA DEPARTMENT 09 HEARING DATE: 09/26/2022 6 Petitioner promptly hired an attorney to represe...

Excerpt: ... of Public Property. The Complaint alleged that Plaintiff was walking on the sidewalk in front of 1060 Hensley Street in Richmond, California on September 3, 2021. “As he was walking, he tripped and fell due to a gap from missing concrete.” The Complaint names City of Richmond, County of Contra Costa, J.T. Thorpe & Son, Inc., and Hensley Property, LLC as defendants. The General Negligence and Premises Liability – Negligence claims are asser...

Excerpt: ...nherent authority and in the interests of justice and judicial economy, on the terms set forth. The case management conference date presently set for October 3, 2022 is hereby vacated, and a case management conference is hereby set for 8:30 a.m. on April 19, 2023 in Department 36. This action shall be stayed for until the April 19, 2023 case management conference. The parties shall file case management conference statements prior to the CMC heari...

Excerpt: ...rties exchanged expert disclosures on August 30, 2021. On September 17, Plaintiff served Defendants with her Supplemental Expert Witness Disclosure Statement. On September 16, 2021, the Honorable Judge Steve Austin continued the trial date to October 11, 2022. On August 22, 2022, Defendants demanded an exchange of expert witness information and demand for production of expert writings, and disclosed an additional expert witness. Plaintiffs ask th...

Excerpt: ... without need to take judicial notice of it. Defendant's request for judicial notice is granted as to the corporate documents filed with the Secretary of State. The Court can take notice of the documents, but not the truthfulness of the contents or interpretation thereof. (StorMedia Inc. v. Superior Court (1999) 20 Cal.4th 449, 456, fn. 9.; Joslin v. H.A.S. Ins. Brokerage (1986) 184 Cal.App.3d 369, 374.) Procedural Background Plaintiff Jeremy Pet...

Excerpt: ...ce set for October 24, 2022 by no later than September 26, 2022. Background Plaintiff Equity Track, Inc. filed a complaint against defendant Johnny Jose Ramos asserting claims for specific performance based on breach of a contract to sell real property and damages for breach of contract. Based on the proof of service on file with the Court, Ramos was served with the summons and complaint and failed to timely respond. Plaintiff requested, and the ...

Excerpt: ... Yeyeclub to file its proposed pleading, a motion to quash. Judge Austin gave Plaintiff time to conduct jurisdictional discovery. Plaintiff did not ultimately obtain any jurisdictional discovery from Yeyeclub, but Plaintiff has included new evidence with this motion that he did not include in 2018. The Court's ruling on the motion to quash includes consideration of new evidence not presented to Judge Austin in December 2018. Plaintiff claims that...

Excerpt: ...onym “Jane Doe” in place of Plaintiff's legal name. The Complaint alleges eight causes of action, each of which related to an alleged sexual assault and/or unwarranted touching of Plaintiff. Plaintiff did not seek prior approval to file the Complaint anonymously. Although the Complaint names Attunement Massage, an unknown California business entity as the Defendant, the body of the Complaint identifies Nathaniel Bangs as the person that alleg...

Excerpt: ...a “black parking lot/driveway barrier” at the exterior premises of Hartz Restaurant LLC, doing business as Almanac Restaurant, then Farmer's Almanac Restaurant, and finally Danville Harvest Restaurant at 500 Hartz Drive in Danville, California. Plaintiff worked for Danville Harvest Restaurant as a sous chef the time of the accident. After settling a workers' compensation case, plaintiff sued the owner of the property, Elwood 500 Hartz, LLC (L...