Excerpt: ...hearing, the trial court must make a finding, based on the evidence presented, that the settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable. The purpose of the requirement is to protect class members whose voices may not have been heard by the negotiating parties. Luckey v. Superior Court (2014) 228 Cal.App.4 th 81, 93. The trial court has broad discretion to determine whether the settlement is fair. Some of the factors to consider include:  the stre...

Excerpt: ...ployees with all required overtime pay;  Violations of Labor Code sections 1182.12, 1194, 1197, and 1197.1, and the applicable IWC Wage Order for Defendant's failure to compensate Plaintiff and Aggrieved Employees with at least minimum wages for all hours worked;  Violation of Labor Code sections 226.7, 512(a), and 1198, and the applicable IWC Wage Order for Defendants' failure to provide Plaintiff and Aggrieved Employees with meal periods;...

Excerpt: ... Pay Rest Period Compensation (Cal. Lab. Code section 226.7);  Failure to Furnish Accurate Wage and Hour Statements (Cal. Lab. Code section 226);  Failure to Pay Wages Upon Discharge (Cal. Lab. Code section 201);  Statutory Penalties (Cal. Lab. Code sections 203 and 558);  Failure to Indemnify and Illegal Deductions from Wages (Cal. Lab. Code section 2802);  Retaliation (Cal. Lab. Code sections 1102.5, 98.6);  Wrongful Terminati...

Excerpt: ... approximately two weeks before Dr. Holzner filed his demurrer to the SAC. (See ROA 157.) Dr. Holzner contends the SAC is a sham pleading because it omits certain factual allegations previously alleged in the FAC. Generally, after an amended pleading has been filed, courts will disregard the original pleading. (Berman v. Bromberg (1997) 56 Cal.App.4th 936, 945.) But an exception to this rule occurs when an amended complaint attempts to avoid defe...

Excerpt: ...53,130.00 for a good faith deposit. The lease was contingent upon Plaintiff's receipt of a conditional use permit. Plaintiff did not obtain a conditional use permit and requested the refundable prepaid fees, but Defendant refused to return it. On 08/17/2020, Plaintiff filed a Complaint against Defendant for: 1) Breach of written contract; 2) Breach of written contract for failure to return security deposit; 3) Common count; and 4) Violation of Ci...

Excerpt: ...iconductor Corp. (2015) 242 Cal.App.4th 651, 659-660.) Special Demurrer for Uncertainty Defendants specially demurrer to the first through fourth causes of action. A special demurrer for uncertainty is strictly construed, even where a complaint is in some respects uncertain, because ambiguities can be clarified under modern discovery procedures.” (Khoury v. Maly's of California, Inc. (1993) 14 Cal.App.4th 612, 616.) Errors and confusion created...

Excerpt: ...cting Plaintiffs' access to the “Easement Area”; (2) requiring Defendants to (a) detach the “Fence” from Plaintiffs' home and repair any damage resulting therefrom; and (b) consenting to replacing the Fence with a new fence with an entryway that is adjacent to Plaintiffs' home, and across the Easement Area, that is wholly accessible to Plaintiffs, which Plaintiffs agreed to pay for in its entirety. The burden is on a plaintiff to show all...

Excerpt: ...t rents, if any, would be owed if a separate lease agreement for additional rooftop space to meet FCC regulations was signed by Verizon. But there are also allegations Landmark is threatening the plaintiff with litigation and claims for monetary damages if as a result of its claims Verizon fails to renew its lease. It is further alleged that if Verizon does not renew the lease Landmark will locate another tenant to conduct the same operations wit...

Excerpt: ...session and a withholding thereof from the plaintiff 1st cause of action for Ejectment: The essential elements of a cause of action in ejectment are: “ownership disclosing a right to possession, the defendant's possession and a withholding thereof from the plaintiff.” [Baugh v. Consumers Associates, Limited (1966) 241 Cal.App.2d 672, 675] Here, it appears from the face of the Cross-Complaint, that the cause of action for ejectment is MOOT. In...

Excerpt: ... to the allegedly duplicative PAGA causes of action. In the Blanchard Action, Plaintiff sues only for civil penalties (along with attorney's fees and costs) pursuant to Labor Code section 2699. The defined “aggrieved employees” are those from December 6, 2018 through date of judgment. In this Action, Plaintiff seeks class certification of an “Overtime Class,” for a 4 year period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint; a “Wage...

Excerpt: ...to the complaint, beyond the dec relief claims, should have been made by motion. On 10/8/20, the court sustained with leave to amend the Demurrer to the Second Cause of Action, which consisted of two declaratory relief causes of action. On 10/19/20, the Third Amended Cross-Complaint was filed. The causes of action were (1) Breach of Contract- Rescission and (2) Unfair Competition. Motion to Strike: “Following an order sustaining a demurrer or a...

Excerpt: ...the parties (the “Motion”) is GRANTED, in part, DENIED, in part, as follows. Pursuant to CRC Rule 3.400, a case can be designated as complex if it meets one of more of the following factors: (1) Numerous pretrial motions raising difficult or novel legal issues that will be time- consuming to resolve; (2) Management of a large number of witnesses or a substantial amount of documentary evidence; (3) Management of a large number of separately re...

Excerpt: ...e, inadvertence and/or excusable neglect. Plaintiffs, in opposition, contend that Defendant's motion fails because: (1) it is brought under CCP § 473(b), instead of CCP § 2031.300(a), the latter of which specifically governs requests for relief from waiver in connection with untimely RFP responses; (2) Defendant's Motion is untimely because more than eight months elapsed between the time Plaintiffs emailed Defendant about the untimely responses...

Excerpt: ...rate statement of undisputed material facts.” (Cal. Rules of Ct., Rule 3.1350(b); see also Code Civ. Proc., § 1010.) The question whether a defendant breached a duty, however, is generally a question of fact for the jury (see, e.g., Amtower v. Photon Dynamics, Inc. (2008) 158 Cal.App.4th 1582, 1599; Piscitelli v. Friedenberg (2001) 87 Cal.App.4th 953, 983). A party moving for summary adjudication bears an initial burden of production to make a...

Excerpt: ...ury. (see, e.g., Amtower v. Photon Dynamics, Inc. (2008) 158 Cal.App.4th 1582, 1599; Piscitelli v. Friedenberg (2001) 87 Cal.App.4th 953, 983). Further, the statement of undisputed facts does not show that plaintiff cannot show “breach, causation, and damages.” The central issue is whether Defendants met their burden to show that Plaintiff cannot show they could have obtained a more favorable result but for Defendant's acts or omissions. “[...

Excerpt: ...p.4 th 314, 318.) The inquiry on such a motion is limited to the “probable validity” of the lien. (Ibid.) As the lien claimant, Acon bears the burden to establish the probable validity of its mechanics lien by a preponderance of the evidence. (Id. at 319.) Thus, Acon must establish a prima facie case for its lien, and if opposed, the Court must consider the relative merits of the positions of the respective parties and make a determination of...

Excerpt: ... controlled by FDISS, but that it is the personal checking account of Williams. Williams also contends that he is not subject to the Writ of Attachment, and that he never received notice of Plaintiff's Ex Parte Application for Writ of Attachment. Plaintiff, Sami Services Inc. dba Sami-Aid (“Plaintiff”) contends that an individual's personal checking account is subject to attachment, that the evidence establishes the probable validity of Plain...

Excerpt: ...itration agreement. Subsequently, the instant petition was filed, whereby Petitioner now moves to compel arbitration, and requests that the Court enter an order declaring that Petitioner is a “consumer,” as is defined by Code Civ. Proc., § 1280(c), that the arbitration shall be administered as a “consumer arbitration,” and that JAMS administer the arbitration pursuant to its Rules. The problem is that Respondents did not consent to arbit...

Excerpt: ...h Hospital; (3) Prime Healthcare La Palma, LLC dba La Palma Intercommunity Hospital; and (4) and Prime Healthcare Anaheim, LLC dba West Anaheim Medical Center [collectively “plaintiffs” or “Prime Hospitals”]. Named defendants are: (1) Orange County Health Authority dba CalOptima; (2) CalOptima Community Network; (3) Varis, LLC; (4) Altamed Health Services; (5) Amvi Care Health Network; (6) Arta Western Health Network; (7) Family Choice He...

Excerpt: ... Cal.App.4th 87, 94). “Despite the statute's overall remedial purpose, the statutory language clearly shows that the Legislature intended to impose strict prerequisites and time limits for claims involving uninsured motorists”. (Juarez v. 21st Century Ins. Co. (2003) 105 Cal.App.4th 371, 377.) Generally, "a plaintiff has an obligation to monitor the case in the trial court, to keep track of relevant dates, and to determine whether any filing,...

Excerpt: ...ted therewith. That information may be subject to supplementation does not excuse a party from providing a complete and straightforward response. No. 8.8 – GRANT as to (b), (d). That information may be subject to supplementation does not excuse a party from providing a complete and straightforward response. No. 50.1 – GRANT. The response is non-responsive. No. 50.2 – GRANT. The response is non-responsive. Sanctions are awarded in the amount...

Excerpt: ...m/blow out the bus interior to get rid of trash, wash the bus exterior (if necessary), fuel the bus and place it in storage. The actual fueling was accomplished by a co-worker, and Plaintiff generally/never left the bus during the fueling process, as it was accomplished by a co- employee, and would typically clean the bus interior during fueling. Defendant GEMS Environmental was retained by the County of Orange to remove the liquified natural gas...

Excerpt: ...neys engaged in “abuse of their ‘Litigation Privilege'” (Complaint page 2:10-11.) At page 8:8-11, Plaintiff pleads that “All of these, and more, vicarious and egregious actions were done to an Elderly (going on 80 years old) male, in poor and declining health senior citizen and in a Related and Relevant case, the Sexual harassment, of a female senior citizen whom lives in a so-called ‘safe and secure' senior citizen retirement community...

Excerpt: ...the grounds Defendants had no basis to move to disqualify counsel in this matter, and filed a baseless motion to annoy, harass, and increase the litigation costs in this matter in violation of Code of Civil Procedure sections 128.5 and 128.7. In all civil cases, the judge may order a party or counsel, or both, “to pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, incurred by another party as a result of actions or tactics, made in bad fai...

Excerpt: ...in when he slipped and fell on a puddle of water that was leaking from a toilet, causing him to sustain serious injuries. On 1/3/19, TJ Maxx answered the first amended complaint. On 5/17/19, plaintiff filed an amendment to complaint, identifying Doe 1 as Kellermeyer Bergensons Services, LLC. On 8/8/19, Kellermeyer Bergensons Services, Inc. (KBS) filed an answer to complaint. A motion for protective order is scheduled for 2/24/21, a motion to comp...