Excerpt: ...elow, the motion is GRANTED as to special interrogatories 2-11 and 14 and otherwise DENIED. Plaintiff's request for sanctions is DENIED. GROUNDS FOR RULING I. SIs 1, 23-24, 26 KVS's responses to 1, 23-24, and 26 all close by saying that KVS has no aggrieved employees. This would ordinarily be an improper response, but Plaintiff's definition of “aggrieved employees” isn't along the ordinary lines of “all non-exempt employees.” Per the inst...

Excerpt: ..., LLC. In the alternative, Travelers moves for summary adjudication of each cause of action in LaBarre's Second Amended Cross-Complaint (2AXC). For the reasons set forth below, the motion is DENIED. EVIDENTIARY MATTERS A. LaBarre's Objections to Travelers' Evidence All objections are overruled. B. LaBarre's Objections to Travelers' Separate Statement Objections are properly raised to evidence, not facts in a separate statement. Objections cannot ...

Excerpt: ...seek a stay of this action based on (1) a plea in abatement, (2) the rule of exclusive concurrent jurisdiction, and (3) the Court's inherent power. They also argue Knott fails to plead facts sufficient to state a PAGA claim insofar as his PAGA claim is based on alleged violation of the Equal Pay Act. Defendant Kevin Curry contends Knott fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against him, both because Knott does not plead ...

Excerpt: ...2023. If a revised settlement agreement and/or class notice is submitted, a redline showing all changes, deletions and additions must be submitted as well. In addition, Plaintiffs must provide proof of service of any revised settlement agreement and supporting papers on the LWDA. As to the Settlement: 1. The Court understands the parties' desire to adjust the class period to more closely correspond to their expectations when they originally reach...

Excerpt: ...is individual claims are ordered to arbitration per the parties' arbitration agreement. 2. Subject to the parties' stated positions at the hearing, the motion is CONTINUED as to the tenth cause of action (PAGA) to permit the filing of supplemental briefing discussed below. The Court proposes on its own motion to take notice of the docket in U Gym LLC v. Adzoh, No. 23-01327768. I. Terms of Agreement The purported arbitration agreement is attached ...

Excerpt: ...o such analysis was provided to the Court in connection with the approval motion in 2018, and, apart from a PAGA analysis of the potential cell phone penalties, no such analysis is provided with the current motion. Among other things, there is no indication of what value is placed on the settlement of the reimbursement claims involving uniforms/shoes, nor is there any valuation of the derivative claims that are part of the settlement. Presumably,...

Excerpt: ... (SCL). They also move to strike portions of the first amended complaint. For the reasons set forth below, the demurrer is SUSTAINED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND. The motion to strike is therefore DENIED AS MOOT. Any amended complaint must be filed by July 17, 2023. Defendants' unopposed request for judicial notice of documents filed in Wyatt v. Orange County Courier Logistics, LLLP, No. 17-00937665, is GRANTED. I. Factual Background The following backgro...

Excerpt: ... Jondo LTD and Its Counsel of Record, Jackson Lewis P.C. ROA 35 Plaintiff Jesus Martinez moves to compel further responses to his first set of requests for admission (RFAs) and first set of special interrogatories (SIs) to Defendant Jondo Ltd. He also seeks a total of $9,232.50 in sanctions on the two motions, entered jointly and severally against Defendant and its counsel of record, Jackson Lewis, P.C. The Court rules as follows: 1. The request ...

Excerpt: ...s to rule on the parties' other objections. (CCP § 437c(q).) GROUNDS FOR RULING I. Background The plaintiffs in this case are the Prime Hospitals, which operate hospitals in Orange County. CalOptima administers health insurance programs for numerous Orange County residents. As relevant here, this includes residents who receive health insurance through Medi-Cal and Medicare. CalOptima has entered into contracts with each of the Prime Hospitals. U...

Excerpt: ...y or his or her legal representative from a judgment, dismissal, order, or other proceeding taken against him or her through his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. . . . Notwithstanding any other requirements of this section, the court shall, whenever an application for relief is made no more than six months after entry of judgment, is in proper form, and is accompanied by an attorney's sworn affidavit attesting to his ...

Excerpt: ...est for judicial notice is GRANTED as to Exhibits A and G and otherwise DENIED. I. Background As alleged in the FAC, and taken as true for purposes of demurrer: Trividia manufactures glucose test strips used by persons with diabetes. During manufacture, the test strips are supposed to be sealed in vials to protect them from heat and moisture exposure. If the strips are exposed to air before they are opened for use, they can return incorrect resul...

Excerpt: ... 8 of the notice of motion and otherwise denied. Any amended complaint must be filed by July 3, 2023. The Court has not considered Plaintiff's citation to unpublished decisions of the California Superior Courts. “[A] written trial court ruling has no precedential value.” (Santa Ana Hospital Medical Center v. Belshe (1997) 56 Cal.App.4th 819, 831.) I. Standard of Review A party may move to strike “any irrelevant, false, or improper matter in...

Excerpt: ... II Association's underlying claims. This motion is DENIED. However, in the event that Travelers' pending motion for summary judgment against LaBarre is denied, then, for the reasons set forth below, the Court will reconsider this motion. At the hearing, the parties should be prepared to discuss a new hearing date for Travelers Casualty Insurance Company of America's motion for summary judgment on the operative 2AXC, as well as a new trial date. ...

Excerpt: ...unsel's prior declaration (ROA 177), Bose's $333,000 individual settlement was 53% of the overall maximum potential value (including his wrongful termination claims). Applying that 53% ratio to the wage-and-hour maximum value means Bose settled his individual wage-and-hour claims for $145,879.11. Assuming 544 class members, and accounting for all proposed deductions from the GSA, individual class members will receive an average of $361.29 to sett...

Excerpt: ...0 a.m. in Department CX104 to permit the parties to respond to the following items of concern. Any supplemental briefing shall be filed on or before July 18, 2023. If a revised settlement agreement and/or class notice is submitted, a redline showing all changes, deletions and additions must be submitted as well. In addition, Plaintiffs must provide proof of service of any revised settlement agreement and supporting papers on the LWDA. As to the S...

Excerpt: ...th a few tweaks. For example, and without limitation:  While the moving papers define “PAGA Members” and a “PAGA Period,” neither of these terms is defined in the agreement itself (i.e., the contract that binds the parties and that the administrator will implement).  The agreement provides for payment of a “reasonable amount” to the administrator, effectively asking the Court to write a blank check for administrative costs.  ...

Excerpt: ... punitive damages in the FAC is GRANTED. This is an unfair competition action. Defendants operate automotive fuel stations. They charge cash customers a lower price for fuel than credit customers. Plaintiff, on behalf of a putative class, contends Defendants' practices for posting prices at the pump are deceptive. (That is, Plaintiff does not challenge the “split price” system, only how Defendants post the prices at the pump.) He brings a cau...

Excerpt: ... Doe amendments. Plaintiff seeks to have the Court assess civil penalties against Dragna and Joutz individually as “other person[s] acting on behalf of an employer.” (Lab. Code § 558(a); see also Atempa v. Pedrazzani (2018) 27 Cal.App.5th 809 [plaintiff in PAGA matter may recover civil penalties against individuals under § 558(a)].) Dragna and Joutz were not named in any of Plaintiff's three pre-filing letters to the LWDA. They argue that b...

Excerpt: ... and Uribe's was filed in Orange County. The cases were litigated separately. Crown and Uribe eventually agreed to a settlement that would encompass all of Garibay's claims. In order to oppose Uribe's settlement, Garibay moved to intervene in Uribe's case. Judge Sanders granted Garibay's motion to intervene, and Garibay formally opposed Uribe's approval motion. After Judge Sanders granted preliminary approval, Garibay opted out of the class porti...

Excerpt: ... signed the arbitration agreement. It is otherwise OVERRULED. In this wage-and-hour class action, Defendants seek to compel arbitration of Plaintiff's claims and stay the case pending completion of arbitration. Plaintiff argues Defendants have not proven the existence of an agreement, and even if they have, the agreement is unconscionable. The Court need only address the first question. Standard of Review The moving party always bears the burden ...

Excerpt: ...in defending against this motion is also DENIED. The Prime Hospitals seek sanctions under CCP S 128.7 for CalOptima's filing of its summary judgment/adjudication motion based on Government Claims Act noncompliance. The Court denied CalOptima's motion on May 26, 2023. (ROA 994.) The Prime Hospitals electronically served the moving papers on CalOptima on April 13, 2023. (ROA 947, II 27.) They filed the motion on May 10, 2023. This complies with the...

Excerpt: ... a new trial is GRANTED IN PART pursuant to CCP 657. The Court hereby modifies its March 20, 2023 ruling granting summary judgment by striking Section ("Direct Negligence"). The April 5, 2023 judgment in favor of Travelers and referencing the March 20, 2023 is vacated, and Travelers shall prepare a new judgment in light of the ruling on the present motion. EVIDENTIARY MATTERS LaBarre's two unopposed requests for judicial notice of documents filed...

Excerpt: ...368 4. Status Conference MOTION FOR LEAVE TO AMEND Plaintiff Maren S. Miller's motion for leave to file a Fifth Amended Complaint (5AC) is DENIED. Relevant Background This is a products liability action sounding in failure to warn. Plaintiff took Korlym, a drug manufactured by defendant Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated, to manage her symptoms from Cushing's disease. Plaintiff contends her Korlym use caused endometrial hypertrophy, polycystic ova...

Excerpt: ... Jay Prasad's Notice of Motion and Motion to Strike Portions of Hagin Enterprises' Third Amended Cross-complaint ROA 356 3. Cross-Defendant Commercial Bank of California's Notice of Motion and Motion to Compel Arbitration ROA 350 Before the Court are three motions: 2 3 Commercial Bank of California's ("CBCal") motion to compel arbitration. Electronic Commerce, LLC and related parties' (collectively, "EC") demurrer to the Third Amended Cross-compl...

Excerpt: ... In reviewing the sufficiency of a complaint against a demurrer for failure to state facts sufficient to state a cause of action, the Court is guided by long-settled rules. The Court "treat(s) the demurrer as admitting all material facts properly pleaded, but not contentions, deductions or conclusions of fact or law." (Serrano v. Priest (1971) 5 Cal.3d 584, 591.) "The complaint must be construed liberally by drawing reasonable inferences from the...

Excerpt: ...nt with a group of defendants referred to as the "Shea Parties." The Shea Parties apply for a good faith determination under CCP S 877.6. Another group of defendants, the "PKG Parties," moves to contest the good faith determination. For the reasons set forth below, the Court GRANTS the Shea Parties' application for a good faith settlement determination and DENIES the PKG Parties' motion. Terms of Settlement Per the application at ROA 228, the ter...

Excerpt: ...("CalOptima") brings two motions against Plaintiffs Prime Healthcare Services - Garden City, LLC et al. (the "Prime Hospitals"), a motion for summary judgment/adjudication and a motion for defense costs. MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR ADJUDICATION CalOptima's motion for summary judgment or adjudication is DENIED. CalOptima's request for judicial notice is GRANTED. In addition, the Court proposes on its own motion to take judicial notice of the do...

Excerpt: ...P S 1032. Recoverable costs are set forth in CCP S 1033.5, which defines allowable, non-allowable and discretionary costs. (ld., S 1033.5(a), (b), Allowable and discretionary costs may be recovered only if "reasonably necessary to the conduct of the litigation rather than merely convenient or beneficial to its preparation." (ld., S 1033.5(c); see also Ladas v. California State Auto Assn. (1 gg3) 19 Cal.App.4th 761, 774.) Other costs may also be r...

Excerpt: ...The Court rules as follows: 2 3 The motion is GRANTED as to the first nine causes of action in the FAC. Plaintiff is ordered to arbitrate these claims on an individual basis. The motion is GRANTED as to the request to dismiss Plaintiff's class claims. The motion is DENIED insofar as Defendant seeks to compel arbitration of Plaintiff's individual PAGA claim. Instead, the PAGA claim will be stayed in its entirety (both individual and representative...

Excerpt: ...nt is DENIED. 2 Summary adjudication is GRANTED as to issues 1 and 4 in the notice of motion, DENIED as to issues 2, 3, and 6 in the notice of motion, and DENIED AS MOOT as to issue 5 in the notice of motion. 3. Summary adjudication is also DENIED as to Plaintiff's PAGA claim, an issue not listed in the notice of motion but raised in the memorandum of points and authorities. Defendant's objection to Plaintiff's deposition testimony (see Reply at ...

Excerpt: ...d, a redline showing all changes, deletions and additions must be submitted as well. In addition, Plaintiff must provide proof of service of any revised settlement agreement and supporting papers on the LWDA. As to the Settlement: 5. 6. 7. 8. Are there any other actions (class, individual, or PACA, including PAGA actions in the pre-filing LWDA stage) that could be affected by this settlement? The class and PAGA periods extend through preliminary ...

Excerpt: ...D. Procedural Background Before addressing the merits, the Court describes the procedural history of this matter, which is relevant to the Court's rulings. The second page of the 2AC states: "This [case] includes the state claims (and not the Federal Claims) of Moon, et al. v. County of Orange, Case No. 8: 19-cv-00258-JVS-DFM, dismissed not on the merits." The federal case began as an ADA action filed by Moon against the County. Moon then filed a...

Excerpt: ...dants City of Newport Beach and Samir Ghosn, is GRANTED. Plaintiff Kyle Reeves may not take Smith's deposition until the expiration of the stay in Reeves II. Background This is the third case arising from the construction of Reeves' home in Newport Beach. Briefly, Reeves' City-approved construction plans had a third-floor loggia open to the weather. Reeves enclosed the loggia with windows and doors, and the City refused to issue a certificate of ...

Excerpt: ...nc., Aston Carter, Inc., and Actalent, Inc. Defendants' demurrer to the FAC is OVERRULED. Background As alleged in the FAC, and taken as true for purposes of demurrer: Golledge and Fibus are the founders of Jobot, a staffing/recruitment firm. They are also officers of the company. Plaintiffs are all direct or indirect subsidiaries of non-party Allegis Group, Inc., a competing staffing/recruitment company. Allegis is structured such that its subsi...

Excerpt: ...are represented by the Callahan & Blaine firm) move for the entry of sanctions against Plaintiffs Floyd Chodosh, Sue Eicherly, Myrle Moore, Ole Haugen, Todd Peterson, and Rodger Kane, Jr., as well as their counsel of record, Patrick J. Evans. The motion is brought pursuant to both CCP § 128.5 and CCP § 128.7(c)- (d). For the reasons set forth below, the Court rules as follows: 1. Defendant PBPA, which was not named as a moving party in the noti...

Excerpt: ...nc.; Allergan Sales, LLC; and Allergan, Inc. ("AbbVie Defendants"). The second is filed by Defendant Sofregen Medical, Inc. The Court will CONTINUE both motions for Plaintiff to take jurisdictional discovery. The record reflects that Plaintiff served special interrogatories and requests for production on both Sofregen and the AbbVie Defendants, and that on March 20 and 21, 2023, Sofregen and the AbbVie Defendants served objection-only responses t...

Excerpt: ...judicial notice is granted. OCTC has filed evidentiary objections. The Court overrules objections 1-3, 6 and sustains objections 4-5. On March 23, 2023, the day before the continued hearing on this motion for summary judgment, Plaintiff ARC Retail 1, LLC lodged a 21-page report prepared by its so-called "liability expert." This late, unauthorized submission has not been considered by the Court. GROUNDS FOR RULING Allegations of Second Amended Com...

Excerpt: ... (including the individual portion of her PAGA claim), to dismiss her class claims, to dismiss the representative portion of her PAGA claim, and to stay the case pending completion of arbitration. In the alternative to dismissal, Defendant asks that the representative portion of Plaintiff's PAGA claim be stayed pending completion of arbitration. For the reasons set forth below, the motion to compel arbitration is GRANTED. Plaintiff is to arbitrat...

Excerpt: ...rk II Association. In the alternative, Travelers moves for summary adjudication of each cause of action in Sirco's FAC. For the reasons set forth below, the motion for summary judgment is GRANTED. EVIDENTIARY MATTERS A. La Barre's Objections Defendant LaBarre/Oksnee Insurance Agency, LLC has filed objections to Travelers' evidence in support of its motion. Travelers' motion is directed only at Sirco. Travelers seeks no relief via this motion agai...

Excerpt: ...ssues. The motion for summary judgment is DENIED. As to the motion for summary adjudication: 1. Summary adjudication is DENIED as to issues 1, 3, 6, and 7. 2. Summary adjudication is GRANTED as to issues 2, 4, and 5. The result of this ruling is that Vosko's waiting time, wage statement, and reimbursement claims fail, while his meal break, rest break, overtime, and retaliation claims survive, as does his prayer for punitive damages. PRELIMINARY M...

Excerpt: ...he representative portion of Plaintiffs' PAGA claim. The motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART as set forth below. At the hearing, the parties should be prepared to discuss how to move forward in the case (e.g., by staying proceedings in this Court in favor of arbitration or vice versa). EVIDENTIARY MATTERS I. Evidentiary Objections The Court rules on Plaintiffs' evidentiary objections as follows: Objection 1: Overruled. Objection 2: Overr...

Excerpt: ... incurred since Seghal tendered defense of Plaintiffs' underlying claims to MKU. For the reasons set forth below, the motion is GRANTED as to both issues. I. Objections in Responsive Separate Statement MKU's responsive separate statement contains numerous objections in the responses to Seghal's undisputed facts. Evidentiary objections belong in separately filed objections, not responsive separate statements. The Court has disregarded all objectio...

Excerpt: ... of attorneys' fees. With one exception, both sides' motions are DENIED in their entirety. As to all parties except Kathleen Schowalter, the Court finds there is no prevailing party in this action. As to Schowalter, the Court finds the Palm Beach Park Association is the prevailing party for purposes of a fee award. If the Association wishes the Court to enter a fee award against Schowalter, it is to file a noticed motion to set the amount by Marc...

Excerpt: ...ive request for summary adjudication. PRELIMINARY MATTERS I. Judicial Notice Cla-Val seeks judicial notice of court records and various DTSC documents. (ROA 484.) The documents all appear to be proper subjects of notice under Evid. Code § 452(c) and (d). There are no objections. The request is GRANTED. II. Evidentiary Objections A. Fawaz Declaration Cla-Val has filed objections (ROA 518) to the Fawaz Declaration (ROA 500). The Court rules as fol...

Excerpt: ...The Court has reviewed the Morrison Declaration in support of the motion. The Court finds it contains all information necessary to satisfy CRC 3.1324(b). Cross-Defendants offer several reasons they believe Cross-Complainants have not complied with CRC 3.1324(b). None is availing. First, Cross-Defendants argue the claim of “newly discovered facts” is hollow because the underlying conduct has been at issue in every cross-complaint going back to...

Excerpt: ...2AC) of Plaintiff Spotted Shield LLC: 1. Defendants' demurrer is OVERRULED. 2. Defendants' motion to strike is DENIED in part and GRANTED in part. I. Demurrer A. Background The demurrer concerns the fourth cause of action for fraud, brought against Ponder alone. Ponder is the owner and managing member of EC. (2AC, ¶ 3.) As alleged in the 2AC: Spotted Shield and EC were parties to a Merchant Processing Agreement. The Agreement states, “[EC] wil...

Excerpt: ...ded complaint must be filed on or before March 6, 2023. PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS Meet and Confer CCP § 430.41 requires a defendant to meet and confer before filing a demurrer. There is no indication Mercury did so—neither a declaration to that effect (as required by statute) nor even an unsworn statement in the demurrer papers. Mercury is advised to follow this statutory requirement in the future. Judicial Notice Both sides have filed reques...

Excerpt: ...laint (FAXC) of Gary L. Jarvis and Care West Insurance Risk Management, LLC is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND. Admiral's motion to strike is DENIED AS MOOT. Cross-Complainants' original cross-complaint brought two contract claims and a bad faith claim against Admiral. The Court sustained Admiral's demurrer with leave to amend. The FAXC abandons the contract claims, bringing only a bad faith claim. The Court held Cross-Complainants' original bad...

Excerpt: ...t affect any other aspect of these consolidated matters. The parties should be prepared to discuss the effect of this stay on the other related cases at the January 25, 2023 status conference. I. Background This matter arises from the aborted construction of a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility (“Project”). LCS Constructors, Inc. is a construction contractor. It had a prior relationship with Alliance Medical Products, Inc., a pharmaceutica...

Excerpt: ...tatus conference. The January 24, 2023 case management conference is off calendar. The Court DENIES RTI's request for judicial notice because it is irrelevant to this ruling. (See Jordache Enterprises, Inc. v. Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison (1998) 18 Cal.4th 739, 748 fn. 6 [declining to take judicial notice of materials not “necessary, helpful, or relevant”].) GROUNDS FOR RULING This is a PAGA action involving RTI's alleged violations of Labor C...