Excerpt: ...ation provided, and the estimated lodestar. In approving these amounts and examining the billing records provided, the Court is not approving the hourly billing rates proposed by class counsel. 2. Litigation costs of $24,273.36, representing the full amount sought. 3. Administration costs in the amount of $9,500, per the administrator's declaration. 4. Enhancements of $5,000 to Aranda and $2,500 to Michel. In making these awards, the Court has co...

Excerpt: ...a. Plaintiffs are appointed class representatives. Setareh Law Group and Robinson Calcagnie, Inc. are appointed class counsel. GROUNDS FOR RULING Remaining at issue is the geographic scope of the class. Walmart contends the class must be limited to Californians (more properly, persons who suffered alleged FCRA violations in California), while Plaintiffs ask the Court to certify a nationwide class. Walmart argues that because the Court has decided...

Excerpt: ...eedings. The Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division Three shall be the reviewing court. I. Factual and Procedural Background The Included Actions each arise from the alleged wage-and-hour practices of entities that own or operate Watermark retirement communities (collectively, “Watermark”). All three Included Actions involve similar allegations of standard violations, such as meal and rest break violations, failure to pay for all hours wo...

Excerpt: ...fore September 17, 2021. Ortiz's motions for class certification and terminating sanctions, previously taken off calendar, will be set for a date to be determined by the Court and the parties at the hearing on this motion. Based on the papers submitted in connection with this motion, the Court expects Defendants may file a motion to enforce class action waivers in arbitration agreements signed by a portion of the putative class. The Court will no...

Excerpt: ...s objections to the declaration of Susan Brandt-Hawley are SUSTAINED on foundation grounds. The Court has not considered any exhibit to the Brandt-Hawley declaration. In addition, the Court has not considered the declaration of Philip D. Kohn to the extent it seeks to introduce new evidence on reply. This matter concerns the City's revised Historic Preservation Program, which amends portions of the City's general plan and zoning code. Specificall...

Excerpt: ...bjections 1 and 7 to the Pham Declaration. The Court declines to rule on the remaining objections to the Pham Declaration. (CCP § 437c(q).) The Court OVERRULES all objections to the Knypstra Declaration. Cardenas's Request for Judicial Notice is GRANTED. I. Factual Background A. The Underlying Lawsuit This action concerns a hotel development in Buena Park. BA Hotel & Resort, LLC originally purchased from the City the property on which the hotel ...

Excerpt: ...s defined as “All individuals who were employed as non-exempt, hourly-paid employees by Defendant in California and worked at least one shift greater than 3.5 hours in length at any time from September 30, 2007 through the date of class certification.” Broadly speaking, the classwide theory of liability was as follows: Defendant's 2008 rest break policy was illegal as written, in that it required employees to remain on premises. While Defenda...

Excerpt: ...since-withdrawn motion for leave to intervene. Between January 2020 and January 2021, Vazquez, Juaregui and Santos filed three separate lawsuits with a PAGA component. Vazquez, Juaregui and Defendants informally negotiated a resolution, eventually participating in a mediation in November 2020, where their cases settled in principle. The formal settlement agreement eventually executed by the parties covered a wider variety of predicate Labor Code ...

Excerpt: ...Hotel purchased the Hotel Property from the City in 2016 for $1,565,000. (UMF 1-2.) The Hotel Property was encumbered by a recorded Development Agreement. The Development Agreement contained a purchase option that gave the City the right to repurchase the Hotel Property for $1,565,000 if BA Hotel defaulted on the Development Agreement. (UMF 3, 8.) In 2017, BA Hotel purchased the adjacent Rear Property from the City for $1,285,000. (UMF 10-11.) BA...

Excerpt: ...VERRULED, except for Objection No. 10, which is SUSTAINED on foundation grounds. OCTA's evidentiary objections are OVERRULED. Because OCTA's motion is opposed by Defendants, the standard of review is set forth in CCP § 1255.410(d)(2): If the motion is opposed by a defendant or occupant within 30 days of service, the court may make an order for possession of the property upon consideration of the relevant facts and any opposition, and upon comple...

Excerpt: ...anding to pursue their claims in federal court, Article III standing rules do not apply in California courts. The Court found Plaintiffs had standing to pursue their first and third causes of action in California courts, but lacked standing to pursue their second cause of action. The Court also found Plaintiffs were within the zone of interests of persons entitled to sue under the FCRA. After the Court's ruling, the United States Supreme Court ha...

Excerpt: ...proposed notice is submitted, a redline version 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 supplemental papers on the LWDA. As to the Settlement: 1. Please provide a copy of all pre-filing letters to the LWDA. 2. Please provide proof of service of the original moving papers on the LWDA. 3. Plaintiff's individual release has c...

Excerpt: ... Trial Court Negligence Ruling Defendants operate or formerly operated the 2040 Site. In 2012, numerous defendants, including the moving Defendants here, moved for summary adjudication on the District's negligence claim on statute of limitations grounds. Judge Stock granted the motion as to most of the moving defendants, finding the District was on inquiry notice of groundwater contamination long before filing suit—for decades as to some defend...

Excerpt: ..., is GRANTED subject to one condition discussed below. Following review of the papers, the Court finds the parties' settlement to be “fair to those affected.” (Williams v. Superior Court (2017) 3 Cal.5th 531, 549.) The Court also approves of the current version of the proposed notice. The notice actually sent to aggrieved employees may not be in a smaller font size than the notice provided to the Court. Before the Court can approve the settle...

Excerpt: ...act returns a verdict that awards CashCall actual damages and finds Katten, Callaway, or both guilty of malice, oppression or fraud. (See Civ. Code § 3295(d).) MOTION TO COMPEL PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS CashCall's motion to compel the production of documents reviewed by Defendants' expert Brad Rustin is DENIED. CashCall seeks an order compelling Defendants to turn over certain materials (the “Withheld Materials”) reviewed by their expert, Brad...

Excerpt: ...murrer is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND as to the 2021-22 academic year, but this is without prejudice to Plaintiffs moving for leave to amend if future events should support a claim. 2. The demurrer is SUSTAINED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND as to the second cause of action for unjust enrichment. 3. The demurrer is OVERRULED as to the third and fourth causes of action, for CLRA and UCL violations. Plaintiffs shall have until August 20, 2021 to file a f...

Excerpt: ...e Court therefore orders Plaintiff's individual claims to arbitration. The only dispute is about whether the PAGA claim should be stayed pending the completion of arbitration. Relying on CCP § 1281.4 and Franco v. Arakelian Enterprises, Inc. (2015) 234 Cal.App.4th 947, Defendant argues a stay is appropriate because the individual claims and the PAGA claim require the resolution of overlapping issues. In particular, the resolution of Defendant's ...

Excerpt: ... LLC and OC Burger Boys, LLC is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART as set forth below. Defendants are ordered to provide further responses as set forth below by August 2, 2021. I. RFPs 31-34 (directed to both Defendants) RFPs 31-34 appear to be identical as to both Defendants. They seek emails in which Business Managers either reported working more than an hour of time off-site or sought pre-approval to work overtime. Defendants' timekeeping poli...

Excerpt: ...s and Production to Plaintiffs' First Set of Requests for Production to Defendant Todd Spitzer in His Official Capacity as Orange County District Attorney, in Place of Anthony J. Rackauckas Plaintiffs People for the Ethical Operation of Prosecutors and Law Enforcement (“P.E.O.P.L.E.”), Bethany Webb, Theresa Smith and Tina Jackson move to compel further responses to requests for production from Defendants Todd Spitzer, sued in his official cap...

Excerpt: ...or a stay is GRANTED. This case shall be stayed until BOFE's investigation, and any related proceedings before the Labor Commissioner, are resolved. EVIDENTIARY MATTERS Defendants' unopposed request for judicial notice is GRANTED. The Court rules on Defendants' objections to the Lee Declaration as follows: Objection No. 1 is OVERRULED. Objections No. 2-4 are SUSTAINED on hearsay grounds. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND These coordinated acti...

Excerpt: ...ver attorney's fees and costs associated with the present motion by no later than July 21, 2021. Retrolock's request for additional sanctions is DENIED. I. Factual Background This case involves a contract dispute arising from the construction of a hotel in Buena Park. Greenland was the general contractor, Retrolock was a subcontractor, and Hotel was the project owner. Retrolock alleges that Greenland failed to make payments for work performed, an...

Excerpt: ...lemental briefing shall be filed on or before July 26, 2021. If a revised settlement agreement and/or proposed notice is submitted, a redline version showing all changes, deletions and additions must be submitted as well. In addition, Zimmers must provide proof of service of any revised settlement agreement and supplemental papers on the LWDA. Likewise, the motion for attorney fees brought by objector Mikhail Hutchins is continued from July 2, 20...

Excerpt: ...ic Substances Control (DTSC) separately demur to the fourth cause of action, for declaratory relief, of the third amended cross-complaint (3AXC) of Cross-Complainant Soco West, Inc. The demurrers are OVERRULED. Soco's request for judicial notice is DENIED as immaterial. (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 relev...

Excerpt: ...ent and important supporting authority to single-spaced footnotes, which is the equivalent of filing an overlong brief without permission. For what it is worth, for this Court, the use of such lengthy footnotes results in disjointed briefs that are both difficult to follow and which obfuscate their basic arguments. Defendant's request for judicial notice (ROA 1226) is DENIED. Unpublished California Court of Appeal decisions may not be cited excep...

Excerpt: ...med related to Stewart v. Arconic Global Fasteners & Rings, Inc, OCSC No. 18-968137, which is currently pending in CX-103, and (2) transferred to CX-103. The alternative request for a stay is GRANTED, but this ruling is without prejudice to being reconsidered following transfer of this case to CX-103. Defendants' unopposed request for judicial notice is GRANTED. Defendants are reminded that unpublished California Court of Appeal opinions may not ...

Excerpt: ...aw will govern” by applying the “governmental interest test, which sets out a three-step inquiry: ‘First, the court determines whether the relevant law of each of the potentially affected jurisdictions with regard to the particular issue in question is the same or different. Second, if there is a difference, the court examines each jurisdiction's interest in the application of its own law under the circumstances of the particular case to de...

Excerpt: ... Callaway billed CashCall for work they had not performed. Specifically, as explained at ¶¶ 272-275, Katten and Callaway's answer to an earlier version of the complaint alleges that they relied heavily on CashCall's general counsel Dan Baren and Western Sky's outside counsel Cheryl Bogue for factual background and legal analysis that was later incorporated into Katten's opinion letters with little, if any, independent research or analysis. Neve...

Excerpt: ...s set forth below, the City's demurrer is OVERRULED. PRELIMINARY MATTERS The City's unopposed request for judicial notice is GRANTED. In its reply, the City objects to consideration of the declaration of Susan Brandt-Hawley filed in support of Petitioners' opposition. (ROA 59.) This objection is SUSTAINED. “A declaration filed in opposition to a demurrer is ‘a nullity, of no purpose or effect whatever' in consideration of a demurrer.” (Kahn...

Excerpt: ...am (“OCDNA”). Plaintiffs are professors of criminology at UC Irvine. For purposes of this demurrer, it is undisputed that they are both are residents of, and taxpayers in, Orange County. (Compl. (ROA 2), ¶¶ 7-8.) Plaintiffs allege that in 2004 voters passed Proposition 69, which expanded the bases for mandatory DNA collection by law enforcement in California. (Id., ¶ 14.) Shortly thereafter, the County, by Ordinance 07-003, established OCD...

Excerpt: ...ow, the motion is GRANTED. The Court notes that Callaway has filed a reply to CashCall's response to her separate statement. Such a document is improper, so the Court has not considered it. (See Nazir v. United Airlines, Inc. (2009) 178 Cal.App.4th 243, 249 [“Defendants' reply included, and properly, their response to plaintiff's additional disputed facts. Defendants' reply also included, not so properly, a 297–page ‘Reply Separate Statemen...

Excerpt: ...to C&D's photocopies of exhibit binders ($4,692.21). 4. The motion is GRANTED as to disputed filing and service fees. The full amount claimed ($4,587.87) is recoverable, but this total is broken down into the following amounts: a. C&D will recover $640.34 from Soco West and Brenntag jointly and severally, but not from Industrial Plaza and Martin. b. C&D will recover $208.84 from Industrial Plaza and Martin jointly and severally, but not from Soco...

Excerpt: .... As to the motion to strike: a. The motion is DENIED as to items 1-6 and 9 in the notice of motion. b. The motion is GRANTED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND as to items 7-8 in the notice of motion. At the hearing, the parties should be prepared to discuss the timing of a second amended complaint (SAC). The Court previously ordered a 2AC to be filed by June 7, 2021 in connection with Defendant Brian Baron's demurrer and motion to strike. Nishimoto's request ...

Excerpt: ...writ of attachment upon the filing of an undertaking in the amount of $10,000. Cardenas is to submit a proposed order on Judicial Council Form AT-120 that conforms to the foregoing. In the proposed order, the parcels of real property Cardenas seeks to attach should be identified by their full legal descriptions rather than just their APN numbers. In addition, the clerk is ordered to seal the Long Declaration (ROA 559). Exhibit D to the Long Decla...

Excerpt: ...g the outcome of the arbitrations. Because the arbitration agreement provides that questions of arbitrability are matters to be decided by the arbitrator, the Court does not consider Plaintiffs' argument that the claims at issue are not covered by the arbitration agreement. They remain free to raise that argument before the arbitrator. 2. In light of the ruling on the motion to compel arbitration, the motion for judgment on the pleadings is DENIE...

Excerpt: ...mmary judgment or, in alternative, summary adjudication is DENIED. The Court declines to rule on the parties' evidentiary objections, which are immaterial to the disposition of the motion. (CCP § 437c(q).) I. Summary Judgment The only questions that may be litigated in a summary judgment motion are whether “the action has no merit” or “there is no defense to the action or proceeding.” (CCP § 437c(a)(1).) As a result, summary judgment ma...

Excerpt: ...the Court refers only to Baron.) The Court rules as follows: 1. The demurrer to the second cause of action is SUSTAINED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND. 2. As to the motion to strike: a. The motion is DENIED as to item 1 in the notice of motion. b. The motion is GRANTED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND as to item 2 in the notice of motion. c. The motion is GRANTED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND as to items 3-9 in the notice of motion. Black shall have until May 28, 2021 to file ...

Excerpt: ...ed to provide complete responses to every discovery request at issue, as set forth below. 2. The following facts/issues shall be taken as established against Defendants: a. That the tasks performed by Business Managers are governed by detailed uniform policies that prevent the exercise of independent judgment and discretion. b. That the four non-Business Manager hourly employees with the highest hourly rate at each of Defendants' restaurants in e...

Excerpt: ...is in Department C26, but he has designated the case complex and stayed proceedings to permit the filing of this coordination petition. (Brady Decl. (ROA 5), Ex. C.) As a result of the stay, while Cardenas has been designated complex, it has not yet been transferred to a complex department by the Presiding Judge. I. Background A. Factual Allegations The Included Actions, whose complaints are nearly word-for-word identical except for details about...

Excerpt: ...e further code- compliant responses, including all responsive documents and without objection, by no later than May 24, 2021. (The Court limits the scope of responsive documents in two ways noted below.) Defendants and their counsel, Leonard W. Stitz, are jointly and severally sanctioned in the amount of $2,137.50. Plaintiff's requests for an order compelling Michael Harrah's deposition and a spoliation instruction are DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE to...

Excerpt: ... to CCP 425.16 Defendants Miriam J. Galindo, Jorge F. Galindo and Jorge Galindo Family Therapists & Associates, Inc.'s (collectively, “Moving Defendants”) special motion to strike the FAC of Plaintiff Christienne M. Black pursuant to CCP § 425.16 is GRANTED. Moving Defendants may seek fees and costs as permitted by statute. In light of this ruling, Moving Defendants' concurrently set demurrer and traditional motion to strike are moot. EVIDEN...

Excerpt: ...t to strike portions of the Weir Declaration is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE to seeking the same relief prior to trial. I. Background This is a consumer class action involving alleged mislabeling of Bayer's One A Day gummy vitamins. As the Court of Appeal explained Plaintiff's theory, “despite the One A Day brand name, these particular vitamins require a daily dosage of two gummies to get the recommended daily values. Thus buyers end up receiving o...

Excerpt: ...r her motion was filed. The Court finds Defendants Fisher & Paykel Appliances, Inc. and Fisher & Paykel Appliances USA Holdings Inc. will not suffer any prejudice as a result. I. Background This case was originally filed as a PAGA-only matter based on a sole underlying Labor Code violation: Plaintiff alleged Defendants failed to pay her and other employees within the time limits set forth in Labor Code § 204. In the course of discovery, Defendan...

Excerpt: ...r the operative complaint (ROA 2), Plaintiff Thomas E. McKinnon was a firefighter employed by the California Military Department at Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos from 1977 to 2007. (¶ 15.) He was diagnosed with non- Hodgkins lymphoma, kidney cancer and liver cancer in December 2018, all of which he alleges were caused by occupational exposure to Defendants' products. (¶¶ 17, 20.) Among other things, Thomas brings a fraudulent conceal...

Excerpt: ...Complaint 5) Verified Application of John S. Phillips to Appear as Counsel Pro Hac Vice for Defendants E.I. Du Pont De Nemours and Co., Corteva, Inc., and DuPont De Nemours, Inc. 6) Verified Application of Katharine A Roin to Appear as Counsel Pro Hac Vice for Defendants E.I. Du Pont De Nemours and Co., Corteva, Inc. and DuPont De Nemours, Inc. 7)Verified Application of Katherine L. I Hacker to Appear as Counsel Pro Hac Vice for Defendants E.I. D...

Excerpt: ...sOlivos, Inc. Both demurrers are OVERRULED. I. Failure to State a Cause of Action The Court previously denied Phans55, PhansKGHoang, Ryan Phan and Susie Phan's motion for judgment on the pleadings, finding that the FAC stated facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action (except as to the seventh cause of action, which Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed). The Court later overruled @Phans-LosOlivos's demurrer on the same grounds (except as to the ...

Excerpt: ... penalties. The motion is DENIED insofar as Chartwell seeks to strike portions of the complaint. The operative pleading in this matter is the first amended complaint (FAC) (ROA 13), not the original complaint. From the Court's review of the FAC, it does not contain any language identical to what Chartwell seeks to strike from the original complaint. As a result, there is nothing to strike. The motion is GRANTED insofar as Chartwell seeks a determ...

Excerpt: ...s his individual claims against Probstein without prejudice to the claims of the putative class. The Court rejected this stipulation, noting that it needed to see the settlement agreement before it could dismiss the claims against Probstein. (ROA 45.) Plaintiff and Probstein then submitted a stipulation to file the settlement agreement under seal. The Court also rejected this stipulation. In so doing, the Court noted that it was willing to review...

Excerpt: ...o special interrogatories is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. By April 26, 2021, Cross-Defendant Phil Inter Pharma USA, Inc. is ordered to provide further responses to Uni- Caps' Special Interrogatories, Set One, Nos. 11-13, 18, 25-34, 42-44, and 54-55 as set forth below. The motion is denied as to Interrogatories 47-49. Uni-Caps' request for sanctions is denied. I. Background This discovery arises from Uni-Caps' cross-claims. In the underlyin...

Excerpt: ... Both parties seek judicial notice of various documents. Because these documents are immaterial to the Court's ruling, the Court declines to take notice of them. (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”].) I. Background A. Regulation of Slack-Fill “Slack-fill” refers to the difference between the act...

Excerpt: ...dence intentionally destroyed by a party would be unfavorable to that party. (See Evid. Code § 413; CACI No. 204.) This ruling does not preclude Katten from seeking such an instruction if the evidence introduced at trial justifies it. I. Introduction This motion focuses on Plaintiffs CashCall, Inc., J. Paul Reddam, and Western Sky Funding, LLC's alleged non-compliance with their duty to preserve evidence once litigation is reasonably certain. Ge...