Excerpt: ...ns a contra ctual relationship between plaintiff and Paragon over relocation services to be provided to plaintiff's employees. Pertinent here, the complaint alleged that Morabito was the CEO of Paragon Relocation Services, and Jim Davis was its CFO. It further alleg ed these two individuals were actively contacting plaintiff's employees and improperly threatening to turn them over to debt collectors if they did not pay relocation costs claimed by...

Excerpt: ...l is curre ntly set for May 6, 2024. The plaintiff never posted jury fees. Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 631, subdivision (c)(2), a party demanding a jury trial must post fees within 365 days of the filing of the initial complaint if no Case Managemen t Conference is held. None was held here; therefore, plaintiff's failure to timely post fees resulted in his waiver of a jury. Defendant never posted jury fees, but it is not requesti...

Excerpt: ...dence Pl aintiff asserts she has new evidence that justifies reopening the case. The problem with her argument is that a final judgment was entered in the case by Judge George, and it was affirmed on appeal, and the remittitur was issued in November 2022. Even if it were relevant, there is no showing that any of this information, evidence, or argument is new. If anything, much of it is a repeat of the arguments made previously, and specificall...

Excerpt: ...int that con tinues to include these two causes of action. It again alleges these causes are against “all” defendants. The striking of these causes of action may not be the most efficient remedy here. The motion to strike is DENIED without prejudice. Demurrer to Se cond Amended Complaint (Champion) Defendant Champion Construction Services, Inc., filed a demurrer to the second amended complaint. The demurrer is SUSTAINED without leave as to t...

Excerpt: ...f Court. Movants shall prepare the appropriate order for the court's signature. Demurrer Defendants filed a demurrer to the first amended complaint. The action concerns an alleged breach of an agreement and the unauthorized use of confidential information. Th ere is a choice of law provision in the agreement which states it is to be construed pursuant to New York law. Defendants also suggest that at least one key issue may likely have to be de...

Excerpt: ...are the t hree members of the Forefront 405 Owners Association. The association manages office property in a common interest development. There is a split on the board, and the plaintiff constantly finds itself on the losing end of 2 -1 votes. The main dispute her e is over whether maintenance of the parking lot (a permitted activity) includes the construction of other amenities/developments to the office property, such as basketball courts, etc...

Excerpt: ...ay of the case rests within the discretion of the court. The alleged acts occurred between December 2018 and March 2019. The children were pre -teens. They are now around 16 years old. The civil complaint was filed July 21, 2020. Evans filed an answer June 11, 2021. A jury trial has been scheduled for February 3, 2025. In the criminal case, a pre -trial conference is set for May 22, 2024, and trial is set for June 6, 2024. Bail is set at $1 mil...

Excerpt: ...face, purp ort to be a contract between the plaintiff and plaintiff's employer —a fact that defendants' counsel had confirmed in an e -mail to the plaintiff's counsel. Defendants' counsel attempted to disavow that concession during oral argument, essentially on the gr ound it was not a judicial admission, and in any event, it was made before counsel had all the facts. That argument is unpersuasive. Even if the arbitration agreement were enforc...

Excerpt: ...Villageway M anagement, Inc., and that the 90-day period ended on September 4, 2018 —is GRANTED. The court notes that no opposition was filed. 3. Defendants' evidentiary objections nos. 1 -47 to plaintiff's memorandum of points and authorities and response to the summary judgment motion are disregarded. They are not evidentiary objections. 4. Defendants' objection nos. 48 -63 are OVERRULED. 5. Plaintiff filed a document entitled “Objections...

Excerpt: ...on letter were attached to the complaint. However, the plaintiff alleged that because the damages were “ongoing and exceeded $10,000” the amount of damages claimed was “omitted” from the form because “that portion was inapplicable.” The city argues that plaintiff 's failure to state the amount claimed is a material defect and the demurrer must be sustained without leave to amend. Without properly seeking judicial notice, the demurrer ...

Excerpt: ...llegations in the complaint, defendants (including these Doe defendants), “distribute and sell their kratom products to residents in California pursuant to a false and misleading marketing campaign.” The complaint further alleges that defendants do not disclose the serious health risks of the product; nor state that the product is the subject of warnings from poison control centers and is known to be not safe for human consumption. And it spe...

Excerpt: ... declarati on of non-monetary status stricken immediately, it is DENIED. To the extent it seeks an order shortening time, it is also DENIED. Plaintiff has failed to show an emergency or why the matter cannot be heard in the ordinary course. This latter is without prejudice to the filing of a noticed motion to be placed on the court's regular law and motion calendar. Demurrer Defendant State of California Department of Health Care Services filed...

Excerpt: ...urt Orde r Plaintiff's motion to compel compliance with this court's order of September 28, 2023, is DENIED. Further responses were served on October 4, 2023, but plaintiff complains the responses are “nearly identical” to the prior responses. The motion is not accompanied by a separate statement as required by Rule 3.1324 of the California Rules of Court, and the motion fails to establish how the responses were not compliant with the court's...

Excerpt: ...day, December 13, 2023, on December 18, 2023, plaintiff and cross -defendant filed a declaration for an automatic extension. The extension expired on January 17, 2024, but the demurrer and motion to strike were not filed until March 1, 2024. And then, cross -defendant s et the matters for hearing on May 16, 2024, in violation of Rules 3.1320(d) and 3.1322(b) of the California Rules of Court [demurrer must be set for a hearing within 35 days of ...

Excerpt: ... on appeal and thus it is entitled to its costs so l ong as those costs were timely requested and are allowable. In its opposition, filed the same day, defendant states that, “Hussein has indicated he does not challenge Defendants appellate cost bill.” But, in Hussein's reply, he iterates that he does chal lenge defendant's right to costs on appeal. He iterates that defendant “forfeited” its right to those costs because it failed to fil...

Excerpt: ...ditions that the defendants caused, (c) she is concerned t hat she will be blackballed in the industry for suing her prior employer, and (d) defendants are trying to obtain a litigation advantage by making her disclose her real name, and they are seeking to shame and embarrass her. Code of Civil Procedure section 367 provides that an action “must be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest, except as provided by statute.” Plaintif...

Excerpt: ...d, and (3) it has filed a separate motion for a stay that has not yet been heard. The four discovery motions (ROAs 60, 64, 68, and 72) are GRANTED. Defendant is ORDERED to serve verified responses within 15 days. Sanctions are ORDERED against defendant and its counsel, joint and several, in the amounts requested in th e motions, payable to the plaintiff within 15 days. The defendant's request for sanctions is DENIED. Procedural Background The c...

Excerpt: ...ion).” But the reply attempts to mislead the court and ob tain discovery plaintiff's counsel knows this court has denied in prior cases. Indeed, and contrary to its initial assertion, this motion is all about the request to produce all the documents in the General Motors universe about the Silverado vehicle. Th e final sentence of the reply gives the game away: “Based on the foregoing, GM must be ordered to produce its PMQ for deposition on ...

Excerpt: ...lves a high - end residential lease. Plaintiffs filed a 12-count complaint against the property owner, Yuan Mu, real estate agent Nancy Milne, and Ascendant International, Inc., dba Re/Max Luxury Properties. It includes causes of action for breach of contract, common counts, fraud, and dec laratory relief. Plaintiffs complain that the house they rented had numerous issues and Yuan Mu refused to fix them. Yuan Mu filed a 13 -count cross -compla...

Excerpt: ...omplaint was filed May 26, 2020. (ROA 2. ) The motion for summary judgment is supported by the declaration of John Battista, a licensed Certified Access Specialist (CASp). He visited the shopping center on May 20, 2022, and found various violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Uniform Building Code, which he detailed in his report. In opposition to the motion, defendant filed a declaration from Jong Park, also a licensed CASp...

Excerpt: ...ings is based on the claim that there is no statutory ba sis for the claim and therefore no cause of action can be stated against the City under Government Code section 815. A motion for judgment on the pleadings serves the same basic purpose as a demurrer. It asks the court to determine whether as a matter of law a cause of action has been stated. (See Tung v. Chicago Title Co. (2021) 63 Cal.App.5th 734, 743- 744.) However, it may not be used as...

Excerpt: ...ntional Infliction Emotional Distress 8. Mental Disability Discrimination 9. No Reasonable Accommodation/Mental Disability 10. Failure to Pay Wages When Due In the complaint, she mentioned the term “sexual harassment” in paragraphs 11, 15- 16, 22, 40, 57- 59, 78, 81-84, 122, 128- 129, and 146. The claims of sexual harassment are general. They are for the most part non -specific. She alleges she was sexually harassed by two non - employees w...

Excerpt: ...tion to strike was continued to this date because the parties had fail ed to engage in a proper meet and confer. It does not appear that defendant's counsel has taken advantage of this extended time to comply with its obligations under the statutes. Accordingly, the court sets an Order to Show Cause re Sanctions against def endant's counsel. The hearing is set for April 11, 2024, at 8:30 am. Any declaration in response shall be filed at least �...

Excerpt: ..., as a Roe defendant was filed only on February 9, 2024. Moe has been an active defendant since the beginning of the case. Moreover, this case has been actively litigated by all parties as evidenced by the discovery propounded, the law and motion practice, and the many cross -complaints which have been filed. There have also been suggestions that the scope of the case has expanded tremendously over the years. On the one hand, waiting over seven...

Excerpt: ...n of the motion. To assist the parties in resolving the matter i nformally, the court would offer the following thoughts. The court notes that the motion is procedurally improper on numerous grounds. It does not, for example, specify the time, place, manner, scope, and nature of the examination in accordance with the requirements of Code of Civil Procedure section 2032.310. Nor does it comply with the California Rules of Court that govern motion ...

Excerpt: ...�lessee,” and Norm Reeves Honda Superstore is identified as “les sor (dealer).” Below that, in a separate area, it states that, “‘Lessor' refers to the Lessor (‘Dealer') named above and Assignee,” which is identified as “Honda Lease Trust.” Pertinent here, paragraph 15 on the first page of the agreement states that “p arties agree that any unresolved disputes shall be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the Arbitrat...

Excerpt: ...f Costco and Jewell is a Director thereof, that does not in an d of itself establish personal jurisdiction over them for acts taken by the corporation. (See Calder v. Jones (1984) 465 U.S. 783, 790.) Plaintiff complains he was sickened by a hotdog he ate at one of the Costco stores. He also complains that the membe rs of the Board of Directors did not do anything when he advised them about what had happened and the failure of the corporation to t...

Excerpt: ...hen she was hit by a tightly rolled -up T -shirt fired into the crowd by a T -shirt cannon from one of the boats. The complaint alleged that venue is proper here because defendants either live or do business in Orange County and the tortious acts occurred in this county. On June 20, 2023, Sonia Atkins was su bstituted into the case as a self -represented litigant. (ROA 67.) Her husband, Christopher Atkins was admitted into the case as a party pl...

Excerpt: ...ssues. They allege the sellers also failed to disclose other substantial defects t hey knew about, but that the plaintiffs were only able to discover during a remodel. The demurring defendants are the real estate agents for the sellers. A real estate agent may be held liable for misrepresentation if the agent knew of the issue and did not disclose it. (Lingsch v. Savage (1963) 213 Cal.App.2d 729, 736.) The general allegations of misrepresentation...

Excerpt: ... request for accommodation to work remotely. Defend ant's request for production of documents no. 10 asks for all posts she has made on her social media accounts concerning this lawsuit or the complaint. The plaintiff effectively concedes this request is proper and may lead to the discovery of admissible e vidence. Indeed, her opposition to the motion does not even address it. Request no. 11 asks for all posts she has made on her social media acc...

Excerpt: ...e same generic claims that have been deemed legally insu
¯icient. (See, e.g., Taylor v. Superior Court (1979) 24 Cal.3d 890.) The Þrst amended complaint makes the same generic factual allegations but now also alleges that the defendant was convicted of driving under the inßuence of alcohol in 2015 and was given a “Watson advisement” as required by Vehicle Code section 23593. A Watson advisement informs the defendant that: “You are hereby...

Excerpt: ...es that a proper meet and confer was held to resolve the matter. That said, the court concludes that judicial economy—this is the second time the motion has been here—to move forward based on the limited information it has. This is a personal injury case. Plainti
¯ asserts she fell on her side and head from a height of three feet. The motion to quash is generic. It simply argues that the disclosure of medical records would invade plainti
¯'...

Excerpt: ...d out at $525 per hour; and the paralegal is billed out at $250 per hour. Those (alleged) billing rates are substantially above the attorney fee rates in the local Orange County legal community for the same or similar work. Even the most experienced Lemon Law attorneys in this community are not awarded fees based on such billing amounts, except in complex cases that require experience. The standard attorney fee rate for non-complex cases runs at ...

Excerpt: ...ad problems with it, he brought it into Ken Grody Ford for repairs. Unhappy with the results, plainti
¯, with the assistance of counsel that specialize in Lemon Law cases, sent a letter dated February 28, 2022, outlining the problems and demanding that Ford repurchase the truck. (See Exh. “5.”) The matter settled pre-litigation. On July 13, 2022, plainti
¯ and Ford Motor Company entered into an agreement that provided that Ford would pay pl...

Excerpt: ...endant conceded that the costs entered on lines 3 and 4 (Item No. 4 is for depositions) were supposed to be on lines 4 and 5 (Item No. 5 is for service of process). In its discretion, the court allows the amended cost bill to be filed as the original memorandum of costs contained clear errors. There is no prejudice to any party in allowing an amended cost bill as the numbers themselves have not changed. They are just now in the correct column. Th...

Excerpt: ...rcycle brakes had failed but lost. The court notes that during trial, Achstein called an eyewitness who was driving a short distance behind the motorcyclist. He stated that when defendant Kroeger made her left-hand turn, the motorcyclist "didn't have a chance." The achon against the "Suzuki" defendants was based on a theory that the motorcycle brakes had failed due to a manufacturing defect and that brake failure was the basic cause of the accide...

Excerpt: ...tions for actions not taken in 2018, the action appears to be time-barred. To the extent the statutory claims address actions not taken in 2023, the action appears to be timely. Other claims are addressed below. First Cause of Action—Civil Code section 2923.5 The first cause of action alleges a statutory violation by recording the notce of default in 2018 without complying with the statute. The notice of default was recorded August 20, 2018, bu...

Excerpt: ... the property in 2013. Leaks observed in 2015 and 2018 were repaired by the landlord. Plaintiffs allege they began suffering various physical ailments in 2018 which they now claim results from the mold. A leak in 2020 was because a prior leak had not been properly repaired. A mold report ordered by the plaintiffs in April 2021 showed elevated levels of mold throughout the unit. Plaintiffs allege they moved out in July 2021. The complaint was file...

Excerpt: ...tion before the Fair Political Practices Commission into the same incident. However, the statutory framework provides for private enforcement after the FPPC and local authorities have been afforded suffcient tme to address the allegations. Moreover, once those basic time limits have passed, nothing in the statutes prohibit concurrent enforcement. The demurrer then makes a facial and an as-applied constitutional challenge to the private enforcemen...

Excerpt: ...on (c)(l). The statute requires the Labor Commissioner to bring the action "promptly." Given the Labor Commissioner's "decision" was not rendered February 3, 2020, the defendant asserts that the Commissioner's filing of the complaint on March 21, 2023, was not "prompt" and is thus barred. The statute sets a statute of limitations for these actions. Because of the six- month extension allowed for by Emergency Rule 9 as a result of the Covid pandem...

Excerpt: ...icolas Gonchar, a selfrepresented litigant, ate a hotdog at a Costco location, became ill, and that when he complained to Costco he was ignored. According to the declarations of these defendants, Raikes, Galant, and Jelinek are, and were at all relevant times, residents of the State of Washington. Denman is a resident of the State of Colorado. Raikes has no connection with California and does not consent to jurisdiction in this state. He has live...

Excerpt: ...at the blow caused her personal injuries, including traumatic brain injury. Although her husband, Christopher Atkins, did not see his wife being struck, he alleges he has suffered emotional distress and loss of consortium due to defendants' negligence. Demurrers to the third amended complaint were filed by defendants City of Newport Beach, Morrow-Meadows Corporation, and TLH Enterprises, Inc. A motion to strike portions of the amended complaint w...

Excerpt: ...ction. However, no credible evidence is presented to support that position. At best, it is argued that because he could have, and should have, checked on the corporate status of his clients first, then he is liable for sanctions for filing various pleadings and documents with the court for close to a year. But there is no evidence that he knew about the issue and concealed this information from the plaintiff or the court. To the contrary, former ...

Excerpt: ...ion 1102.5, subdivision (b), fails as a matter of law. This has to do with plaintiff's claim he engaged in protected activity. 3. Whether plaintiff's cause of action for violation of Health & Safety Code section 1278.5, fails as a matter of law. This has to do with a claim that he suffered an adverse employment action because of a purported patient safety complaint. Code of Civil Procedure secton 437c, subdivision (h) Plaintiff initially opposes ...

Excerpt: ...laintiff was clearly the prevailing party and is entitled to its costs of suit against Crew Salon, Inc. Novation is a defense here. Although defendants now wish to avoid that characterization, the testimony from the defendants was clear. Of course, if the defendants want to deny that a novation was properly alleged, then the judgment should be amended to state it is against the Gaglios in their individual capacity. The court reporter fees are cle...

Excerpt: ...exception of the word "duty," the defendant has not clearly stated precisely what cause of action, affirmative defense, or claim for damages it seeks to completely dispose of in the "issues" themselves as required by Code of Civil Procedure section 437c, subdivision (f)(l). Accordingly, the court declines to address the motion for summary adjudication of issues. As to the motion for summary judgment, there is only one cause of action pled in the ...

Excerpt: ...iff on March 28, 2023. The defendant sent a letter to plaintiff's counsel October 2, 2023, demand-ng that the plaintiff serve responses. Plaintiff did not serve any responses, she did not respond to counsel's letter, and she did not file opposition to the motions. The motions are GRANTED. Plaintiff is ORDERED to serve answers, without objections, in 15 days. Sanctions of $1,500 are awarded jointly and severally against plaintiff and plaintiff's c...

Excerpt: ...ther, he was not timely advised of his Fifth Amendment rights during the deposition. Now that Pineda has pled guilty in the criminal matter, there do not appear to be any criminal matter impediments to the taking of a properly noticed deposition. Motion to Compel Examination of Plaintiff The motion of defendant Santa Ana Unified School District to compel plaintiff minor to submit to a psychological examination is GRANTED as modified. The plaintif...

Excerpt: ....1346 [must serve motion on deponent].) The court is initially inclined to continue the motion to permit Bottorff to be properly served. The parties should be prepared to discuss whether Bottorff has or needs to be personally served. The main issue is this: Whether communicatons between Bottorff and representatives of The Regents are protected by the attorney-client and/or work product privilege. This is a thorny question under the facts. General...

Excerpt: ...uted them to plaintiffs. The complaint seeks damages of over $253,000. The complaint raises six causes of action: 1. Breach of contract; 2. Negligence; 3. Intentional misrepresentation; 4. Negligent misrepresentation; 5. Unjust enrichment; and, 5. Money had and received. The complaint seeks monetary damages and exemplary damages for the alleged misrepresentations as to the status of the ERCs. The answer alleges the following affrmative defenses: ...