Excerpt: ...settlement that includes $7,500 being paid to each of seven allegedly aggrieved employees who are not named plaintiffs in this action, like the other six named plaintiffs who have asserted individual claims for relief. Counsel's assertion that those seven people filed arbitration actions against defendant is insufficient to bring those claims into this case without a pleading having been filed on their behalf. Since a PAGA settlement involves one...

Excerpt: ...icy, is not a proper subject for summary adjudication under CCP §437c(f)(1). Defendant Casa Apartments LP's Objections to Declaration of Robert Closson are sustained. As a result, there is no foundation for the relevant insurance policy and application. While there is testimony within the deposition of defendant Sohi confirming that a document marked as Exhibit 15 is the Application for the 2014-2015 policy he signed, Exhibit 15 is not provided ...

Excerpt: ...t identifies an allegedly unfair business practice and potentially seeks restitution of the premium plaintiffs paid, they state a cause of action. Kapsimallis v. Allstate Ins. Co. (2002) 104 Cal. App. 4th 667, 676. Defendant's arguments that go to the merits of plaintiffs' case have no relevance to this kind of motion. Defendant USAA Casualty Ins. Co.'s unopposed Motion to Bifurcate Punitive Damages and Exclude USAA CIC's Financial Condition is g...

Excerpt: ...ded settlement agreement. Counsel also must provide a red-lined version of any revised papers, including the proposed letter to the aggrieved employees. Although the settlement agreement provides in ¶33 that uncashed checks will be deposited in the California Unclaimed Property Fund in the name of the employees, the cover letter to be sent with the aggrieved employees' PAGA checks provides that any uncashed checks will go to the California Depar...

Excerpt: ... of efforts and inefficiency. Although plaintiff has cited cases authorizing this court to award a fee multiplier to the lodestar, this court will not do so, just like 40 of the 44 courts did not do so in the 44 cases cited by plaintiff in paragraphs 34-77 of his attorney's declaration. Plaintiff's counsel's contingency and payment delay risks appear to be taken into consideration in setting counsel's hourly rates in this contingency case, making...

Excerpt: ...al, but plaintiff alleges in ¶38 that due to the taping of the sprinkler heads the fire sprinkler covers would not open as required during a fire, and the sprinklers would not deploy to put out the fire, creating a serious safety issue that put tenants and visitors at risk. Defendant argues plaintiff fails to allege that defendant had knowledge of the concealed defects, but plaintiff alleges in ¶97 that defendant knew of the material fire sprin...

Excerpt: ...t approval of a PAGA or Class Action settlement files the settlement agreement, and the parties must do so here as well. If the parties want to file the settlement agreement conditionally under seal, and file a Motion to Seal, they are free to do so, and the court will consider the motion pursuant to CRC Rules 2.550 and 2.551. The court notes that it does not appear that the individual settlement amount is confidential, because the motion disclos...

Excerpt: ... add up, and because plaintiffs failed to provide the court with an updated figure for the amount of payroll taxes to be paid from the settlement funds, the court cannot figure this out for itself. Plaintiffs request attorneys' fees of $98,418.26 based on that number being 1/3 of the settlement amount minus the employer's share of payroll taxes to be paid from the settlement funds. Since 1/3 of $300,000 is $100,000, the difference of $1,581.74 su...

Excerpt: ...ear to be taken into consideration in setting counsel's hourly rates in this contingency case, making it improper for this court to use a multiplier based on those same factors. Robertson v. Fleetwood Travel Trailers of California, Inc. (2006) 144 Cal. App. 4th 785, 822. In addition, defendant made a 998 offer for the full purchase price of the vehicle only five days after plaintiff filed this case. For plaintiff to confidently refuse the offer s...

Excerpt: ...ut of having their personal information disclosed in response to a mutually agreeable (or court- ordered) Belaire-West notice, whose cost defendant fully bears. In addition, defendant's supplemental response to Special Interrogatory #30 may be limited to “AGGRIEVED EMPLOYEES” instead of “PERSONS”, as defined in plaintiff's Special Interrogatories. Plaintiff indicated a willingness to have a Belaire-West notice sent in connection with the ...

Excerpt: ...s a 50% shareholder of CSS. Thus, even if all this litigation had never been filed, Wardak would have been free to invoke the involuntary dissolution procedures of Corp. Code §1900(a). This ruling is without prejudice to (1) a petition under Corp. Code §1904 asking the court to take jurisdiction over the voluntary winding-up proceeding if it appears necessary for the protection of any parties in interest, or (2) defendants, or any other appropr...

Excerpt: ...istrator's fee is $20,000 (P's & A's at 6:26, Settlement Agreement at p. 4, proposed Order at 2:22) or $12,000 (P's & A's at 7:13, Nordrehaug declaration at 4:2). The distribution numbers do not add up. The Settlement Agreement on p. 3, in Section III(4), says the allocations to be paid from the $450,000 gross settlement amount are the $168,000 PAGA payment, $150,000 in attorneys' fees, $12,000 in attorney costs, and not to exceed $20,000 for the...

Excerpt: ...f nebulous evidentiary objections, a fair sample of which appear to be meritless, the court can properly overrule, and a reviewing court ignore, all of the objections on the ground that they constitute oppression of the opposing party and an imposition on the resources of the court”. Plaintiff's Objection #24, 26-28, 38-39, 41, 58 and 61, which object to statements of direct, personal knowledge, which the court can address without having to dig...

Excerpt: ...should provide a red-lined version of any revised papers, including the notice to the class. Counsel must explain why the parties are using April 1, 2014 as the start date for both subclasses, since the pleadings used October 18, 2013 as the start date. Counsel also must explain why the parties are using October 31, 2018, rather than the date of preliminary approval or some other later date, as the end-date for the Commissions/Break Class. The se...

Excerpt: ...has considered plaintiff's argument, but believes that some of defendants' employees could implement the proposed new employee instructions in a way that would violate Civil Code §1747.08 (and thus also sections 1.2 and 1.3 of the Settlement Agreement). The last sentence of the last paragraph is not clear enough to be sure of a consistently proper interpretation, and must be modified to clearly instruct defendants' employees to comply with the l...

Excerpt: ...ecord. Patel's claims are subject to conflict preemption under ERISA. In Port Medical Wellness, Inc. v. Connecticut General Life Ins. Co. (2018) 24 Cal. App. 5th 153, the court summarized the ERISA preemption doctrine in the context applicable to this case: “Stated simply, these cases (and others cited therein) stand generally for the proposition that a health care provider that treats a beneficiary of a welfare benefit plan may assert a claim ...

Excerpt: ...ed case has gone forward, and if its outcome affects this case. In the case of In re Anna S. (2010) 180 Cal. App. 4th 1489, the court held: “The effect of an unqualified reversal (‘the judgment is reversed') is to vacate the judgment, and to leave the case at large for further proceedings as if it had never been tried, and as if no judgment had ever been rendered. Generally an unqualified reversal has the effect of remanding the case for a ne...

Excerpt: ...s denied. Patch's Request for Judicial Notice is granted. Patch must file an Answer within 10 days. NVSI now adequately alleges misrepresentations of fact by Patch and how a representation of fact by Patch was false. NVSI also now adequately alleges the unjust enrichment of Patch. NVSI sufficiently alleges facts that would constitute fraud, malice or oppression, including despicable conduct, as defined in Civil Code §3294, potentially justifying...

Excerpt: ...h the court finds acceptable), in which case defendant must provide supplemental responses to #2 and 4 within 90 days only for employees who do not respond that they do not want their information shared, and must provide a supplemental response to #3 within 90 days only for employees who respond that they intend to contest their alleged obligation to arbitrate this dispute. The supplemental responses will be pursuant to a protective order whereby...

Excerpt: ...er than two weeks before the next hearing date. Counsel should submit an amendment to the settlement agreement rather than any amended settlement agreement. Counsel also should provide a red-lined version of any revised papers, including the notice to the class. The settlement agreement and Workweek Dispute Form provide that the Administrator will resolve any workweek disputes. The documents should instead reflect that the court will resolve any ...

Excerpt: ...the factual issue of whether the clothing Nike required its employees to wear constitutes a uniform or whether it was suitable for everyday wear and therefore a fringe benefit under federal law. Defendants' arguments and authority are based on Nike legally withholding taxes from its employees, rather than a situation where withholding was not legally authorized. Plaintiff arguably may seek restitution from Nike for the taxes employees had to pay ...

Excerpt: ...Homeowners Association (13th cause of action) are sustained with 30 days leave to amend based on the failure of each challenged cause of action to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. Defendants Professional Community Management of California, Inc. and Cabo Del Mar Homeowners Association's Motion to Strike is deemed moot and off calendar by virtue of their demurrer being sustained with leave to amend. Defendants AMC Inc. dba St...

Excerpt: ...so should provide a red-lined version of any revised papers, including the notice to the class. All such documents must have numbered pages, unlike the Addendum to Class Action Settlement filed for this hearing. In addressing Section 14.2 of the settlement agreement, which provides that the attorneys' fees award will include work done by past class counsel, plaintiff explained work done by and payment to The Cooper Law Firm, but nothing as toHaeg...

Excerpt: ...an amendment to the settlement agreement rather than any amended settlement agreement. Counsel also should provide a red-lined version of any revised papers. Plaintiff requests the dismissal of this action, but CRC Rule 3.769(h) provides that when a court approves a class action settlement, the court must make and enter judgment. This Rule suggests that in a PAGA case a Judgment should also be entered, consistent with class action settlements, an...

Excerpt: ...so should provide a red-lined version of any revised papers, including the notice to the class. The moving points and authorities are 22 pages long, far exceeding the 15-page limit of CRC Rule 3.1113(d) and even the 20-page limit of CRC Rule 3.764(c)(2) for motions to certify a class, which usually are contested. The court expressly orders that plaintiff's points and authorities in support of the Motion for Final Approval be limited to no more th...