Excerpt: ...WIEC (hereinafte r, collectively “Plaintiffs”). To the extent Plaintiffs can properly amend the IIED claim, the court GRANTS twenty (20) days leave to amend. The fourth cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) alleges the following: Pursu ant to a written lease agreement, Plaintiffs moved into certain property in Irvine beginning in or about July of 2012. Beginning in or about November of 2018 through December ...

Excerpt: ...3310(E)) pro vides in relevant part, (a) A lawyer who has formerly represented a client in a matter shall not thereafter represent another person* in the same or a substantially related matter in which that person's* interests are materially adverse to the interests o f the former client unless the former client gives informed written consent. (b) A lawyer shall not knowingly represent a person in the same or a substantially related matter in whi...

Excerpt: ...d system” conducted by local bar associations (as opposed to private alternative dispute resolution providers) and has its own rules and limitations. (See Aguilar v. Lerner (2004) 32 Cal.4th 974, 984; Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP v. Rosenson (2012) 203 Cal.App.4th 688, 693 [Legislature created MFAA as “separate and distinct arbitration scheme applicable to disputes between clients and attorneys over legal fees, costs, or b...

Excerpt: ...ffs filed an opposition to Defendants' Request to take Judicial Notice of documents apparently related to the prelitigation complaints made by plaintiffs to defendants. (See ROAs 76, 95.) At the same time, Plaintiffs state that “judicial notice is unnecessary if the se are the documents attached to Plaintiff's SAC already filed with the court.” Copies of the same documents are in fact attached to the SAC and were previously judicially notic...

Excerpt: ...mpt at an informal resolution of each issue presented by the motion .”]; Clement v. Alegre (2009) 177 Cal.App.4th 1277, 1293- 1294; Leko v. Cornerstone Building Inspection Services (2001) 86 Cal.App.4th 1109, 1124; see also Thomas Decl., ¶ 6, Exh. D [addressing Defendant's objections on 2/12/24].) Defendant maintains that it is willing to produce a witness as to Matters for Examination Nos. 1 and 2, but objects to Matters Nos. 3 and 4 on vario...

Excerpt: ...ional mis representation), 3rd cause of action (Bus. & Prof. Code 17200 violation), 4th cause of action (promissory estoppel), 5th cause of action (“set aside trustee's sale and void/cancel trustee's deed upon sale”), and 6th cause of action (quiet title). 2nd C/A (intentional misrepresentation) A cause of action for intentional misrepresentation requires showing (1) a misrepresentation; (2) knowledge of its falsity; (3) intent to induce reli...

Excerpt: ...2 agains t the subject property, 2. the Statement of Information filed on 12/20/22 by Canyon Plaza, LLC, 3. the Statement of Information filed on 12/20/2022 by Canyon Plaza Management, LLC, and 4. the Statement of Information filed on 1/20/23 by Jakosky Properti es, Inc. The court GRANTS the request to take judicial notice of the Grant Deed (Exhibit 1). (Evid. Code § 452(h).) The court however DENIES the request for judicial notice as to the ...

Excerpt: ... elements of a c ause of action for intentional interference with prospective economic advantage are: “‘“(1) an economic relationship between the plaintiff and some third party, with the probability of future economic benefit to the plaintiff; (2) the defendant's knowledge of the relationship; (3) intentional acts on the part of the defendant designed to disrupt the relationship; (4) actual disruption of the relationship; and (5) economic ...

Excerpt: ...1) the existen ce of the contract, (2) [the party's] performance or excuse for nonperformance, (3) the [other party's] breach, and (4) resulting damages to the [party].” (Maxwell v. Dolezal (2014) 231 Cal. App. 4th 93, 97- 98.) A complaint need only plead the legal effect or substance of the contract's material terms, even for oral contracts. (See, e.g., Khoury v. Maly's of California, Inc. (1993) 14 Cal.App.4th 612, 616 [“An oral contrac...

Excerpt: ...aking or damaging by a public entity of a valuable property right; (2) that the taking or damaging was for a public use; and (3) that the invasion or appropriation directly and specifically affected the property owner to his or her injury. (City of Los Angeles (201 1) 194 Cal. App. 4th 210, 221.) Plaintiff alleges that the following constitute a taking: (1) Defendant's refusal to issue Plaintiff a business license for a four month period startin...

Excerpt: ...eet their initial burden of establishing a written agreement exists between the parties that includes a prevailing party contract, as required under Civil Code section 1717. Civil Code section 1717(a) states, “In any action on a contract, where the contract specific ally provides that attorney's fees and costs, which are incurred to enforce that contract, shall be awarded either to one of the parties or to the prevailing party, then the pa...

Excerpt: ...fer obligation pr ior to filing the motion, and further attempts to meet -and -confer would have been futile under the circumstances. The court notes the following: Defendant proffers evidence that her attorney, Mark S. Ashworth, sent Plaintiff a detailed initial meet- and-c onfer letter on at least three separate occasions – on September 27, October 5, and October 17, 2023. (Ashworth Decl., ¶ 2; Exh. A.) “At some point Plaintiff called [Mr...

Excerpt: ...Complaint (the o perative pleading) filed by Plaintiff NANCY L. ROJO (“Rojo”). Rocha's alternative motion for summary adjudication of issues is therefore MOOT. Only the 5th and 6th causes of action of the Third Amended Complaint remain. 5th C/A (financial elder abuse) Th e fifth cause of action for financial elder abuse alleges, inter alia: Rocha used an expired Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to take, deprive, misappropriate, and retai...

Excerpt: ...glish is n ot his native language. (Pedraza Decl., ¶¶ 10 -12.) The DRP states in relevant part: Arbitration shall be the sole and exclusive remedy for any dispute, grievance, claim, or controversy of any kind or nature (a "claim") arising out of, related to, or con nected with your employment application with the Company, your employment relationship with the Company, your engagement with the Company, and the termination of your employm...

Excerpt: ...Eviden ce Code section 1157 preserves the secrecy of the proceedings and records of peer review bodies and of organized committees of hospital or professional associations charged with evaluating and improving the quality of care rendered by specified health care professionals. The burden is on the facility, as the party resisting discovery, to establish that the information falls within the class of material protected under Section 1157. (Santa...

Excerpt: ...t argues that it only agreed to “perform” and not t o “complete” the work. Such appears to be a tortured reading of the parties' agreement and not consistent with the apparent intent of the parties. For example, Defendant's interpretation of the word “performed” would allow Defendant to merely begin the r epair/replace work without ever having to complete the work. The agreement entered into on or about May 9, 2023, called for work to...

Excerpt: ...lectively “Goe Forsythe”) and Attorney MICHAEL LEBOFF and the Law firm KLEIN & WILSON (collectively “ LeBoff”). The Parks move pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2031.285, which provides in pertinent part: (a) If electronically stored information produced in discovery is subject to a clai m of privilege or of protection as attorney work product, the party making the claim may notify any party that received the information of the...

Excerpt: ...”.) (Judgment at p. 9, lines 4- 5.) In the instant motion, D efendants state their argument was that “the verdict should be reduced pursuant to section 877.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure in the amount stipulated by the release between Plaintiff and former defendants Managed Facilities Solutions, Inc. and Adam Kida n….” (Mov. Pts. & Auth. at 5, lines 11 -13.) The court notes that Defendants' previously filed Trial Brief on the issue sta...

Excerpt: ...dants (as opposed to entity defendants), a good faith effo rt at personal service must first be attempted before utilizing substitute service – i.e., there must be a showing that the summons “cannot with reasonable diligence be personally delivered” to the individual defendant. (Code Civ. Proc., § 415.20(b).) After a good faith attempt at personal service, an individual defendant may be sub -served by: (1) leaving a copy of the summons an...

Excerpt: ...ogatory No. 12.1 and Special Interrogatory No. 18 are evasive and incomplete. Code of Civil Procedure section 2030.220(a) requires that “[e]ach answer in a response to interrogatories shall be as complete and straightforward as the information reasonably available to the responding party permits. ( Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.220(a).) GM, who failed to respond to these motions regarding interrogatories, failed to meet its burden to justify the obj...

Excerpt: ...RA cap for non -economic damages;” and (2) “ Defendant, FIRST LIGHT RECOVERY, LLC (First Light) is not a health care provider, contrary to what is asserted by the First Light in their Eleventh Affirmative Defense in their Answer to Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint, thus, First Light would not be s hielded by the $250,000 MICRA cap for non -economic damages”. (Not. of Motion, p. 2, lines 7 -16, emphasis added.) Defendant argues that the i...

Excerpt: ...within the meaning of Section 583.310 of the Code of Civil Procedure on the filing of the plaintiff's original compl aint. (Bruns v E-Commerce Exch., Inc. (2011) 51 Cal.4th 717, 723.) A judge may dismiss an action, on the judge's own motion or on the defendant's motion, after notice to the parties when the action is not brought to trial within this time period. (Code Ci v. Proc. § 583.360(a).) The three statutory exceptions that tol...

Excerpt: ...s motion complies with rule 3.1324 of the California Rule s of Court, as it includes a red -lined copy of the proposed First Amended Complaint which alerts the Court, and the parties, to the proposed revisions. In addition, the declarations submitted in conjunction with the motion specify the effect of the amendme nt, why the amendment is necessary and proper, when the facts giving rise to the amended allegations were discovered, and the reasons ...

Excerpt: ...ing a demurrer, the scope of permiss ible amendment is limited to the causes of action that have been originally pleaded. (People By & Through Dep't of Pub. Works v. Clausen, 248 Cal.App.2d. 770 (1967). A plaintiff, therefore, may not amend the complaint by adding new causes of action without first obtaining an order from the court. (Harris v. Wachovia Mortg., FSB (2010) 185 Cal.App.4th 1018, 1023 [“Following an order sustaining a demurrer …...

Excerpt: ...ed Complaint (“TAC”). The BT Defendants' main arguments for each cause of action is that they owed no duty to the decedent, they did not provide alcohol at the event, they did not have constructive knowledge that alcohol was being served at the event, they were not present at the event, and they did not manage or supervise the event. The court disagrees with the BT Defendants that, at this pleading stage, the court can determine that the BT D...

Excerpt: ... Summary Adjudication of Issues. The motion concerns the follo wing three issues: • No. 1: Whether Defendant ROSAURA DE KUYPER (“Defendant”) breached her fiduciary duties to Plaintiff. • No. 2: Whether Defendant breached her duty of loyalty to Plaintiff. • No. 3: Whether there is no merit to Defendant's third affirma tive defense for failure to mitigate. “‘The elements of a claim for breach of fiduciary duty are (1) the existence ...

Excerpt: ...t for 4/8/24. The Petition appears to have been prompted by the prior c ourt's ruling on a motion for judgment on the pleadings as to the Third Amended Complaint (“TAC”), a ruling issued on 12/1/23. The court granted the motion as to the second cause of action for negligence, finding that Plaintiffs failed to comply with Code of Civil Procedure section 425.15 and stating the following: “Code of Civil Procedure section 425.15 applies becaus...

Excerpt: ... Complaint filed by Plaintiff JOSE MARTINEZ -DURAN (“Plaintiff” ). The Alternative Motion for Summary Adjudication of Issues is therefore MOOT. The Complaint contains 10 causes of action related to alleged discrimination and unpaid wages by Defendant, Plaintiff's former employer. After showing that Plaintiff faile d to comply with multiple court orders concerning discovery and finding that Plaintiff was not likely to comply with the discove...

Excerpt: ...ed to appear for examinati on that was set for 9/13/23. (Hook Decl. ¶¶ 8, 13, Exh. G.) Plaintiff's counsel appears to have objected to Defendant unilaterally setting Plaintiff's deposition. (Hook Decl. ¶ 9, Exh. H.) Plaintiff's counsel also opposed Los Angeles as a location for Plai ntiff's in-person deposition and requested that the parties discuss the option for Plaintiff's deposition to be taken via Zoom. (Id.) Defendant has complied with t...

Excerpt: ...atment Process and Mutual Arbitration Agreement” (the “Arbitration Agreement”) and Acknowledgment of the Tenet Health employee handbook (the “Employee Handbook”). (Stip. re Authentication of Arb. Agmt. and Handbook Acknowledgment [Def.'s Evid. at p. 97]; Doe Decl. ¶ 2.) The Arbitration Agreement “covers all disputes relating to or arising out of an employee's employment with the Company or the termination of employment.... Examples o...

Excerpt: ...ct to “fit the crime.” (Reedy v. Bussell (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 1272, 1293.) The court cannot impose sanctions as punishment; the choice of sanctions should not give the moving party more than it would have gotten had the discovery been responded to. (Doppes v. Bentley Motors, Inc. (2009) 174 Cal.App.4th 967, 992; Caryl Richards , Inc. v. Superior Court, 188 Cal.App.2d at 303.) Before issuing terminating sanctions, the court should usually g...

Excerpt: ...rcise, (2) a breach of the duty, (3) a proximate causal connection between the negligent conduct and the injury, and (4) resulting loss or damage.” (Johnson v. Superior Court (2006) 143 Cal.App.4th 297, 305.) “In professional malpractice cases, expert opinion testimony is required to prove or disprove that the de fendant performed in accordance with the prevailing standard of care [citation], except in cases where the negligence is obvious to...

Excerpt: ...e court on the basis of affidavits served wit h the notice of hearing and any counteraffidavits filed in response. (Id. at § 877.6(b).) A determination by the court that the settlement was made in good faith shall bar any other joint tortfeasor or co -obligor from any further claims against the settling tortfeasor or co -obligor for equitable comparative contribution, or partial or comparative indemnity, based on comparative negligence or compa...

Excerpt: ...presented evidence that discovery in this matter would result in the production of conÞdential and proprietary documentation. (Newman Decl., ¶ 4.) Further, the parties agreed a protective order is warranted, and they agreed to the language of the protective order. (Newman Decl., ¶¶ 89.) 2. Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings The court DENIES American Express's motion for judgment on the pleadings – as to (1) the Cross- Complaint Þled by C...

Excerpt: ...irst, the court disagrees with L.A. Care that County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court (2023) 14 Cal.5th 1034 stands for the proposition that Plainti
¯s are limited to a quantum meruit claim. In County of Santa Clara, the California Supreme Court considered whether a lawsuit for reimbursement of emergency medical services may be maintained against a health care service plan operated by a public entity or whether the Government Claims Act immunize...

Excerpt: ...enant of quiet enjoyment, and 8) nuisance. The court SUSTAINS in part, and OVERRULES in part, the demurrer. Entire FAC as to Plaintiff Hang Vu - SUSTAINED As Kona Kai notes, the FAC names Hang Vu as a Plaintiff but never alleges any facts about Plaintiff Vu. Plaintiffs did not address this issue in any Opposition. Indeed, the first page of the Opposition filed states only "that Plaintiff Tony Kennedy opposes the demurer and motion to strike." As ...

Excerpt: ...gful use or with intent to defraud, or both. (2) Assists in taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud, or both. (3) Takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains, or assists in taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining, real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult by undue influence, as defined in ...

Excerpt: ...ion; and SUSTAINS defendants Bridgemed Solutions ("Bridgemed") and Tara Kupumbat's demurrer to the fourth, eighth, and tenth causes of achon with 20 days leave to amend. Entire Complaint (re Plaintiff's Capacity to Sue) — OVERRULED Defendants contend plaintiff lacks capacity to sue because Plaintiff failed to comply with the statutory requirements to do business in California by obtaining a certificate of qualification as described in Corporati...

Excerpt: ...d or supplemental proof of service on the clients, to be filed no later than 5 court days before the continued hearing date of 1/26/24 (i.e., by 1/19/24). As of 1/25/24, counsel has not filed a new proof of service. 2. Motion for Summary Judgment The court GRANTS Plaintiff NATIONAL FUNDING, INC's motion for summary judgment on its Complaint. The Complaint alleges causes of achon for breach of contract (against defendant M&M Custom Builders, LLC) ...

Excerpt: ...broad but said that Plaintiff "will produce all responsive, nan-privileged documents in his possession, custody or control." Plaintiff then produced redacted portions of a 1998 agreement between Plaintiff and nonparties Peter Bowie and GV-Newport and portions of a Schedule of Notes Payable. Plaintiff apparently redacted portions of the documents because he deems those portions irrelevant to this lawsuit and states the information at issue contain...

Excerpt: ...ta Ana, California. Defendant's "actions or inactions caused a dangerous condition for pedestrians like Plaintiff," and "the condition was created by employees of the defendant public entity." Defendant had "constructive notce of the existence of the dangerous condition in sufficient time prior to the injury to have corrected it." Defendant is a public entity. Except as prov-ded by statute, a public entity is liable for injury caused by a dangero...

Excerpt: ...mmary judgment meets his burden of showing there is no defense to a cause of action that party has proved each element of the cause of action entitling the party to judgment on the cause of action. (Code Civ. Proc„ S 437c(p)(1).) Once the plaintiff has met that burden, the burden shifts to the defendant to show that a triable issue of one or more material facts exists as to the cause of action or a defense thereto. (ld.) Plaintiff's Complaint a...

Excerpt: ...ance, (3) defendant's breach, and (4) the resulting damages to the plaintiff. [Citation.]" (Oasis West Realty, LLC v. Goldman (2011) 51 Cal.4th 811, 821; accord, JRK Property Holdings, Inc. v. Colony Ins. Co. (2023) 96 Cal.App.5th 1, 13.) "'A written contract may be pleaded either by its terms—set out verbatim in the complaint or a copy of the contract attached to the complaint and incorporated therein by reference—or by its legal effect. [Ci...

Excerpt: ... by jury in an equitable action. The Complaint, the operative pleading, contains a single cause of action for partition of real property pursuant to Sections 872.210 and 872.230 of the Code of Civil Procedure. "Historically, there were separate law and equity courts." (Hoopes v. Dolan (2008) 168 Cal.App.4th 145, 155.) "The aw courts dealt with ordinary property rights, debts, and trespasses and adjudicated disputes by I-ve testimony before a lay ...

Excerpt: ...(a)(4), (c).) FEHA claims are one such exception. (See Williams v. Chino Valley Independent Fire Dist. (2015) 51 Cal.4th 97, 99—100.) "[A]n unsuccessful FEHA plaintiff should not be ordered to pay the defendant's fees or costs unless the plaintiff brought or continued litigating the action without an objective basis for believing it had potential merit." (Ibid.) The FEHA exception also applies "to any other cause of action that is intertwined a...

Excerpt: ...treatments" (Compl., '1 33), • "negligently failed to warn Plaintiff' "of the dangerous effects of the laser hair removal procedure and that the procedure constituted a hazard to Plaintiff's health and safety" (Compl., 35) and • "failed to adequately train, educate, and supervise those persons operating under their supervision and control" (Compl., '1 36). The court finds that Defendants failed to meet their burden on summary judgment. First,...

Excerpt: ...on for medical malpractice are: (1) a duty to use such skill, prudence, and diligence as other members of the profession commonly possess and exercise; (2) a breach of the duty; (3) a proximate causal connection between the negligent conduct and the injury; and (4) resulting loss or damage." (Johnson v. Superior Court (2006) 143 Cal.App.4th 297, 305). The two main elements that all moving Defendants raise are standard of care and causation. Defen...

Excerpt: ...se of action for breach of fiduciary duty are the existence of a fiduciary relationship, breach of fiduciary duty, and damages.... And the elements of a cause of action for breach of contract are (1) the existence of the contract, (2) plaintiffs performance or excuse for nonperformance, (3) defendant's breach, and (4) the resulting damages to the plaintiff." (Oasis West Realty, LLC v. Goldman (2011) 51 Cal.4th 811, 820-821, citations omitted.) He...

Excerpt: ...riminal remedies for the alleged contempt. To the extent, Plaintiff is requesting criminal remedies, the request is denied pursuant to Section 1385 of the Penal Code. It makes little sense to proceed with what was traditionally considered a "quasi-criminal" proceeding in order to recover discovery sanctions of $1,500, which were ordered to be jointly and severally paid by Defendant Niguel Pointe Homeowners Association and its counsel of record (S...

Excerpt: ...ts a pleading, motion, or similar paper to the court, the person filing the paper makes an implied "certification" that: (1) It is not being presented primarily for an improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation. (2) The claims . . and other legal contentions therein are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of exist...