Excerpt: ...;s injuries.' [Citation.] ” (PacifiCare of California v. Bright Medical Associates, Inc. (2011) 198 Cal.App.4th 1451, 1464 (PacifiCare.) The California Supreme Court in Tech -Bilt v. Woodward -Clyde & Assoc. (1985) 38 Cal. 3d 488 (Tech- Bilt), set forth the factors to consider. The fa ctors are: (1) a rough approximation of plaintiffs' total recovery and the settlor's proportionate liability; (2) the amount paid in settlement; (3) the allocat...

Excerpt: ...el arbitration und er Section 1281.2 must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that: (1) The parties entered into a written agreement to arbitrate; and (2) one or more of the claims at issue are covered by that agreement. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1281.2; Villacreses v. Molina ri (2005) 132 Cal.App.4th 1223, 1230.) If the moving party meets this burden, the burden shifts to the resisting party to prove by a preponderance of evidence a defense to e...

Excerpt: ...ses to Special Interrogatories, Set One, and Request for Monetary Sanctions Plaintiff Colleen Curtin's unopposed Motion to Compel Defendant Alexandra Mendoza's Initial Responses to Form Interrogatories, Set One and Special Interrogatories, Set One, is GRANTED. A party's failure to timely respond to interrogatories results in a waiver of any objections to the requests. (Code Civ. Proc. § 2030.290(a).) If a party to whom interrogatories fails to s...

Excerpt: ...establishe s an affirmative defense to that cause of action. (p) For purposes of motions for summary judgment and summary adjudication: (1) A plaintiff or cross -complainant has met his or her burden of showing that there is no defense to a cause of action if that par ty has proved each element of the cause of action entitling the party to judgment on the cause of action. Once the plaintiff or crosscomplainant has met that burden, the burden shif...

Excerpt: ..., § 2023.030; Cedars– Sinai Medical Center v. Superior Court (1998) 18 Cal.4th 1, 12, 74 Cal.Rptr.2d 248, 954 P.2d 511.) As relevant here, misuses of the discovery process include “[f]ailing to respond or to submit to an authorized method of discovery” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2023.010, subd. (d)); “[m]aking, without substantial justification, an unmeritorious objection to discovery” (id., § 2023.010, subd. (e)); “[m]aking an evasive r...

Excerpt: ...ctions are preserved for appeal. In the operative Third Amended Complaint, Breakaway asserts causes of action against Hoorizadeh and White Ridge for fraud (second cause of action), negligent misrepresentation (fourth cause of action) and aiding and abetting fraud (seventh cause of action). Meridian asserts causes of action against Hoorizadeh and White Ridge for fraud (first cause of action), negligent misrepresentation (third cause of action), a...

Excerpt: ...jections ( ROA 1122) as immaterial to the Court's ruling but the objections are preserved for purposes of appeal. (See Reid v. Google, Inc. (2010) 50 Cal.4th 512, 526 [“the trial court's failure to rule expressly on any of Google's evidentiary objections did not waiv e them on appeal”]) On 12/6/22, the Court sustained Movants' demurrer to the fourth, fifth, and sixth causes of action against Movants in the TAC. Movants seek summary judgm...

Excerpt: ...d Code of Civ il Procedure section 437c(c) states, “(c) The motion for summary judgment shall be granted if all the papers submitted show that there is no triable issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. In de termining if the papers show that there is no triable issue as to any material fact, the court shall consider all of the evidence set forth in the papers, except the evidence to...

Excerpt: ...mplaint (FACC). The motion also requests summary adjudication of the first cause of action for common counts in the Law Firm's complaint. The motion is MOOT as to Jocelyn Plummer because the Court entered judgment on the FACC in favor of Jocelyn Plummer on 4/4/24 after sustaining her demurrer without leave to amend. As to the remaining Movants, the motion is DENIED in its entirety. Movants' request for judicial notice (ROA 1356) is granted as to...

Excerpt: ...stitution or laws of the United States, or of the rights secured by the Constitution or laws of this state, the Attorney General, or any district attorney or city attorney may bring a civil action for injunctive and other appropriate equitable relief in the name of the people of the State of California, in order to protect the peaceable exercise or enjoyment of the right or rights secured. An action brought by the Attorney General, any district a...

Excerpt: ...437c(a)(1).) “A p arty may move for summary adjudication as to one or more causes of action within an action, one or more affirmative defenses, one or more claims for damages, or one or more issues of duty, if the party contends that the cause of action has no merit, that there is no affirmative defense to the cause of action, that there is no merit to an affirmative defense as to any cause of action, that there is no merit to a claim for damag...

Excerpt: ...Chang's medical condition.” On 12/12/23, the Court granted Plaintiff Dean Chang's (Plaintiff) unopposed motion to compel the deposition of Defendant Lucille Chang (Defendant), ordering Defendant to appear for deposition and produce documents pursuant to the deposi tion notice no later than 2/29/24, and awarding sanctions of $4,525 in sanctions against Defendant. Defendant did not oppose the motion to compel her deposition which was granted on 1...

Excerpt: ...voluntarily waives each party's right to a jury trial and court trial. (Lazarus v. Titmus (1998) 64 Cal.App.4th 1242, 1248).” (ROA No. 10.) The present motion to compel arbitration was filed on 8/24/23 and is unopposed. On 1/8/24, Plaintiff filed and served a subst itution of attorney stating that counsel Lenden Webb substituted for Plaintiff's former counsel Christopher Olsen. On 1/9/24, the Court continued the hearing on this motion and ord...

Excerpt: ...content of a website. (Searles Valley Minerals Operations, Inc. v. State Board of Equalization (2008) 160 Cal.App.4th 514, 519; See also LG Chem, Ltd. v. Superior Court of San Diego County (2022) 80 Cal.App.5th 348, 362, fn. 7.) Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure sec tion 436, the Court may, upon a motion made pursuant to section 435 or at any time in its discretion, strike out “any irrelevant, false, or improper matter inserted in any pleadin...

Excerpt: ...ive dam ages, Plaintiff must establish Defendants are guilty of oppression, fraud, or malice. (Civ. Code § 3294(a).) Moreover, Civil Code section 3294(b) provides, “An employer shall not be liable for damages pursuant to subdivision (a), based upon acts of an em ployee of the employer, unless the employer had advance knowledge of the unfitness of the employee and employed him or her with a conscious disregard of the rights or safety of others...

Excerpt: ... On receipt of a response to interrogatories, the propounding party may move for an order compelling a further response if the propounding party deems that any of the following apply: [¶] (1) An answer to a particular interrogatory is evasive or incomplete. [¶] (2) An exercise of the option to produce documents under Section 2030.230 is unwarranted or the required specification of those d ocum en ts i s i n ad eq uate. [ ¶] ( 3 ) A n ob j ect...

Excerpt: ...n order compelling further response to the de mand if the demanding party deems that any of the following apply: (1) A statement of compliance with the demand is incomplete. (2) A representation of inability to comply is inadequate, incomplete, or evasive. (3) An objection in the response is without m erit or too general. (b) A motion under subdivision (a) shall comply with each of the following: (1) The motion shall set forth specific facts sho...

Excerpt: ...Plaintiff's objection is sustained and the evidence is exc luded. (The video is described in the police report, which Plaintiff submitted as evidence.) Merits The elements of a negligence claim and a premises liability claim are the same: a legal duty of care, breach of that duty, and proximate cause resulting in injury. (Kesner v. Superior Court (2016) 1 Cal.5th 1132, 1159.) Premises liability “is grounded in the possession of the premises and...

Excerpt: ... offer to compromise on February 20, 2023. (Exhibit F to the declaratio n of attorney Bryan Reynolds submitted with the opposition.) The terms of the statutory offer to compromise provides in ¶ 10 that defendant Jaguar Land Rover of North America “will pay Plaintiff's attorney's fees, expenses and costs in an amount to be det ermined by the Court to have been reasonably incurred pursuant to Civil Code Section 1794(d).” Subdivision (d) of sec...

Excerpt: ...se of action for breach of contract, the plaintiff must prove (1) the contract, (2) plaintiff's performance of the contract or excuse for nonperformance, (3) the defendant's breach, and (4) resulting damage to the plaintiff.” (Richman v. Hartley (2014) 224 Cal.App.4th 1182, 1186.) “[T]he complaint must indicate on it s face whether the contract is written, oral, or implied by conduct.” (Otworth v. Southern Pacific Transportation Co. (1985)...

Excerpt: ...accept service if the process server identifies himself, tells the person they are being served, and leaves the papers as close as possible to the person. (Trujillo v. Trujillo (1945) 71 CA2d 257, 260.) Here, Tuttle announced that he was serving Defendant and left the papers on Defendant's front doorstep. Thus, Tuttle's service complied with the statutory requirements. The Court CONTINUES the Motion to allow Defendant an opportunity to submit ev...

Excerpt: ...urt if good cause is shown. (See Shapira v. Superior Court (1990) 224 Cal.App .3d 12491256.) Plaintiff objects to the examination because Plaintiff has already agreed to an examination by Defendant's orthopedic expert on 3/27/24 and a remote mental examination on 3/18/24. Plaintiff also contends the examination must be conducted within 75 miles of Plaintiff's residence, which is in North Carolina. Defendant has shown good cause for its scar revis...

Excerpt: ...#39;s breach, and (4) the resulting damages to the plaintiff.” (D'Arrigo Bros. of Calif ornia v. United Farmworkers of America (2014) 224 Cal.App.4th 790, 800.) As to the First Cause of Action, Plaintiff has demonstrated (1) the existence of the Loan Agreement with Media Graphix, (2) Plaintiff's performance, (3) Media Graphix breach of the L oan Agreement, and (4) resulting damages in the amount of $364,874.72. (Undisputed Facts 1, 5, 6, 10...

Excerpt: ...hall not recover his or her postoffer costs and shall pay the defendant's costs from the time of the offer. In addition, in any action or proceeding other than an eminent domain action, the court or arbitrator, in its discretion, may require the plaintiff to pay a reasonable sum to cover postoffer c osts of the services of expert witnesses, who are not regular employees of any party, actually incurred and reasonably necessary in either, or bo...

Excerpt: ... Strike on 10/3/23. Code of Civil Procedure section 430.40(a) states, “ A person against whom a complaint or cross -complaint has been filed may, within 30 days after service of the complaint or cross- complaint, demur to the complaint or cross- complaint.” The same deadline applies to a motion to strike the complaint. (Code C i v. Proc. § 435(b)(1).) It is within the Court's discretion whether to consider an untimely demurrer. (Jackson v. ...