Excerpt: ...arties' evidentiary objections are as follows. Respondents' objections: • Declaration of Brendan Ba rth (ROA 158): o Overrule 1 -2; Sustain 3 -6 • Declaration of Erin Allgaier (ROA 157) o Overrule 1, 5, 6; Sustain 2 -4 • Declaration of Amy Searls (ROA 156) o Sustain 1 -5 • Declaration of Jessica LaPalme (ROA 155) o Overrule 1; Sustain 2 -7 • Declaration of Ro cky Benoit, MD (ROA 154) o Overrule 1; Sustain 2 -7 • Declaration of Kelly U...

Excerpt: ... shall not be grounds to overrule or sustain a demurrer.” (Code Civ. Proc., §430.41, subd. (a)(4).) The Court once again opts to proceed to the merits. On the merits, the demurrer is overruled. Within the demurrer itself Defendant asserts the first cause of action fails as “Plaintiff has not se t out the terms of such contract, nor has any contract been attached that demonstrates a contractual relationship between Plaintiff and any of the p...

Excerpt: ... of the remainder of the exhibits because they are not relevant to the disposition of the demurrer. (Sweeney v. California Regional Water Quality Control Bd. (2021) 61 Cal.App.5th 1, 1118, fn. 3.) The Court also declines to exercise its discretion to refuse to consider the opposition for being untimely by one day. Defendant demurs to the Complaint a nd the three causes of action asserted therein for: (1) breach of fiduciary duty – failure to u...

Excerpt: ...h, and (4) resulting damage to the plaintiff.” (Richman v. Hartley (2014) 224 Cal.App.4th 1182, 1186; CACI 303.) PSG argues that the Service Contract at issue ended in April of 2018 and that any allegation that the agreement was extended is conclusory. The Court disagrees. The SACC alleges that the Service Agreement was initially drafted to terminate after two years (i.e., in April 2018), but the parties extended the Agreement beyond that initi...

Excerpt: ...s a cause of action. Hahn v. Mirda (20 07) 147 Cal.App.4th 740, 747. When considering demurrers, courts read the allegations liberally and in context. (Wilson v. Transit Authority of City of Sacramento (1962) 199 Cal.App.2d 716, 720 -21.) In a demurrer proceeding, the defects must be apparent on the face of the pleading or v ia proper judicial notice. (Donabedian v. Mercury Ins. Co. (2004) 116 Cal.App.4th 968, 994.) “A demurrer tests the plea...

Excerpt: ...lenges only the legal sufficiency of the affected plead ing, not the truth of the factual allegations in the pleading or the pleader's ability to prove those allegations. (Cundiff v. GTE Cal., Inc. (2002) 101 Cal.App.4th 1395, 1404 -05.) Questions of fact cannot be decided on demurrer. (Berryman v. Merit Prop. Mgmt., Inc. (2007) 152 Cal.App.4th 1544, 1556.) Because a demurrer tests only the sufficiency of the complaint, a court will not consider ...

Excerpt: ...tion 877 provides in pertinent part: “Where a release ... is given in good faith before verdict or judgment to one or more of a number of tortfeasors claimed to be liable for the same tort, or to one or more other co -obligors mutually subject to contribution rights, it shall have the fo llowing effect: [¶] (a) It shall not discharge any other such party from liability unless its terms so provide, but it shall reduce the claims against the oth...

Excerpt: ...sustained Jocelyn Plummer's demurrer to the FACC without leave to amend on 2/13/24 . Legal Standard Code of Civil 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 jud gment as a matter of law. In determining if the papers show that there is no triable issue as to any material f...

Excerpt: ...(ROA No. 326.) Nonetheless, consistent with the brie fing by the parties, the Court takes judicial notice of the complaints filed in this action, along with the Minute Order dated February 21, 2023, pursuant to Evidence Code section 452, subdivision (d). Thereafter, Plaintiff disputes Defendants' ability to demurrer to the Fifth Cause of Action, asserting the right to demurrer has been waived, pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 430.80....

Excerpt: ... of Actions (“ROA”) 649, Declaration of Chris M. Hei kaus Weaver (“Weaver Decl.”), ¶ 9, Ex. 5.) Said Order provides, “[a]s set forth in the tentative ruling adopted herein, the Court abstains pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1334(c)(1) and allows the Superior Court for the County of Orange, in Case NO. 30 -2018 -00983085 -CU -OE -CJC (‘State Court Action') to complete trial and post- trial matters, but reserves jurisdiction over the discharge o...

Excerpt: ... and 28. The request as to Exhibits 2, 4, 5, 15, and 16 is GRANTED. (Evid. Code, § 452(c).) The request as to Exhibit 28, excerpts of a deposition transcript, is DENIED. The deposition excerpts do not fall within any of the categories of which the Court may take judicial notice. The relevant facts are largely undisputed. Plaintiff purchased property located wit hin San Juan Capistrano in 2013 and obtained a policy of title insurance underwritten...

Excerpt: ...inent part: “(a) On receipt of a response to interrogatories, the propounding party may move for an order compelling a further response if the prop ounding 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 tho se documents is inadequate. [¶] (3) An ...

Excerpt: ...here Bennett breached his duty of fidelity or l oyalty, since Bennett had a legal relationship and owed a duty to Defendant to protect him from risk of harm or death from a third party, which was his co -worker, then later his client. Plaintiff does not address this argument, and thereby arguably concede s Defendant has standing. Notwithstanding the foregoing, “no California case has held that only a client or former client may bring a disqual...

Excerpt: ...otion. First, Defendants seek to strike the word “Direct” from the caption of the FAC next to the 1st and 3rd causes of action on the grounds Plaintiff has no standing to assert his direct causes of action because the alleged wrongdoings harmed the companies, not Plaintiff. Defendants cannot see k to strike entire causes of action by a motion to strike. Rather, lack of standing should be raised by demurrer as it is a threshold element require...

Excerpt: ...ntiffs' Supplemental Brief p. 5:11). Yet they argue that, the conclusion to be drawn from the decision in Law Finance Group is that a petition to vacate the arbitration award must be filed within 100 days of service of the arbitration award. A response to a petition to confirm must be filed within 10 days of service of the petition to confirm and a timely -filed response may seek the remedy of vacatur. The 10 -day period for a response found...

Excerpt: ...ffected party, person, or attorney, and after opportunity for hearing, may impose the following sanctions against anyone engaging in conduct that is a misuse of the discovery process…” the court may impose monetary, issue or evidentiary sanctions. CCP § 2030.290(c) provides: The court shall impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010) against any party, person, or attorney who unsuccessfully makes or opposes ...

Excerpt: ...roperly subject to judici al notice. (Blank v. Kirwan (1985) 39 Cal.3d 311, 318.) The issue is the sufficiency of the pleading, not the truth of the facts alleged. Thus, no matter how unlikely or improbable, the allegations made must be accepted as true for the purpose of ruling on the demurrer. (Del E. Webb Corporation v. Structural Materials Co. (1981) 123 Cal.App.3d 593, 604.) Absent court orders or other items subject to judicial notice, or i...

Excerpt: ...e allegations in the Complaint that concern Defendant Sherwood all identify conduct that was part of the exercise of Sherwood's discretion vested in her in her capacity as a public employee. Accordingly, she is not liable for any injury resulting from any act or omission alleged in the Complaint, and amendment would not cure this defect. (Cal. Govt. Code § 820.2.) Plaintiff fails to address this argument at all in opposition to the demurrer. As ...

Excerpt: ...(Cundiff v. GTE Cal., Inc. (2002) 101 Cal.App.4th 1395, 14041 405.) Questions of fact cannot be decided on demurrer. (Berryman v. Merit Prop. Mgmt., Inc. (2007) 152 Cal.App.4th 1544, 1556.) “Because a demurrer tests only the legal sufficiency of the pleading, the facts alleged in the pleading are deemed to be true. (Thompson v. Ioane (2017) 11 Cal.App.5th 1180, 1190 [citation omitted].) As to the Trespass cause of action, the disputed issue is ...

Excerpt: ...upport of each of these causes of action. S pecifically, the complaint alleges plaintiff Oscar Camarena (plaintiff) and defendants (both of them) entered into a contract by which defendants agreed “to act plaintiff's real estate agent/brokers” with respect to the subject real estate transaction and provide plaintiff with “1% of the purchase price as credit towards plaintiff's closing costs,” and plaintiff agreed to pay defendants for the...

Excerpt: ...st cause of action. Defendant's request for judicial notice is denied as unnecessary. See Cal. Prac. Guide, Civil Procedure before Tr ial §9:53.1a (“It is not necessary to ask the court to take judicial notice of materials previously filed in the case; all that is necessary is to call the court's attention to such papers. Such papers, however, are not necessarily admissible evidence. Exc ept for admissions in pleadings, matters stated in ...

Excerpt: ...NIED in part. The two motions and arguments are largely duplicative and t hus will be handled together. Plaintiff seeks to compel Defendant Marriot to produce all documents and ESI responsive to Requests for Product (“RFP”) (Set One) Nos 2, 6, 14, and 26. As to Defendant Lerma, Plaintiff seeks to compel him to produce all docu ments and ESI responsive to RFP (Set one) Nos 2, 6, 14, 18, 20, 26, 30, and 32. As to the format of the ESI, Under C....

Excerpt: ...v. Northrop Grumman Corp. (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 995, 999 [“A “presentation o f extrinsic evidence is...not proper on a motion for judgment on the pleadings.”] As to the 12th cause of action for Unfair Business Practices, the Court finds the cause of action is not sufficiently pled. Here, Plaintiff alleges that as a result of Defendant's discrimination and retaliation toward Plaintiff and his wrongful termination, which constitutes unfair a...

Excerpt: ... element of his negligent misrepresent ation cause of action. (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (p)(1) [burden]; Small v. Fritz Companies, Inc. (2003) 30 Cal.4th 167, 173174 [elements].) Numerous facts in plaintiff's separate statement are not supported by the evidence cited, in particular, Fac t Nos. 7, 13, and 14, where plaintiff's separate statement cites numerous portions of the deposition transcript of Dr. Wakim, which were not provided. As t...

Excerpt: ... extent Cross -Complainant moves for summary adjudication, the Notice of Motion fai ls to comply with California Rules of Court, rule 3.1350, subdivision (b) which provides in pertinent part: “If summary adjudication is sought, whether separately or as an alternative to the motion for summary judgment, the specific cause of action, affir mative defense, claims for damages, or issues of duty must be stated specifically in the notice of motion ...

Excerpt: ... as required by the Rules. (Cal. R. Ct. Rule 3.1354, subd. (b); see Hodjat v . State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co. (2012) 211 Cal.App.4th 1, 8.) The Court also did not consider any fact purportedly in dispute, where the response did not provide “the nature of the dispute and describe the evidence that supports the position that t he fact is controverted.” (Cal. R. Ct. Rules 3.1350, subd. (f)(2); Bacoka v. Best Buy Stores, L.P. (2021) 71 Cal...

Excerpt: ...overy responses. (See Oppositions: 4:2 -12 [ROA Nos. 73, 75 and 79] a nd ¶6 of Reynolds Declarations [ROA Nos. 85, 86 and 87].) Indeed, Plaintiff concedes Defendant's new counsel has “worked diligently in providing code compliant Responses.” (See Replies 2:6 -8 and 5:20 -21 [ROA Nos. 89, 91 and 93].) Nonetheless, dueling req uests for sanctions remain. Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2030.300, subdivision (d), “[t]he court shal...

Excerpt: ...cial Council.” Id., § 583.410, subd. (b). A court may not dismiss an a ction under section 583.410, subdivision (a), unless the defendant was not served within two years after the action was commenced or the action was not brought to trial, or conditionally settled, within two years after commenced against the defendant. Cod e Civ. 6 Proc., § 583.240, subd. (a), California Rules of Court, rule 3.1340(a). The computation of time for the aforem...

Excerpt: ...n 128.5, filed by Plaintiff on July 21, 202 3, as ROA 285; (5) The “Motion for Sanctions” under Code of Civil Procedure section 128.5, etc., filed by Plaintiff on July 21, 2023, as ROA 290; (6) The “Motion for Reconsideration” filed by Plaintiff on July 21, 2023, as ROA 280; (7) The “Motion to Reconsideration” filed by Plaintiff on December 18, 2023 as ROA 363; and (8) The “Motion to Quash Service of Summons” filed by defenda...

Excerpt: .... A court may strike out any irrelevant, false , or improper matter inserted in any pleading or strike out all or any part of any pleading not drawn or filed in conformity with the laws of this state, a court rule or an order of the court. Code Civ. Proc. § 436. “Irrelevant” matters include: allegat ions not essential to the claim, allegations neither pertinent to nor supported by an otherwise sufficient claim or a demand for judgment reque...

Excerpt: ... burden of showing that a cause of action has no merit if the party has shown that one or mo re elements of the cause of action, even if not separately pleaded, cannot be established, or that there is a complete defense to the cause of action. Once the defendant or crossdefendant has met that burden, the burden shifts to the plaintiff or cross -com plainant to show that a triable issue of one or more material facts exists as to the cause of actio...

Excerpt: ...d to stay the action. UPCOMING EVENTS: None FACTS/OVERVIEW: T his is an employment discrimination matter, as well as an individual wage -and -hour class and PAGA action. On September 6, 2023, Plaintiff Elida Martin (“Plaintiff”) filed a Complaint against Defendants Contactability.com LLC dba SmartFinancial and Stephani e Schneider (collectively, “Defendants”). (ROA 2.) The Complaint alleges the following 16 causes of action: 1. Discrimin...

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: ...it if the party has shown that one or more elements of the cause of action, even if not separately pleaded, cannot be established, or that there is a complete defense to the cause of action. Once the defendant or cross- defendant has met that burden, the burden shifts to the plaintiff or cross -complainant to show that a triable issue of one or more material facts exists as to the cause of action or a defense thereto. The plaintiff or cross - com...

Excerpt: ... move to seal the following exhibits to the decla ration of Yvette Golan: 1. Exhibit AN: an email from Chapman's disability services office to plaintiff Findlay Grant informing him of accommodations the school will provide in response to his January 2020 request. 2. Exhibit BN: an email from Chapman's pr esident Daniele Struppa to the Chapman community announcing a phased return to campus in October 2020. 3. Exhibit BP: an email from Struppa to t...

Excerpt: ...he Osteopathic Initiative Act, or the Chiropractic Initiative Act, or licensed pursua nt to Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 1440) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; and any clinic, health dispensary, or health facility, licensed pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 1200) of the Health and Safety Code.” (Code of Civ . Proc., §340.5, subd. (1).) To demonstrate Defendant qualifies under the above, Defendant offers the d...

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: ...ers similarly situated SERVICE: 1. Proof of Service not provi ded 2. December 15, 2023, by email RELIEF SOUGHT: 1. Plaintiff moves for an order certifying the putative class. 2. Defendant moves for an order striking the declaration, opinions, and testimony of Plaintiff's expert witness, Dr. William Ingersoll, filed i n support of the Motion for Class Certification. UPCOMING EVENTS: None FACTS/OVERVIEW: This is a putative class action for violat...

Excerpt: ...rt shall order the petitioner and the respondent to arbitrate the controversy if it determines that an agreement to arbitrate the controversy exists, unless it determines that: (a) The right to compel arbitration has been waived by the petitioner; or (b) Grounds exist for rescission of the agreement. (c) A party to the arbitration agreement is also a party to a pending court action or special proceeding with a third party, arising out of the same...

Excerpt: ...3, Fuentes reached a settlement with Plaintiff for $90,000. (Settlement Agreement attached as Exh. A to Application.) Fuentes then filed an application for a good faith settlement determination under Code of Civil Procedure section 877.6. In response, Garcia filed the instant motion contesting the good faith of the settlement. The party asserting the lack of good faith shall have the burden of proof on that issue. (Code Civ. Proc. § 877.6(d).)...

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: ...D pending completion of arbitration. An arbitration review conference will take place in Department CX -101 on November 18, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. Because no prejudice will result from consideration of Plaintiff's untimely, overlong opposition papers, the Court has elected to consider them. EVIDENTIARY MATTERS I. Plaintiff's Initial Objections A. Monica Stombaugh 1. Overrule. 2. Sustain on foundation grounds to the extent she testifies Plaintiff sign...

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: ...e in the actions; it may order all the actions consolidated and it may make such orders co ncerning proceedings therein as may tend to avoid unnecessary costs or delay." (Sosnick v. Sosnick (1999) 71 Cal.App.4th 1335, 1339; Stubblefield Construction Co. v. City of San Bernardino (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 687, 701.) Where the actions at issue presen t essentially the same or overlapping issues, they should be consolidated and disposed of as a sin...

Excerpt: ... is DENIED. EVIDENTIARY MATTERS The Court incorporates by refe rence the portion of its prior tentative ruling regarding Best Buy's evidentiary objections. The Court DENIES Best Buy's request for judicial notice (ROA 179) as unnecessary. GROUNDS FOR RULING While the Court originally sought further briefing and evidence on the issue of whether Best Buy's counsel actually received an invoice from AAA by email on September 7, 2023, the Court ultima...

Excerpt: ...-1538; see ROA 221.) Plaintiff's evidentiary objection to Dr. Lewandowski's declara tion is overruled. Dr. Lewandowski's evidentiary objections nos. 1 and 2 are overruled; nos. 3 and 4 are sustained. Any party to the action or the witness may bring a motion to quash a subpoena and may request the court to quash it entirely, modify it, o r direct compliance with it upon those terms and conditions as the court shall declare including protective ord...

Excerpt: ...652 (citations omitted).) “By its nature, tort liability arising from conspiracy presupposes that the coconspirator is legally capable of committing the tort, i.e., that he or she owes a duty to plaintiff recognized by law and is potentially subject to liability for breach of that duty.” (Applied Equipment Corp. v. Litton Saudi Arabia Ltd. (1994) 7 Cal.4th 503, 511; see also Everest Invs. 8 v. Whitehall Real Est. Ltd. P'ship XI (2002)100 ...

Excerpt: ...glas Hughes should not be held in contempt for willfully violating sever al Court Orders. 2. Plaintiff moves for monetary and terminating sanctions against Defendants Elena Medo and Adrianne Weir for the spoliation and intentional destruction of evidence by Medo in violation of the Court's TRO and Preliminary Injunction Orders. FACTS/OVERVIEW: This is a trade secret misappropriation case. In the operative Fourth Amended Complaint, filed November...

Excerpt: ...icial notice is granted. Defendants' request for judicial not ice that was included as part of the declaration of Christopher Hoo is denied. (Hoo Decl., at ¶ 17.) Requests for judicial notice should be filed as a separate document. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1113(l).) Also, this request does not comply with Calif ornia Rules of Court, rule 3.1306. Procedural Issues Plaintiff's opposition suffers from a number of procedural defects. First, Pla...

Excerpt: ... versions must be provided as ordered. (ROA 260.) As to the Settl ement (Issue Numbers below are carried over from the Court's prior order (ROA 260): 1. The proof of service on the LWDA does not include a fully executed settlement and none is before the Court. Counsel explains the parties “intend” to file it prior to the hearing (Decl. ¶ 3 n.1), which at any rate would be untimely, but as of 02 -2124, an executed settlement has not been fi...