Excerpt: ...efendants later attempt to remedy this defect in their reply. Additionally, the opposition filed and served by Plaintiff, on 1/18/23, (ROA 57), was untimely. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1005, subd. (b).) There is also nothing in the record that confirms Defendants, as self-represented litigants, may be served by electronic means. (Cal. R. Ct. Rule 2.251, subd. (c)(3)(B).) Further, Defendants deny that any such documents were received by electronic servi...

Excerpt: ...d Amended Complaint (SAC) of plaintiff Muthana Al- Ghazi. “A demurrer tests the pleading alone, and not the evidence or the facts alleged. . . . To the extent there are factual issues in dispute, however, this court must assume the truth not only of all facts properly pled, but also of those facts that may be implied or inferred from those expressly alleged in the complaint. [Citations.]” City of Atascadero v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & ...

Excerpt: ...(2021) 72 Cal.App.5th 158, 165 stating: “The moving party ‘can meet its initial burden by attaching to the [motion or] petition a copy of the arbitration agreement purporting to bear the [opposing party's] signature.' [Citation.] . . . For this step, ‘it is not necessary to follow the normal procedures of document authentication.' [Citation.]”) Defendants' Request for Judicial Notice of Exhibits 1 through 3 is GRANTED. Plaintiffs entered ...

Excerpt: ...nia Supreme Court's decision in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc., Case No. S274671. Defendant's Request for Judicial Notice is granted. A Post-Arbitration Review Hearing is set for July 28, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. The parties must file a Joint Status Report at least a week before the hearing, and may request a continuance if arbitration is not yet complete. The court concludes that there exists a valid agreement to arbitrate the individual PAGA claim ...

Excerpt: ...action has no merit if that 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 that cause of action. Once the defendant . . . has met that burden, the burden shifts to the plaintiff . . . to show that a triable issue of one or more material facts exists as to that cause of action or a defense thereto.” Defendant has met its burden to sho...

Excerpt: ...to permit inspection of records, and violations of the UCL. No party filed a motion to compel arbitration. There is no order for staged discovery or a discovery stipulation. RULING: Having reviewed the proposed Settlement Agreement, the proposed Notice and the accompanying papers, the Court has the following concerns: 1. Are there any other class or other representative action in any other court (state or federal) that asserts claims similar to t...

Excerpt: ...tion of the Court's July 12, 2022 Order and the October 1, 2021 Preliminary Injunction Order. FACTS/OVERVIEW: This is a trade secret misappropriation case. The operative complaint is the Fourth Amended Complaint, in which Plaintiff asserts the following causes of action: (1) Conversion; (2) Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage; (3) Unfair Competition; (4) Breach of Fiduciary Duty; (5) Breach of Non-Disclosure Agreement; (6) Breach of ...

Excerpt: ...reement is directed, rather than “amended settlement agreement”, to avoid use of limited Court time and resources. Plaintiff is also reminded to properly bookmark his papers. 1. The parties must submit a fully executed Addendum to the Amended Settlement. 2. The parties should explain why a Claims Form is necessary in order to receive a settlement payment. Why should Class Members who do not submit a Claim Form also be required to opt out? 3. ...

Excerpt: ... pleading alone, and not the evidence or the facts alleged. . . . To the extent there are factual issues in dispute, however, this court must assume the truth not only of all facts properly pled, but also of those facts that may be implied or inferred from those expressly alleged in the complaint. [Citations.]” (City of Atascadero v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. (1998) 68 Cal.App.4th 445, 459.) Code of Civil Procedure section 452...

Excerpt: ... computer system, or computer network in order to either (A) devise or execute any scheme or artifice to defraud, deceive, or extort, or (B) wrongfully control or obtain money, property, or data,” as well as “[k]nowingly accesses and without permission takes, copies, or makes use of any data from a computer, computer system, or computer network, or takes or copies any supporting documentation, whether existing or residing internal or external...

Excerpt: ...p. 16, ¶ 3) is DENIED. Defendants' Motion to Strike Plaintiffs' prayer for pre-judgment interest in its entirety (FAC, p. 16 ¶ 4) is GRANTED. The court notes that it has not considered the declaration of Defendants' counsel Crystal Rorabaugh except for statements/documents regarding meet and confer efforts, as they constitute extrinsic evidence which is not properly considered on demurrer. A demurrer can be used only to challenge defects that a...

Excerpt: ...ur. Robert I. Cohen, with 30 years of practice and a focus on business litigation, bills at $430 per hour. The defendant argues that these hourly rates are inflated and should be adjusted downward to $350 per hour. But she fails to provide any evidence as to the prevailing rate in Orange County in support of her request for a downward modification. The court finds the rates charged reasonable within the local Orange County legal community for the...

Excerpt: ...e Court granted a stay for “all purposes” within the meaning of CCP § 583.340 based on overlapping claims in the earlier filed Hayward Action. However, as an exception to the stay, Plaintiff was permitted to seek leave to file a First Amended Complaint by stipulation or duly noticed motion without violating the stay. ROA 116, 7/21/2022 Minute Order. The Court also advised that it would “revisit” the stay on September 30, 2022 status conf...

Excerpt: ...e is devoid of any such alternative motion. Rather, the notice of motion states that defendant Circle K Stores, Inc. “will, and hereby does move for summary judgment in Defendant's favor and against Plaintiff Mendy Nichols.” (Notice of motion, 1:4-5.) It then states that the motion is made under Code Civ. Proc. § 437c “on the ground that there is no triable issue as to any material fact and Circle K is therefore entitled to summary judgmen...

Excerpt: ...ion is otherwise sufficient to meet defendant's initial burden that defendant did not violate the standard of care. Given the initial burden was met, and there is no opposition, the motion must be granted. The court is aware that this is the second motion for summary judgment brought by this defendant. The first one was withdrawn after opposition (including a declaration from plaintiff's expert, Dr. Gregory Hammer) was filed. Although the motion ...

Excerpt: ...n 12/1/22, is granted as to Exhibit A. Cross-Complainants' request for judicial notice, filed on 12/23/22, is also granted as to the Huntington Beach City Ordinances attached as Exhibits A, B, and C. Legal Standard “[T]he party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of persuasion that there is no triable issue of material fact and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. That is because of the general principle that a party who...

Excerpt: ... Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16(g) provides that after an anti-SLAPP motion is filed, “All discovery proceedings in the action shall be stayed upon the filing of a notice of motion made pursuant to this section. The stay of discovery shall remain in effect until notice of entry of the order ruling on the motion. The court, on noticed motion and for good cause shown, may order that specified discovery be conducted notwithstanding this su...

Excerpt: ... for a medical examination is made “over objection.” (Query if such a separate statement is required where the objection is—as here—untimely?) The defendant's objection was untimely and therefore the defendant waived any objection to the demand. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2032.240, subd. (a).) Any objection must be served within 20 days of service of the demand. Here, the demand was served November 11, 2022 (with an examination date of December...

Excerpt: ..., and (3) the party's failure to obey the court order actually prejudiced the opposing party. (J.W. v. Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc'y of New York, Inc. (2018) 29 Cal.App.5th 1142, 1166- 1171; Moofly Prods., LLC v. Favila (2020) 46 Cal.App.5th 1, 11; Cal. Judges Benchbook (2021) Civ. Proc. Discovery § 6.18, citing.) Because terminating sanctions are drastic, they should be used sparingly and should generally not be imposed unless less severe sanc...

Excerpt: ...personal service is relied upon but has not in fact taken place.” (Slaughter v. Legal Process & Courier Service (1984) 162 Cal.App.3d 1236, 1251.) “The filing of a proof of service creates a rebuttable presumption that the service was proper.” (Floveyor Int'l, Ltd. v. Superior Court (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 789, 795.) On 6-15-22, Plaintiff filed Proofs of Service (POS) indicating that the Choi Defendants were served as follows: · Young Joo Ch...

Excerpt: ...ion. On 11/09/2022, the court continued this motion for further proof of service. The court finds Moving Defendants have submitted sufficient proof of service of the moving papers on Plaintiffs. Although Plaintiffs' opposition papers include no proof of service, the court finds that Defendants' filing a substantive reply brief addressing the opposition papers waives any objection Defendants may have had based on defects in service. Code of Civil ...

Excerpt: ...ceptionally lenient treatment.” (Rappleyea v. Campbell (1994) 8 Cal.4th 975, 984.) Otherwise, “exceptional treatment of parties who represent themselves would lead to a quagmire in the trial courts, and would be unfair to the other parties to litigation.” (Id. at 985.) “To ensure the prompt disposition of civil cases, the dates assigned for a trial are firm. All parties and their counsel must regard the date set for trial as certain.” (...

Excerpt: ...) Defendant is not a signatory to the RISC. (See Richardson Decl. ¶ 3, Ex. 1.) With limited exceptions, only a party to an arbitration agreement may enforce the agreement. (DMS Services, LLC v. Superior Court (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 1346, 1352-1353 [general rule, listing exceptions].) Defendant contends it may enforce the arbitration agreement under two exceptions to this general rule, i.e., as (1) a third party beneficiary; and/or (2) under an e...

Excerpt: ...lpractice. (Sukoff v. Lemkin (1988) 202 Cal.App.3d 740, 744 [elements].) As to defendant Weitzman, there are no facts alleged to show duty or direct liability. (Frances T. v. Village Green Owners Assoc. (1986) 42 Cal.3d 490, 503 [“corporate directors cannot be held vicariously liable for the corporation's torts in which they do not participate …[t]heir liability, if any, stems from their own tortious conduct, not from their status as director...

Excerpt: ...oration and a former office of Landsea Homes of California . . . The general liability insurers (‘Insurers') agreed to defend and ultimately settled the Wrongful Death Action, but contended that their policies did not provide coverage and that Plaintiffs liability in the Wrongful Death Action should be covered under a hired, non-owned auto policy.” (Rollins Decl., ¶ 3.) “The Insurers seek back the money they spent to defend and settle the ...