Excerpt: ...to “LL Continental Inc.” (FAC, ¶24.) Defendant Chang Hsien Liu was the chief operating officer (“COO”) of the Company before the assets sale on September 19, 2019. (FAC, ¶28.) Defendant True Value was owned in whole or in part by Defendant Chang -Hsien Liu. Defendant Chang -Hsien Liu was the chief executive officer of Ture Value at the same time he was the COO of the Company. (FAC, ¶35.) Defendant LL Continental, Defendant Henry Lee an...

Excerpt: ...NUED to 06/ 25/2024 at 9:00am in Dept. C32. Code of Civil Procedure section 2031.310 provides: “(a) On receipt of a response to a demand for inspection, copying, testing, or sampling, the demanding party may move for an order compelling further response to the demand 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 ...

Excerpt: ...y move for an orde r compelling an answer or production against a deponent who has failed to answer any question or to produce any document, electronically stored information, or tangible thing under the deponent's control that is specified in the deposition notice. The Motion was timely filed. Defendant's deposition was taken on October 27, 2023 and this Motion was filed on December 12, 2023, less than two months after. Further, Plaintiff mad...

Excerpt: ... merit, and that there are not triable issues as to any material fact. Motion is GRANTED. Plaintiffs plead two causes of action: Negligence and False Imprisonment. Defendants argue that Plaintiffs trespassed at the hotel by not leaving as of checkout time and refusin g to vacate the room even after security was called in notifying Plaintiffs that the police would be called. Indeed, Security Officer Jacinto testified that after security told Bent...

Excerpt: ... to Compel Deposition of Non-Party Deponents. For example, Plaintiffs have already begun engaging in discovery by issuing business records subpoenas (Subpoenas) to Non -Party Deponents on 9/29/23 (Motion, at. p. 3:5 -7, Exs. A, B), Plaintiffs have already tried to meet and confer with Non- Party Deponents without success (Motion, at. p. 3:8 -11, Exs. A, B; see also Declaration of Salar Atrizadeh, ¶¶ 4, 9), Plaintiffs contend they “have the ri...

Excerpt: ...may consider Plaintiff's non-opposition as an abandonment of any opposition to the arguments raised by Defendants in the motion to strike. Herzberg v. County of Plumas, 133 Cal. App. 4th 1, 20 (2005). Accordingly, the motion to strike is GRANTED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND in its entirety. II. Demurrer to Complaint Defendants additionally filed a demurrer to the complaint, attacking the first cause of action for disability discrimination, second cau...

Excerpt: ...he breach of contract allegations against it versus Cross- Defendant Tierney is unclear. Cross -Complainant responds that Movant is liable based on the alter ego allegations contained at paragraph 5 of the Cross -Complaint. “In California, two conditions must be met before the alter ego doctrine will be invoked. First, there must be such a unity of interest and ownership between the corporation and its equitable owner that the separate personal...

Excerpt: ...onship to another which induces justifiable reliance by the latter to his prejudice.' Actual reliance and causation of injury must be shown.'” Prakashpalan v. Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack, 223 Cal. App. 4th 1105, 1131 (2014) (internal citations omitted). “[T]he elements of a repres entation and falsity, are absent from constructive fraud. The fraud consists of the breach of the fiduciary duty of disclosure of relevant matters arising from the ...

Excerpt: ...eclaration that the defendant's conduct fell within the community standard of care, or did not cause or contribute to the injury, the defendant is entitled to summary judgment unless the plaintiff comes forward with conflicting expert evidence. (Hanson v. Grode (1999) 76 Cal.App.4th 601, 607; Munro v. Regents of University of California (1989) 215 Cal.App.3d 977, 984- 985.) Here, Defendants have met their initial burden. The expert opinion of Dr...

Excerpt: ...ct. CCP §1974( d) says a prevailing buyer “shall recover . . . attorney's fees and costs based on the actual time expended, determined by the court to have been reasonably incurred by the buyer in connection with the commencement and prosecution of such action.” [Emphas is added] However, CCP §1794(d) does not say the Court has to give Plaintiff's counsel everything they ask for. For claims under the Song -Beverly Act claims, a prevailing b...

Excerpt: ...of $300 payabl e to Defendant no later than 30 days from the date of the service of notice of this order. California Rules of Court, rule 3.1348, subd. (a) [“The court may award sanctions under the Discovery Act in favor of a party who files a motion to compel discovery, even though . . . the requested discovery was provided to the moving party after the motion was filed.]. Moving Defendant to give notice. Motion to Compel Answers to Form Int...

Excerpt: ...the grounds the Complaint fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against Defendant and is “uncertain.” Defendant Endresen The Code provides that unless the grounds for a demurrer are distinctly specified, it may be disregarded. Code of Civil Procedure § 430.60. In the introduction to the points and authorities Defendants argue Endresen is not a proper party because there are no allegations he exceeded the scope of h...

Excerpt: ...tine Tan (Ta n), mMax Communications, Inc., and mMax Communications Pte Ltd. (MCSG) (collectively, crosscomplainants) are granted 10 days leave to amend. Two sets of demurrers by the same set of crossdefendants. As an initial matter, cross -defendants appear to believ e that just because they have retained several different law firms to represent them in this action, they can bring two separate demurrers to the same pleading. No authority provid...

Excerpt: ...parts in their context. If the complaint states a cause of action under any theory, regardless of the title under which the factual basis for relief is stated, that aspect of the complaint is good against a demurrer. [¶] The courts of this state have long since depar ted from holding a plaintiff strictly to the form of action that has been pleaded and 5 instead have adopted the more flexible approach of examining the facts alleged to determine ...

Excerpt: ...rtgage Co. v. Reece (2001) 89 Cal.App.4th 731, 745.) Defendants demur to the breach of contract cause of action on the ground it is not sufficiently pled because Plaintiffs cannot allege their performance under the contract and fail to allege any damages resulting f rom any purported breach by Defendants since Plaintiffs were damaged by their own conduct and inability to meet their obligations under the loan received from Defendants. Here, the 4A...

Excerpt: ...plaint -inInt ervention by Intervenor Applied Risk Services, Inc., which provided workers compensation insurance to Plaintiff's employer. The Court declines to consider the opposition filed by Defendant The Irvine Company LLC, because Defendant does not have standing t o oppose the motion under Code of Civil Procedure section 437c(p)(2), which provides that the burden shifts to “the plaintiff or crosscomplainant” in opposing a motion for sum...

Excerpt: ... the allegation that, b etween March and November, the common area trash dumpsters “create a major nuisance as a source of fruit flies.” (TAC at ¶59) Plaintiff does not assert that the defendants put food or other items in the dumpsters which attracted fruit flies. Instead, pla intiff alleges that “defendants' efforts to abate the nuisance were completely inadequate.” (TAC at ¶66) This requires proof of negligence. “[T]hat proof of ...

Excerpt: ...rike shall meet and confer in person or by telephone with the party who filed the pleading being attacked to determine whether a resolution may be reached. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 430.41(a), 435.5(a). Here, counsel states he attempted to meet and confer with Plaintiff twice bef ore filing and Plaintiff did not respond. However, Plaintiff asserts in his own declaration that he attempted to call counsel twice to meet and confer and was informed that...

Excerpt: ...e evidenc e/objections before the Court as contained in the papers, the Court rules as follows on Defendant's Evidentiary Objections to Exhibit 2, excerpts from Plaintiff's deposition transcript: Objection Nos. 1 -5: Sustained. Objection No. 6: Sustained in part and Overruled in part. Sustained as to “Several times at the movie theater.” To the extent DOE 2 is answering the preceding question at p. 73:21 -24 “the only time you ever heard hi...

Excerpt: ... this “procedur al limbo.” (Gallo v. Wood Ranch USA, Inc. (2022) 81 Cal.App.5th 621, 634 (Gallo) [quoting legislative history].) The Legislature enacted section 1281.97 along with section 1281.98 and amended both sections in 2021. The former provision concerns fees due at the initiation of the arbitration. CCP § 1281.98 applies to fees and costs required during the arbitration to continue the proceeding. (Williams v. West Coast Hospitals, In...

Excerpt: ...erits.” A ssociation of 36 Irritated Residents v. Department of Conservation (2017) 11 Cal. App. 5th 1202, 1218. “Res judicata, or claim preclusion, prevents relitigation of the same cause of action in a second suit between the same parties or parties in privity wi th them.” Ibid. “[I]f a plaintiff prevails in an action, the cause is merged into the judgment and may not be asserted in a subsequent lawsuit; a judgment for the defendant ser...

Excerpt: ...ight Writs of At tachment issued on January 17, 2024. “[A]lthough in a motion under section 485.240 the defendant is the moving party, the plaintiff nevertheless continues to have the burden of proving (1) that his claim is one upon which an attachment may be issued and (2 ) the probable vali dity of such claim, th e same burden h e must meet under sec tio n 484.090.” ( Loeb & L oeb v. Beverly Glen Music (1985) 166 Cal.App.3d 1110, 1116.) Def...

Excerpt: ...d a valid objection under S ection 2025.410, fails to appear for examination, or to proceed with it, or to produce for inspection any document, …the party giving the notice may move for an order compelling the deponent's attendance and testimony, and the production...” (Code Civ. Pro c., § 2025.450.) “[A]ny party served with a deposition notice that does not comply with Article 2 (commencing with Section 2025.210) waives any error or i...

Excerpt: ...ation and Production of Documents, Set One to OSL (“Motion 1”); (2) Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Further Responses, etc., filed as ROA 49 on 1/18/24, concerning Plaintiff's Form Interrogatories, Set One to OSL (“Motion 2”); (3) Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Further Responses and Documents, etc., filed as ROA 123 on 2/8/24, concerning Plaintiff's Request for Identification and Production of Documents, Set One to OMG (“Motion 3”); and...

Excerpt: ...tion, and upon terms it deems proper: (a) [s]trike out any irrelevant, false, or improper matter inserted in any pleading[;] . . . [and/or] (b) [s]trike 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 of Civil Procedure § 436. An “irrelevant matter,” or “immaterial allegation,” means: (1) an allegation that is not essential to the statement...

Excerpt: ...ting defendant is e ntitled to be served by an amended complaint when the amendment is as to a matter of substance and not a mere matter of form. The reason for this rule is plain. A defendant is entitled to opportunity to be heard upon the allegations of the complaint on whi ch judgment is sought against him.' [Citations.] An amendment which significantly increases the amount of damages sought is an amendment of substance which must be served b...

Excerpt: ... to litigate their claims among themselves. (Hancock Oil Co. of Calif. v. Hopkins (1944) 24 Cal.2d 497, 508; City of Morgan Hill v. Brown (1999) 71 Cal.App.4th 1114, 1122.) Interpleader is an equitable procedure through which those who face conflicting claims to mone y or property they hold but have no interest in (referred to as “stakeholders”) may compel the claimants to interplead and litigate their claims to the money or property among t...

Excerpt: ...on is requir ed. Personal service on a corporation is governed by CCP § 416.10, which states in part: A summons may be served on a corporation by delivering a copy of the summons and the complaint by any of the following methods: (a) To the person designated as agent for service of process as provided by any provision in Section 202, 1502, 2105, or 2107 of the Corporations Code (or Sections 3301 to 3303, inclusive, or Sections 6500 to 6504, incl...

Excerpt: ...mpts state law bears the burden of proving the FAA applies. (See Woolls v. Superior Court (2005) 127 Cal.App.4th 197, 211.) Defendant bears the burden of proving the arbitration agreement is a “contract evidencing a transaction involving [interstate] commerce.” (9 U.S .C. § 2.) “Commerce,” for purposes of the FAA, generally includes employment contracts. (Circuit City v. Adams (2001) 532 U.S. 105, 113, 121) Priority submits evidence that...

Excerpt: ...��[i]f a party to whom interrogatories are directed fails to serve a timely response.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.290, subd. (b).) By failing to serve timely responses, BAT, Inc. waived “any right to exercise the option to produce writings under Section 2030.230, as wel l as any objection to the interrogatories, including one based on privilege or on the protection for work product.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.290, subd. (a).) A propounding p...

Excerpt: ...tected c onduct of enforcing a judgment. (See Rusheen v. Cohen (2006) 37 Cal.4th 1048, 1052, 1055 -1056 [holding trial court correctly granted anti- SLAPP motion]; Weeden v. Hoffman (2021) 70 Cal.App.5th 269, 286 -287 [obtaining and recording an abstract of judgment is protected conduct].) Plaintiffs fail to show defendant's conduct fell within the narrow anti -SLAPP exception for illegal conduct. (See Flatley v. Mauro (2006) 39 Cal.4th 299.) Def...

Excerpt: ...enging the validit y of the Doe amendment, usually the Doe defendant themselves. This can be shown by demonstrating that the plaintiff knew both the defendant's identity and the facts giving rise to liability when the complaint was filed but did not name them. Taito v. Owe ns Corning (1992) 7 Cal.App.4th 698; Oakes v. McCarthy Co. (1968) 267 Cal.Ap.2d 231. Moving Party did not meet this burden. Arguably, plaintiff did know where the fall occurre...

Excerpt: ...ld have discovere d that psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by the sexual assault, whichever period expires later.” The first part of this provision therefore requires childhood sexual assault lawsuits to be filed by the plaintiff 's 40th birthday. However, the theneffective CCP §340.1(q) extended the statute by up to three years, with the limitations period expiring by no later than January 1, 202...

Excerpt: ...or leave to intervene in Urquidi v. City of Los Angeles, LASC No. 22STCP04044. Should Plaintiffs be denied leave to intervene in Urquidi, the Court will revisit the stay and the pending demurrer. A status conference will take place on August 23, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. The parties shall file a joint status conference statement by August 16, 2024. REQUESTS FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE As to LASC's initial request for judicial notice: the Court GRANTS notice of...

Excerpt: ...OS GUZMAN to leav e the Taft Elementary School campus in his vehicle. (FAC, ¶¶ 3, 26.) As a result, Guzman drove erratically and unlawfully in a school zone and struck Plaintiffs with his vehicle. (FAC, ¶¶ 8, 26) To prevail in a negligence action, a plaintiff must show the defendant owed a legal duty to him or her, the defendant breached that duty, and the breach proximately caused injury to the plaintiff. (Wiener v. Southcoast Childcare Cent...

Excerpt: ...dant argues that there is no separate cause of action for negligence per se and that the negligence per se portion should be sustained without leave to amend. “‘Ordinarily, a general demurrer does not lie as to a portion of a cause of action, and if any part of a cau se of action is properly pleaded, the demurrer will be overruled.' [Citation.]” (Elder v. Pacific Bell Telephone Co. (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 841, 856, n.14.) Defendant generall...

Excerpt: ... her opposition. The court in Pillsbury v. Karmgard (1994) 22 Cal. App. 4th 743, 753, held that if any person other than a real party in interest brings an action, it is subject to general demurrer. In the case of a trust, the real party in interest is the trustee of the trust. Id. at 753 -54. Thus, to establish standing, plaintiff must amend her Complaint to state facts establishing her status as a trustee of the trust that owns the subject prop...

Excerpt: ...rty intending to move for a new trial shall file with the clerk and serve upon each adverse party a notice of his or her intention to move for a new trial, designating the grounds upon which the motion will be made and whether the same will be made upon affidavits or the minut es of the court. . . .” The Notice designates the following grounds as the basis for Plaintiff's Motion: (1) Irregularity in the proceedings of the court, jury or advers...

Excerpt: ...orceable to n onetheless recover attorney fees under that Defendants seek attorney fees pursuant to the terms of an Operating Agreement which provides: “If any party brings an action or proceeding to enforce the terms hereof or declare rights hereunder, the Prevailing P arty in any such proceeding, action, or appeal thereon, shall be entitled to reasonable attorneys' fees.” (FAC, Ex. A, ¶ 9.) (Emphasis added.) The FAC alleges causes of actio...

Excerpt: ...he court previously granted a lengthy trial continuance of nearly seven months, continuing trial from 12/4/23 to 7/1/23. (See 7/14/23 Minute Order.) For that continuance, Plaintiff had requested a 12 - month continuance of trial, arguing that trial in a related civi l action was continued and Plaintiff needs a continuance “so that Plaintiff will be afforded a reasonable time period to conduct discovery in this action after the completion of dis...

Excerpt: ...ated to the iss ue of sanctions: 1. “Opposition to the request for any sanction”, filed on 1/10/24; 2. “Motion Petition to waive the Sanction on 10/20/2023 due to Medical Condition”, filed on 1/26/24; and 3. “Motion: Withdrawal of Motion – Petition to Waive Sanction du e to Medical Condition”, filed on 5/8/24 (which refers to a hearing date of 5/10/24). There is no motion/petition to waive sanctions properly calendared for hearin...

Excerpt: ...nsel also sh ould provide a red-lined version of any revised papers, including the class notice. Counsel also should provide the court with an explanation of how the pending issues were resolved, with references to any corrections to the settlement agreement and the c lass notice, rather than with just a supplemental declaration or brief that simply asserts the issues have been resolved. Plaintiff has not provided the court with the estimated hig...

Excerpt: ...settlement ag reement. Counsel also should provide a redlined version of any revised papers, including the class notice. Counsel also should provide the court with an explanation of how the pending issues were resolved, with references to any corrections to the settlement agreement and the class notice, rather than with just a supplemental declaration or brief that simply asserts the issues have been resolved. The settlement agreement submitted a...

Excerpt: ...on. Summary judg ment was previously granted in favor of the District. The Court of Appeal reversed as to the first cause of action for negligence and remanded to the trial court to determine whether some or all of the Rowland v. Christian (1968) 69 Cal.2d 108 (Rowland) f actors exist and whether they weigh in favor of limiting the District's duty to A.P. Negligence A.P. was a student at Villa Park High School and turned 19 years old her senior ...

Excerpt: ...ndant, Randy Ellison. Terminating sanctions are appropriate when the “violation is willful, preceded by a history of abuse, and the evidence shows that less severe sanctions would not produce compliance with the discovery rules.” (Mileikowsky v. Tenet Healthsystem (200 5) 128 Cal.App.4th 262, 279.) Randy Ellison is selfrepresented and has ceased communicating with Plaintiff. Randy Ellison has ignored this Court's order to meet and confer rega...

Excerpt: ... the event of a disagreement between Owners and in order to break a tie vote, the issue or issues, at the request of any party, shall be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) before an ar bitrator selected from the panels of the arbitrators of the AAA. In the event of referral to arbitration, the Owner requesting arbitration shall remit the fee to initiate the ar...

Excerpt: ...by Civ. Proc. Code § § 1032 and 1033.5. Plaintiff was the prevailing party at trial against each of the defendants other than 33D. (ROA #574.) “The mere filing of a motion to tax costs may be a “proper objection” to an item, the necessity of which appears doubtful, or which does not appear to be proper on its face. [Citation.] However, “[i]f the items appear to be proper charges the verified memorandum is prima facie evidence that the...

Excerpt: ... the drafting party pay certain fees and costs during the pendency of an arbitration proceeding, if the fees or costs required to continue the arbitration proceeding are not paid within 30 days after the due date, the drafting party is in material breach of the arbi tration agreement, is in default of the arbitration, and waives its right to compel the employee or consumer to proceed with that arbitration as a result of the material breach.” Se...

Excerpt: ...s Abraham Cannon and MyMoveBid.com “to provide software development services for the MyMoveBid.com platform,” but that defendants have not paid over $135,000 for services performed. The complaint also alleges that “MyMoveBid.com is a fictitious business name for Abraham Cannon and if it is an entity, he is the alter ego of such entity.” (The court notes the written agreement attached to the complaint is executed by “Abraham Cannon.” ...

Excerpt: ...on motion, may enter judgment pursuant to the terms of the settlement. If requested by the parties, the court may retain jurisdiction over the parties to enforce the settlement until performance in full of the terms of the settlement.” “A court ruling on a motion u nder CCP § 664.6 must determine whether the parties entered into a valid and binding settlement. A settlement is enforceable under section 664.6 only if the parties agreed to all ...