Excerpt: ...further disclosure of such designated documents to individuals outside of the litigation. A party responding to discovery or “any other party or affected person” may promptly move for a protective order. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2031.060, subd. (a).) Upon a showing of good cause, the court “may make any order that justice requires to protect any party or other person from unwarranted annoyance, embarrassment, or oppression,” and may include a...

Excerpt: ...on. See Jones v. Kmart Corp. (1998) 17 Cal.4th 329. 6 A party may demur to a complaint where the pleading does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action or when the pleading is uncertain. Code Civ. Proc. § 430.10(e) & (f). A demurrer tests the legal sufficiency of the pleadings, not the truth of the plaintiff's allegations or the accuracy of the described conduct. Bader v. Anderson (2009) 179 Cal.App.4th 775, 787. The court assu...

Excerpt: ...tice in support of the reply were untimely filed. The court exercises its discretion to consider the untimely reply brief. The request for judicial notice in support of the reply, however, is denied as it introduces new evidence to which Ms. Chandler has not had the opportunity to respond. 5 Ruling on the Motion The Saegers' demurrer is overruled in its entirety. A party may demur where the pleading does not state facts sufficient to constitute a...

Excerpt: ...tiff initially alleges she learned shortly after the 2005 purchase of the Oakbridge property that defendant and decedent obtained a loan to cover a portion of their $500,000 deposit. (SAC ¶¶16‐18, 20, 21, 26, 27.) However, plaintiff goes on to allege she did not learn of their failure to deposit the $500,000 into the escrow account until the filing of the original complaint in 2020. (SAC ¶40.) These conflicting allegations are insufficient t...

Excerpt: ...ded within five years from institution of the proceeding. An insured formally institutes arbitration proceedings by notification in writing sent to the insurer by certified mail. (Ins. Code § 11580.2(i)(1)(C); Santangelo v. Allstate Ins. Co. (1998) 65 Cal.App.4th 804, 811‐812.) In this case, the parties agree that claimant instituted arbitration proceedings on March 14, 2017. The parties both assert that the deadline to conclude arbitration pr...

Excerpt: ... action pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 187. ABC obtained a judgment against SPC, Kevin Hengl and Stephanie Hengl on December 22, 2020. Plaintiff is unable to collect the judgment from SPC, which was apparently shut down by Kevin Hengl prior to this litigation commencing. Kevin Hengl and Stephanie Hengl both obtained a bankruptcy discharge after judgment was entered. ABC submits evidence supporting the conclusion that Kevin Hengl, the...

Excerpt: ...ting “repeated conduct of failing to comply with discovery obligations may lead the court to find an abuse of the discovery process and award sanctions on that basis.” Defendants present evidence plaintiff failed to submit responses by October 14, 2022 or by the date the instant motion was filed. Defendants further present evidence plaintiff did not respond to meet and confer efforts, both prior to the motion to compel and the instant motion....

Excerpt: ...f Steven Alves seeks summary adjudication as to his first cause of action for breach of contract and second cause of action for misappropriation of trade secrets. A party 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 defen...

Excerpt: ...d to permit them to retain counsel and submit their formal opposition to the application for right to attach order. The court granted relief August 30, 2022; however, defendants later filed a notice of stay showing they had sought bankruptcy relief August 23, 2022, prior to the date the court granted the RTAO. The bankruptcy was later dismissed; plaintiff applied ex parte for issuance of the RTAO; the court set this matter for hearing, with a sch...

Excerpt: ..., litigation is an adversarial process. Nonetheless, “it is vital to the integrity of our adversary legal process that attorneys strive to maintain the highest standards of ethics, civility, and professionalism in the practice of law.” (People v. Chong (1999) 76 Cal.App.4th 232, 243.) Civility and courtesy are expectations of the legal profession, they are not weaknesses. “As officers of the court with responsibilities to the administration...

Excerpt: ...f Steven Alves seeks summary adjudication as to his first cause of action for breach of contract and second cause of action for misappropriation of trade secrets. A party 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 defen...

Excerpt: ...e of action or when the complaint is uncertain. (Code Civ. Proc. § 430.10, subds. (e), (f).) A demurrer tests the legal sufficiency of the pleadings, not the truth of the allegations or the accuracy of the described conduct. (Bader v. Anderson (6th Dist. 2009) 179 Cal.App.4th 775, 787.) The allegations in the pleadings are deemed true no matter how improbable they may seem. (Del E. Webb Corp. v. Structural Materials Co. (2d Dist. 1981) 123 Cal.A...

Excerpt: ...he commencement and prosecution of such action" are recoverable by a prevailing plaintiff. Defendants oppose the requested fees and costs and expenses. In the current request, plaintiff seeks $440,677.00 in attorney fees plus a .5 enhancement multiplier of $220,368.50, plus costs and expenses of $47,760.39, totaling $708,775.89. 4 Determination of reasonable fees begins with the lodestar method where in the court determines the number of hours re...

Excerpt: ...motion for summary judgment where there are no triable issues of fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (c).) The defendant bears the initial burden of establishing that one or more elements of the cause of action cannot be established or that there is a complete defense to the cause of action. (Id. subd. (p)(2).) Only when this initial burden is met does the burden shift to the oppo...

Excerpt: ...aration in support of motion for preliminary injunction was filed on June 25, 2020 and Andrew R. Cassano's declaration was filed August 10, 2020, but not as to the truth of the assertions contained therein. Plaintiff's objection number 21 is sustained. Plaintiff's objections are otherwise overruled. As plaintiff correctly points out, defendant's responses to plaintiff's SSUMF and defendant's SSDMF are not formatted correctly. (Cal. Rules of Court...

Excerpt: ...r by the opposing party. Plaintiffs rely on Weiler v. Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, Inc. (2018) 22 Cal.App.5th 970 for the proposition that when a party is unable to afford to continue arbitration, that party may seek relief from the superior court. However, the Weiler case involved a party who had engaged in arbitration in good faith for years. Plaintiffs present no evidence they have engaged in arbitration. Plaintiffs pres...

Excerpt: ...order consolidation of actions involving a common question of law or fact. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1048, subd. (a).) Here, both matters involve the same real property known as 8021 Eagle View Lane, Granite Bay, CA 95746. Tucker contends she is entitled to continued possession of the premises as equitable or legal owner of the subject property by virtue of her having been deemed the last and highest bidder as a statutorily eligible tenant buyer under...

Excerpt: ...ic Richfield Co. (2001) 25 Cal.4th 826, 850. If the moving party carries its initial burden of production to make a prima facie showing that there are no triable issues of material fact, the burden shifts to the opposing party to make a prima facie showing of the existence of a triable issue of material fact. Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co., supra, 25 Cal.4th at 850. Plaintiff submits admissible evidence which establishes the existence of a wri...

Excerpt: ...erson (2009) 179 Cal.App.4th 775, 787. The court assumes the truth of all facts properly pleaded, and accepts as true all facts that may be implied or reasonably inferred from facts expressly alleged, unless they are contradicted by judicially noticed facts. Evans v. City of Berkeley (2006) 38 Cal.4th 1, 6. However, the court does not assume the truth of contentions, deductions, or conclusions of facts or law. Id. A demurrer for uncertainty is ap...

Excerpt: ...he plaintiff's allegations or the accuracy of the described conduct. Bader v. Anderson (2009) 179 Cal.App.4th 775, 787. The court assumes the truth of all facts properly pleaded, and 4 accepts as true all facts that may be implied or reasonably inferred from facts expressly alleged, unless they are contradicted by judicially noticed facts. Evans v. City of Berkeley (2006) 38 Cal.4th 1, 6. A plaintiff need not plead facts with specificity where th...

Excerpt: ...tions of the complaint is dropped as moot. Subsequent to filing the motion to strike, an amended complaint was filed which appears to recast the allegations of the complaint and add at least one additional defendant. The court also notes that this matter was automatically stayed by defendant's vexatious litigant motion, infra, by operation of C.C.P. § 391.6. 9 Vexatious litigant motion Defendant Cynthia Woodburn moves to deem plaintiff Davood Kh...

Excerpt: ...here the pleading does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action or when the pleading is uncertain. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 430.10(e) & (f). A demurrer tests the legal sufficiency of the pleadings, not the truth of the plaintiff's allegations or the accuracy of the described conduct. Bader v. Anderson (2009) 179 Cal.App.4th 775, 787. The court assumes the truth of all facts properly pleaded, and accepts as true all facts that may be...

Excerpt: ...ial. The case proceeded as a jury trial with the jury rendering its verdict in favor of plaintiff on October 19, 2022. The notice of entry of judgment was served by mail to both parties on the same date. On November 2, 2022, defendant filed a notice of intent to move for new trial, as well as a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The proof of service attached to the notice of motion/notice of intent attested that counsel for plaintif...

Excerpt: ...iled October 11, 2022. The memorandum of costs states total costs in the amount of $210,246.38. “If the items appearing in a cost bill appear to be proper charges, the burden is on the party seeking to tax costs to show that they were not reasonable or necessary.” (Ladas v. Cal. State Auto. Ass'n (1993) 19 Cal.App.4th 761, 774.) Alternatively, where items are properly put in issue by objection, the burden of proof is on the party claiming the...

Excerpt: ...ill be served by the severance of the fourth, fifth, or sixth causes of action in the FACC. There has also been an insufficient showing of prejudice to warrant a severance of these causes of action. The court also finds the convenience of the parties and ends of justice support hearing these claims with the remainder of the litigation pending in Placer County. Plaintiffs'/Cross‐Defendants' (Plaintiffs') Demurrer to the First Amended Cross‐Com...