Excerpt: ...rson (2009) 179 Cal.App.4th 775, 787.) The allegations in the pleading are deemed to be true no matter how improbable the allegations may seem. (Del E. Webb Corp. v. Structural Materials Co. (1981) 123 Cal.App.3d 593, 604.) The court reviews the demurrer keeping this in mind. Defendants contend the entire FAC is barred since it was filed after the applicable statutes of limitations for each cause of action. Specifically, they argue the Governor h...

Excerpt: ...nd burdensome at this juncture. The notice process will identify the number of employees along with their various job titles, allowing plaintiff to propound more tailored, concise requests. Plaintiff's request for sanctions is also denied as plaintiff did not prevail on the motion. Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Further Responses to Request for Production of Documents and Sanctions The motion is denied. The court has carefully reviewed defendant's ...

Excerpt: ...Inc. v. Moriana. The Court heard oral argument in March 2022. At issue is the enforceability of arbitration agreements which prohibit an employee from pursuing representative claims in the PAGA context. A decision is expected within the next couple months. Under current law, PAGA claims cannot be arbitrated. Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC (2014) 59 Cal.4th 348, 384. Thus defendants would have no justification to file a motion to ...

Excerpt: ... in ruling on the motion include: (1) the necessity and the reasons for the discovery; (2) the diligence or lack of diligence of the party seeking the discovery or the hearing of a discovery motion, and the reasons that the discovery was not completed or that the discovery motion was not heard earlier; (3) the likelihood that permitting the discovery or hearing the discovery motion will prevent the case from going to trial on the date set, or oth...

Excerpt: ...ied. Plaintiff first argues that plaintiff is barred from asserting an unlawful detainer claim under the COVID‐19 Rental Housing Recovery Act. As the current action is not based on the nonpayment of rental debt which accumulated due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, the COVID‐19 Rental Housing Recovery Act does not apply to this action. Defendant also raises factual and evidentiary issues regarding the propriety of a lease agreement between defenda...

Excerpt: .... Madden v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (1976) 17 Cal.3d 699, 706; Laswell v. AG Seal Beach, LLC, et al (2010) 189 Cal.App.4th 1399, 1405. Under both federal and state law, a threshold question for any petition to compel arbitration is whether there exists an agreement to arbitrate. Cruise v. Kroger Co. (2015) 233 Cal.App.4th 390, 396. It is the petitioner that carries this initial burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, the existe...

Excerpt: ...estraint when ordering terminating sanctions. The dismissal of an action is a drastic sanction that is only applied after a party has had an opportunity to comply with a court order yet still fails to do so. (see Ruvalcaba v. Government Employees Ins. Co. (1990) 222 Cal.App.3d 1579, 1581.) The totality of the circumstances surrounding the discovery violations are considered when ordering terminating sanctions: (1) whether the party's conduct was ...

Excerpt: ...cannot be established or there is a complete defense to the cause of action. (Id. at 437c(p)(2).) Only when this initial burden is met does the burden shift to the opposing party to establish a triable issue of material fact. (Ibid.) In reviewing a motion for summary judgment, the trial court must view the supporting evidence, and inferences reasonably drawn from such evidence, in the light most favorable to the opposing party. (Aguilar v. Atlant...

Excerpt: ...ctions, to special interrogatories, set one, numbers 1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, and 21. Defendant Onyems shall serve further verified responses on plaintiff no later than May 31, 2022. Plaintiff's request for sanctions is denied, because imposition would be unjust. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.300, subd. (d).) However, repeated failures to comply with discovery obligations may lead the court to find an abuse of the discovery process...

Excerpt: ...e settlement is approved …” (Declaration of Jordan W. Maurer, ¶ 4.) Specifically, the dispute between plaintiff and the City involves whether compliance with Medicare requirements means that the settlement agreement must provide for a Medicare Set‐aside Arrangement (“MSA”). The pleadings filed by plaintiff and the City comprehensively discuss the Medicare Secondary Payer (“MSP”) Act, the prohibition on Medicare making payment for a...

Excerpt: ...is uncertain. Code Civ. Proc. § 430.10(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 (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. (1981) 123 Cal.App.3d 593, 604. The court does not assume the truth of contentions,...

Excerpt: ...erson (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. (1981) 123 Cal.App.3d 593, 604. However, the court does not assume the truth of contentions, deductions, or conclusions of facts or law. Evans v. City of Berkeley (2006) 38 Cal.4th 1, 6. The demurrer is overruled. The allegations of the complaint are sufficient to state cause...

Excerpt: ... own attorney fees. [Citations] The Legislature codified the American rule in 1872 when it enacted Code of Civil Procedure section 1021, which states in pertinent part that ‘Except as attorney's fees are specifically provided for by statute, the measure and mode of compensation of attorneys and counselors at law is left to the agreement, express or implied, of the parties; …' [Citation.]” (Trope v. Katz (1995) 11 Cal.4th 274, 278‐ 279.) A...

Excerpt: ...rt the discovery subpoenas are improper since Gene Jackson filed a bankruptcy proceeding that is still currently pending. “Upon the filing of a bankruptcy proceeding, federal bankruptcy law imposes an automatic stay on all state and federal proceedings outside the bankruptcy court against the debtor and the debtor's property. [Citations.]” “ ‘The automatic stay is self‐executing and is effective upon filing the bankruptcy petition. [Cit...

Excerpt: ... error in law. (Code of Civil Procedure section 657; Montoya v. Barragan (2013) 220 Cal.App.4th 1215, 1227; Oakland Raiders v. National Football League (2007) 41 Cal.4th 624, 633.) In this instance, defendant asserts irregularities in the proceedings; accident/surprise; excessive damages; and an error in law warrant a new trial. Defendant, however, has not made a sufficient showing to support relief under any of these grounds. “An ‘irregulari...

Excerpt: ...joined action were allowed to proceed. (Code Civ. Proc., § 526, subd. (a).) In making this determination, “the court must consider whether the party seeking the injunction is likely to prevail on the merits” and balances the relative harm to the parties. (Mitsui Manufacturers Bank v. Texas Commerce Bank‐Ford Worth (2d Dist. 1984) 159 Cal.App.3d 1051, 1059.) The plaintiff has the burden of showing they would be harmed without a preliminary ...

Excerpt: ...ly filed pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 472, the court will deem the amended answer as having been filed in accordance with the court's granting of leave to amend. 7 Motion to Strike Sourdough Solutions, Incorporated's Answer Plaintiff and cross‐defendant John P. Casper Family Partnership's motion to strike Sourdough Solutions, Incorporated's (“Soudough's”) answer is granted with leave to amend on the grounds that the answer wa...

Excerpt: ...motion is substantively deficient in other ways. Defendant's motion argues that the subpoena is facially defective and/or procedurally defective, but defendant does not provide evidence regarding the timing of service of any documents, nor does the motion include the subpoena itself. Defendant does not demonstrate that the subpoena is duplicative or burdensome. Defendant does not demonstrate that the subpoena seeks documents that are irrelevant t...

Excerpt: ... (Code Civ. Proc., § 2019.210. emphasis added.) The reasonable particularity requirement is meant “to help the court shape discovery, and to give the defendant the opportunity to develop defenses.” (Brescia v. Angelin (2d Dist. 2009) 172 Cal.App.4th 133, 149–50.) Reasonable particularity does not mean the claimant “has to define every minute detail of its claimed trade secret at the outset of the litigation. Nor does it require a . . . t...

Excerpt: ...rt rulings of other state and federal courts are not binding on this court. Plaintiff's objections to evidence are overruled. Defendant Starbucks Corporation moves to compel arbitration of plaintiff Tessa Turner's claims, and to stay the action pending arbitration. The arbitration statutes evidence a strong public policy in favor of arbitration that is frequently approved and enforced by the courts. Madden v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (1976) 17...

Excerpt: ...1422, 1428; Douglas v. Superior Court (1989) 215 Cal.App.3d 155, 158. Courts must apply a policy of great liberality in permitting amendments to the complaint “at any stage of the proceedings, up to and including trial,” absent prejudice to the adverse party. Elling Corp. v. Superior Court (1975) 48 Cal.App.3d 89. A motion for leave to amend must be accompanied by a declaration which specifies the purpose and effect of the proposed amendments...

Excerpt: ... strike is entitled to an award of attorneys' fees incurred in filing the motion. Code Civ. Proc. § 425.16(c)(1). The purpose of the fee‐ shifting provision is to discourage meritless lawsuits and also to provide financial relief to the victims of lawsuits which are subject to the anti‐SLAPP law. City of Los Angeles v. Animal Defense League (2006) 135 Cal.App.4th 606, 627. Courts have held that only fees and costs incurred on the motion to s...

Excerpt: ...vertheless, the court is permitted to take judicial notice of the legal effect of a document's language where that effect is clear. Poseidon Dev., Inc. v. Woodland Lane Estates, LLC (2007) 152 Cal.App.4th 1106, 1117‐1118; see also 11 McElroy v. Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp. (2005) 134 Cal.App.4th 388, 394 (judicial notice taken of recordation of notice of default under deed of trust, date of recording, and amount stated as owing). Defendant Wi...

Excerpt: ...v. Proc. § 430.10(e). 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 (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. (1981) 123 Cal.App.3d 593, 604. The court does not assume the truth of contentions, deductions, or conclusion...

Excerpt: ...tory pleading against petitioner. This first accusatory complaint was based upon the complaints of eight different patients who collectively received dental work from petitioner between 2010 through 2014. The allegations involved multiple acts of improper dental work causing significant pain, improper billings, unavailability, and improper record keeping. There were eight separate claims alleged against petitioner, which included seven counts of ...