Excerpt: ...rt construes the absence of a memorandum as an admission that the motion is not meritorious and good cause for the denial of the motion. (Rule 3.1113(a).) Page 2 of 2 The factual representations in the motion are not supported either by any declaration or other evidence or by any request for judicial notice. The absence of either demonstrates that the motion is meritless. The absence of both, coupled with the moving party's insistence on May 17, ...

Excerpt: ... agency knew or should have known of the existence of this case before April 24, 2018, and the agency's commitment that it will be prepared to participate in trial without any continuance, intervention is appropriate ...

Excerpt: ... not say that prosecutors are free of any limits on their financial conflicts of interest. To the contrary, the Court said: “We do not suggest . . . that the Due Process Clause imposes no limits on the partisanship of administrative prosecutors. Prosecutors are also public officials; they too must serve the public interest. [Citation.] In appropriate circumstances the Court has made clear that traditions of prosecutorial discretion do not immun...

Excerpt: ...n 473, subdivision (b). A second declaration was filed and served on June 22, 2018, but that declaration is disregarded because it was served less than 16 court days before the hearing. ...

Excerpt: ...related cases described in the declaration of Wall? 2. Is the execution date on the declaration of Wall accurate? 3. Why no notice of related case has been filed in this case regarding RIC1809267 or in Martinez Rodriguez concerning this case? 4. ¶ 11 of the order, at lines 20‐23: The Court will not speculate as to whether statements made in the Agreement might be relevant in some other proceeding between other parties, and will not decide what...

Excerpt: ...he FAC. 2. The agreement provides for the entry of judgment that would purport to bind all aggrieved employees. The parties rely on the Supreme Court's statement that “the judgment in [a PAGA action brought by an aggrieved employee] is binding not only on the named employee plaintiff but also on government agencies and any aggrieved employee not a party to the proceeding.” (Arias v. Superior Court (2009) 46 Cal.4th 969, 985.) However, as expl...

Excerpt: ...r setting aside a default. [Citation.]' ” (Purdum v. Holmes (2010) 187 Cal.App.4th 916, 922.) Defendant Waters and defendant County of Riverside shall file a response to the Complaint within 30 days. ...

Excerpt: ... granted. Page 2 of 4 The request for judicial notice filed by Cooper on 6‐1‐18 is denied. The motion for leave to intervene by filing the proposed complaint in intervention lodged on 4‐19‐18 is granted, provided that (1) it is amended to state the correct court and case number and the current name of the corporate defendant, and (2) it is filed and served no later than June 22, 2018. Prosecution of that complaint in intervention is staye...

Excerpt: ... alleged in the original Complaint and are thus, read into the amended pleading. (Wennerholm v. Stanford Univ. School of Medicine (1942) 20 Cal.2d 713, 716; Vallejo Develop. Co. v. Beck Development Co. (1994) 24 Cal.App.4th 929, 946.) Leave to amend is DENIED. 3 rd and 4th causes of action: DENIED. Plaintiff alleges sufficient facts to fall within an exception to the workers' compensation exclusivity rule. Falsely accusing an employee of assault ...

Excerpt: ...ronic service of the document is not authorized unless a party or other person has agreed to accept electronic service in that specific action or the court has ordered electronic service on a represented party or other represented person under subdivision (c) or (d). While CCP § 1010.6(d) allows the court to adopt local rules requiring electronic filing and service and Local Rule 3118 makes “electronic filing” mandatory, filing is currently ...

Excerpt: ...when it denied the first motion: a. This motion fails to comply with §E.6.c, regarding how the payments to the named plaintiffs were calculated. b. This motion violates §E.8.a of the CMO by failing to state whether counsel has informed any of aggrieved employees about the lawsuit. c. This motion violates § E.8.b of the CMO, by proposing that the action would be dismissed with prejudice. Page 2 of 5 d. This motion violates §E.9 by purporting t...

Excerpt: ...in the proposed amended pleading. (Rule 3.1324(a)(3).) Plaintiff failed to do so. A motion for leave to amend must be supported by a declaration that specifies “[w]hen the facts giving rise to the amended allegations were discovered.” (Rule 3.1324(b)(3).) The declaration of Milstein fails to do so. Regarding the willfulness claim, he says that the fact did not arise until “after we filed the original Complaint in this matter.” The complai...

Excerpt: ... in the Court's view, that dismissal is not due to any settlement. If there is no settlement, then there is no need for Court approval. In that event, plaintiffs' counsel is free to voluntarily dismiss the claims of those two plaintiffs if counsel believes that he has their authorization to do so. The Court will not order such a dismissal. b. In that event that some consideration has been given to those plaintiffs for the dismissal of their claim...

Excerpt: ...lief sought is a declaration regarding the rights, duties and obligations of the banks, AFVW, and the Department regarding AFVW's real property. That is the same issue raised in the banks' complaint, AFVW's answer to that complaint, and the Department's answer in intervention to that complaint. The complaint in intervention is thus duplicative and unnecessary to protect the Department's interests. (2) The caption fails to identify the defendants ...

Excerpt: ...MO#2, which the Court will issue forthwith. Analysis: 1. The estimated numbers of class members are very round: 600 and 300. (Williams decl., ¶ 5.) What is the basis for those estimates? Given that the defendant produced “detailed information . . . identifying members of the Cell Phone Class and Truck Class by employee identification number” (Williams decl., ¶ 7), why is it necessary to estimate? 2. The compliance with section E.1.a of the ...

Excerpt: ....5. Instead, it suggests only: that counsel spoke briefly by phone, during which plaintiff's counsel promised to provide additional authority within two weeks; that he failed to do so; and that defendant's counsel made no further efforts to speak with him. That does not constitute a reasonably diligent and good‐faith attempt to discuss and resolve the merits of the defendant's challenges to the complaint. ...

Excerpt: ... of the requirements prescribed by section G of the CMO#2, one line for each requirement in each paragraph or sub‐paragraph. The other column shall describe – by document name, page, and line numbers ‐‐ where in the moving papers each of the corresponding requirements is satisfied. Analysis: The second motion fails to comply with the Court's CMO#2 or is otherwise ambiguous or contradictory in the following respects: 1. The agreement provi...

Excerpt: ...ply are granted as to objections ## 4, 5, 15 & 16, but otherwise overruled. The motion for summary judgment is denied. The alternative motion for summary adjudication is denied. Analysis: Judicial notice: Judicial notice of the unrelated trial court rulings is denied because an isolated “trial court ruling has no precedential value.” (Santa Ana Hospital Medical Center v. Belshé (1997) 56 Cal.App.4th 819, 831.) Evidence: Facts asserted on inf...

Excerpt: ...en filed. That plaintiff's counsel was not working at his office and did not know that he had received the responses by the time that he filed his motion explains why the motion was filed, but does not change the fact that the motion to compel was no longer necessary. When plaintiff's counsel discovered that the responses had been received, he should have granted the defendant's request to withdraw the motion and to spare the defendant from the e...

Excerpt: ...val of a proposed class action settlement were denied. The plaintiff reserved a hearing for a third motion for preliminary approval to be conducted on May 23, 2018. She filed the notice of motion on May 1, 2018. However, no other documents were filed in support of that motion except for a declaration from defendant's counsel filed May 3, 2018. The notice of motion refers to a memorandum of points and authorities, the settlement agreement, other u...

Excerpt: ...by section I of the CMO#2, dated 6‐4‐18, one line for each requirement in each paragraph or sub‐paragraph. The other column shall describe – by document name and by page and line numbers ‐‐ where in the moving papers each requirement is satisfied. Analysis: The motion fails to comply with the case management order #1, filed 1‐19‐17, in at least the following respects:  Counsel's declaration fails to comply with §G.1.c., the po...

Excerpt: .... Analysis: By an order filed December 18, 2017, the Court preliminarily approved the settlement in this case. That order provided that the “Final Approval Hearing” would be conducted on May 20, 2018, at which the court would decide whether to grant final approval, and would also decide whether to grant any request for attorney's fees and costs, and for enhancements. The court's case management order provides at ¶ H.1 that, promptly after th...

Excerpt: ...of the requirements prescribed by section G of the CMO#1, filed 3‐17‐17, one line for each paragraph or sub‐paragraph. The column on the right shall describe – by document name, page, and line numbers ‐‐ where in the moving papers each requirement is satisfied. Analysis: The motion violates the Court's CMO. Specifically, it fails to comply with the following portions of section G of the order:  ¶ 1.f. re fee splitting agreements. ...

Excerpt: ...s. It further concedes that the Purchase and Sale Agreements for those 11 homes require binding arbitration. Instead of denying the existence of those agreements, it argues that the owners of those 11 homes waived arbitration by filing this action. That argument, which is supported by no argument or citation to authority whatsoever, fails. The complaint filed by the plaintiffs specifically sought a declaration that the agreement between the plain...

Excerpt: ... applies where (1) the plaintiff does not seek any relief greater than or different from the relief sought for the general public or a class of which the plaintiff is a member; (2) the action, if successful, would enforce an important right affecting the public interest, and would confer a significant benefit, whether pecuniary or nonpecuniary, on the general public or a large class of persons; and (3) private enforcement is necessary and places ...

Excerpt: ...ssal as expressly stated in the statute. (Huh v. Wang (2007) 158 Cal. App. 4th 1406, 1415; English v. IKON Business Solutions (2001) 94 Cal. App. 4th 130, 143.) Because the present motion does not involve a default, default judgment or dismissal, the mandatory relief provision does not apply. Therefore, the plaintiffs must establish that Libertino's stipulation was entered into by mistake, and that her mistake was excusable. Libertino's assertion...

Excerpt: ...(2018) 4 Cal.5th 241 and (2) describe their progress in serving the defendants named 5‐9‐18. At the TSC, all parties shall be prepared to discuss their compliance with the CMO timeline filed 8‐10‐17. Analysis: The plaintiffs seek to have a referee appointed to decide “all claims related to all causes of action in this litigation, including, but not limited to, all matters related to discovery, law and motion, pre‐trial hearings, and t...

Excerpt: ...representative action. Accordingly, the motion describes the PAGA claims brought on behalf of other aggrieved employees. (Pg. 3, ll. 17‐26.) Nevertheless, the motion states in the very next paragraph, at page 4, line 1: “There are no representative claims in this action.” The same language is repeated in ¶ 4 of the Portner declaration. This contradiction must be resolved. 2. There is nothing in the agreement that allocates $15,000 of the s...

Excerpt: ... in the notice. (366‐386 Geary St., L.P. v. Superior Court (1990) 219 Cal. App. 3d 1186, 1199.) This Motion was initially brought under Fed. Rule Civ. Pro. §60(b), which provides for relief from a final judgment, order or proceeding on motion and just terms. However, Defendant has provided no authority that allows a party to move for relief from a state court judgment under the rule governing challenges to federal court judgments. After Plaint...

Excerpt: ...nt by the defendant would be less than $750,000? 3. The declaration of Bello states at ¶ 30 that he “generally” obtains estimates from several potential administrators, but does not say whether he did so in this instance. Nor does it describe the results of those competitive bids. 4. ¶ 42 of the settlement concerns objections, but the last sentence refers to requests for exclusion. 5. The first sentence of ¶ 44 of the settlement is incompl...

Excerpt: ... Since that estimate was given in June of 2016, the terms of the settlement have changed to eliminate the requirement of any claims being submitted. That eliminates the need for “reminder postcard,” “postage reminder postcard,” “claims processing,” and possibly other expenses, and may reduce other categories of services. In addition, the size of the class has risen from 833 to 946. The Court will require an updated quotation based on ...

Excerpt: ...aintiff has filed a First Amended Complaint.” The Court granted leave to amend (4‐12‐ 18), but no such pleading has been filed. 2. The agreement provides for the entry of judgment that would purport to bind all aggrieved employees. The parties rely on the Supreme Court's statement that “the judgment in [a PAGA action brought by an aggrieved employee] is binding not only on the named employee plaintiff but also on government agencies and a...

Excerpt: ...es customarily charged by each attorney for that attorney's time during the period in which those services were performed, and (ii) the attorney's experience and expertise that justify such a rate. The declaration shall state whether the attorney has clients that pay that rate, and if so, the percentage of the attorney's clients that do so. If the attorney works exclusively on a contingency basis, the declaration shall explain the basis for the h...

Excerpt: ... 1,981. No explanation is offered for that drop of 24%. 2. The administrator's fee is limited to a maximum of $24,500, which was the estimated cost when the class was expected to number 2,600. Although the class was actually only 1,981, the administrator estimates its total costs as being $24,562.27. How is it that a 24% decrease in the size of the class results in an increase in the administrator's costs? 3. The declaration of Crawford is unclea...

Excerpt: ...a “cross‐complaint”) is overruled. Granite shall serve and file its answer the complaint in intervention no later than May 29, 2018. Analysis: The demurrer will not be sustained, because there is no evidence that Granite complied with Code of Civil Procedure section 430.41, subdivision (a), which expressly requires the demurring party to meet and confer “in person or by telephone . . . .” On the merits, the challenge to the first cause ...

Excerpt: ...o the defendant rather than being distributed to the class? (Order, ¶ 6.) 2. The release described in the settlement agreement purports to release all claims arising out of the sale of the property, and thus is considerably broader than the claims described in the complaint, and is broader than the release described in the notice. Why does the proposed release not conform to CMO#2, § H.6.b? 3. Why is the partial SSN sought on the exclusion form...

Excerpt: ...spects: ¶ E.3.b. Where is the evidence of the estimate of the total number of alleged individual violations? ¶ E.4.c. Where is the evidence of the estimate of the penalties for which the defendant would be likely to be found liable at trial? ¶ E.4.e. Where is the evidence of how the amount of the agreed‐upon penalties was calculated? Page 2 of 5 ¶ E.6.a. Baker appears to say that the maximum value of the plaintiff's wage and hour claims is ...

Excerpt: ...4‐30‐18. The Right to Repair Act describes the exclusive remedy for deficiencies in residential construction, “except as specifically set forth” in the Act. (Civ. Code, § 896.) The exceptions are described in Civil Code section 943, which provides that “[e]xcept as provided in this title, no other cause of action for a claim covered by this title or for damages recoverable under Section 944 is allowed. In addition to the rights under t...

Excerpt: ...hen the hearing may be continued to afford the defendants statutory notice. If the defendants do not oppose the motion, then the issue of the length of service is moot, and the court may either deny the motion or continue the hearing to allow the plaintiffs sufficient time to address the following: 1. The notice of motion states that the motion is made pursuant to “this Court's July 6, 2015 Class Action Case Management Order.” But that order ...

Excerpt: ...n is required to be added to the 16 court days required under Code of Civil Procedure section 1005, subdivision (b), when service is done electronically. The joinder was electronically served on 4/23/18. This only provided 16 court days of notice, plus 1 court day for electronic service. Therefore, the notice was shorter than required. However, the plaintiff opposed the motion on the merits without objecting to the insufficient notice. Therefore,...

Excerpt: ...ncloud (1997) 56 Cal.App.4th 91, 96‐97.) Page 2 of 2 Second, any demurrer must dispose of the entire cause of action, not merely some of the claims alleged in that cause of action. The defendant ignores that rule. For instance, in the first cause of action, Plaintiff has pled violations of Labor Code §201‐ 202, 226.2, 227, 510 and 1194. (FAC ¶16‐17.) Defendant has attacked sections 201, 202 and 227, but does not address why sections 226.2...

Excerpt: ...nature and expected duration of the plaintiff's disability, and shall be filed no later than May 29, 2018. Analysis: When the Court sustained the prior demurrer in part with leave to amend, the Court did not expressly limit the scope of the amendment. Moreover, the court's CMO requires the parties to meet and confer about proposed amendments and directs that consent to amendment shall not be unreasonably withheld. The defendant has not explained ...

Excerpt: ... the contract at issue and fails to plead verbatim the terms alleged to have been breached. As pointed out by Cross‐Complainants, however, the written contract does not necessarily need to be attached to the complaint, and its terms may be pleaded generally “according to its legal intendment and effect.” (Construction Protective Services, Inc. v. TIG Specialty Ins. Co. (2002) 29 Cal.4th 189, 198‐199.) CrossComplainants properly allege tha...

Excerpt: ...ns listed below. Page 5 of 6 Analysis: By an order filed December 18, 2017, the Court preliminarily approved the settlement in this case. That order provides that the “Final Approval Hearing” would be conducted on May 20, 2018, at which the court would decide whether to grant final approval, and would also decide whether to grant any request for attorney's fees and costs, and for enhancements. The court's case management order provides at ¶ ...

Excerpt: ...tising) and Civil Code section 1750 (consumer legal remedies). The defendant contends that those claims for injunctive relief are preempted by federal law, and in any event are barred by a consent decree issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and are therefore “irrelevant, false, or improper” allegations subject to a motion to strike. As described above, the prosecution of those statutory claims for injunctive relief has bee...

Excerpt: ...rbitrate her individual claims and to stay prosecution of the class claims pending the result of that arbitration. On 12‐ 1‐11 and 2‐2‐12, the trial court granted the motion to arbitrate as to all claims except for the claims for injunctive relief under B&P Code sections 17200 (unfair competition) and 17500 (false advertising) and Civil Code section 1750 (consumer legal remedies), and stayed those three claims pending the result of the ar...

Excerpt: ...no more than one month's dues of $10.  Are all memberships terminable without penalty with one month's notice or less?  If so, was that true during the entire class period? 2. The Court had asked whether any evidence supported the plaintiff's assertion that: “Defendant does not possess sufficient assets to pay an award of statutory damages exceeding [$750,000]. Accordingly, there is a 100 percent probability that the defendant could not p...

Excerpt: ...on that the defendant waived statutory notice. Were that the only issue, the hearing would have been continued. The primary reason for the denial of the motion is the plaintiff's failure to fully comply with the court's CMO#2. For instance:  ¶ H.1.b. requires counsel to estimate the recovery that could be awarded if the action were successful on all claims. Nowhere is that figure stated. Kim appears to estimate the potential recovery on discr...

Excerpt: ...intiff fails to do so, the Court may deem any facts as to which the plaintiff fails to comply as being undisputed. If the defendant feels that the revised separate statement requires a further response, the defendant may file an amended reply no later than June 1, 2018. Analysis: In an opposing separate statement, the opposing party must “describe the evidence that supports the position that the fact is controverted. Citation to the evidence in...

Excerpt: ... Action . . . .” Relying on that language, the plaintiff contends that she is not a member of that class because she filed the instant action in February of 2017, and thus she had a pending civil complaint at the time that the final judgment was entered in Watson on June 7, 2017. The Court is not persuaded. The exact same language is recited in the order granting preliminary approval. That order conditionally certified the class as thus defined...

Excerpt: ... the plaintiff leave to file a First Amended Complaint that would delete two “background check” claims (under the Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act [Civ. Code, § 1786, et seq.] and the Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act [Civ. Code, § 1785, et seq.]) and to add a claim for penalties under PAGA. The Court denied that request on 1‐24‐18, because (1) no proposed amended complaint had been submitted, and (2) no court approval...

Excerpt: ...party or a complaint by a new party. It is not merely a request to participate in another lawsuit in some undefined way. Because this motion is not denied on the merits, the denial is without prejudice. ...

Excerpt: ... of DSS for leave to intervene. If the motion of DSS is granted, any renewed motion by Ikezawa shall explain why it is still necessary to grant her leave to intervene as well. Analysis: Ikezawa's interests in the defendant and in the defendant's property may be sufficient to justify intervention into this action. Even assuming that intervention is appropriate in the abstract, however, the Court is not persuaded that leave should be granted to her...

Excerpt: ...correct, how does that affect the estimated value of the claims to be released by the plaintiff? 2. The order continuing this hearing to April 27 stated: “The declaration of counsel states that the defendant produced pay records for other relief sales representatives. How many did the defendant produce? What percentage is that of the total number of such representatives? Do any of those records indicate that there are any other such representat...

Excerpt: ...plain: a. Why Mr. & Mrs. Oliver are named as plaintiffs in both cases. They were amended into the Wilder complaint on 1‐5‐18 but then filed their own action 19 days later on 1‐24‐18. Page 3 of 4 b. Why the consolidated complaint has not been served on the defendant. c. The plaintiffs' reference to “likely up to thirty or more subcontractors” (mtn., p. 2, l. 7), given that the developer has answered without filing any cross‐complaint...

Excerpt: ...he action as to that defendant. That same ruling applies in Randall v. William Lyon Homes, Inc. RIC1709214 and Escott v. William Lyon Homes, Inc. RIC1515142. Analysis: The plaintiff represents that a global settlement has been reached in this case and in four other related cases. The defendant agrees. However, the defendant asks the Court to proceed with a ruling on the motion to compel arbitration because the parties had previously stipulated th...

Excerpt: ...Ruiz DeLeon v. Estate of Vides (BC660530); and other cases as yet not received from Los Angeles County Superior Court. Into that same master file, the State seeks to consolidate three additional cases:  Hernandez v. Guilford (RIC1714082);  Car v. Guilford (RIC1714086); and  Alvarez v. USA Holiday (PSC1801449). Page 3 of 3 The State has failed to comply with the rules governing motions for consolidation in at least two respects. First, th...

Excerpt: ...37. However, the plaintiff has now submitted a “second corrected proposed” order, which re‐inserts language to the effect that the participating class members are bound by sections 5.01, 5.02, and 5.05 of the agreement. Unless the Agreement has been modified since the version attached to the declaration of Benowitz filed 3‐7‐18, section 5.02 requires the class members to covenant not to sue the defendants. (Pg. 22, ll. 3‐4.) As pointe...

Excerpt: ... do not expect to be ready by that date, when would plaintiffs estimate that plaintiffs would be ready for trial? 4. Regarding the defendant's desire to move for a judgment on the pleadings based on the judgment in the Herpel case: a. Are the plaintiffs in this case in privity with the plaintiffs in Herpel, even though no class was every certified in Herpel? b. Do all of the plaintiffs in this action hold leasehold interests in the trust lands of...

Excerpt: ...otion to include a copy of the proposed complaint in intervention. (§ 387, subd. (c).) Although the moving (and opposing) papers are voluminous, it does not appear that they include a copy of the proposed complaint in intervention. ...

Excerpt: ..., memorandum of points and authorities, and exhibits filed on 1‐5‐18;  The defendant's opposition to the motion, and attached exhibits and transcripts, filed 1‐29‐18;  The declaration on behalf of defendant regarding the timeliness of that opposition, filed 1‐30‐18;  The plaintiff's reply, filed 2‐5‐18;  The declaration on behalf of plaintiff, filed 2‐9‐18;  The declaration of Sherise Histen filed 3‐ 12‐18. ...

Excerpt: ...ian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC (2014) 59 Cal.4th 348, 386‐387.) The reasoning of the Court of Appeal is the same: “[A] defendant cannot rely on a predispute waiver by a private employee to compel arbitration in a PAGA case, which is brought on behalf of the state.” (Betancourt v. Prudential Overall Supply (4th Dist., div. 2, 2017) 9 Cal.App.5th 439, 445, emphasis added.) The MAP was not signed by the State and is therefore irrel...

Excerpt: ...r class member). He implies, but does not expressly state, that any settlement larger than $750,000 would not survive constitutional scrutiny. Page 2 of 3 a. Does the plaintiff contend that this is the largest award that could pass constitutional scrutiny? b. If so, why do you believe that this is the maximum? c. If not, what is the maximum, and why? 2. The plaintiff asserts: “Defendant does not possess sufficient assets to pay an award of stat...

Excerpt: ...tion as the City's PMQ on a mutually agreeable date no later than April 30, 2018. If the City chooses to produce only Mr. Smith, he shall come prepared with all information reasonably available to him on the topics in the deposition notice to which the defendant did not object. The City shall pay to plaintiffs monetary sanctions in the sum of $3,290. In addition, the City shall bear the cost of court reporter and videographer for the renewed PMQ ...

Excerpt: ...raneous time records, does not indicate whether such records were kept, and does not offer any explanation of why those records were not kept. Alternatively, it does not offer a detailed description of the date, nature, and time incurred to perform legal services. b. It does not comply with section H.3.b. 2. The declaration of Beaman does not comply with the CMO#2. a. It does not comply with section H.3.a. Although she admits to having such time ...

Excerpt: ...efendant. Analysis: The plaintiffs do not dispute the existence or enforceability of the arbitration provision. Instead, they ask the Court to exercise its discretion to “refuse to enforce the arbitration agreement” when “a party to the arbitration is also a party to litigation in a pending court action or special proceeding with a third party,” that other action arises out of the same transaction or series of related transactions as does...

Excerpt: ...ty to meet and confer with the opposing party before filing a motion for judgment on the pleadings. Page 2 of 2 This Court's CMO entered on February 28, 2018 requires the moving party to “strictly comply” with CCP § 439. (CMO, § B, ¶ 6.a.) The CMO further requires that declaration by the moving party describe the meet and confer efforts, including the date of the meeting, whether it was in person or by telephone, the persons involved, and ...

Excerpt: ...¶ 5.b. of counsel's declaration does not explain the number of weeks during which the plaintiff was allegedly deprived of breaks. ¶ 5.c. does not explain the number of months in which she used her car. ¶ 5.d. does not explain the calculation of the value of that claim at all. 2. The declaration of counsel does not address E.5.a.(ii). 3. The declaration of counsel states that the defendant produced pay records for other relief sales representat...

Excerpt: ... irrelevant to the Court's analysis. The plaintiff alleges that the defendant violated Labor Code section 2802 by failing to reimburse travel expenses incurred for “pre‐employment drug testing and physical examination . . . .” Subdivision (a) of that section requires an employer to “indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties, o...

Excerpt: ...continue the case management in this case, currently scheduled for 5‐9‐18, to 5‐10‐ 18, to coincide with the trial setting conference in the Garcia case. Any party wishing to oppose that order should appear on 3‐29‐18. Analysis: The demurrer is overruled because it does not dispose of the entire cause of action alleged. “No action shall be brought under this part for any violation of a posting, notice, agency reporting, or filing re...

Excerpt: ...r. Thereafter, the demurring party must file a declaration demonstrating compliance with those provisions by describing “the means by which” the parties met and conferred. (§ 430.41, subd. (a)(3)(A).) The declaration of Wasser – which is identical for all three demurrers – does not describe the means by which she met and conferred with opposing counsel, or otherwise demonstrate compliance with the “in person or by telephone” requirem...

Excerpt: ... declaration was actually filed with the motion. The only evidence in support of the motion is the declaration of Field filed with the reply. The Court will not consider that evidence, because the opposing parties have not had a chance to respond to or rebut it. Because this denial is not on the merits of the motion, it is without prejudice to the filing of a second motion that is supported by evidence. Alternatively, if the Field declaration was...

Excerpt: ...ary approval on May 21, 2018, at 8:30 A.M. in this department. If a second motion is filed at least three court days before that date, the Court is likely to vacate that status conference. Page 3 of 7 Analysis: New Evidence With Reply New evidence is generally not permitted with reply papers. (Jay v. Mahaffey (2013) 218 Cal.App.4th 1522, 1537‐1538.) Plaintiff submits his declaration and deposition transcripts, as well as the supplemental declar...

Excerpt: ..., memorandum of points and authorities, and exhibits filed on 1‐5‐18;  The defendant's opposition to the motion, and attached exhibits and transcripts, filed 1‐29‐18;  The declaration on behalf of defendant regarding the timeliness of that opposition, filed 1‐30‐18;  The plaintiff's reply, filed 2‐5‐18;  The declaration on behalf of plaintiff, filed 2‐9‐18;  The declaration of Sherise Histen filed 3‐12‐18. �...

Excerpt: ...nc., dba Paragon Schmid Building Products. Analysis: The arbitration provision in the contract between K. Hovnanian and BSG provides that the only disputes that must be arbitrated are disputes that arise “out of this Master Subcontract . . . , including disputes involving claims made by homebuyers, . . . which involve[] a matter with economic value in excess of the jurisdictional limit of a small claims court….” (See Exh. S to decl. of Josh...

Excerpt: ...urately described the terms of the judgment and escrow instructions proposed by or otherwise agreeable to the defendant. When the defendant failed to appear on March 6, 2018, the Court ordered an OSC to be issued as to why sanctions should not be imposed for the failure to appear. However, the clerk mistakenly failed to issue that order. Accordingly, that hearing is vacated. However, the defense shall be prepared to explain why no appearance was ...

Excerpt: ...ile a “Fourth Amended Complaint Following Motion to Strike,” that deletes the stricken provisions without changing any paragraph numbering or adding or deleting anything else. The defendants shall prepare a formal order consistent with this ruling. Analysis: All Class Action Allegations The Court is not persuaded that all of the class claims are insufficient as a matter of law to qualify for prosecution on behalf of a class. For instance, the...

Excerpt: ...plaintiffs do not dispute the existence or enforceability of the arbitration provision. Instead, they ask the Court to exercise its discretion to “refuse to enforce the arbitration agreement” when “a party to the arbitration is also a party to litigation in a pending court action or special proceeding with a third party,” that other action arises out of the same transaction or series of related transactions as does the arbitration, and th...

Excerpt: ...laintiffs $15,000 in satisfaction of their individual claims, and an additional $5,304 to McAfee regarding an unemployment claims, but the complaint alleges no such individual claims. 3. The motion contends that the “financial viability” factored into the amount of the settlement, but no evidence of the financial condition of the defendant is offered. 4. The plaintiffs' counsel claims time billed at up to $700 per hour. Does plaintiffs' couns...

Excerpt: ...ects: 1. It violates ¶ H(6), because the release is not limited to claims based solely on the facts alleged in the first amended complaint. It purports to release “any and all claims for recordkeeping or pay stub violations,” not just those at termination, and “all claims for failure to get consent for a payroll debit card or self‐issued check payment,” not just those claims involving final wages. In addition, the release includes a wa...

Excerpt: ...oration. If true, how can that entity have a current address, as represented in the motion? And why should the Court believe that a dissolved corporation has an account manager, as claimed in the proof of service? The declaration and the proposed order both state that the case is stayed. That is true as to the prosecution of the case against Skypatrol, LLC, in light of the bankruptcy petition filed by Skypatrol in December of 2017. What is the ba...

Excerpt: ...473, subdivision (b) [6 months], subdivision (d) (2 years), or section 473.5 [2 years]. ...

Excerpt: ...e entered shortly. Analysis: On 1‐4‐18, the Court continued the hearing on the motion to allow the parties the opportunity to address a variety of questions and concerns posed by the Court in its tentative ruling. The supplemental documents submitted address some but not all of those concerns. To pick just some of the examples of concerns that are not resolved by the supplemental documents: 1. The Court informed the parties that it would not ...

Excerpt: ...rry declaration); 1,714 (Bello declaration at ¶ 4 (422 + 1,292); and 1,764 (Bello's declaration at ¶ ¶ 21 & 27). This inconsistency must be resolved. 2. The Bello declaration refers to a sample of the time records of the class members, but does not describe the size of the sample, i.e., the number or percentage of employees whose records were included in the sample. (¶ 22.) 3. The Bello declaration (at ¶ 25) justifies the claim requirement f...

Excerpt: ... plaintiffs and the defendant, the petition would have to be denied. (Iskanian v. CLS, 59 Cal.4th 348, 384‐390.) ...

Excerpt: ... provides for payment to the named plaintiff of a “service award. The Court will require citation of authority for such an award in a PAGA case. The motion shall explain why such an award is fair under the circumstances of this case. The motion shall be supported by a declaration from the named plaintiff in which the declarant: a. Describes the services performed by the declarant to further the prosecution of the action; b. Estimates the time i...

Excerpt: ...d associated forms in detail. However, it violates at least the following portions of section H: ¶ 1.b. & c. As to the first subclass, there is no explanation of how the potential “full value” damage amount per class member ($3,700) is calculated. The compliance as to the 2d and 3d subclasses is vague. ¶ 1.e. The description of discovery is vague. ¶ 2 There is no declaration from defense counsel. ¶ 3.b. The agreed‐upon distribution does...

Excerpt: ...ss and any subclasses as clearly as possible given the plaintiff's current understanding of the facts; and  Be confined to allegations of fact. The case management conference is continued from March 27, 2018, to April 26, 2018, at 8:30 A.M. However, any party desiring to preserve its right to a jury trial shall deposit jury fees no later than March 27, 2018. (Code Civ. Proc., § 631.) Analysis: The declaration of Milhaupt purports to be filed ...

Excerpt: ...ask the Court to issue a judgment for over 5 months after the ruling on American's motion for summary judgment. Second, the parties are vague as to how the eventual decision on appeal will affect the claims between Scottsdale and Truck. For instance, if the motion for summary judgment in favor of American is affirmed, will the plaintiff's action against Truck be dismissed? Or are there other claims that would nevertheless need to be litigated...

Excerpt: ...mited to the city or community of residence, as opposed to the full residence address. Except as expressly limited, the PMK shall appear for a deposition and otherwise comply with the deposition notice on a day to be agreed upon by counsel no sooner than 10 days and no later than 20 days from February 14, 2018. The real party's request for sanctions against the petitioner and its counsel, Blum Collins, is granted in the sum of $6,310. Analysis: R...

Excerpt: ...er of them are members or shareholders of the petitioner. Under those circumstances, the petitioner has no standing to seek a protective order on behalf of those individuals. As to all of the deposition notices, for the reasons stated above in the discussion of the motion to compel, the petitioner and moving party has failed to demonstrate that Page 8 of 8 the discovery would subject any of the deponents to “unwarranted annoyance, embarrassment...

Excerpt: ...odified. Plaintiff's counsel shall be prepared to describe the nature of the anticipated amendment. At the Case Management Conference:  Plaintiff's counsel shall be prepared to explain why no defaults have been requested as to the defendants served 11‐30‐17, 12‐3‐17 and 12‐6‐ 17 who have not appeared.  Counsel for all appearing parties shall be prepared to discuss whether this case should be designated “complex” pursuant to ...

Excerpt: ...rt's analysis. Page 2 of 6 Objection to Berger Declaration The declaration of the plaintiff's expert, Bennett Berger, fails to establish the foundation for his opinions. He states that he analyzed records provided by plaintiff's counsel that consisted of “42 PDF files which contained the time punch records for the years 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 as well as the payroll reports for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017.” But there is no evidence in hi...