Excerpt: ...o should be stricken in its entirety. Therefore, that request is denied. It appears that the plaintiff's motion to tax is directed exclusively to the costs claimed for the preparation of the AR. The recovery of that cost is not expressly authorized by statute. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1033.5, subd. (a). Nor is it expressly disallowed. (Id., subd. (b).) However, costs not mentioned may be recoverable in the court's discretion if they were reasonably n...

Excerpt: ...��Opposition/Response” of Mitsubishi Cement Corporation, the Court tentatively rules as follows: Centro: The Watermaster proposed that the FPA be reduced from 65% of BAP to 60%. The Court approves that proposal. The Court orders that the FPA for all producers in Centro is reduced to 60% of BAP for Water Year 2022‐2023. Este: The Watermaster proposed that the FPA be reduced from 65% of BAP to 60%. However, the Watermaster also asked the Court ...

Excerpt: ...epared to address that issue. Administrator Fees The Court's tentative ruling of 5‐12‐22 stated: The “invoice” from the administrator is not credible, for at least two reasons. First, although the administrator's declaration states that there were 396 class members, the invoice says that only 392 notice packets were mailed. There is no explanation offered for that inconsistency. More significantly, the amount of most of the separate charg...

Excerpt: ...es employees assigned to work at the defendant's business? If not, then it would appear that the definition is broader than intended. The provisions of ¶ 10 are inconsistent with CMO, § H.14. ¶ 15 should either be changed to impose that obligation or else be deleted. As it is, it does not resolve the issue one way or the other. Proposed Notice: Same issue as in the order concerning the class definition. The notice includes terms that the class...

Excerpt: ...o 6‐22‐22 at 8:30 A.M. in this department. Not later than 6‐15‐22, the plaintiffs shall file amended or supplemental documents that resolve each of the following eight deficiencies: 1. The declaration of Setareh fails to state whether any of the firm's clients pay the hourly rates claimed, as required by CMO, § I.3.b., and fails to indicate whether there is any fee‐splitting agreement, as required by § I.3.c. 2. The declaration of Set...

Excerpt: ...those deficiencies persist in the supplemental documents. • E.3.e. There is no evidence or discussion concerning the issue of whether the violations were knowing and intentional. • E.3.f. There is not evidence or discussion concerning the issue of whether the imposition of the full amount of penalties would be unjust, arbitrary or confiscatory. • E.3.g. There is no explanation of how the amount of the agreed‐upon penalties was calculated....

Excerpt: ...accept expert‐witness declarations from which the Court could determine the difference, if any, between the Class 2 rates and what a constitutional rate would have been. That request is denied. That evidence is irrelevant to the determination of the proper remedy. The Court's role in the first phase of these proceedings was simply to determine whether the district had proven that its existing rate was constitutional. It was not to determine wha...

Excerpt: ...isted below. Because of the number of defects, the Court has suspended its review of the moving papers. For that reason, the following list may not be complete. The plaintiff shall review the CMO and provide whatever supplemental or amended documents that are necessary to bring the motion into conformity with all applicable provisions of the CMO. 1. The plaintiff has failed to describe the range of estimated recoveries by individual class members...

Excerpt: ... the statutory minimum. 2. The motion fails to comply with the case management order filed 2‐11‐19 in at least the following respects: a. ¶ I.3.b. & d. through i.: The plaintiff's declaration does not address d. through i. at all, and addresses b. only by saying “several hours.” (¶ 13.) Moreover, the declaration is ambiguous, in that he seeks an enhancement of “six thousand dollars ($2,500).” (¶ 13.) b. ¶ I.3.c.: Counsel's declara...

Excerpt: ...ish that a proposed class is ascertainable, the class definition must be precise, objective and presently ascertainable. (Global Minerals & Metals Corp. v. Superior Court (2003) 113 Cal. App. 4th 836, 858.) Here, the class is defined as: “All persons who are employed or have been employed by Defendants as non‐exempt telephone‐based employees, in the State of California who, during any time from four years prior to the filing of this class a...

Excerpt: ...��22‐ 22. Any amended declarations shall be accompanied by a red‐lined version to highlight the changes or additions. Similarly, any amended settlement agreement shall be accompanied by a red‐lined version. Analysis: This motion was served via electronic transmission on 5/2/22. Under C.C.P. § 1010.6(a)(4)(b), the notice period “shall be extended after service by electronic means by two court days.” Due to this, 18 court days of notice ...

Excerpt: ...ng the defendants' motion for determination of good faith settlement, filed 11‐8‐21, were conditionally sealed, that conditional seal should have ended when the motion to seal that information was denied on 12‐16‐21. The full text of the documents shall be imaged as part of this case file. Analysis: The information sought to be sealed is (a) the amount to be paid to the plaintiff by the moving defendants and (b) information from which tha...

Excerpt: ...cies listed below. Status conference: The status conference is vacated. Analysis: The motion fails to comply with the CMO in the following respects: 1. Plaintiff shall file an amended declaration: which includes the headings required by CMO § D.1; in which he states whether he is being compensated for individual claims as required by § D.4.; and which answers the questions posed in § D.6.a. 2. Plaintiff's counsel shall file an amended declarat...

Excerpt: .... Co. (2020) 53 Cal.App.5th 476, 483, is misplaced, because those cases deal with the res judicata effect of judgment, not with whether the aggrieved employees may be deemed to have signed releases. Moniz v. Adecco USA, Inc. (2021) 72 Cal.App.4th 56, pages 68‐69, to which they also cite, do not assist them, because those pages merely recite the parties' arguments in the trial court and the trial court's ruling on those arguments. The Moniz cour...

Excerpt: ...ce is continued to July 13, 2022, at 8:30 A.M. Analysis: The motion fails to comply with numerous sections of the Case Management Order #2. The moving papers having thus demonstrated that the plaintiff has not exercised reasonable care in attempting to comply with the CMO, the Court has suspended its review of the moving papers until the motion is revised and refiled. Therefore, the following list of deficiencies is probably incomplete. • The P...

Excerpt: ...ng form: Both Pongs and Simpson allege invasion of the same primary right, i.e., the right to be free from the overcharging of water service by the City. The alleged injury in both actions is that the plaintiffs overpaid for water service. A violation of a single primary right gives rise to but a single cause of action. (Crowley v. Katleman (1994) 8 Cal.4th 666, 681‐682.) Full recovery for each cause of action (i.e., to enforce the same “prim...

Excerpt: ...re the following identified defects: the improper release (¶ G(3)(e)); the failure to submit a proposed order (¶ G(4)); an improper notice (¶ G(5)(a)‐ (c)); the failure to submit a proposed objection form (¶ G(7)); and the failure to submit a proposed exclusion form (¶ G(8)). The supplemental documents do not cure all the defects identified by Judge Sykes. In particular, the scope of the release (described in ¶ 7 of the Notice) persists i...

Excerpt: ... necessary to fully comply with the CMO shall be submitted no later than June 1, 2022. Analysis: The plaintiff's motion for preliminary approval was initially heard on 4‐12‐22. At that time, Judge Sykes found that it did not comply with the CMO, continued the hearing to 5‐3‐22, and ordered the plaintiff to comply with specified portions of the CMO: ¶¶ H(4)(a) & (c), H(5)(c), H(7)(a), and H(8)(a). No amended or supplemental documents wer...

Excerpt: ...t two reasons. First, although the administrator's declaration states that there were 396 class members, the invoice says that only 392 notice packets were mailed. There is no explanation offered for that inconsistency. More significantly, the amount of most of the separate charges in the invoice are exactly the same as was estimated for the same line items in the estimate attached to the administrator's declaration filed on 10‐19‐21. Indeed,...

Excerpt: ...) 192 Cal.App.4th 1149, 1158.) 2d and 4th Causes of Action (Product Liability) The allegations of causation are speculative or otherwise inadequate. 6th Cause of Action (Trespass) “The elements of trespass are: (1) the plaintiff's ownership or control of the property; (2) the defendant's intentional, reckless, or negligent entry onto the property; (3) lack of permission for the entry or acts in excess of permission; (4) harm; and (5) the defend...

Excerpt: ...160 638 4172 Please MUTE your phone until your case is called and it is your turn to speak. It is important to note that you must call fifteen (15) minutes prior to the scheduled hearing time to check in or there may be a delay in your case being heard. For additional information and instructions on telephonic appearances, visit the court's website at https://www.riverside.courts.ca.gov/PublicNotices/remote‐appearances.php Tentative Ruling: The...

Excerpt: ...se is called and it is your turn to speak. It is important to note that you must call fifteen (15) minutes prior to the scheduled hearing time to check in or there may be a delay in your case being heard. For additional information and instructions on telephonic appearances, visit the court's website at https://www.riverside.courts.ca.gov/PublicNotices/remote‐appearances.php Tentative Ruling: Page 3 of 6 The Court regrets that it does not have ...

Excerpt: ...e‐year delay was unreasonable and prejudicial. The Court is not persuaded. Nothing in the evidence on which the defendant relies identifies the defendant as the plaintiff's employer. Essentially, the defendant argues that the plaintiff should have known that it was the plaintiff's employer. However, the applicable test is actual knowledge, not constructive knowledge. Besides, any delay in the amendment and service is prejudicial only if the def...

Excerpt: ...y now argues that, as to a charter city, Riverside “cannot be liable on implied contract claims for utility service unless their charter expressly provide such power.” (Demurrer, 20:14‐16.) In support of its argument, the City cites Green Valley Landowners Assn. v. City of Vallejo (2015) 241 Cal.App.4th 425 (Green Valley), in which the court held that, where a city's charter, which did not include provisions on how the city may form contrac...

Excerpt: ... any work on the tree, the evidence may show that the defendant is liable for that omission. For instance, since the tree trimming and maintenance services to be provided to the city by WCA included an “arborist survey,” evidence may develop that such a survey includes an evaluation of the condition of the trees surveyed, that the WCA conducted the survey, that its survey included the subject tree, but that it failed to observe or document th...