Excerpt: ...posed settlement in a class action is fair. (Rebney v. Wells Fargo Bank (1990) 220 Cal. App. 3rd 1117, 1138.) The law favors settlement, particularly in class actions and other complex cases where substantial resources can be conserved by avoiding the time, cost, and rigors of formal litigation. (See Newberg on Class Actions 4th (4th ed. 2002) § 11.41 (and cases cited therein); Class Plaintiffs v. City of Seattle (9th Cir. 1992) 955 F.2d 1268, 1...

Excerpt: ...ovember 12, 2019, ruling, Defendant previously moved to set aside the default and default judgment entered against her on March 2, 2009 on the basis that she was never served with the summons and complaint. Judge Brown denied the motion without prejudice on September 23, 2019. Defendant then moved to set aside the renewal of judgment on the basis that she did not receive notice of the Notice of Renewal filed on March 19, 2018. Defendant made her ...

Excerpt: ...their workstations in violation of California law. The Court previously granted Defendants' motion to strike Plaintiff's addition of Ms. Belmonte as a plaintiff as it exceeded the scope of the Court's ruling on Defendants' motion for judgment on the pleadings. The Court also granted the motion to strike the prayer for injunctive relief on the basis that such relief is not proper pursuant to PAGA. The Court noted that Plaintiff was free to bring a...

Excerpt: ... to compel and ordering Plaintiffs to serve verified responses, without objections, to form and special interrogatories and requests for production. Contrary to Defendant's representation, sanctions were not granted in connection with the motion to compel responses, and in fact were expressly denied because the motion was unopposed. (ROA 52.) Rather, mandatory sanctions of $462 were granted in connection with the concurrent motion for an order de...

Excerpt: ...o Pulte without providing notice and obtaining Plaintiff's consent. Plaintiff alleges the transfer caused him damage because Pulte did not pay for the benefit of the Conservation Rights that were transferred. Recently, the City returned those Conservation Rights to its chart for sale to other developers and Plaintiff is seeking all documents relating to any such transfers. In a previous motion, Plaintiff did not contest the City's responses and o...

Excerpt: ... against Defendants for negligence, NIED, IIED, breach of contract and also seek punitive damages in connection with funeral services provided by Defendants. Defendants move to strike allegations related to punitive damages, attorney's fees and references to Business and Professions Code § 7673.1. While Defendants assert that the opposition was improperly served by regular mail, the court has considered it as Defendants were able to file a compl...

Excerpt: ...de § 2923.6 (dual tracking), 2923.7 (single point of contact), 2924.10 (written acknowledgment of receipt), 2924.17, Business & Professions Code §§ 17200 et seq., and declaratory relief. Among other things, Plaintiff contends that Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC paid off his loan in full in 2013 due to a "global settlement with the government." The Court previously granted Plaintiff's motion to compel Ocwen's compliance with a subpoena for production...

Excerpt: ...ppel, violation of Business & Professions Code 17200, and intentional infliction of emotional distress arising out of a foreclosure of their home. With respect to Defendant, Plaintiffs allege the sixth and seventh causes of action for breach of contract and negligence. Plaintiffs dismissed the eighth cause of action against Defendant for false promise. While the time to move to strike pursuant to CCP § 435(b)(1) has passed, the parties have stip...

Excerpt: ...n entered by the Clerk and not yet set aside, the Court has lost jurisdiction to address any action by the defaulted defendant other than a motion to vacate entry of default. (See, e.g. W. A. Rose Co. v. Municipal Court for Oakland‐Piedmont Judicial Dist. (1959) 176 Cal. App. 2d 67, 72.) “[T]he entry of the default terminates [the defaulting defendant's] rights to take any further affirmative steps in the litigation until either the default i...

Excerpt: ...icial notice is granted. A prior action was filed in May 2015, but dismissed in January 2018, Sacramento Superior Court case no. 34‐2015‐00178934. Plaintiff then filed the instant action on April 10, 2018. The second amended complaint in this action was filed on October 23, 2018. Plaintiff's notice of motion indicates that “Plaintiff bases the second amended complaint (SAC) on the same general set of facts as the first amended complaint (FA...

Excerpt: ...FCA”) and individual employment law claims against Defendants. Defendants move to disqualify counsel on the basis that he is the spouse of Plaintiff/Qui Tam Plaintiff for the following reasons: (1) Mr. King simultaneously represents Plaintiff, who is his spouse, and the interests of the State of California through Plaintiff's CFCA claim against Defendants; (2) the unique nature of qui tam litigation demands the highest ethical standards from re...

Excerpt: ...ts. Plaintiffs allege that their counsel substituted in late 2018 and new facts have been acquired regarding the matter requiring the complaint to be amended. The motion is ruled upon as follows. The original complaint was filed in this action on April 10, 2018. A substitution of attorney for Plaintiffs was filed with the Court on November 19, 2018. In the proposed FAC, Plaintiffs seek to: (1) add Terry Kelley as a plaintiff; (2) correct Plaintif...

Excerpt: ...ion is granted and is ruled upon as follows. Plaintiff's request for judicial notice is granted. Factual and Procedural Background Qui Tam Plaintiff has alleged a cause of action under the California False Claims Act (“CFCA”) based upon allegations that Defendants overbilled Medi‐Cal millions of dollars per month through collecting monthly insurance premiums from Medi‐Cal for patients even though Defendants already received monthly insura...

Excerpt: ...anuary 27, 2020. On November 8, 2019, Defendants served their vehicle inspection notice for December 10, 2019, to take place at Elk Grove Dodge. (Universal Decl.. Exh. A.) On November 12, 2019, Plaintiff's counsel emailed defense counsel and stated December 10 was not a good date but proposed December 11. (Universal Decl., Exh. B.) Plaintiff's counsel did not raise any other objections or conditions to the inspection notice at that time. (See id....

Excerpt: ...tice is granted, except as to Items G and H (Exhibits 2 and 3). Factual and Procedural Background In this qui tam action, Qui Tam Plaintiff Lindsay King has alleged a claim under the California False Claims Act ("CFCA") based upon allegations that Defendants were over billing Medi‐Cal by millions of dollars per month. Specifically, Qui Tam Plaintiff alleges Defendants were collecting monthly insurance premiums from Medi‐Cal for patients as to...

Excerpt: ...unction of a demurrer is to test the sufficiency of the pleading it challenges by raising questions of law. (Salimi v. State Comp. Ins. Fund (1997) 54 Cal.App.4th 216, 219; Nordlinger v. Lynch (1990) 225 Cal.App.3d 1259, 1271.) A demurrer “tests the pleadings alone and not the evidence or other extrinsic matters.” (SKF Farms v. Superior Court (1984) 153 Cal.App.3d 902, 905.) Extrinsic evidence may not properly be considered on demurrer or on ...

Excerpt: ...atements, and violated Business & Professions Code section 17200. Plaintiff seeks waiting time penalties and civil penalties under PAGA. The parties reached the settlement after a full day of mediation. Under the Settlement, in exchange for the releases provided in the Settlement Agreement and set forth in the Notice of Class Settlement, Defendant will pay $400,000 to establish a non‐reversionary Settlement Fund to pay for claims of the Class M...

Excerpt: ...le Living Trust and any other party claiming an interest in the property were ordered to appear on November 26, 2019, at 2:00 p.m. in Department 53 of this Court, located at 813 6th Street, Sacramento, California 95814, to show cause why the Court should not order the execution sale of all judgment debtors legal and equitable interest in the property. On November 26, 2019, this hearing was continued on the Court's own motion to today's date, Dece...

Excerpt: ... does not take judicial notice of the truth of statements made in the bankruptcy court documents. Since the various motions to strike are for the most part the same, the Court is issuing one ruling for all of the motions to strike. However, the last item addressed in the motion present only in Rust‐Oleum's motion. Plaintiff Steven Villanueva was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenic Leukemia in 2000. He alleges that the defendants' products caused ...

Excerpt: ...nses were due by July 15, 2019. Plaintiff did not provide the Court ordered responses and Defendant moved for terminating sanctions. On September 12, 2019, the Court denied Defendant's motion for terminating sanctions, but imposed monetary sanctions against Plaintiff and again ordered Plaintiff to provide the Court ordered discovery responses no later than September 23, 2019. Plaintiff has not provided the discovery responses, and Defendant now m...

Excerpt: ...nds Ms. Jacobsen is absolutely unavailable until January 2020 for a deposition and Plaintiff is not available until after her law school midterms on December 10, 2019. (Harrison Decl. ¶ 7.) Trial in this action is currently scheduled for December 16, 2019. On December 2, 2019, Plaintiff filed an ex parte application to shorten time to hear a motion to continue trial and related deadlines. The application was set for 12/3/2019 in Department 47. A...

Excerpt: ...eve George and Real Estates Portfolio Management, LLC but there is no proof of service on the remaining parties. Moving parties settled with defendants/cross‐complainants Steve George and Real Estates Portfolio Management, LLC. Moving parties will pay $50,000 in settlement of the claims. The parties settled following a mandatory [judicially supervised] settlement conference. The trial date is currently December 10, 2019. Settling defendants/ cr...

Excerpt: ...eived from LPL Financial is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part as follows. Judgment Creditor has a Judgment against the Judgment Debtor, which was originally entered on January 31, 2017. (ROA 167.) An amended judgment was entered on July 24, 2017, for the sum of $185,507.58. (ROA 203.) The judgment remains fully unpaid. (Lydel Decl.) At her debtor's examination on February 15, 2019, Judgment Debtor identified that she is a financial advisor with ...

Excerpt: ...h of the demurrers raises one or both of the two grounds that have been raised by defendants as a whole. Defendants' demurrers make one or both of the following arguments, that plaintiffs fail to sufficiently plead a cause of action for fraudulent concealment, and that plaintiffs have failed to sufficiently allege delayed discovery to overcome the statute of limitations as to all causes of action. Plaintiff Steven Villanueva was diagnosed with Ch...

Excerpt: ...before November 15, 2019. The litigation coordinator shall provide the tentative ruling to plaintiff Silus Mardel Valson. Appearance is required on December 4, 2019. Plaintiff shall be available, by COURTCALL, to participate in oral argument on the continuance date. Defendant California Department of Corrects and Rehabilitation's (“CDCR”) demurrer to self‐represented plaintiff Silus Mardel Valson's (“Plaintiff”) First Amended Complaint ...

Excerpt: ... the trial scheduled in Department 47. Defendant disclosed the experts on October 21, 2019. (Luckey Decl. ¶ 4, Exh. 1.) On October 24, 2019, Plaintiff served deposition notices for both experts with a deposition date of November 12, 2019. (Luckey Decl. ¶ 5, Exh. 2.) Defendant served objections to the deposition notices on November 7, 2019. Defendant objected on the grounds the depositions were unilaterally set and Defendant's counsel was unavai...

Excerpt: ...e and the manner to request a hearing. If moving counsel is unable to contact plaintiff prior to hearing, moving counsel is ordered to appear at the hearing in person or by telephone. In this lemon law action, Plaintiff alleges that she purchased a used 2010 Volkswagen CC on July 22, 2013. (Compl. ¶ 8.) Plaintiff alleges the vehicle was delivered to her with serious defects and nonconformities to warranty and developed other serious defects and ...

Excerpt: ...ve ruling system, as required by Local Rule 1.06. Moving counsel is directed to contact opposing counsel and advise of Local Rule 1.06 and the Court's tentative ruling procedure and the manner to request a hearing. If moving counsel is unable to contact plaintiff prior to hearing, moving counsel is ordered to appear at the hearing in person or by telephone. The instant litigation arises out of Plaintiff Candace Weidner's purchase of real property...

Excerpt: ...directed to contact counsel for opposing party forthwith and advise counsel of Local Rule 1.06 and the Court's tentative ruling procedure. If counsel for moving party is unable to contact counsel for opposing party prior to the hearing, counsel for moving party shall be available at the hearing, in person or by telephone, in the event opposing party appears without following the procedures set forth in Local Rule 1.06(B). To clarify, the Court co...

Excerpt: ...herwise preventing AT&T (along with its contractors, employees, agents, successors, affiliates, licenses, lessees, and assigns) from accessing the property located at 6660 Coyle Avenue, Carmichael, California 95608 (“the Property”) to, inter alia, construct, place, and maintain communications facilities, as provided by the Lease Agreement attached as exhibit 1 to the complaint in this action. The motion is ruled upon as follows. Factual Backg...

Excerpt: ...s to Plaintiff's causes of action for fiduciary duty and unreasonable restriction of trade on the basis that they fail to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action and are fatally uncertain. The demurrer is ruled upon as follows. The notice of motion does not provide notice of the Court's tentative ruling system, as required by Local Rule 1.06. Moving counsel is directed to contact opposing counsel and advise of Local Rule 1.06 and t...

Excerpt: ...ed. (RJN Exh. 1 at 018) Petitioner's petition for relief from Government Code § 945.4 is moot as the late claim was permitted and Petitioner is now free to file a lawsuit pursuant to the applicable time lines in the Government Code. In reply, Petitioner contends that the petition is not moot because the DGS had no authority to consider and deny the late claim because it did so after the 45‐day period in Government Code § 911.6(c). Petitioner ...

Excerpt: ...tion, failure to accommodate and other against Defendant in connection with his termination. Plaintiff alleges that as a result of Defendant's conduct he suffered emotional distress “including, but not limited to, stress, anxiety low self‐esteem, depression, aggravation, embarrassment, mental anguish, nightmares, and anger.” (E.g. Comp. ¶¶ 69, 89.) Defendant issued five subpoenas to different Kaiser facilities which Plaintiff has visited ...

Excerpt: ...gument on the continuance date. Self‐represented Plaintiff Jeffrey Caylor's motion to compel Defendant Keri Hamilton's further discovery responses is ruled upon as follows. Plaintiff alleges causes of action against Defendant for premises liability and negligence in connection with an altercation that allegedly occurred at Defendant's place of business. Both Plaintiff and Defendant are incarcerated as a result of convictions stemming from the m...

Excerpt: ...ary judgment may demonstrate that the plaintiff's cause of action has no merit and the defendant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law by showing that the plaintiff cannot establish one or more elements of the cause of action. (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (p)(2); Wiener v. Southcoast Childcare Centers, Inc. (2004) 32 Cal.4th 1138, 1142.) This showing must be supported by admissible evidence, such as affidavits, declarations, admissio...

Excerpt: ...tee of the Ortiz Family Living Trust (erroneously sued as Ortiz Family Living Trust), Frank A. Wolfe as Trustee of the 2000 Wolfe Family Trust (erroneously sued as 2000 Wolfe Family Trust), Beverly A. Smallfield, and Stan Kurz' (collectively, “Defendants”) motion for summary judgment or, in the alternative, summary adjudication is ruled upon as follows. Although Defendants have not captioned this motion as a “renewed” motion for summary j...

Excerpt: ...equired by the Court order. Defendant then moved for terminating sanctions. On November 16, 2018, the Court denied Defendant's unopposed request for terminating sanctions but imposed monetary sanctions in the amount of $775 and again ordered Plaintiff to appear for her deposition by December 21, 2018. The Court also warned Plaintiff that her failure to comply with the Court's orders could lead to terminating sanctions. Plaintiff again failed to a...

Excerpt: ...rors, and to vacate or amend judgments as the result of accident, surprise and excusable neglect on the part of the parties or their counsel. (Bastajian v. Brown (1941) 19 Cal.2d 209, 214.) It bears noting that this statutory authority codifies the court's inherent power "'after final judgment, and regardless of lapse of time, to correct clerical errors or misprisions in its records, whether made by the clerk, counsel or the court its...

Excerpt: ...onses to requests 4‐6, 11‐13, 15, 18, 28, 40, 42, 46 and 49. The Court rejects Defendant's argument that Plaintiff has failed to adequately meet and confer. The efforts were sufficient. No. 4‐6 Granted. These requests ask Defendant to produce Plaintiff's pay records for the period of her employment with Defendant, documents regarding Plaintiff that Defendant is required to maintain pursuant to Labor Code § 226, and documents that conce...

Excerpt: ... to Form Interrogatories Nos. 12.2, 12.3, 12.6 and 15.1. Defendant interposed a laundry list of boilerplate objections to the interrogatories and did not provide any substantive response. The Court rejects Defendant's argument that Plaintiff has failed to adequately meet and confer. The efforts were sufficient. Defendant first argues that Plaintiff failed to set forth good cause for further responses. Defendant argues that Plaintiff must “s...

Excerpt: ...judice on the basis that Defendant failed to adequately comply with CRC Rule 3.1324. Defendant has brought the motion again, now in compliance with the Court Rule. “Trial courts are vested with the discretion to allow amendments in the furtherance of justice… That Trial courts are to liberally permit such amendments, at any stage of the proceeding, has been established policy in this state…resting on the fundamental policy that cases should...

Excerpt: ...ially filed an answer with a general denial and raising affirmative defenses but later responded to Plaintiff's requests for admissions and admitted all of the elements of Plaintiff's claim and that she had no defense to the complaint. When the moving party is the plaintiff, there is only one ground for a motion for judgment on the pleadings: "the complaint states facts sufficient to constitute a cause or causes of action against the defendan...

Excerpt: ...joint escrow instructions to Defendant Chicago Title, signed by both LAJ and T&C, the loan proceeds of approximately $1.2 million were to be wired to a joint account owned by both parties. At the time the instructions were signed and given to Chicago Title, no joint account existed. As alleged, after the joint escrow instructions were provided to Chicago Title, Janak Mehtani, a general partner in T&C, opened an account with Defendant Compass “i...

Excerpt: ...ed for the February 1, 2019 hearing on plaintiff's motion for attorneys fees. As of February 20, 2019, it does not appear that anything has been filed pursuant to this court's order. The Court anticipates that the parties will either present a proposed formal order on this motion after meeting and conferring as to the amount of the attorneys fees award, or will request oral argument on the motion in the event they cannot reach an agreemen...

Excerpt: ...a, to post Security under CCP 1030 is denied. Amaya's Request for Judicial Notice is denied is granted. The Court notes that on January 20, 2019 a request for a fee waiver was filed. No fee waiver has yet been granted. Plaintiff seeks monetary, declaratory, and injunctive relief arising out of alleged violations of the Unruh Civil Rights Act ("Act") whereby defendant innkeeper would not allow plaintiff to rent a room because he was a ...

Excerpt: ...anctions in the amount of $190. The responses to the discovery were due on December 4, 2018. Plaintiff did not provide the court ordered responses nor did he pay the sanctions. (Declaration of Stewart) Trial in this matter is set for April 2, 2019. Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment is set for hearing on March 1, 2019. A trial court must be cautious when imposing a terminating sanction because the sanction eliminates a party's fundam...

Excerpt: ...unsel did not return phone calls. Because the parties met and conferred by telephone before the demurrer to the original Complaint was filed, and, because in light of the ruling on the demurrer plaintiff has not cured the defects, the Court is not requiring a further meet and confer in person before this demurrer is ruled upon because it is apparent that no cause of action can be stated as a matter of law. Under such circumstances, a plaintiff ma...

Excerpt: ..."CDCR"). The Complaint alleges that Doe Defendant R. Gonzalez, disrupted a religious service at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, California. CDCR brings its demurrer on several grounds, that (1) plaintiff failed to adequately plead compliance with the applicable tort claims statutes; (2) plaintiff failed to allege that he exhausted his administrative remedies within the prison; (3) plaintiff failed to state a claim for negligence in his...

Excerpt: ...Lias‐Gatlin guaranteed the lease. The matter was originally set for January 23, 2019 and issued a tentative ruling granting the application. The Court vacated the tentative ruling after Defendant appeared at the hearing and requested a continuance to obtain counsel. It was affirmatively represented she would do just that. Defendant thereafter filed an approximately 2 page declaration/opposition stating that the amount sought is not reasonable a...

Excerpt: ...Plaintiff's responses to discovery and deemed requests for admission admitted. The December 7, 2018 order denied the EDD's motion for terminating sanctions based on Plaintiff's failure to provide the court ordered discovery but again ordered Plaintiff to respond and imposed monetary sanctions of $900. In connection with both motions Plaintiff attempted to file oppositions just prior to the hearings. Plaintiff now seeks to set aside the discovery ...

Excerpt: ...cle collision. Defendant was convicted of a felony in connection with the collision. Plaintiff issued a business record subpoena to Schools Financial Credit Union seeking documents related to the financing and leasing of the defendant's 2010 Audi A4 that was involved in the collision. The subpoena seeks: (1) Any and all documents reflecting the financing and/or leasing of the 2010 Audi A4; (2) Any and all documents reflecting any co‐signers...

Excerpt: ...parties entered into a valid and binding settlement, and the material terms thereof. ((Viejo Bancorp, Inc. w. Wood (1989) 217 Cal.App.3d 200, 209, fn.4; see also Hines v. Lukes (2008) 167 Cal.App.4th 1174, 1182‐83.) Judgment may be entered under section 664.6 whether the parties are complying with the terms of the agreement or whether they are not. (Viejo Bancorp, 217 Cal.App.3d at 209, fn.4.) By enacting Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6 i...

Excerpt: ...hoop fell on him. At issue on this motion are the District's responses to Plaintiffs' Form Interrogatories 12.2 and 12.3. The District refused to provide a response to the interrogatories and interposed objections, including ones based on attorney‐client and the attorney work product doctrine. The District identified four witnesses in its response to No. 12.1. Three of the witnesses are District employees and one is a student. At the outset, wh...

Excerpt: ...o the same, but no greater, consideration than other litigants and attorneys. (Williams v. Pacific Mutual Life Ins. Co.(1986) 186 Cal.App.3d 941, 944.) Thus, as is the case with attorneys, self‐represented litigants must follow correct rules of procedure (Nwosu v. Uba(2004) 122 Cal.App.4th1229, 1246‐1247; see also Rappleyea v. Campbell (1994) 8 Cal.4th 975, 984.) On July 24, 2018, NCCS served form interrogatories on Plaintiff. Plaintiff faile...

Excerpt: ...supplemental briefing if needed should additional facts or evidence be discovered relevant to the motion. No further briefing has been field. However, defense counsel filed a supplemental declaration indicating plaintiff Eusebia Santiago (“Plaintiff”) has not produced a copy of the loan modification allegedly entered into with Mr. Cooper. Plaintiff's motion for issuance of preliminary injunction is ruled upon as follows. This is a nonjudicial...

Excerpt: ...employment action Plaintiffs allege causes of actions of action for wrongful termination in violation of public policy, disability discrimination in violation of FEHA, failure to prevent harassment/discrimination/retaliation in violation of FEHA, harassment in violation of FEHA, retaliation in violation of FEHA, retaliation in violation of Labor Code § 1102.5, failure to pay wages in violation of Labor Code § 201, failure to furnish wage and ho...

Excerpt: ...es, Inc. (1998) 64 Cal. App. 4th 1252, 1255. A court may not grant summary judgment, except to a party moving for such relief and complying with all of the requirements of section 437c. Id. at p. 1254. Moving party served the motion by mail on December 6, 2018, which is 75 days before the February 19, 2019, hearing date. Absent stipulation of the parties, this is insufficient notice under Code of Civil Procedure section 437c(a), which requires no...

Excerpt: ...a document or tangible thing from a nonparty deponent must be personally served on the nonparty deponent unless the nonparty deponent agrees to accept service by mail at an address specified on the deposition record.” (emphasis added.) The proof of service in the Court's file lists the Sacramento Sheriff's Department and its address, but the proof of service does not indicate the method of service in what appears to be a clerical oversight. The...

Excerpt: ...lleges Defendant knew of the vehicle's oil consumption engine defect, yet failed to repurchase Plaintiff's vehicle. Plaintiff now seeks leave to add a claim for fraud by omission under California common law. Plaintiff contends the fraud claim arises from the same nucleus of operative facts. Plaintiff states this analogous claim alleges Defendant knew of the alleged oil consumption engine defect, yet failed to disclose the defect to Plaintiff at t...

Excerpt: ...mber 14, 2018, to take place on January 7, 2019. Eskaton served objections on January 2, 2019 and, thereafter, the parties began the meet and confer process. Plaintiffs state they met and conferred with Eskaton's counsel on January 11th, 15th, 22nd, and 23rd. On January 23, 2019, Eskaton presented February 25th as a date for Mr. Fife's deposition, but stated he may not be available because of an upcoming facility survey by the state. Plai...

Excerpt: ...th 543, 590 [judicial notice of findings of fact does not mean that those findings of fact are true]; Steed v. Department of Consumer Affairs (2012) 204 Cal.App.4th 112, 120‐121 [“[W]hile the existence of any document in a court file may be judicially noticed, the truth of the matters asserted in those documents, including the factual findings of the judge who was sitting as the trier of fact, is not entitled to notice.”]; Sosinsky v. Grant...

Excerpt: ...a legal conclusion, etc., are overruled because objections are properly directed solely at “evidence.” (See CRC Rules 3.1352, 3.1354.) The Court need not rule and does not rule on Defendant's objections to evidence submitted on reply. (See Code Civ. Proc. 437c(q).) Factual and Procedural Background In this putative class action, plaintiffs Muhammad Chaudhry and Abeda Chaudhry (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) claim they purchased lamb meat...

Excerpt: ...by a piece of broken glass that was in the landscape bark. After surgery on her Achilles tendon, Plaintiff developed a pulmonary embolism. In support of the motion, Wal‐Mart contends that plaintiff's injury was not foreseeable as a matter of law, therefore no duty was owed to plaintiff to maintain the planter area in a safe condition [e.g. sans glass shards]. Walmart presents the following facts in its separate statement: On September 4, 20...

Excerpt: ...was served by substituted service on October 30, 2011 at 975 Fulton Ave. Apt 488, Sacramento CA, 95825 by leaving a copy of the summons and complaint with a "John Doe." Default and default judgment were entered July 31, 2012. Defendant states he has never lived at this address nor received mail at this address. He states that he lived at 617 26th St. Apt. 4, Sacramento, CA 95816, which averment is supported by his bank records from the sa...

Excerpt: ..., 2018 and now rules as follows: After taking this matter under submission on December 18, 2018, the Court determined that further briefing was necessary to ensure all the evidence in support of the motion was in admissible form. Plaintiff's additional briefing inexplicably contains no declarations or other admissible evidence. Plaintiff's Request for Judicial Notice filed January 25, 2019 is granted only as to the existence of the points...

Excerpt: ...ober 5, 2018, the Court granted Defendant Economic Development Department's (“EDD”) motion to compel Plaintiff's responses to discovery and deemed requests for admission admitted. Prior to that hearing, plaintiff served a late opposition that was not considered by the court. On December 7, 2018, the Court denied the EDD's motion for terminating sanctions based on Plaintiff's failure to provide the court ordered discovery, finding that such re...

Excerpt: ...I. Plaintiff brings these claims as a representative action under the California Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA"), Cal. Labor Code §§2698, et seq.. Plaintiff contends that under the case of Iskanian v. CLS Transp. Los Angeles, LLC, 59 Cal. 4th 348 (2014) all claims asserted in the FAC seek PAGA penalties only and are therefore not subject to arbitration. Defendant contends Plaintiff's Complaint seeks not only the civil penalti...

Excerpt: ...efendant shall serve verified further responses to Plaintiffs' request for production of documents (set two) as requested in the moving papers. Plaintiffs' request for monetary sanctions is granted.. The Court awards sanctions of $660 ($300/hr x 2 hrs + $60 filing fee) to Plaintiffs from Defendant. While Defendant did not oppose the motion Plaintiffs have been forced to file numerous discovery motions over the past few weeks, none of which Defend...

Excerpt: ...sued a citation against Respondent for unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime wages, statutory liquidated damages, and penalties in the amount of $903,085.32. (Locker Decl. ¶ 2, Exh. A) The citation covered the period of time between July 1, 2014 and March 15, 2017. Respondent filed a notice of appeal of the citation pursuant to Labor Code § 1197.1 The hearing was scheduled for January 22, 2019, but has been postponed to allow for the instant mo...

Excerpt: ...at Petitioner failed to timely and "formally" institute arbitration proceedings within two years of the accident date. Insurance Code §11580.2(f) requires that an uninsured motorist policy contain a provision requiring arbitration by a single neutral arbitrator. The Court shall order the parties to arbitrate a controversy “if it determines that an agreement to arbitrate the controversy exists…” (CCP § 1281.2.) Further, CCP § 1281...

Excerpt: ... ROA # 58.) The November 7, 2018 dismissal order is the subject of Plaintiff's motion. On January 25, 2019, this Court received a copy of the Third District Court of Appeal's Order granting Plaintiff/Appellant's application for a waiver of the appellate filing fee. (ROA # 65.) “Subject to certain exceptions not relevant here, ‘the perfecting of an appeal stays proceedings in the trial court upon the judgment or order appealed from or upon the...

Excerpt: ...010, Nagra was no longer able to make the mortgage payments and the property was in foreclosure proceedings. The property was listed for short sale and was purchased by plaintiffs Tony Singh and Jajur Singh for $150,000. Title was taken in the name of plaintiff, Diljit Kaur, on September 10, 2010. A Note was executed on September 8, 2010, in which Reshna Kaur, Nagra's daughter, agreed to repay the $150,000 in monthly installments of $1,000 for a ...

Excerpt: ...ne of the concrete stairs failed, causing him to fall awkwardly and injure his knee, neck, and lower back. On December 19, 2018, plaintiff Joseph Mercado (“Plaintiff”) noticed the depositions of Nader Afrooz and Daisy Afrooz to take place on January 3, 2019, in Plantation, Florida. (McLaughlin Decl. ¶ 2, Exh. A.) On January 9, 2019, this Court signed an Order granting Plaintiff's ex parte request to take the depositions outside of California...

Excerpt: ...atters stated therein. The FAC alleges that Plaintiff was hired at UC Davis Medical Center in April 2002 and assigned to work within the Blood Bank section within the laboratory. (FAC at ¶ 7.) Plaintiff alleges that, sometime after he was hired, he was reassigned to work in the Specimen and Reporting Center ("SARC") in a position that was not within his classification. (FAC at ¶ 8.) Plaintiff further alleges that he requested to be tran...

Excerpt: ...e discovery. Defendant is ordered to serve verified further responses to the Special Interrogatories set forth in the separate statement, without objections, on or before February 21, 2019. Plaintiffs' Motion for Issue and Evidentiary Sanctions is denied, without prejudice to seeking them from the trial judge should the discovery not be provided. Plaintiffs seek issue and evidentiary sanctions pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure §§ 2023.030...

Excerpt: ...quest in 2007 on an hourly basis but remained a resident of Florida. Included in her pay were all expenses incurred for travel to and from her home in Florida to California. She contends Cal Worthington asked plaintiff to move back to California and work for him "as long as she wanted." Plaintiff alleges she was the Outside Successor Co‐ Trustee of the Trust and the Secretary and CFO of all companies owned by the Trust. During the years...

Excerpt: ...ovided plaintiff with his correct home address, 5049 Trouville Lane, Sacramento, 95835 but that he was never served at that address. Defendant, who is a male, was purportedly personally served on March 2, 2018 at 1421 Exposition Blvd, #77, Sacramento, CA 95815. The description of plaintiff is :"a black female approx. 25‐35 years of age, 5'8"‐5'10" tall, weighing 180‐200 Ibs, with black hair. The proof of service in suppo...

Excerpt: ... a class action is fair. (Rebney v. Wells Fargo Bank (1990) 220 Cal. App. 3rd 1117, 1138.) The law favors settlement, particularly in class actions and other complex cases where substantial resources can be conserved by avoiding the time, cost, and rigors of formal litigation. (See Newberg on Class Actions 4th (4th ed. 2002) § 11.41 (and cases cited therein); Class Plaintiffs v. City of Seattle (9th Cir. 1992) 955 F.2d 1268, 1276; Van Bronkhorst...

Excerpt: ... school program at a Sacramento City Unified School District elementary school. Plaintiff alleges causes of action against moving Defendants and others for Negligent Supervision, Investigation and Retention of an Employee, Negligent Supervision of Plaintiff, a minor, the 3rd for Negligence and Negligent Failure to Warn. Both Plaintiff and the City of Sacramento have opposed the instant motion. Any party may move for summary judgment in any action...

Excerpt: ...ir ex parte application and conditionally sealed that document and allowed Defendants to file a redacted version and a formal motion to seal. The redacted “Documentary Evidence” has now been filed. (ROA 122.) The portions of that document sought to be sealed contain identifying information of children who were the victims of sexual molestation or witnesses to sexual molestation. In order to issue the requested order, the Court must find that ...

Excerpt: ...from her perceived entitlement to a promotion to an Attorney IV position. She also alleges whistleblower retaliation and fraud. On October 16, 2018, the Court entered an order granting CDE's motion to compel further responses to its request for production of documents. Plaintiff was ordered to provide further responses without objections that identify the documents that are responsive to each category and to produce the responsive documents respo...

Excerpt: ...eed to sell a 55% interest in Metro and its permitted cannabis retail store in exchange for $800,000. Plaintiffs allege that the parties also entered a Continuity Agreement and that Baystone would receive an equal number of seats on Metro's board. Plaintiffs allege that Defendant has failed to comply with the parties' partnership and has been attempting to exclude Baystone from Metro's operation. The Court considered Plaintiffs' opposition de...

Excerpt: ...Plaintiffs also seek costs and expenses in the amount of $1,164.85. This is a lemon law action. Plaintiffs purchased a new 2013 Volkswagen Passat on June 18, 2013, for a purchase price of $34,205. Adding taxes, fees, an optional surface protection product, an optional service plan and finance charges on a six‐year loan, the total purchase price was $44,239.24. (Mikhov Decl. ¶ 3, Exh. C.) After the vehicle began experiencing repeated engine and...

Excerpt: ...xistence of each document in a court file, but can only take judicial notice of the truth of facts asserted in documents such as orders, findings of fact and conclusions of law, and judgments." (Bach v. McNelis (1989) 207 Cal.App.3d 852, 865.) Factual and Procedural Background The complaint pending before the Court contains one cause of action for declaratory relief against La Posta and the California Gambling Control Commission (“CGCC”)....

Excerpt: ...Defendant groups' oppositions is granted. An attorney who files a pleading with the court certifies that the pleading has merit “to the best of the [attorney's] knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances.” (CCP § 128.7(b).) The attorney certifies that “[t]he allegations and other factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, are likely to have evident...

Excerpt: ...ant to provide full and complete responses to certain requests for production. Requests Nos. 38, 41‐47, 56, and 59‐65 relate to Defendant's investigation and analysis regarding the defects. Requests Nos. 7, 113‐115 and 128 relate to Defendant's warranty and repurchase policies. Defendant interposed numerous objections to the requests for production, including those based on relevance, burden and oppression and trade secrets. Plaintiffs are ...

Excerpt: .... Appearance is required on February 5, 2019. Plaintiff Brian Spears shall be available, by COURTCALL, to participate in oral argument on the continuance date. Defendant Dean Kratzer's motion to dismiss is denied. Defendant moves to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint which was filed on July 7, 2015, on the basis that Plaintiff failed to serve the complaint within three years of filing. A motion to dismiss for delay in service of summons is not a gener...

Excerpt: ... notice are granted. “[A]n action shall be brought to trial within five years after the action is commenced against the defendant.” (CCP § 583.310.) “[A]n action shall be dismissed…after notice to the parties, if the action is not brought to trial within the time prescribed in this article.” (CCP § 583.360(a).) Dismissal is mandatory and not subject to extension, excuse, or exception, except as expressly provided by statute. (CCP § 5...

Excerpt: ... Plaintiff argues that she has not been able to schedule the matter for trial because self‐represented Defendant/Cross‐Complainant Karen Morcomb has not moved forward on her crosscomplaint as it relates to Cross‐Defendant Conrad Jimenez. She argues that while Defendant has served Mr. Jimenez with her cross‐complaint she has failed to take his default. The Court's records reflect that Defendant filed the cross‐complaint on October 22, 20...

Excerpt: ...nt credit account. Defendant incurred charges on a credit account with Plaintiff in the sum of $1,268.15, plus costs and minus payments made by Defendant. Plaintiff's counsel contacted Defendant via telephone on December 28, 2018, to meet and confer regarding this motion. Defendant did not answer and Plaintiff's counsel left a message. Defendant did not return the phone call. The Court finds the foregoing is sufficient pursuant to CCP 439...

Excerpt: .... (“RKU”) is ruled on as follows. Requests for Judicial Notice: RKU and DGS's Requests for Judicial Notice are unopposed and granted. In taking judicial notice of court documents, the Court accepts the fact of their existence, not the truth of their contents. (See Professional Engineers v. Dep't of Transp. (1997) 15 Cal.4th 543, 590 [judicial notice of findings of fact does not mean that those findings of fact are true]; Steed v. Departme...

Excerpt: ...subpoenas to Dignity Health Medical Foundation, Mercy Medical Group/Dignity Health, and Patsy Zike, CSW, is ruled upon as follows. By way of backdrop, Plaintiff was employed by the Assembly as a photographer. His position was eliminated in 2015 as part of a reorganization. Plaintiff filed his complaint on August 25, 2016. The operative First Amended Complaint, filed December 28, 2018, alleges causes of action for, among other things, retaliation,...

Excerpt: ...or insurance premiums. Defendant filed an answer on May 29, 2018, alleging a general denial and 23 affirmative defenses. Defendant now seeks to add two affirmative defenses for fraud and mistake. Defendant contends it believes there may have been a prior agreement with Plaintiff that contradicts the terms of the policy or that Plaintiff mistakenly billed Defendant for amounts that should have been excluded from the policy. Defendant contends it h...

Excerpt: ...th of their contents. (See Professional Engineers v. Dep't of Transp. (1997) 15 Cal.4th 543, 590 [judicial notice of findings of fact does not mean that those findings of fact are true]; Steed v. Department of Consumer Affairs (2012) 204 Cal.App.4th 112, 120‐121.) The Court refers counsel to the historical antecedents in the related matter on this day's calendar. The First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) alleges that Garvey and real party...

Excerpt: ...ers on January 4, 2019, by mail and electronic mail, which, counting backward from the date of hearing pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure § 1005, was only 14 court days prior to hearing. Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure § 1005(b), moving party was required to mail‐serve the moving papers 16 court days plus five additional calendar days prior to the date of hearing if mail‐served or two additional calendar days if served by overnight del...

Excerpt: ...aintiffs”) complaint is SUSTAINED without and with leave to amend as set forth below. Plaintiffs' request for judicial notice is granted as to item (1), but denied as to item (2). In taking judicial notice of item (1), the court accepts the fact of its existence, not the truth of its contents. As to item (2), “Simply because information is on the Internet does not mean that it is not reasonably subject to dispute.” (Huitt v. Southern Califo...

Excerpt: ...sed as a "Certified Pre‐Owned" vehicle from one of Defendant BMW of North America LLC's ("Defendant" or "BMW NA") dealerships. On May 8, 2018, just before trial was scheduled to commence, the parties reached an agreement to settle the action under which Defendant would repurchase the Vehicle and pay an agreed amount for Plaintiffs alleged damages, with Plaintiffs' attorney fees and costs to be determined by agree...

Excerpt: ...ale of the Property. Thereafter, after oral argument on the Order to Show Cause re Preliminary Injunction on June 26, 2018, the court denied the Preliminary Injunction and dissolved the TRO. (RJN, Exhs. 11,12.) Of course, “[t]he granting or denying of a preliminary injunction does not constitute an adjudication of the ultimate rights in controversy.” (Cohen v. Board of Supervisors (1985) 40 Cal.3d 277, 286.) A defendant may move for judgment ...

Excerpt: ...er provided alternative dates for the depositions. In response to the motion, Defendants state that due to counsel's preparation for the March 12 trial in the case of Lovenstein vs. Eskaton Fountainwood Lodge (Case No. 2012‐ 00135467) also pending in this court, no deposition dates could be provided to plaintiffs. The Court is aware that the Lovenstein case has involved extensive law and motion practice and the taking of numerous deposition...

Excerpt: ... Bar of California for almost 35 years. (Compl., 2.) Plaintiff began working at DOC on or about June 27, 2012 as an Attorney III. (Id., 4.) Her duties included working on personnel matters and reviewing DOC contracts with third parties. (Id., 5.) In or around August 2015, DOC entered into a consulting contract with Alexan International, Inc., an information technology contractor specializing in database architecture. (Id., 8.) Alexan recommended ...