Excerpt: ...considered Defendant's untimely reply brief filed on August 29, 2022 only two days before the hearing. Reply briefs in support of motions for summary judgment shall be filed "not less than five days" before the hearing "unless the court for good cause orders otherwise." (CCP § 437c(b)(4).) Given that five days before the August 31, 2022 hearing was Saturday August 27, 2022, Defendant was required to file the reply no later than August 26, 2022 i...

Excerpt: ... Aguilar's (collectively, “Plaintiffs”). Defendants' demurrer is ruled upon as follows: I. BACKGROUND This action was initiated on November 10, 2015 (Register of Actions ("ROA") 1) and was granted preference on March 15, 2016 (ROA 28) while Decedent was still living. Decedent died on May 26, 2017. The case was assigned for trial to this Court (Judge Richard K. Sueyoshi) in February 2020. In accordance with the Court's prior orders and COVID�...

Excerpt: ...e alleges he left his position with Defendant Gateway and obtained employment with First American but he was terminated after Defendants contacted First American and lied about him. In the TAC Plaintiff alleges causes of action for (1) breach of contract; (2) defamation; (3) tortious interference with contractual relationship; (4) intentional interference with prospective economic relations; (5) negligent interference with prospective economic re...

Excerpt: ...ff Davita, Inc. was ordered to provide verified responses, without objections, to Defendant's form interrogatories (set one) no later than May 19, 2022. No sanctions were awarded though the Court indicated that further failures to comply with discovery could result in sanctions. Defendant now seeks terminating sanctions on the basis that Plaintiff has not provided the Court ordered responses. Defendant also requests issue and evidentiary sanction...

Excerpt: ...Complaint alleged the following causes of action: (1) Easement by Necessity; (2) Declaratory Relief; (3) Injunctive Relief; (4) Intentional Misrepresentation; and (5) Negligent Misrepresentation. After conducting discovery, Plaintiff now seeks to file a Third Amended Complaint (“TAC”) to include two (2) additional causes of action for implied easement by prior use and implied easement by prescription. Trial is currently set for November 1, 20...

Excerpt: ...ty Group, Inc. as the only defendant. However, the parties subsequently Stipulated to the Dismissal, with prejudice, of Simon Property Group, Inc., as this entity did not own or control the property in question. The parties also stipulated that Simon Financing Partnership, L.P. is the proper entity in this matter. See Stipulation of Counsel attached as Exhibit A to the Declaration of Counsel filed concurrently herewith. Thus, Simon Financing Part...

Excerpt: ...d her client files, and was in the process of seeking new counsel. Otis need not call to rerequest oral argument upon reposting of the tentative ruling below. The tentative ruling from the July 26, 2022 hearing is reprinted below. The motion of Defendant/Cross‐Defendant Otis Elevator Company (“Otis”) for summary judgment, or in the alterative, summary adjudication, in its favor and against Plaintiff Velma Butler (“Plaintiff”) is DENIED ...

Excerpt: ...nto, California 95814. Plaintiff's counsel is directed to contact opposing counsel forthwith to advise counsel of Department 53's correct address, Local Rule 1.06, and the Court's tentative ruling procedure. If Plaintiff's counsel is unable to contact opposing counsel prior to the hearing, Plaintiff's counsel shall be available at the hearing, in person or remotely (telephonically or by video conference via Zoom as stated in the introductory noti...

Excerpt: ...ion. Lopez filed an anti‐SLAPP motion, arguing her petition and speech was absolutely privileged. Judge David Brown granted her motion as to her complaint to the Assembly but denied it as to her statements to the press. Lopez appealed, and the Third District Court of Appeal reversed the partial denial, instructing this Court to grant the entire anti ‐SLAPP motion and to conduct further proceedings pursuant to the anti‐SLAPP law. The parties...

Excerpt: ...Sacramento. Plaintiff alleged that the Taylor Investment Company, its predecessor in interest, entered into a lease for the Premises (the “Lease”) with GameStop, Inc. in 2003. The Lease was assigned to Defendant in April 2015. Plaintiff alleged that Defendant has breached the Lease by failing to make timely rental payments. On April 20, 2022, this Court granted Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment and a formal order indicating that judgmen...

Excerpt: ...ncludes a total of six causes of action, five of which are against Caltrans. The causes of action against Caltrans are the second through the sixth causes of action, and are for (1) racial discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, (2) disparate treatment and racial discrimination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), (3) hostile work environment under the FEHA, (4) failure to prevent harassment...

Excerpt: ...ntiff's employment claims against Defendant. (Khosrowshahi Decl., ¶ 4, Exh. A.) As of the filing of Plaintiff's motion on June 29, 2022, Defendant had not responded to the requests for admissions, although Defendant had responded to other discovery served concurrently with the requests for admissions. (Khosrowshahi Decl., ¶ 5.) Defendant's counsel asserts that his office did not receive the proof of service for the requests for admissions until...

Excerpt: ...reschool and Children's Center, suffered an injury to her left eye during recess. (Defendant's Statement of Undisputed Material Facts (“UMF”) No. 1.) At approximately 2:30 p.m., which was about 15‐20 minutes into the recess, a teacher at Marvin Marshall named Monica Sharma spotted a male student from about 10 feet away climbing a ladder for a play structure with a stick in his hand. (UMF Nos. 1, 4; Plaintiff's Statement of Undisputed [Addit...

Excerpt: ...alment, and breach of implied warranties, while his spouse has a claim for loss of consortium. (Defendant's Statement of Undisputed Material Facts (“UMF”) No. 2.) Plaintiff alleges that he was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenic Leukemia ("CML") in 2000 as a result of his work with and exposure to a number of chemical products listed in the complaint containing significant concentrations of benzene and other toxic chemicals from approximately 1...

Excerpt: ...n 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 him/her 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 opposing counsel prior to hearing, moving counsel is ordered to appear at the hearing by Zoom or by telephone. Factual Background This conso...

Excerpt: ... Caylor within 48 hours. The litigation coordinator is directed to have Plaintiff Jeffrey Michael Caylor available at oral argument on August 24, 2022 at 1:30 pm. Appearance will be by ZOOM. Department 53 Zoom ID is: 161 4650 6749. To appear on Zoom by phone, call (833) 568‐8864 and enter 161 4650 6749#. Appearance is required. Defendant Keri Hamilton's motion to dismiss for delay in prosecution is denied. This matter was originally set for Aug...

Excerpt: ...mination in violation of FEHA, failure to engage in the interactive process and failure to provide a reasonable accommodation in violation of FEHA, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violation of Business & Professions Code § 17200. Plaintiff alleges that he alerted Defendant to defective machinery that he worked on which Defendant never repaired. He alleges he had to repair the machinery himself which resulted in cumulative injuri...

Excerpt: ...'s characterization of this motion as a “motion for summary judgment or in the alternative, motion for summary adjudication”, the Court considers Plaintiff's motion as a motion for summary judgment. “If summary adjudication is sought, whether separately or as an alternative to the motion for summary judgment, the specific cause of action, affirmative defense, claims for damages, or issues of duty must be stated specifically in the notice of...

Excerpt: ...shows that Plaintiff's request for admissions to Defendant Ema Chavez were deemed admitted on January 6, 2022. 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 defendant and the answer does not state facts sufficient to constitute a defense to the complaint." (C.C.P. 438(c)(1)(A).) The grounds fo...

Excerpt: ...ff in pro per alleges that on 12/19/2019 defendant Cherian closed plaintiff's cell door on his arm and was thereafter denied medical care. In his original complaint filed on 1/13/2021, plaintiff purported to assert against several defendants causes of action for negligence and intentional tort based on the 2019 incident. All defendants demurred on various grounds including plaintiff's failure to comply with the Government Claims Act (“GCA”) a...

Excerpt: ...m SROG”); and Special Interrogatories, Set One, to Rose (“Rose SROG”) is DENIED. Plaintiffs served the subject discovery requests on March 25, 2022. (Parsons Decl., ¶ 3, Exhs. 2‐4.) Defendants responded on May 9, 2022. (Parsons Decl., ¶ 4, Exhs. 5‐7.) Plaintiffs contacted Defendants to meet and confer regarding alleged deficiencies in the responses on May 23, 2022. (Parsons Decl., ¶ 6, Ex. 8.) The parties continued to meet and confer...

Excerpt: ...on November 19, 2021, approximately six months before the motion was actually filed. (Mortl Decl., ¶ 2.) After being informed Plaintiff called the wrong number, Plaintiff made no other effort to meet and confer with Defendant. (Mortl Decl., ¶ 2.) However, the failure to meet and confer is not sufficient grounds to deny the motion. Further, as the motion is based entirely on evidence of admissions by Defendant made pursuant to a prior motion to ...

Excerpt: ...s computer before returning the computer to Plaintiff. On June 29, 2022, following rulings on a number of Plaintiff's motions to compel, Plaintiff filed a motion for terminating sanctions. In support of the motion for terminating sanctions, Plaintiff lodged a number of exhibits and now moves under California Rules of Court, rule 2.550 to seal those exhibits: • Exhibit A to the Cates Declaration ‐ Price Worksheet; • Exhibit B to the Cates De...

Excerpt: ...hak did not obtain leave of court to do so. Factual & Procedural History This is a personal injury action arising out of an alleged sexual battery and assault committed by Dr. Pathak against Plaintiff. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that during a medical appointment she underwent a medically unnecessary breast examination by Dr. Pathak for his own gratification. (See Sec. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 6‐7.) Plaintiff commenced this action on December 11, 20...

Excerpt: ...ence Code section 1043, subdivision (c). The Declarations of Jennifer Vue and Jackie Castle filed on August 11, 2022, indicate notice was provided to the subject officers as required. (ROA 89, 90.) Background This is a disability discrimination case in which Plaintiff alleges CHP denied him a reasonable accommodation for his physical disability, a back injury. Plaintiff alleges his disability could have been accommodated by allowing him to wear h...

Excerpt: ...Contest Validity of Trust; 3) Financial and Physical Elder Abuse; 4) Intentional Interference with an Expected Inheritance; 5) Conversion; 6) Return and Confirmation of Trust Property; 7) Accounting; and 8) Damages. The gist of the causes of action is that Defendant exerted undue influence over the Decedent in order to convince him to execute the Trust designating the Defendant as the sole beneficiary and leaving nothing to Plaintiff. Plaintiff a...

Excerpt: ...ted. The request for judicial notice shows that Plaintiff's request for admissions to Defendant Jeremy Lorenzo were deemed admitted on January 5, 2022. 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 defendant and the answer does not state facts sufficient to constitute a defense to the complain...

Excerpt: ...ilure to pay wages owed in violation of Labor Code § 204, violation of Business & Professions Code § 17200, and for penalties pursuant to the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”). Plaintiff asserted the causes of action on an individual and class/representative basis. On June 16, 2014, this Court granted Defendant's motion to compel arbitration. (ROA 17) The Court granted the motion as to the first and second causes of action but ...

Excerpt: ...ling to Defendant Andre Ragland within 48 hours. The litigation coordinator is directed to have Defendant Andre Ragland available at oral argument on August 17, 2022 at 1:30 pm. Appearance will be by ZOOM. Department 53 Zoom ID is: 161 4650 6749. To appear on Zoom by phone, call (833) 568‐8864 and enter 161 4650 6749#. Appearance is required. Plaintiff John Doe's unopposed motion to compel testimony of Defendant Andre Ragland at continued depos...

Excerpt: ...tiffs Rebecca and Michael Kosinski filed their complaint in February 2021 alleging causes of action against Nationwide, Bullseye Leak Detection, Inc., and Moradi arising out of damage to their home caused by water intrusion. A first amended complaint (“FAC”) was filed on February 3, 2002 adding American Leak Detection, Inc. Plaintiffs alleged they filed claims under their homeowner's policy with Nationwide regarding the water intrusion. They ...

Excerpt: ...ust 24, 2022 at 1:30 pm. Appearance will be by ZOOM. Department 53 Zoom ID is: 161 4650 6749. To appear on Zoom by phone, call (833) 568‐8864 and enter 161 4650 6749#. Appearance is required. Defendant Keri Hamilton's motion to dismiss for delay in prosecution is denied. This matter was originally set for August 3, 2022. The Court continued the matter so that it could consider Plaintiff's late filed opposition and allow Defendant to file a repl...

Excerpt: ...ication on three stipulated issues are ruled on as follows. This is a construction contract dispute arising from debris cleanup after the Camp Fire in Paradise, California. The parties filed cross‐motions for summary adjudication, and have stipulated to the adjudication of three legal issues pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 437c(t). (Register of Actions (“ROA”) 32.) Pursuant to that Section, a party “may move for summary adjudi...

Excerpt: ...Officer Chambers (“Chambers”) for compensatory, punitive, and injunctive relief due to harassment based on sex. The pleading alleges two causes of actions against Correctional Officer Chambers: (1) sexual harassment under Government Code section 12940; and (2) use of violent acts and threats of violence based on sex in violation of the Civil Code section 51.7 (Ralph Civil Rights Act). Stephanie Watts (“Watts” or “Intervenor‐Plaintiff�...

Excerpt: ... filed on July 13, 2022. Background Facts & Procedure This is a public nuisance action brought by Plaintiff City of Sacramento (the “City”) concerning real property commonly known as 2246 Waterford, Sacramento, CA 95815 (the “Property”). Defendant Linda Siegrist (“Defendant”) is the Property's owner of record. The City commenced this action on February 17, 2017, alleging the following causes of action: (1) public nuisance under the Ci...

Excerpt: ...ut of an alleged agreement whereby CTI performed certain tax services on behalf of plaintiff Nelson and his businesses, ultimately charging the latter over $800,000. Plaintiff Nelson, the owner or part‐ owner of several different businesses, claims to have for several decades relied on Yribarren for accounting services, financial advice, business planning and taxes, ultimately coming to place “significant trust” in Yribarren. According to t...

Excerpt: ...tor is also directed to have plaintiff James Root available for oral argument on 8/23/2022 at 1:30 p.m. Appearance will be by ZOOM. Department 53 Zoom ID is: 841 204 6267. To appear on Zoom by phone, call (888) 475‐4499 or (877) 853‐5257 (toll‐free) and enter the Zoom ID referenced above for oral argument on October 20, 2021. Appearance is required. Defendants Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Lynch and Williamson's motion to di...

Excerpt: ...ation in violation of FEHA, retaliation in violation of FEHA, racial and disability harassment in violation of FEHA, harassment based on use of disability leave in violation of FEHA, failure to prevent in violation of FEHA, violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act (Gov't Code §§ 8457 et seq.), and violation of Labor Code § 1102.5. Defendants Barraza and Souza, Plaintiff's supervisors are named in the harassment causes of action in additio...

Excerpt: ...oad discretion to determine whether a proposed settlement in a class action is fair. (Rebney v. Wells Fargo Bank (1990) 220 Cal. App.3d 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 S...

Excerpt: ...the interactive process and failure to provide a reasonable accommodation in violation of FEHA, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violation of Business & Professions Code § 17200. Plaintiff alleges she was employed as a “Packer” at Defendant's liquid bag manufacturing center in Sacramento and was eventually promoted to “InspectorPacker.” Plaintiff alleges her job duties included labor‐intensive tasks such as packing and ...

Excerpt: ...ction of emotional distress. Plaintiff was employed by SacRT since 2000 and was the Maintenance Supervisor‐Light Rail. Plaintiff alleges he planned to retire on May 1, 2020 but was motivated to stay to help SacRT respond to the challenges of the pandemic. He alleges his team was tasked with cleaning and disinfecting the light rail cars through a “fogging” process. He alleges he met with Stephen McCabe, SacRT's senior safety manager on April...

Excerpt: ...t objections, to Plaintiff's form interrogatories and requests for production (sets one) no later than October 5, 2021. (ROA 30, 31) No sanctions were awarded as the motions were unopposed. Plaintiff now seeks terminating sanctions, specifically an order striking Defendant's answer and entering default, on the basis that Defendant has not provided the Court ordered responses. The Court notes Plaintiff previously filed a similar motion against Def...

Excerpt: ...asound by Defendant's employee Henry Nweke, the ultrasound technician. Plaintiff alleges that she suffered severe emotional distress. She alleges causes of action for violation of Civil Code § 51.9, Civil Code § 1708.5 and for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Defendant served 12 subpoenas to various medical providers requesting the following records: “Any and all documents and records pertaining to the care, treatment, and examin...

Excerpt: ...Set One, No. 17.1, served on June 7, 2021. (Notice at 2.) Defendant also requests monetary sanctions in the amount of $1,460.00 against Plaintiff pursuant to CCP sections 2030.290(c), 2030.300(d), 2023.030, and 2023.010(g). (Ibid.) Defendant also indicates in its Notice of Motion that Plaintiff has not complied with this Court's previous Order to provide a verification to his amended responses to Defendant's Form Interrogatories, Set One. (Notice...

Excerpt: ... cause of action for medical negligence. (Compl. at p. 1.) Plaintiff alleges Dr. Davidson negligently performed a colonoscopy on Plaintiff that resulted in injury and required additional surgical treatment. (Compl., ¶ 7.) On May 31, 2022, counsel for Dr. Davidson sent a letter to Plaintiff's counsel demanding arbitration pursuant to an enclosed arbitration agreement signed by Plaintiff and titled, “Physician (M.D.), Patient Arbitration Agreeme...

Excerpt: ...of the court or orally before the court, for settlement of the case, or part thereof, the court, upon motion, may enter judgment pursuant to the terms of the settlement. If requested by the parties, the court may retain jurisdiction over the parties to enforce the settlement until performance in full of the terms of the settlement." Thus, CCP section 664.6 allows the Court upon motion to enter judgment pursuant to the terms of a settlement where ...

Excerpt: ...ive motions. Thus, the Court's analysis of the motions is the same for each, so the Court rules on all eight in this ruling. For the reasons discussed below, Plaintiff's motions are GRANTED. As an initial matter, the Court notes that Plaintiff's motions are not accompanied by separate statements as required by CRC 3.1345(a)(5). However, a separate statement is not required when the court "has allowed" the moving party to submit a concise outline ...

Excerpt: ...or of HSBC's predecessor, Beneficial Finance, Inc. (SAC, ¶ 15.) The note was secured by a deed of trust recorded against the subject property. (SAC, ¶ 15.) In 2003, Hassan took out another loan from an entity called Money Brokers, again securing the loan with a deed of trust recorded against the subject property. (SAC ¶ 18, Ex. E.) According to the SAC, Hassan used the proceeds from this loan to pay off the 1994 HSBC loan, but HSBC failed to p...

Excerpt: ...ion of Defendants Michelle Minno and Kurt Colgan for claims against their landlords related to mold in their home. (FAC, ¶ 6.) Plaintiff and Defendants Minno and Colgan entered into a written fee agreement on December 19, 2015. (FAC, Exh. A.) The fee agreement provided that Plaintiff would be paid a contingency fee of 33.3% of the recovery, which was to “be paid to the Attorneys after any advanced fees and costs have been returned by whomever ...

Excerpt: ...Housing Act (“FEHA”) including discrimination, retaliation, failure to accommodate and failure to engage in the interactive process; the ninth being intentional infliction of emotional distress (“IIED”); the next four based on alleged wage‐and‐hour violations; and the last two being unfair competition under Business & Professions Code §17200 et seq. and for civil penalties under the Labor Code's Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA...

Excerpt: ...e 1.06 and the Court's tentative ruling procedure and the manner to request a hearing. If moving counsel is unable to contact opposing counsel prior to hearing, moving counsel is ordered to appear at the hearing by Zoom or by telephone. The notice of motion does not comply with Code of Civil Procedure §1010 or CRC Rule 3.1110(a). Moving counsel failed to comply with CRC Rule 3.1110(b)(3)‐(4), while opposing counsel failed to comply with CRC Ru...