Excerpt: ...he requirements set forth in CRC 2.812 to serve as a temporary judge, has been assigned to hear this motion. Prior to the hearing all parties to the motion will be asked to sign a stipulation agreeing that the motion may be heard by the Pro Tem Judge. If all parties to the motion sign the stipulation, the hearing will proceed before the Judge Pro Tem who will decide the motion with the same authority as a Superior Court Judge. If a party appears ...

Excerpt: ...d as to both causes of action. As to the second cause of action, Mr. Longmore alleges sufficient facts showing that the parties waived the written modification requirement. Paragraphs 11 and 42 of the first amended complaint allege that North Star modified the agreement by reducing the base salary without a writing. "When one party has, through oral representations and conduct or custom, subsequently behaved in a manner antithetical to one or...

Excerpt: ...e determination of the amount owed by TinyCo per the Amended and Restated Platform Agreement is not final (and thus not subject to claim preclusion) due to plaintiff Loytr, Inc.'s filing of an appeal in case number 551519. Even if the determination of the amount owed by TinyCo to Loytr was final and amenable to claim preclusion, on the record on this motion there are triable disputes: a) whether the parties to case number 551519 actually liti...

Excerpt: ... to amend. Roberts has leave to plead a claim such as concealment that can support the prayer for punitive damages. Roberts' allegations that defendants refused to repair the roof and/or abandoned her are not sufficient to support the claim as a matter of law per McDonnell v. American Trust Co. (1955) 130 Cal.App.2d 296. Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to [email protected] with a copy to all other parties ...

Excerpt: ... served pursuant to CCP § 415.20(b), because the declaration of diligence accompanying the proof of service states that Lipton was employed at that address and personal service was attempted there, while Lipson's declaration that he neither resided nor worked at that address is uncontradicted (Lipson Decl. 3) and the server's notation was admittedly erroneous (Mughal Decl.). Therefore pursuant to CCP § 473(d) the default judgment is vac...

Excerpt: ...y is GRANTED. The evidence establishes that the entities that are seeking arbitration are the same as the entity that entered into the arbitration agreement with plaintiffs. (Lee Reply Dec., par. 5.) The motion to compel arbitration is timely and Rosenson v. Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP (2012) 203 Cal.App.4th 688, 691 is inapposite. There, the court explains that the 30‐day deadline applies to one seeking to avoid the Mandat...

Excerpt: ...The FACC pleads that the parties operated under this agreement "until January 2014." (Id. at 3:26.) The first cross‐complaint was not filed until July 2018, seemingly outside the four‐ year statute of limitations. (See CCP §337.) 2nd (Breach of Contract: Stock Purchase/Confidentiality Agreements). OVERRULED. This cause of action is adequately pled. Murry argues for a level of pleading particularity not required by California law. (Se...

Excerpt: ...or recovery on the judgment per Insurance Code 11580(b)(2) is barred by the one year "statute of limitations" in the policy issued to Mr. Al Maliki. Assuming without deciding that the one year limitations period is an enforceable as to Ms. Baker-Flynn, her section 11580 claim did not accrue until judgment was entered in her favor and against Mr. Al Maliki on June 20, 2017, less than one month before this case was filed July 11, 2017. Any ...

Excerpt: ...#39;s demurrer to the first through fourth and sixth through tenth causes of action in the second amended complaint is: a) sustained without leave to amend as to the first cause of action for violation of residential building standards, the third cause of action for strict liability, the sixth cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty, the seventh cause of action for violation of governing documents, the eighth cause of action for unlawful LLC...

Excerpt: ...Nguyen's first cause of action for FEHA gender discrimination, Ms. Nguyen satisfied her light burden of presenting evidence showing that she can establish a prima facie case. That evidence includes that Ms. Nguyen was performing competently after returning to work from her third maternity leave and she was treated differently from similarly situated employees who were not written up or terminated allowing for an inference of discriminatory mo...

Excerpt: ...element is pled, at a minimum, by allegations that plaintiff had a long-term relationship with defendants as trusted financial advisers and planning specialists and that they claimed to be annuity experts. Defendants seem to claim to be mere insurance agents; that is a dispute to be adjudicated. Other arguments need not be reached, as a demurrer must dispose of an entire cause of action. (Edmon & Karnow, California Practice Guide: Civil Procedure...

Excerpt: ...nt. Discovery further argues that even if use of a vehicle was an implied requirement, it is still entitled to summary judgment per the "going and coming rule." In Moradi v. Marsh USA, Inc. (2013) 219 Cal.App.4th 886, 894-895, the court explains: [U]nder the 'going and coming' rule, employers are generally exempt from liability for tortious acts committed by employees while on their way to and from work because employees are said ...

Excerpt: ...in this case is whether plaintiff's participation in the May 3, 2013 filming of a sex video was a cause of his HIV infection. Asserting that it is highly probable he was infected from April 20 to May 13, 2013, plaintiff has provided a list of his sexual partners in that time frame and the partners' HIV test results. Defendant Cybernet Entertainment, LLC, however, seeks to further compel discovery of such information from four months befor...

Excerpt: ... motion to compel the deposition of plaintiff Frezgi Gebrezgiabher and for monetary sanctions is granted. Mr. Gebrezgiabher must appear for deposition at the office of defendants' counsel on a mutually agreeable date no later than October 1, 2018 and Mr. Gebrezgiabher and his counsel must pay monetary sanctions in the amount of $5,175 to defendants no later than October 25, 2018. The court adopts in full the recommendations and reasons for th...

Excerpt: ...ohn Doe's application for an order sealing all pleadings and exhibits is granted in part and denied in part. Petitioner is entitled to an order sealing all exhibits to declarations constituting information protected per Penal Code 832.7. Petitioner has failed to satisfy his burden of showing how his overriding interest in his right to privacy as a peace office would be prejudiced if information other than what is protected by section 832.7 is...

Excerpt: ...rd Denton is: a) granted with 20 days leave to amend as to paragraph 62; b) granted without leave to amend as to Ms. Mitchell in the seventh cause of action for harassment and the allegations in the eighth cause of action for failure to prevent discrimination against the individual defendants; and 3) denied as to all other portions of the second amended complaint sought to be stricken. In his supplemental opposition memorandum Mr. Denton has with...

Excerpt: ...graph 12 of the parties' employment agreement applies to the claims alleged by plaintiff Tim Chevalier in his complaint, albeit they disagree whether the clause covers the injunctive relief sought by Mr. Chevalier. Mr. Chevalier's defense to enforcement of the arbitration agreement that it illegally prevents public injunctive relief lacks merit. Mr. Chevalier is not seeking a public injunction. "Relief that has the primary purpose or ...

Excerpt: ... motion to strike is denied. Dr. Hunter has failed to show good cause to support his request to file an anti‐SLAPP motion at this point in the case. Dr. Hunter did not provide any admissible evidence in his moving papers. The asserted reason for the delay lacks merit. There is nothing improper with calendaring an anti‐SLAPP motion against a pro per litigant. Allowing the filing of an anti‐SLAPP motion at this stage of the case undermines ra...

Excerpt: ...ed by plaintiff Electrical Industry Service Bureau, Inc. is sustained without leave to amend as to the first cause of action for failure to pay on a payment bond and overruled as to the second cause of action for violation of the Unfair Competition Law. The prior tentative ruling overruling the demurrer to the second cause of action was confirmed at the September 4, 2108 hearing. At that hearing the demurrer to the first cause of action was conti...

Excerpt: ...for summary judgment is denied. Defendants' alternate motion for summary adjudication is denied as to the second cause of action for foreclosure of mechanic's line and granted as to the third and fourth causes of action for common count and quantum meruit. Defendants have not shown that they are entitled to prevail on the mechanic's lien claim because: (1) there is a triable dispute when the work was completed (Fox Dec., par.5), (2) t...

Excerpt: ... Redko's motion for attorney fees and costs is DENIED. Government Code §800 allows a minimal attorney fee award (maximum: $7,500) if a public entity acted in a "wholly arbitrary or capricious" manner in an administrative proceeding. (Stirling v. Agricultural Labor Relations Bd. (1987) 189 Cal.App.3d 1305, 1312.) Attorney fees may not be awarded if the entity's action was "clearly erroneous;" rather, the action must be ...

Excerpt: ...China. (Amended Complaint, Exs. I & J.) "The California Supreme Court has held that contractual forum selection clauses are valid and should be given effect unless enforcement of the clause would be unreasonable." (Intershop Communications v. Superior Court (2002) 104 Cal.App.4th 191, 196.) Plaintiff Tieming Yao fails to show that enforcing the forum selection clause would be unreasonable. The evidence demonstrates that basically everythi...

Excerpt: ...ncon")'s motion for attorneys' fees and awards $427,951.93. Rincon is a prevailing party in an action on contract with an attorney's fee provision and is entitled to attorney's fees under Civil Code section 1717 because it obtained a "simple, unqualified win" in the Court of Appeals via entry of an order denying CP III's petition. (See Hsu v. Abbara (1995) 9 Cal.4th 863, 877). Whether an action is "on a contrac...

Excerpt: ...raying for attorney's fees. Plaintiff has sufficiently alleged facts that could support an award of attorneys' fees under Code of Civ. Proc. § 1021.5 if he prevails. The negligent supervision and failure to report child abuse claims, if proven, affect important public policy concerns. If John Doe prevails, the litigation may confer a significant benefit to students at the school (See Regents of University of California v. Superior Court ...

Excerpt: ...tween the corporation and its equitable owner that the separate entities do not in reality exist; and (2) an inequitable result if the acts in question are treated as those of the corporation alone. (Sonora Diamond, 83 Cal.App.4th at 538.) Plaintiff failed to present facts showing that UPC and UPRC are so intertwined as to be one entity. UPRC operates the trains, and UPC is a parent company with general executive control that does not own or oper...

Excerpt: ...Manprit S. Buttar, DVM; Grace I. Carter, DVM; and Buttar, Inc.'s motion for summary judgment or, alternatively summary adjudication. There are triable issues of material fact regarding the following issues: (1) Whether any act or omission on the part of defendants was a substantial factor in causing Shadow's death; (2) Whether Shadow's delayed diagnosis prevented Shadow from receiving treatment that would have extended Shadow's li...

Excerpt: ...vided the allegedly unsafe scaffolding or exercised control over it. (McKown v. Wal‐Mart Stores, Inc. (2002) 27 Cal.4th 219, 225.) The court sustains the demurrer as to the Second Cause of Action with leave to amend because Plaintiffs fail to allege facts that Defendant retained control over the worksite in a way that affirmatively contributed to the injury. (Kinsman v. Unocal Corp. (2005) 37 Cal.App.4th 1439, 1446.) Passive failure to exercise...

Excerpt: ...rties to the motion will be asked to sign a stipulation agreeing that the motion may be heard by the Pro Tem Judge. If all parties to the motion sign the stipulation, the hearing will proceed before the Judge Pro Tem who will decide the motion with the same authority as a Superior Court Judge. If a party appears by telephone, the stipulation may be signed via fax or consent to sign given by email. If not all parties to the motion sign the stipula...

Excerpt: ...rt 2 Of 2) Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to [email protected] with a copy to all other parties by 4pm stating, without argument, the portion(s) of the tentative ruling that the party contests. The subject line of the email shall include the line number, case name and case number. If the tentative ruling is not contested, the parties are deemed to have stipulated to the Pro Tem hearing the motion and the Pro Te...

Excerpt: ...ospital of Los Angeles (2015) 237 Cal.App.4th 1454, 1466‐1468, the allegations at paragraphs 7‐8 and 61 indicate that plaintiff was on inquiry notice and the claim is time barred. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 338.) Plaintiff's delayed discovery allegations at paragraph 41 fail to allege what specifically gave him reason to suspect the fraud in 2017 as opposed to 2012. "In order to rely on the discovery rule for delayed accrual of a cause ...

Excerpt: ...� 430.10(e).) Plaintiff alleges a dangerous condition of public property and his exclusive remedy is to pursue a claim under Gov. Code, § 835. (See Brown v. Poway Unified School Dist. (1993) 4 Cal.4th 820, 829.) In Longfellow v. County of San Luis Obispo (1983) 144 Cal.App.3d 379, 383, the court stated: With respect to the plaintiffs' cause of action pursuant to section 815.2 of the Government Code, the law was settled by Van Kempen v. Haywa...

Excerpt: ...laintiff fails to allege timely compliance with the presentation requirement set forth in Government Code §§ 905, 910 and 915 or allege facts excusing compliance. (State of California v. Superior Court (2004) 32 Cal.4th 1234, 1240‐1241.) Plaintiff fails to provide a declaration in support of his opposition providing any evidence that he can meet the administrative exhaustion requirements. Nonetheless, in his opposition papers he alleges, thro...

Excerpt: ... Ninth Causes of Action. "A plaintiff alleging unfair business practices under these statutes must state with reasonable particularity the facts supporting the statutory elements of the violation." (Khoury v. Maly's of California, Inc. (1993) 14 Cal.App.4th 612, 619.) Plaintiff Roberts fails to highlight the precise statutes violated in the body of the Sixth Cause of Action. She also fails to expressly pray for restitution and/or an i...

Excerpt: ...onnici is entitled to have the judgment set aside based on the mandatory relief provisions of CCP 473(b). Mr. Molinari's second declaration of fault adequately establishes that the January 24 judgment was entered against Mr. Bonnici due to the mistake and neglect of Mr. Molinari. In keeping with the remedial purposes of CCP 473(b), the court determines that, while this motion surely could have been filed earlier, relief should not be denied t...

Excerpt: ...uash is granted. Plaintiff Oolong, LLC has the burden of demonstrating sufficient minimum contacts to warrant the exercise of general or specific jurisdiction. In this case, plaintiff's evidence (the declarations of McElhenney and Castaldo) fail to show jurisdiction over VCS or Mr. Zuccarelli, who are both located in Texas. The evidence establishes that VCS passively advertised the Leybold Syrus 1105 machine for sale on e‐Bay, plaintiff rea...

Excerpt: ...urther responses to deposition testimony and to produce documents and for monetary sanctions is granted in small part. Danilo Celeste is required to submit to a further session of his deposition to provide further response to the question whether "After the subject incident, did you ever receive any disciplinary comments from any supervisor?" and reasonable follow‐up questions. That question seeks directly relevant information and outwe...

Excerpt: ...cause of action for negligent misrepresentation and overruled as to the third and fifth causes of action for fraud. Ms. Akutagawa alleges that defendants negligently misrepresented that they would pay the $125,000. (FAC par. 36 (emphasis added)). A negligent misrepresentation cause of action cannot be based on a promise regarding future conduct. It must be made with respect to "a past or existing material fact." (Tarmann v. State Farm Mut...

Excerpt: ...usly given leave to amend to plead specific facts showing his delayed discovery of Ford's alleged fraud. "In order to rely on the discovery rule for delayed accrual of a cause of action, [a] plaintiff whose complaint shows on its face that his claim would be barred without the benefit of the discovery rule must specifically plead facts to show (1) the time and manner of discovery and (2) the inability to have made earlier discovery despit...

Excerpt: ...intiff 942 Market Street Owners' Association's complaint is: a) sustained with twenty days leave to amend as to first through third, sixth and seventh causes of action for violation of residential building standards, negligence, strict liability, breach of fiduciary duty and violation of governing documents and b) sustained without leave to amend as to the fourth and eighth causes of action for breach of implied warranty of habitability a...

Excerpt: ... third cause of action in the second amended complaint filed by plaintiff Kai Kopp is overruled as to the second cause of action for negligence and sustained without leave to amend as to the third cause of action for negligent supervision, hiring and training. The negligence cause of action, but not the negligent supervision cause of action, is based on the same general set of facts as the complaint. Both the complaint and second cause of action ...

Excerpt: ... Notice On Motions Relating To The Identity Of Marriage Counselors And MarriageRulings:Set for hearing on Wednesday, September 5, 2018, Line 9, DEFENDANT GEORGE PFLEGER's Motion For An Order Confirming The Legal Right To Review Unredacted Medical Records, Permitting Defendant To Subpoena Marriage Counselors For Appearance At Depositions With Production Of Documents On Shortened Notice Permitting Defendant To Subpoena Marriage Counselors Recor...

Excerpt: ...Further Responses To Plaintiffs Demand For Production Of Documents And Things And Defendants' Appearance At Depositions. (Tentative Ruling Only) (Part 2 Of 2) Motion against BB&R denied as to RPD No. 33-44 (overbroad, fails to identify documents sought with reasonable particularity) 45, 46, 48 (overbroad, potentially invades privacy in employment records) and 47 (Overbroad, fails to identify documents sought with reasonable particularity) Mot...

Excerpt: ...in its favor on the retaliation claims and thus re-affirms the tentative ruling issued prior to the July 26, 2018 hearing with some additional language as follows: Defendant Huddle, Inc.'s motion for summary judgment is denied and its alternative motion for summary adjudication is denied as to the third, fifth, sixth, and eighth causes of action for age discrimination, failure to prevent discrimination, and violation of the UCL and granted as...

Excerpt: ...ls of confidential information called "Highly Confidential" and "Confidential"; 2) either side may designate any information as either Highly Confidential or Confidential subject to a motion by the other side challenging that designation; 3) both Highly Confidential and Confidential Information may be used by the receiving party only for this case and must be returned at the conclusion of the case with a declaration from an attorn...

Excerpt: ...avelers Indemnity Company's demurrer to both causes of action alleged in the first amended complaint filed by plaintiff Electrical Industry Service Bureau, Inc. is sustained without leave to amend as to the first cause of action for failure to pay on a payment bond and overruled as to the second cause of action for violation of the Unfair Competition Law. EISB filed this lawsuit after the expiration of the limitations period for a claim for f...

Excerpt: ...st Amended Cross Complaint. Cross‐defendant Victor Marquez's anti‐SLAPP Motion to Strike the third cause of action for attempted extortion in the first amended cross‐complaint filed by Elizabeth Sousa is denied. The merits of the motion will be addressed even though the motion was filed outside the 60‐day time period of CCP 425.16(f). Mr. Marquez received an extension of time to file his responsive pleading and reasonably believed tha...

Excerpt: ...tations and internal quotation marks omitted); see Nativi, 223 Cal. App. 4that 317 ("A trial court must balance the various interests in deciding whether dissemination of the documents should be restricted."). "[T]he burden is on the party seeking the protective order to show good cause for whatever order is sought." Fairmont Ins. Co. v. Superior Court, 22 Cal. 4th 245, 255 (2000). But the movant cannot satisfy this burden by subm...

Excerpt: ...s Inc As Does 2 And 102 Plaintiff Mint Collection-410-418 Jessie Street Condominium Owners' Association's motion for leave to substitute Patrick McNerney as Does 1 and 101 and Veritas Investments, Inc, as Does 2 and 102 is denied without prejudice to being refiled as an ex parte application if within the next two months the trial date is continued to a day on or after May 6, 2019. Any legal prejudice to Mr. McNerney and Veritas by the gra...

Excerpt: ...st for a trial continuance is denied. Ms. Harris' proposed new claims (the abuse of process, injunction and a portion of her declaratory relief claims) alleging invalidity of the mechanic's lien and lis pendens are not actionable and thus she is denied leave to amend those claims. The filing of a mechanic's lien and a lis pendens are absolutely privileged. Ms. Harris is granted leave to allege her proposed new section 17200 claim and ...

Excerpt: ...tation, false promise, deceit, and negligent infliction of emotional distress in the second amended complaint filed by plaintiff Trent Jason is sustained without leave to amend as to all those causes of action. As for the unfair competition claim, the SAC fails to allege facts showing that CSAA engaged in unfair, dishonest, deceptive or fraudulent practices with intent to defraud the public in violation of Civil Code 1711. As for the misrepresent...

Excerpt: ... pleadings, that policy does not apply where, as here, the opposing parties would suffer legal prejudice by the granting of leave to amend. Adding a new defendant to a case less than two weeks from trial is legally prejudicial to that defendant. Adding new damages allegations against an unrepresented entity defendant more than three months after its counsel withdrew and less than two weeks from trial is legally prejudicial to that defendant. Ms. ...

Excerpt: ...ther day as counsel for both sides agree. Defendant The Travelers Indemnity Company's demurrer to both causes of action alleged in the first amended complaint filed by plaintiff Electrical Industry Service Bureau, Inc. is sustained without leave to amend as to the first cause of action for failure to pay on a payment bond and overruled as to the second cause of action for violation of the Unfair Competition Law. EISB filed this lawsuit after ...

Excerpt: ...na Zalihic's motion for leave to file a second amended complaint is denied. The motion is not necessary to enable Ms. Zalihic to argue in opposition to defendants' summary motions and at trial that the common carrier standard of care applies to her negligence claims, which appears to be motivation for this motion. Ms. Zalihic seeks to add two new claims which she has entitled "Negligence Per Se ‐ Common Carrier." Both new claims...

Excerpt: ... Griffin failed to satisfy her summary judgment burden of showing that Arrowood lacks standing to bring the breach of contract claim against her. Ms. Griffin's Facts 6 and 7 state that Arrowhead asserts that it has standing to sue on the three loan contracts due to an assignment from The Student Loan Corporation. However, Ms. Griffin does not have any facts in her separate statement showing that: 1)Citibank did not assign its rights to the th...

Excerpt: ...nduct and his work as a CRF employee, Mr. Damhuis' misconduct is not CRF's conduct. (Lisa M. v. Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital (1995) 12 Cal.4th 291.) The undisputed facts show that Mr. Damhuis and Ms. Zamudio had never met before the incident, Mr. Damhuis' role as CRF's education coordinator did not include interaction with hotel employees, and Mr. Hartman never asked Mr. Damhuis to enter Mr. Hartman's room. The fact th...

Excerpt: ...amages for violation of the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act. As stated in the order on the Hospital's demurrer, Ms. Anderson has adequately alleged a claim for violation of that Act. CCP 425.13 is not applicable to a claim for violation of that Act. (Covenant Care, Inc. v. Superior Court (2004) 32 Cal.4th 771, 783.) Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to [email protected] with a copy to al...

Excerpt: ...irst amended complaint is denied and its alternate motion for summary adjudication is: a) granted as to the first cause of action for professional negligence, the portion of the second cause of action for negligent misrepresentation, the third cause of action for breach of fiduciary duties and the fourth cause of action for breach of contract and b) denied as to the portion of the second cause of action for intentional misrepresentation and the r...

Excerpt: ...nce Nordhoff testified at his deposition that he had opinions regarding biomechanics of the accident that is the subject of this case. However, a review of the papers filed by Ms. Singh in support of her ex parte application to substitute Dr. Nordhoff in place of her previously designated expert Dr. Winthrop Smith shows: 1) Ms. Singh's May 25, 2018 designation of Dr. Smith stated that Dr. Smith would provide opinions regarding "the forces...

Excerpt: ...39;s claims alleging that the containment barrier was improperly installed by Fast Wrap falls within the scope of the indemnification language in the subcontract between Alten and Fast Wrap. While the indemnity language does not explicitly state Fast Wrap has a "duty to defend," the duty to defend is broader than the duty to indemnify and requires the indemnitor to defend any claims that allege facts that would potentially be covered by t...

Excerpt: ...n is: a) granted with 20 days leave to amend as to paragraph 62; b) granted without leave to amend as to the allegations in the eighth cause of action for failure to prevent discrimination against the individual defendants; and 3) denied as to all other portions of the second amended complaint sought to be stricken. Paragraphs 57-61 and 63-66 raise allegations similar to the allegations in the DFEH/EEOC charge. Per Okoli v. Lockheed Technical Ope...

Excerpt: ...aint is overruled as to the first, second and third causes of action for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant and breach of a mandatory duty and sustained without leave to amend as to the fourth, fifth and sixth causes of action for breach of fiduciary duty, negligent misrepresentation and promissory estoppel. The Credit Union sufficiently alleges claims for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fai...

Excerpt: ...swer no later than September 7, 2018. Mr. Khan has presented sufficient evidence to support setting aside the default per CCP 473(b) and 473.5. Granting the motion comports with California's strong policy of deciding cases on their merits and plaintiff San Francisco Independent Taxi Association has not argued, much less shown, that it would suffer legal prejudice by the granting of this motion. While the motion could have been filed earlier, ...

Excerpt: ... Bank's motion for summary judgment on the fifth amended cross‐ complaint filed by Stan Schuldiner for violations of the CLRA and UCL, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation is granted. The undisputed facts show that Mr. Schuldiner has not suffered any cognizable harm or damages to support any of his four claims. The UCL "requires that a plaintiff have 'lost money or property' to have standing to sue. The plain import of this is...

Excerpt: ...tive, Summary Adjudication (Part 2 Of 2 For Purposes Of Entry Of Tentative Ruling Only). While there is a variation between the two pieces of evidence, the variation does not make this evidence inadmissible and it is for the trier of fact to weigh the differences and determine whether any such statement was made and its significance. Based on the statement alone, if it is believed (and much of defendants' arguments in effect ask this court to...

Excerpt: ...to compel witness Charles Charles' answers to deposition questions is granted. The deposition questions are directly related to plaintiff's claims and are not absolutely barred by either Health and Safety Code 120975 or constitutional or common law privacy rights. Due to plaintiff's critical need for the information sought by the questions and the lack of any other way to obtain the information, the witness' privacy rights in the ...

Excerpt: ...#39;s anti‐SLAPP motion to strike the entirety of the cross‐complaint filed by Altamont Electric Co. is granted. Travelers satisfied its first prong burden of showing that Altamont's cross‐complaint arises from petitioning activity ‐‐ specifically, activity pertaining to the settlement of litigation ‐‐ protected by the anti‐SLAPP statute. Altamont has not satisfied its burden to show an exception to protected activity such as ...

Excerpt: ... Psychological Records)Declaration Of Tania Rose In Support Of Plntf Richard Fiero'S Motion To Quash Subpoenas Of Plntf'S Psychological/Psychiatric Medical Records Pro Tem Judge Peter Catalanotti, a member of the California State Bar who meets all the requirements set forth in CRC 2.812 to serve as a temporary judge, has been assigned to hear this motion. Prior to the hearing all parties to the motion will be asked to sign a stipulation a...

Excerpt: ...portation Authority in the amount of $75,000, calculated as 40 hours of Mr. Grossman's time at the hourly rate of $600, 90 hours of Mr. Seavy's time at the hourly rate of Mr. Seavy's time of $400, and 60 hours of Mr. Chaffee's time at the hourly rate of $150. The requested hourly rates for Mr. Grossman and Mr. Chaffee are reasonable and within the range for an attorney and a paralegal with their experience and skills. The $550 req...

Excerpt: ...f Mr. Prasad's claims. (Howard v. Drapkin (1990) 222 Cal.App.3d 843.) The court considered Mr. Prasad's opposition memorandum even though it was unclear whether it was prepared by a non‐lawyer prepared other than Mr. Prasad. Mr. Prasad is advised that he needs to appear for himself or retain a California licensed attorney to represent him. Dr. Fridhandler's request for judicial notice is granted. (Frommhagen v. Board of Supervisors ...

Excerpt: ...ffirmative defense 34 purporting to reserve a right to add additional affirmative defenses without leave of court is invalid. It is premature to determine with certitude whether plaintiff is correct that some or all of the affirmative defenses are inapplicable to any of the claims asserted by the plaintiff. At this early stage of the case it is not possible to determine whether defendants will be able to develop any factual support for any of the...

Excerpt: ...nd costs is granted in part. The parties are directed to meet and confer and arrive at an amount of fees and costs that Mr. Karavidas is awarded against plaintiff Music Group Commercial BM Ltd. in conformity with this order. The billed hourly rates represent the market rate for the time spent by Mr. Karavidas' attorneys on his successful anti-SLAPP motion. There is no reason why Mr. Karavidas, his insurer or his attorneys should reap an unear...

Excerpt: ... to plaintiff's motion for an order striking Defendants Nguyen's designated experts is granted. Plaintiff Marcos Recinos' motion to strike the Nguyen Defendants' supplemental expert witness designation is granted as to Kimberly Hawthorne and denied as to Edward Younger and Howard Friedman. As indicated by their initial expert witness designation, the Nguyen Defendants were aware that they may need or desire an expert regarding ...

Excerpt: ...ant O'Neill Construction, Inc.'s motion for a good faith determination of its settlement with plaintiffs John and Ann Iannuccillo is granted. O'Neill has satisfied its burden to provide the information required for a good faith determination per Tech‐Bilt and cross‐defendant Treanor Tiling, the only party to oppose this motion, has not shown that the settlement is either outside the "ballpark" or any other reason warrantin...

Excerpt: ...ault and battery she suffered from a co‐passenger in the vehicle driven by Mr. Vera. The undisputed facts do not support the existence of a special relationship between Mr. Vera and Ms. Rico for purposes of imposing a duty on Mr. Vera to protect Ms. Vera from the unanticipated violent conduct of Ms. Abraham. (California Body & Trailer Mfrs. v. Albrecht (1971) 16 Cal.App.3d Supp. 1, 3‐4 ("The driver of an automobile must manage his vehicle...

Excerpt: ...ses of action alleged in the third amended complaint filed by plaintiff Marilyn Santiago. Ms. Santiago's first cause of action for failure to reasonably accommodate lacks merit because she has not identified any reasonable accommodation that would enable her to perform her job as a nurse. "The FEHA 'does not prohibit an employer from . . . discharging an employee with a physical or mental disability . . . where the employee, because o...

Excerpt: ...s motion to consolidate this case with the small claims case number 858229 is granted. Case 858229 is transferred out of the Small Claims Division. The two cases are consolidated for all purposes. This case is the lead case and all further filings will be in this case only. The August 28, 2018 trial date set in case 858229 is vacated. Defendant Julie Yoon is permitted to file a cross‐complaint in this case no later than August 31, 2018 re‐ple...

Excerpt: ... amend. Mr. Ebochie does not allege any facts showing employer liability for punitive damages against Panchita's and it does not appear that at this stage of the case Mr. Ebohcie is able to do so. The allegation that Panchita's may have ratified the misconduct of its employee is insufficient to support employer liability for punitive damages. Nor does Mr. Ebochie allege that Ms. Campos acted with malice, fraud or oppression and it does no...

Excerpt: ...ry judgment or, in the alternative, summary adjudication is denied in its entirety. The threshold issue is how to frame the alleged duty, if any, the Property Defendants owed to Assad Gibson vis-à-vis defendant DeAngela Grayson's vehicle. Because the Property Defendants are the owner and operator of the apartment complex, they owed Assad and all other tenants a duty "to use reasonable care to keep the property in a reasonably safe condit...

Excerpt: ...isco Administrative Code 6.22(j) is sustained without leave to amend. Government Code 905 requires that all claims for money or damages against a public entity be presented to that public entity prior to filing a lawsuit. Pleading compliance with the section 905 or an excuse for noncompliance, which applies to both contract and tort claims, is an element of plaintiff Skanska USA Civil West California District, Inc.'s section 6.22(j) claim. (S...

Excerpt: ...gs. Defendants Philip Gregory and Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP's motion to compel arbitration and stay proceedings of all claims in the complaint filed by plaintiff Michael DiSanto is granted. This case is stayed pending conclusion of arbitration proceedings between the parties. Absent a separate written agreement governing CPM's representation of Mr. DiSanto for Bingham's counterclaims against Mr. DiSanto, the arbitration agreemen...

Excerpt: ...For Monetary Sanctions GRANTED in part. While the issue is close, the court concludes that CCP 2016.060 extends the discovery cutoff date from a Saturday to a Monday where the trial <0052005300520058005100 00480053004b00520055>a is fairly characterized as contention discovery which has limited but not no utility when served at the end of the discovery period. Most of the discovery requests are sufficiently narrowly tailored to seek only discovery...

Excerpt: ...private agreement to keep materials confidential could constitute an overriding interest for purposes of CRC 2.550 and assuming without deciding that the Lyft-Tokio agreement does constitute an overriding interest (but see CRC 2.551(a) ("The court must not permit a record to be filed under seal based solely on the agreement or stipulation of the parties.")), Lyft has not shown that this overriding interest will be prejudiced if the docume...

Excerpt: ...intiff Mark Makowiecki is: sustained without leave to amend as to the first cause of action for breach of the implied contract of continued employment and is overruled as to the remaining causes of action. Mr. Makowiecki has not opposed PG&E's demurrer to the first cause of action. As to the second cause of action for slander per se, Mr. Makowiecki has sufficiently alleged the substance of the slanderous statements and has alleged that they a...

Excerpt: ...ebruary 8, 2018 is granted unless plaintiff Vimlaben Patel agrees to entry of an amended judgment superseding the February 8 judgment in the amount of $21,325. Even if the February 8 judgment is not void, allowing it to remain in effect violates Mr. Patel's due process rights and would be a miscarriage of justice. The principal and prejudgment interest amounts in the February 8 judgment cannot be reconciled with Ms. Patel's verified compl...

Excerpt: ... Latin Grammar School, Inc. and Latin College Preparatory Charter School, Inc.'s motion to for attorneys' fees is denied. Defendants' successful motion to quash was not a determination on the merits of the case, but solely a ruling on whether they are subject to being sued in California on the claims of plaintiff Charter Asset Management Fund, L.P. The findings made on the motion to quash were made for the sole purpose of determining ...

Excerpt: ...es to the discovery seeking information about his payment of bills sent to him by any attorneys other than defendants because that information is not relevant nor likely to lead to the discovery of any admissible evidence. Information about Mr. Berger's payment or non‐payment of other attorneys' bills does negate or tend to negate any element of any of Mr. Berger's claims or any of defendants' affirmative defenses. Mr. Berger ne...

Excerpt: ...3001100150047000300 000f0003005a004b004c[ch remains good law, only slight evidence is necessary to find implied permission to operate a vehicle where a parent-child relationship is involved. (See also Pierce v. Standow (1958) 163 Cal.App.2d 286 (finding implied permission where the mother gave the keys to her son even though the mother expressly told the son not to drive the car).) No later than their receipt of the judicial arbitration award in ...

Excerpt: ...back to the filing of the original complaint. The Unruh Act claim is based on the same general set of facts as plaintiff's other claims. The original, first amended, and second amended complaints all include allegations regarding the disparate treatment between homosexual and heterosexual actors. (Complaint, par. 28; First Amended Complaint, par. 31; Second Amended Complaint, par. 54.) The claims involve the same injury. The discriminatory co...

Excerpt: ...nsurance Company #0352754659TGD and Copeland v. GEICO #0495428040101011) for all purposes. Ms. Copeland may file an amended complaint alleging all three claims in this case. Ms. Copeland has shown that there is likely to be substantial overlap of the evidence in this case and the two UIM cases warranting the consolidation of all three. The interests of judicial economy and avoidance of possible inconsistent results outweighs the insurers' int...

Excerpt: ...Set One (For Tentative Ruling Purposes Only Part 2 Of 2) 3. Plaintiff's burden and oppression objection to defendants' desired means of identifying ESI is sustained; plaintiff shall nevertheless reasonably identify all items produced, including the source of the original paper documents or ESI; 4. Plaintiff's work product objection is overruled; 5. Sanctions are denied; 6. Counsel to moving parties shall submit a proposed order in Wor...

Excerpt: ...#39;S Verified Responses <0055000300370048005100 0058004f004c0051004a> Purposes Only. Part 2 Of 2) In summary, the Court finds that plaintiff's motion must be denied because plaintiff has failed to establish factual grounds for the motion to compel and has further failed to establish the requisites for any other relief. Neither party requested sanctions and none will be awarded. Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to ...

Excerpt: ...s to the first and second causes of action for general negligence and premises liability and granted as to the third cause of action for products liability. Plaintiff Kara Esborg's complaint frames the issues which need to be addressed in a summary motion. Ms. Esborg's complaint alleges: 1) that she collided with one or more low hanging wires attributable to Comcast; 2) Comcast negligently constructed, installed, monitored and maintained ...

Excerpt: ...bute to Mr. Rodriquez's claimed injuries and, even if it did, there is a triable dispute whether its negligent exercise of retained control affirmatively contributed to Mr. Rodriquez's claimed injuries. (Hooker v. Department of Transportation (2002) 27 Cal.4th 198, 212, fn.3, and 214.) Fairly read, the complaint seeks to impose liability based on the exception to the Privette doctrine articulated in Hooker. The evidence on this motion als...

Excerpt: ...ause he did not make this motion within a reasonable time and he has not shown that the judgment was entered against him due to mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect. Mr. Bonnici is not entitled to CCP 473(b) mandatory relief from the judgment based on his attorney's declaration of fault because the declaration of Mr. Molinari fails to attest to his or his office's fault that led to the entry of the judgment. Nowhere in the...

Excerpt: ...dant Chipotle Services, LLC's motion for reconsideration of the June 6, 2018 order denying its petition to compel arbitration is granted and, after reconsideration, plaintiff Rebecca Camping is required to arbitrate all of her claims except her PAGA claim and this case, including the non‐arbitrable PAGA claim, is stayed pending the completion of arbitration proceedings. The declaration of Hadley Brink, which relies on statements made by Ms....

Excerpt: ...tion for violation of Business & Professions Code 17200 is granted with twenty days leave to amend. Plaintiff Ralph Oliverio's request to hold this motion in abeyance until he files a motion for reconsideration is denied. This motion is ripe for resolution now based on the complaint filed by Mr. Oliverio and there is no persuasive explanation why an unfiled motion will have any effect on the sole issue on this motion whether the second cause ...

Excerpt: ...f action for breach of contract, common counts, and fraud and is sustained with twenty days leave to amend as to the fourth cause of action for violation of Bus. & Prof. Code 17200. Liberally construed, the FAC sufficiently alleges breach of an oral contract and common counts by pleading the legal effect of the relevant terms of the oral agreement and Uber's conduct breaching that agreement: Uber's promise to pay with debit cards and repl...

Excerpt: ...or Code ?226 were "knowing and intentional" rather than "isolated and unintentional." (See Kao v. Holiday (2017) 12 Cal.App.4th 947, 961‐62.) This is particularly so as the failures apparently occurred some 1,500 times over a period of many months. (PMF 5‐8.) Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to [email protected] with a copy to all other parties by 4pm stating, without argument, the portion(s...

Excerpt: ... However, one of the settlement's key terms is that defendant pay "all outstanding governmental tax liens." At least one tax lien cannot be paid at present because state tax authorities have yet to provide the required clearance. Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to [email protected] with a copy to all other parties by 4pm stating, without argument, the portion(s) of the tentative ruling that the par...

Excerpt: ...area the day before the accident occurred and whether that work caused Mr. Sanchez's injury. (Bell Dec., pars. 5‐6; Sanchez Depo., 39‐40.) The court overrules DWC's objections to plaintiff's testimony as irrelevant, speculative and lacking foundation. Privette v. Sup. Crt. (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689, and its progeny does not bar liability as Mr. Sanchez creates a triable issue of material fact regarding whether DWC was directly or affir...