Excerpt: ...has an unconditional right to intervene in an action if, upon timely application, she "claims an interest relating to the property or transaction that is the subject of the action," (2) she "is so situated that the disposition of the action may impair or impede [her] ability to protect that interest," and (3) her interest is not "adequately represented by one or more of the existing parties." (Code Civ. Proc. § 387(d)(1); see Mylan Laboratories ...

Excerpt: ...rincipal place of business in San Francisco. (Rogers Dec., Ex. D; Ferguson v. Koerber (1924) 69 Cal.App. 47, 49; Brown v. Superior Court (1984) 37 Cal.3d 477, 482 ["Venue is determined based on the complaint on file at the time the motion to change venue is made."].) The fact that plaintiff dismissed Indiegogo, Inc. does not change the analysis. Subsequent amendments to the complaint or dismissals do not make a proper choice of venue suddenly imp...

Excerpt: ...a party in default moves promptly to seek relief, very slight evidence is required to justify a trial court's order setting aside a default." (Shamblin v. Brattain (1988) 44 Cal.3d 474, 478.) Defendant filed this motion within a reasonable time. The court entered the default on February 20, 2020 and defendant filed this motion on March 11, 2020. Defendant establishes that the default was entered as the result of mistake, inadvertence, excusable n...

Excerpt: ...nt or alternatively, motion for summary adjudication, on Parkmerced Owner, LLC's cross‐complaint is denied in its entirety. In ruling on a summary adjudication motion, the court must view the evidence and all inferences reasonably drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the opposing party. (Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (2001) 25 Cal.4th 826, 843.) In this case, there are a triable issues of material fact as to whether the water that...

Excerpt: ...ases for venue under CCP §395.5. (See Mission Imports, Inc. vs. Sup. Ct. (1982) 31 Cal.3d 921.) In this case, defendant fails to meet its evidentiary burden. The evidence indicates that defendant was to pay plaintiff at plaintiff's San Francisco office and in fact made some payments there. (Michels Dec. 7, 9.) San Francisco is therefore a place of performance; the Harrison declaration does not demonstrate that performance on the six agreements w...

Excerpt: ... for negligence (Code Civ. Proc., § 430.10(e)), Plaintiff did not comply with the Government Claims Act. Plaintiff filed an Application for Leave to Present a Late Claim Against City and County of San Francisco, which this court denied on November 7, 2019. (In Re: Michael L. Beauchamp, CPF‐19‐516867.) In the order denying plaintiff's application, the court found that the alleged incident in the application occurred on October 11, 1990, over ...

Excerpt: ...aint is denied. Plaintiffs allege that on December 2015, they sustained personal injuries while using a portable butane stove that was purchased from a Macy's store in Stockton, California in the 1990s. (FAC pars. 18, 20.) Plaintiff allege that the stove was defectively designed and seek to state causes of action against Macy's for negligence, strict products liability and breach of warranty. They allege that Macy's was aware of the defective des...

Excerpt: ...2001) 25 Cal.4th 826 by demonstrating that Plaintiffs do not possess, and cannot reasonably obtain, evidence that Mr. Van Tassell was exposed to asbestos‐containing products or materials attributable to Defendant. Plaintiffs concede in their interrogatory responses that they "do not currently allege Plaintiff Fred Van Tassell suffered any asbestos exposures while serving in the Navy between the years 1960 to 1980." (Hoye Declaration, Ex. D at 4...

Excerpt: ...es Pursuant To CCP 1030. Defendant the Regents of the University of California's motion to require undertaking pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure § 1030 is granted. Plaintiff shall post $30,000 as a reasonable bond by July 5, 2020. Plaintiff resides out of state (Alabama) and defendant demonstrates that "there is a reasonable possibility that the moving defendant will obtain judgment in the action." (Yao v. Superior Court (2002) 104 Cal.App.4th...

Excerpt: ...arst Holdings, Inc., and Bill Flemion's motion to change venue to San Luis Obispo based upon the convenience of witnesses and ends of justice is granted. (See Code Civ. Proc. § 397(c).) Defendants shall remit all required transfer fees and costs forthwith. The convenience of witnesses and ends of justice mandate the transfer of this action to San Luis Obispo. This case involves an approximately 30‐year campaign of alleged harassment and bigotr...

Excerpt: ...fendant's objections to the Gelbowitz declaration. Gelbowitz lays a foundation regarded the matters attested to and properly authenticates the business records attached to her declaration, which show that defendant is in default on her credit card account. (See Evid. Code §§ 1400, 1401 [authentication], 1271 [business records exception to hearsay rule]; Unifund CCR, LLC v. Dear (2015) 243 Cal.App.4th Supp. 1, 7‐9 [trial court has broad discre...

Excerpt: ...unitive damages against a corporate employer if the employee is sufficiently high in the corporation's decision-making hierarchy to be an 'officer, director or managing agent.'" (Gelfo v. Lockheed Martin Corp. (2006) 140 Cal.App.4th 34, 63.) According to the complaint, Mr. Aycan was "Managing Director of IDEO Products." (Compl. 3.) Punitive damages are recoverable for FEHA violations. (Commodore Home Systems, Inc. v. Superior Court (1982) 32 Cal....

Excerpt: ...ntative ruling: Defendant David King-Stephens' motion for summary judgment or, in the alternative, summary adjudication of issues is denied in its entirety. Dr. King- Stephens submitted sufficient admissible evidence to satisfy his summary burden of showing that no later than October 19, 2015 both plaintiffs suspected, and a reasonable person would have suspected, that Dr. King-Stephens' refusal earlier that year to order a brain scan (MRI) for M...

Excerpt: ...t's burden is to show that "that one or more elements of the cause of action cannot be established.…" (Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (2001) 25 Cal.4th 826, 850.) The defendant also "bears an initial burden of production to make a prima facie showing of the nonexistence of any triable issue of material fact." (Id.) Defendant fails to meet this burden. First, Defendant fails to show that there is no triable issue as to the element of breach. ...

Excerpt: ...cle collision after consuming alcohol at a bar and closing her eyes while driving. Details are disputed, but those are for trial resolution. In Peterson v. Sup. Ct. (1982) 31 Cal.3d 147, the California Supreme Court held that punitive damages are recoverable from an intoxicated driver who causes personal injuries. Dawes v. Sup. Ct. (1980) 111 Cal.App.3d 82 is a court of appeal opinion that pre‐dates Peterson and is not to the contrary in any ev...

Excerpt: ...lly's first amended complaint (FAC) is overruled in its entirety. Liberally construing the complaint, plaintiff adequately pleads a cause of action for breach of an express or implied‐in‐fact contract. (See C.A. v. William S. Hart Union High School Dist. (2012) 53 Cal.4th 861, 872 ["To survive a demurrer, the complaint need only allege facts sufficient to state a cause of action; each evidentiary fact that might eventually form part of the pl...

Excerpt: ...il Procedure § 1085 is sustained without leave to amend. Respondents imposed a 60‐day suspension of petitioner's County Adult Assistance Programs ("CAAP") benefits as a sanction because they concluded that petitioner underreported his income for a second time without cause. Petitioner's second cause of action alleges that CAAP Eligibility Manual § 94‐21 is contrary to Welfare & Institution Code § 17001.5(a) and San Francisco Administrative...

Excerpt: ... motion to dismiss based on forum non conveniens is denied. A corporate defendant's principal place of business is presumptively a convenient forum. (National Football League v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co. (2013) 216 Cal.App.4th 902, 917.) Uber, a California corporate resident, has failed to show that equity strongly favors requiring plaintiff, a California resident, to litigate her claims in New York. Where the plaintiff is a California resident, th...

Excerpt: ...cretionary and permits transfer from one proper county to another proper county when "the convenience of witnesses and the ends of justice would be promoted by the change." The burden is on the party seeking a change of venue to prove that both the convenience of witnesses and the ends of justice would be promoted by the change. (Corfee v. Southern California Edison Co. (1962) 202 Cal.App.2d 473, 477.) In this professional negligence action, Plai...

Excerpt: ...t the statutes that Plaintiff cites apply only when a petition to compel arbitration is pending and/or arbitration is ordered. (See, e.g., Code Civ. Proc. §§ 1281.4, 1281.2.) However, even where no order or application for an order compelling arbitration has been made, “it is within the implicit power of the court to stay the legal proceedings while arbitration is proceeding.” (Seidman & Seidman v. Wolfson (1975) 50 Cal.App.3d 826, 834.) He...

Excerpt: ... OSC re preliminary injunction is granted. Raj Abhyanker, Trustee of the Raj and Sonal Abhyanker Family Trust, and counsel for plaintiffs through his law firm, LegalForce RABC, and his or its trustees, agents, employees and those persons or entities in active concert or participation with any of them are restrained and enjoined from disclosing on your personal internet blog or by any other means to any third‐party the confidential documents or ...

Excerpt: ... not show that Plaintiff's allegations fail to rise to the requisite level of fraud, malice, or oppression. "[W]rongful termination, without more, will not sustain a finding of malice or oppression." (Scott v. Phoenix Sch., Inc. (2009) 175 Cal.App.4th 702, 717 [holding punitive damages are not allowed where the "only evidence of wrongful conduct directed toward [the employee] was her termination for an improper reason."].) Here, however, Plaintif...

Excerpt: ...e of material fact regarding what services the assignor (Galca/TSPS) provided to defendant and what sum is owed. Plaintiff as assignee alleges that assignor placed temporary employees with defendant and seeks to collect $163,485.17 plus pre‐judgment interest for services rendered. (Complaint, par. 9.) Mr. Deluca of plaintiff assignee declares that assignor provided "personnel services" to defendant. (Deluca Dec., par. 16.) Defendant presents ev...

Excerpt: ...tual provision permitting the recovery of attorneys' fees. (Cross‐Compl., Ex. A.) "Except as attorney's fees are specifically provided for by statute, the measure and mode of compensation of attorneys and counselors at law is left to the agreement, express or implied, of the parties?" (Code Civ. Proc. § 1021.) Without an attorney's fees clause in the Release, the parties are not entitled to recover attorneys' fees and costs as damages. (Navell...

Excerpt: ...t; Memorandum Of Points And Authorities Plaintiffs' application for determination of good faith settlement is granted. Plaintiffs show that defendants Monique Smith and Lynnique Smith have tendered $15,000, the limits of their available liability insurance coverage, and their declarations show that they have very modest assets. (Lynnique Smith Decl. 1, 4; Monique C. Morris-Smith Decl. 1, 6; see Dole Food Co., Inc. v. Superior Court (2015) 242 Cal...