Excerpt: ...r Deposition And For Monetary Sanctions Plaintiff Sandy Lim's motion to compel Defendant American General Life Insurance Company's person most knowledgeable for deposition and for monetary sanctions is denied. American General, at Plaintiff's request, properly designated Angela Butler as the person most knowledgeable to testify on its behalf in response to Plaintiff's PMK notice. It did not refuse to make Ms. Butler available for ...

Excerpt: ...cause of action for unjust enrichment are simply stated as receipt of a benefit and unjust retention of the benefit at the expense of another. (Professional Tax Appeal (2018) 29 Cal.App.5th 230, 238.) The complaint adequately pleads those elements. (Compl. 22-23.) However, in order to assert a claim for restitution based on unjust enrichment, Plaintiffs must make it clear that the claim is an inconsistent claim alleging the absence of an enforcea...

Excerpt: ...ney's fees is stricken pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure § 435(b) because it is not supported by any allegation as to a contract or statute authorizing such fees. (Code Civ. Proc. § 1033.5.) Plaintiff has 20 days leave to amend if he can allege in good faith a contractual or statutory basis supporting recovery of attorney's fees. The prayer for punitive damages is supported by the fraud allegations and the motion to strike this portio...

Excerpt: ...sco whether to dismiss the arbitration Defendants initiated against Mr. Corbelli. If BASF does not dismiss the arbitration and those proceedings go forward, there is a risk of inconsistent rulings and duplicative and burdensome proceedings; accordingly, a brief stay is appropriate. If BASF dismisses the arbitration, the stay shall terminate by its terms without the need for a further order. Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an e...

Excerpt: ...nded cross‐complaint is denied. Although California's policy of liberality in amendment of pleadings generally warrants granting a request for leave to file an amended pleading before trial, under the unusual circumstances of this case the Court believes that the potential prejudice to Plaintiff Jason Roussos outweighs that policy, particularly given Defendant's lengthy delay in seeking to amend, the potential prejudice to Plaintiff, an...

Excerpt: ...ruled in part. MPC's demurrer is overruled as to causes of action 1, 2, and 6. First, 28 alleges that MPC is a party to the contract and the court takes that allegation as true. Second, the court defers to plaintiff's interpretation of the contract on demurrer where plaintiff's position is not clearly erroneous. (See Rutherford Holdings, LLC v. Plaza Del Rey (2014) 223 Cal.App.4th 221, 229.) In this case, Lutz signed the operating agr...

Excerpt: ... "any dispute" relating to that agreement "shall be submitted to JAMS in San Francisco, CA, or if that forum is not available, to another equivalent alternative dispute resolution forum." A "forum" is "a court or arbitral tribunal ‐ each with its own set of rules and procedures," and each ADR provider has its own set of rules and procedures. (Alan v. Sup. Ct. (2003) 111 Cal.App.4th 217, 224.) JAMS having disquali...

Excerpt: ... patron assaulted by other patrons? This case is similar to Delgado v. Trax Bar & Grill (2005) 36 Cal.4th 224. However, Delgado is less favorable to defendant, as it involved an assault outside a bar, while the assault here was inside the premises. (Id. at 231; Hallimen Dec. 2‐9.) Delgado holds that a bar "has a duty to respond to events unfolding in" a bouncer's "presence by undertaking reasonable, relatively simple, and minima...

Excerpt: ...owinski proposes to settle this personal injury case for $1,500. For the Court to find that a settlement is in good faith, the settlors must provide substantial evidence to support a critical assumption as to the nature and extent of their liability. (See Mattco Forge, Inc. v. Arthur Young & Co. (1995) 38 Cal.App.4th 1337, 1350, n. 6; Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. v. Sup. Crt. (1990) 220 Cal.App.3d 864, 871.) In addition, the court needs to roughl...

Excerpt: ...porary 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 by telephone, the stipulation may be signed via fax or c...

Excerpt: ...�Intervention. Complainant‐in‐Intervention Harford Insurance Company of the Midwest's motion for leave to file a complaint‐in‐intervention is granted. An employer's workers' compensation insurer has an unconditional statutory right to intervene in an action brought by the employee against a third‐party tortfeasor "at any time before trial on the facts." (Lab. Code § 3853; Bailey v. Reliance Ins. Co. (2000) 79 Cal.Ap...

Excerpt: ...ENTAL GROUP SAN FRANCISCO 450 SUTTER'S Motion To Recover Attorneys Fees And Costs In The Amount Of At Least $12,899.67 From Defendant Bemdad Behnood. Plaintiffs Dental Force, Inc. and Evangelista Dental Group San Francisco 450 Sutter, PC's motion to recover attorneys' fees and costs is denied. Although Defendant Bembab Behnood's anti‐SLAPP motion was poorly conceived and supported, both factually and legally, the Court cannot fi...

Excerpt: ...ve decision denying Mr. Petty's application for industrial disability is set aside. Based on its independent review of the administrative record and weighing of the evidence, while affording a strong presumption of correctness to the administrative findings, the Court finds that the administrative determination as to disability and industrial causation is not supported by the weight of the evidence. (See Usher v. County of Monterey (1998) 65 ...

Excerpt: ...ce Of Summons And To Dismiss Action For Lack Of In Personam Jurisdiction, Or, In The Alternative, To Dismiss Or Stay On Grounds Of Forum Non Conveniens. Defendant Meco Constructors, Inc.'s motion to quash is denied. Meco is subject to the California forum selection clause in paragraph 13 of the "TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AGREEMENT." The Court overrules Meco's objections to the Whitehouse declaration. "He who takes the benefit mu...

Excerpt: ....) Petitioner had demonstrated that respondent abused its discretion by failing to proceed in accordance with the law. Public Resources Code § 5024.1(f)(3) provides that: Where an objection has been raised, the commission shall adopt written findings to support its determination concerning the nomination. At a minimum, the findings shall identify the historical or cultural significance of the resource, and, if applicable, the overriding signific...

Excerpt: ...ion 1033.5. The attorneys' fees provision in the underlying construction contract entitles Webcor to recover "the actual costs and expenses incurred in connection with the prosecution or defense of such action and any appeals in connection therewith, including actual attorneys' fees, expert fees, consultant's fees or costs and compensation for their time spent by in-house costs." " '[W]hile it is reasonable to interpre...

Excerpt: ...with the supporting declaration filed on February 20, 2019. A motion must be served and filed at least 16 court days before the hearing. (Code Civ. Proc. § 1005(b).) For Defendant's guidance, the Court may order that a record be filed under seal only if it expressly finds facts that establish that there exists an overriding interest that overcomes the right of public access to the record, the overriding interest supports sealing the record, ...

Excerpt: ...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 by telephone, the stipulation may be signe...

Excerpt: ...$17,714.50 in fees and $3,143.96 in costs and expenses. Plaintiffs' counsel unnecessarily and unreasonably expended 16.1 hours in preparing responses to written discovery after the parties had reached substantial agreement on the terms of their settlement, and 11.3 hours traveling to San Francisco and appearing at a January 15, 2019 hearing on an order to show cause that could have been avoided, had Plaintiffs dismissed the action within 45 d...

Excerpt: ... asserted by plaintiffs Christine Glover, Melinda Soriano, Maria Vicedor, and Tiffany Gomez is granted, and the action is stayed pending the completion of arbitration. Hallmark Aviation has met its burden to show by a preponderance of the evidence that plaintiffs electronically signed the New Hire Policy Acknowledgement Form by completing an onboarding process which Plaintiffs accessed through a unique user name and password provided to them thro...

Excerpt: ...a Ltd.'s motion to stay entire action is denied. (See GGIS Insurance Services, Inc. v. Superior Court (2008) 168 Cal.App.4th 1493, 1505 [stay of coverage action not warranted where coverage issues can be decided as a matter of law without making factual determinations that would prejudice the insured in the third‐party action]. Arup's alternative motion to stay discovery is granted. (See Riddell, Inc. v. Superior Court (2017) 14 Cal.App...

Excerpt: ...rty can demonstrate that the challenged claims arise out of the moving party's protected petitioning activity; and if so (2) whether the party bringing the claims can demonstrate that those claims have some level of minimal merit such that they have a reasonable probability of success. (CCP §425.16; Navellier v. Sletten (2002) 29 Cal.4th 82, 88.) Plaintiff's motion fails to satisfy the first step of the analysis. Plaintiff has failed to ...

Excerpt: ...on for an order to show cause re contempt against Plaintiff Tour‐Sarkissian Law Offices, LLP is denied. On January 8, 2019, the Court granted Mr. Chan's motion to compel arbitration and stayed this action pending the completion of the arbitration proceedings. The Court has "no jurisdiction to dismiss an arbitration proceeding for failure to prosecute it in a reasonably diligent fashion." (Brock v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (1992) ...

Excerpt: ...ro Tem Judge Melinda Derish, 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 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 ...

Excerpt: ...erest in judicial economy favor granting the motion. The proposed amended complaint would add a single cause of action comprising three new charging allegations that substantially overlap with Plaintiff's existing allegations and causes of actions. Defendants' claim that the new cause of action is barred by the statute of limitations may be raised by demurrer. Defendants have failed to show they would be substantially prejudiced by allowi...