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: ...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: ...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: ...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: ...#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: ...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: ...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: ...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: ...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: ...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: ... 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: ...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: ... 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: ...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...