Excerpt: ...l seven affirmative defenses. RJR's pleading of its affirmative defenses comports with the longstanding practice for pleading affirmative defenses in Bay Area state courts based on the well-understood premise that at the outset of a case a defendant may know the reasonable range of possible affirmative defenses but may not yet have had the opportunity to determine whether there is factual support for them. If, after a reasonable opportunity f...

Excerpt: ... is denied. While California has a liberal policy favoring allowing amendments to pleadings, that policy is insufficient to warrant the granting of this motion due to the undue prejudice that would be suffered by plaintiff Merrilee Harris if the motion is granted. Permitting the filing of the second amended cross‐complaint would inevitably result in a lengthy continuance of the trial and would require Ms. Harris to participate in greatly increa...

Excerpt: ...the deposition of Lisa Fulton is granted and its request for monetary sanctions is denied. Ms. Fulton's deposition must occur on or before October 26, 2018. The primary ground asserted to oppose this motion is that all information known by Ms. Fulton relating to this case is covered by the work product privilege of plaintiff State Farm General Insurance Company. However, State Farm has not submitted any evidence showing that Ms. Fulton was re...

Excerpt: ... Damage Claim. Pro Tem Judge Roger Mead, 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 ...

Excerpt: ...complaint seeking an order that cross‐defendant R.I. and 17th LLC has a duty to defend Lambert against the claims alleged by cross‐complainant Whole Foods Market California, Inc. is denied in its entirety. Whether there is a contractual duty to defend and what circumstances a duty to defend is triggered is determined based on the language of the parties' agreement. The rules of interpretation in Civil Code 2778 are "default rules"...

Excerpt: ...laintiffs Second Amended Complaint The motion will be heard by Judge Fleming at 9:00 a.m. Defendant Balaji Srinivasan's demurrer to the first and fourth causes of action for specific performance and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in plaintiffs Leerink Revelation Healthcare Fund I, L.P and Leerink Revelation Healthcare Fund II, L.P.'s second amended complaint is sustained without leave to amend. Plaintiffs ha...

Excerpt: ...and the demurrer OVERRULED. CCP §418.10(a)(1). Plaintiff's declaration evidences that California was the site of "[a]ll of the design and engineering work" for the Atari project that is at the litigation's core. Further, plaintiff declares he "spent considerable time living in California and directing the project." This suffices to confer California jurisdiction. In contrast, defendant's motion papers proffer no evide...

Excerpt: ...418.10(a)(1). Plaintiff's declaration evidences that California was the site of "[a]ll of the design and engineering work" for the Atari project that is at the litigation's core. Further, plaintiff declares he "spent considerable time living in California and directing the project." This suffices to confer California jurisdiction. In contrast, defendant's motion papers proffer no evidence, just attorney argument. CCP �...

Excerpt: ...39; counsel surveilled plaintiff, who is said to have lost his sight in a motor vehicle accident. Plaintiff seeks to compel a deposition of the investigator as well as surveillance photos, videos and/or reports and interrogatory answers regarding the surveillance. The attorney-client privilege and attorney work product doctrine are at issue. Plaintiff says the investigator is "an employee of defense counsel" - an assertion not helpful to ...

Excerpt: ...oncealment). No plaintiff‐defendant relationship is required. Rather, (1) intentionally failing to disclose facts known to defendant that plaintiff could not have discovered and/or (2) disclosing some facts to plaintiff but intentionally failing to disclose other facts making the disclosures deceptive are both long‐established other bases for this kind of fraud. (See CACI 1901 and cases cited in its use notes.) The Fourth District opinion Big...

Excerpt: ...D. Defendant satisfies the first prong of §425.16; her filing of a complaint with the San Francisco Department of Police Accountability (SFDPA) is protected by the statute. (See, e.g., Walker v. Kiousis (2001) 93 Cal.App.4th 1432, 1439; Lee v. Fick (2005) 135 Cal.App.4th 89, 97.) Plaintiff argues that the first prong is not met because defendant's activity was a crime ‐ filing "an allegation of misconduct against a police officer knowi...

Excerpt: ...Klein And Production Of Documents; Request For Sanctions Against Defendant Klein And His Counsel In The Amount Of $6,260.00 Pro 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...

Excerpt: ...s its discretion per Penal Code 502(e)(1) not to award any fees to FusionStorm. FusionStorm never provided any persuasive evidence that Ms. Tenorio misused any of FusionStorm's information in a way that caused any harm. Moreover, the injunctive relief it sought and obtained was more prophylactic than remedial. Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to [email protected] with a copy to all other parties by 4pm stat...

Excerpt: ...denied. In light of the court's ruling on the demurrer, the request for punitive damages is based on sufficient factual allegations supporting a cause of action in fraud. 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 n...

Excerpt: ...Of Patientpop, Inc. For Business Records And Request For Monetary Sanctions Plaintiffs' motion for an order compelling compliance with their deposition subpoena to non‐ party PatientPop, Inc. is granted in part. No later than October 31, 2018 PatientPop is required to produce all documents in its possession, custody and control regarding the reputation and competence of defendant Rachel Shu including all reviews of Dr. Shu by persons for wh...

Excerpt: ...tion Agency, Inc.'s first, eighth and ninth causes of action for breach of contract, quantum meruit and promissory estoppel are stricken. All other monetary and non‐monetary sanctions sought by Uber are denied. RPA's request for monetary sanctions is also denied. This motion should never have been brought and is arguably an abuse of the 128.7 procedure notwithstanding that Uber is correct that RPA should have dismissed its claims seekin...

Excerpt: ...s motion to transfer case is denied. Venue is proper per CCP 395(a) because this action was filed in the county where one of the defendants resides. The complaint does not show that defendant Robert Morrison, a San Francisco resident, was improperly joined or joined in bad faith. Joinder statutes are liberally construed and where a plaintiff is uncertain as to the extent each tortfeasor is responsible for his injuries, joinder of the all alleged ...

Excerpt: ...4;[W]here a government agent's actions have induced noncompliance with procedural requirements, the government could be estopped from asserting those procedural bars against a citizen's recovery." (J.H. McKnight Ranch, Inc. v. Franchise Tax Bd. (2003) 110 Cal.App.4th 978, 979.) Respondent Assessment Appeals Board affirmatively advised KHP by the language in its "Information and Instructions for Assessment Appeal Application" t...

Excerpt: ...tive economic relations and breach of the implied covenant of good fair and fair dealing in the first amended complaint filed by plaintiffs Vatche Cabayan and V. Cabayan Med. Corp. is denied as to both causes of action. Plaintiffs' allegations concerning State Fund's disparaging statements are so factually deficient that they preclude a determination whether they arise from State Fund's exercise of activity protected by the anti‐SLA...

Excerpt: ...hat a dangerous condition of public property caused plaintiff's injury as a matter of law. Plaintiff must demonstrate the following to maintain his cause of action for dangerous condition of public property: (1) that CCSF owned or maintained the property; (2) that the property was in a dangerous condition on the date of accident; (3) causation; (4) the dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the kind of injury incurred; a...

Excerpt: ...cial notice of the 2009 separation agreement is denied because the parties dispute the validity and binding nature of that document. Mr. Ratias contends that the 2010 release superseded all prior contracts and Radius implicitly asserts that the 2009 separation agreement is binding. "[W]e hold the existence of a contract between private parties cannot be established by judicial notice under Evidence Code section 452, subdivision (h). Judicial ...

Excerpt: ...st per S.F. Campaign and Government Conduct Code 1.142(b) to obtain the campaign financing funds. Ms. Bassan's attempted filing was timely as the deadline had not yet expired. The record further discloses that by the deadline, respondents City and County of San Francisco and San Francisco Ethics Commission (collectively CCSF) had received Ms. Bassan's campaign contribution supporting materials. (Petition, Ex. 1, pgs. 21‐22.). Those mate...

Excerpt: ... leave to amend. Streets & Highways Code 30922 allows plaintiffs to bring an action to contest the validity of the toll increase authorized by Regional Measure 3. However, section 30922 does not expressly refer to the validation statues and thus the procedural requirements of the validation statutes do not apply. Government Code 50077.5 is inapplicable to the second cause of action since Regional Measure 3 was not approved per Article 3.5 which i...

Excerpt: ...ses of action. The first and second causes of action adequately allege intentional and negligent misrepresentation claims based on Swinteron's alleged dissemination of the Project Manual knowing that Energia would rely on it and the Manual containing intentional and negligent misrepresentations about the testing of the window products. While the first cause of action adequately alleges an intentional misrepresentation claim, it also adequatel...

Excerpt: ... to an answer is not sanctionable conduct as there is a basis for such a filing per FPI Development, Inc. v. Nakashima (1991) 231 Cal.App.3d 346, the filing of this demurrer is a complete waste of time and ruling upon it does nothing to further the litigation in this case. The affirmative defenses are alleged in a way that conforms to long‐established and accepted practice in the Bay Area state courts. The purpose of this practice is to preserv...

Excerpt: ...hmayer as counsel for Yunji Willa Qian and Qian & Co., Inc is denied. "The substantial relationship test is not implicated [and disqualification is not warranted ] unless the attorney was in a position where he could have received information that his former client might reasonably have assumed the attorney would withhold from his present client." (Christensen v. U.S. Dist. Court for Cent. Dist. of California (9th Cir. 1988) 844 F.2d 694,...

Excerpt: ...ent Group, LLC, et al.'s motion for sanctions under CCP 128.7 against Loanvest IX, LP, Loanvest XII and Mark Rushin is granted in large part. The first amended complaint is dismissed with prejudice and the Loanvest entities and Mt. Rushin are required to pay $1,270 to Mt. Diablo for the reasonable fees and costs (4 hours of attorney work at $295 per hour plus $90 in costs) it incurred in filing this motion. The first amended complaint and all...

Excerpt: ...intiff Fireman's Fund Insurance Companies' causes of action for express contractual indemnity (the first three causes of action alleged in the two complaints) is granted in its entirety. Fireman's Fund's right to subrogation based on the defendants' alleged failure to comply with their express indemnity obligations in the ADMA and APA was eliminated by QFA's filing for bankruptcy and the release by the plaintiffs in the 95...

Excerpt: ...cond amended cross‐complaint filed by cross‐ complainant MBW‐Brotherhood Way, LLC is overruled as to both causes of action. Liberally construed, the second amended cross‐complaint alleges that the phrase "for any reason" in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the MSA should be construed as excluding circumstances that allegedly occurred here where RCS, at the urging of Mr. Comstock, precluded Mr. Hawke from ceasing to work at the Project. State...

Excerpt: ...ersonal friend and has recommended her as an attorney to several people including to members of his family. However, Judge Kahn believes that he is fair and impartial in this case. Defendants SH Property, Inc. and The Bohan Company, Inc.'s motion for terminating sanctions is denied and their alternate motion for a trial continuance and monetary sanctions is granted. Plaintiff Danielle Paquette's unilateral cancellation of the defense ment...

Excerpt: ...lly improper. There is no California procedure that permits entry of a stipulated judgment that is not made in conformity with the confession of judgment rules and/or is not amenable to summary enforcement per CCP 664.6. The stipulation for judgment entered into by the parties neither complies with the strict requirements for a valid confession of judgment nor was it entered into in a pending case to fall within the scope of section 664.6. Plaint...

Excerpt: ...ertain and/or fails to allege sufficient ultimate facts as to each of the five claims. As to the claims for breach of contract and common counts, it is not clear whether Mr. Krow alleges that he entered into one or more contracts with Mr. Gevertz, as opposed to entering into a contract with an entity such as Fox Ortega Enterprises for which Mr. Gevertz may have worked as an agent and/or an employee. If Mr. Krow alleges that he entered into one or...

Excerpt: ...tions and off calendar as to the prayer for treble damages. Ms. Diamond adequately alleges punitive damages liability against Uber. While gender discrimination in employment may not always or necessarily constitute malice or oppression, depending on the facts found gender discrimination in employment can be sufficient to meet the definitions of malice and/oppression in Civil Code 3294. Liberally construed, the complaint alleges conduct that meets...

Excerpt: ... the fourth cause of action for violation of Civil Code 3344 and overruled as to the fifth cause of action for common law appropriation of name. Mr. McKee does not, nor does it appear that he can, allege that Eastwood used his name and/or contractor's license on or in any product, merchandise or good or for the purpose of advertising, selling or soliciting the purchase of a product, merchandise, good or service, which is required for section ...

Excerpt: ... unconscionability or duress under CACI 332 or 333 to warrant denial of arbitration. Even if defendant violated Business and Professions Code sec. 7159.5(a)(3), that illegal conduct is collateral to the main purpose of the contract and courts will generally sever an offensive clause and enforce the contract. (See Little v. Auto Stiegler, Inc. (2003) 29 Cal.4th 1064, 1074‐1075.) Moreover, the claim of illegality is attenuated because the illegal...

Excerpt: ...he request for punitive damages in the complaint filed by Janine and Michael Zavosky is denied in its entirety. There are triable disputes whether Farmers: a) conducted a reasonable and thorough investigation and complied with its good faith obligations as stated in CACI 2330 and b) acted with malice or oppression as those terms are defined in Civil Code 3294. Farmers' objections to the Painter and Frangiamore declarations are overruled. Any ...

Excerpt: .... The fees sought by Ng Solutions far exceed the reasonable amount of fees for a simple collection action against a pro per defendant who, apart from filing an answer, did not make any real effort to defend this case. The outer limit for the high end of a reasonable range of hours for experienced collection counsel to expend on this case is 40. 40 multiplied by the reasonable hourly rate of $200 yields an award of $8000. Any party who contests a ...

Excerpt: ...tah Investments, LLC, Ninth Street Lodging, LLC and Lintedge, LLC's demurrer to all four causes of action alleged in the first amended complaint filed by Jonathan Asselin‐Normand is sustained without leave to amend as to all four causes of action. Mr. Asselin‐ Normand fails to allege a viable claim for violation of the Unruh Act. The amended complaint shows that Mr. Asselin‐Norman was perusing hotel options while in Canada. The Unruh Ac...

Excerpt: ... costs are taxed: 1) $150 of the filing and motion fees because of an addition error by defendant Scott Smith; 2) All $795.43 of the service of process costs because no explanation is provided why the costs were incurred and it is not apparent why such costs were incurred and/or the costs are not allowed per the costs statute; and 3) All $120 of the court reporter fees because no explanation is provided why the costs were incurred and it is not a...

Excerpt: ... Street Homeowners' Association, Matthias Spanle, Mark Sher, and Pamela Yoon's motion to enforce settlement agreement is granted. The court has jurisdiction to enforce the settlement per CCP 664.6. Defendants shall pay the settlement funds by February 28, 2018. The parties were obligated merely to "explore" in good faith the concept of retaining an independent board. In other words, the parties agreed to study or investigate the p...

Excerpt: ...er compelling plaintiffs' depositions and responses to discovery and for monetary sanctions is denied. Plaintiffs Masha Levinson and Leon Taylor's request for sanctions is also denied. The primary asserted basis for the relief sought in the motion ‐ that plaintiffs lied to the court and defense counsel about the scope of the destruction of their property as a result of the Sonoma County wildfires ‐ lacks merit as previously adjudicate...

Excerpt: ...ay Hospitals' motion for summary judgment and alternative motion for summary adjudication are denied in their entirety. The declaration of Dr. Lorne Label shows that there is a triable dispute whether the acts or omissions of CPMC's nurses, staff and employees were a substantial factor in causing any of plaintiff Kyee Yeo's claimed injuries. Dr. Label's opinion that nothing in Mr. Yeo's medical condition made a tPA administrat...

Excerpt: ...d as to all six causes of action. Mr. Norman allegations that Mr. Strateman unilaterally ceased operations of the company and took its assets for his personal benefit suffice to make Mr. Strateman an interested director per Delaware law. (Rales v. Blasband (Del. 1993) 634 A.2d 927, 936 ("A director is considered interested where he or she will receive a personal financial benefit from a transaction that is not equally shared by the stockholde...

Excerpt: ...motion to strike the sole cause of action for conversion in the complaint filed by plaintiff John Hanlin is denied. Defendants failed to satisfy their first prong burden of showing that Mr. Hanlin's claim arises from activity protected by the anti‐SLAPP statute. Mr. Hanlin alleges that defendants converted his BMW by wrongfully taking possession of, denying him access to, assuming ownership of, and selling the BMW. Nowhere in the complaint ...

Excerpt: ...nd to seek punitive damages is granted on the following conditions: 1) Mr. Pankonin must provide code‐compliant verified responses without any objections other than privilege no later than February 6, 2018 to the following deem‐served discovery: a) state all facts that support each of the new allegations and all previously existing allegations against the new defendants; b) identify and provide full contact information for each person who kno...

Excerpt: ...ive motion for summary adjudication is granted as to the eighth cause of action for failure to pay wages upon termination and denied as to other ten causes of action alleged in the first amended complaint filed by plaintiff Gregory Jeloudov. The undisputed facts show that Wells Fargo paid all wages and penalties it owed to Ms. Jeloudov as required by Labor Code 201‐203 and thus Wells Fargo is entitled to summary adjudication in its favor on the...

Excerpt: ...ructive notice of that dangerous condition. It cannot be determined as a matter of law that the one inch discrepancy in the sidewalk was not a dangerous condition of public property. "In general, '[w]hether a given set of facts and circumstances creates a dangerous condition is usually a question of fact and may only be resolved as a question of law if reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion.'" (Peterson v. San Francisco C...

Excerpt: ...cy of this lawsuit is granted. Dr. Artus has shown that she will likely prevail on the merits of her claims that the November 2016 changes to the election rules were not made in compliance with the notice requirements of Civil Code 4360(a) and violate the ballot counting and recovery of fees and costs provisions in Civil Code 5105(a)(5) and (6) and 5145(b). The statement "Simplify the election process" does not substantially comply with t...

Excerpt: ...or summary judgement is GRANTED. Defendants satisfied their summary judgment burden by presenting evidence that plaintiff Richard Thomas is unable to prove either of his claims for intentional tort (trespass to real property) or negligence and plaintiff Richard Thomas has not presented any evidence creating a triable issue as to either of his claims. Strictly construing defendants' evidence and liberally construing Mr. Thomas' evidence fa...

Excerpt: ... leave to amend as to all six causes of action. Per Public Utilities Code 1759(a), this court lacks jurisdiction to entertain this action. The parties are familiar with the three‐part test used to determine whether a superior court lacks jurisdiction to hear an action against a utility regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. The first element of that test is satisfied because the California Constitution gives the CPUC broad aut...

Excerpt: ...is SUSTAINED without leave to amend to the first through third causes of action for violation of FEHA and the seventh cause of action for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and SUSTAINED with twenty days leave to amend as to the fourth cause of action harassment and retaliation in violation of public policy, the fifth cause of action for violation of Labor Code 1102.5 and the sixth cause of action for intentional infliction of ...

Excerpt: ...ation in the third amended complaint filed by plaintiffs OVERRULED. Plaintiffs are intended third‐party beneficiaries to the contracts entered between Cypress and Department of General Services. Gov't Code ? 19134 requires fair compensation and benefits for individuals such as the plaintiffs. Plaintiffs have alleged sufficient facts for each causes of action at issue. Cypress is inappropriately seeking to have the Court reach the merits of ...

Excerpt: ...he alleged conduct; it is not limited to "creation of a fake account." Second (Penal Code 502): OVERRULED; the statutory language is broad enough to encompass the alleged conduct. The statute defines "data" expansively and Plaintiff may be able to prove he had an ownership interest in, e.g., his login credentials. Third (Invasion of Privacy): OVERRULED; Plaintiff has adequately pled illicit use by Defendants of his logon credentia...

Excerpt: ...does not clearly state that he and/or Argoz, Inc. intended to perform when the promises were made. Defendants' undisputed facts 1-68 do not directly address Argoz's/Soha's intent when the contract was executed. Second, a court can deny summary adjudication where a party's state of mind is at issue. (See CCP 437c(e).) Third, while the increase of plaintiff's salary to $170,000 per year indicates a willingness to perform, Mr. So...

Excerpt: ...equest For Production Of Documents, Set One, Against Defendants Unum Group And Provident Life & Accident Insurance Company Pro Tem Judge Aaron Minnis, 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 Ju...

Excerpt: ...sconduct of defendant Daryl Luppino. Although now quite old as tort precedents go, Fields V. Sanders (1947) 29 Cal. 2d 834 and Pritchard v. Gilbert (1951) 107 Cal. App. 2d 1 have never been overruled or criticized by a published California decision, have been cited approvingly by the California Supreme Court in the "modern era" of tort law (Farmers Insurance Group v. County of Santa Clara (1995) 11 Cal 4th 992, 1005‐6) and are on‐poin...

Excerpt: ...ge ultimate facts showing corporate employer liability for punitive damages per Civil Code 3294(b). If plaintiffs' discovery or factual investigation reveals such ultimate facts, plaintiffs may file a motion to amend seeking to reinstate their prayer for punitive damages against Sunset Scavenger. 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 a...

Excerpt: ...tion efforts. Plaintiff Lenny Semis is required to pay $1590 to Mr. Berger. Because plaintiff Lenny Semis's conduct in failing to file a motion to vacate the fees judgment constitutes frivolous conduct per CCP 128.5, Mr. Berger is entitled to the reasonable fees and costs he incurred in bringing this motion. The amount sought by Mr. Berger far exceeds what is reasonable for this very simple motion. The high end of reasonable for this motion i...

Excerpt: ... 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 the motion with the same aut...

Excerpt: ...omplaint alleges that Mr. Fields committed various acts of fraud, yet Mr. Fields did not deny that he committed fraud nor did he provide any evidence showing that he didn't commit fraud. Mr. Fields' evidence focuses on the liability of his former company, rather on his own liability. Mr. Fields' "belief" that "there is no basis" for any of Mr. Wescott's claims does not negate the allegations of fraud against him. A...

Excerpt: ...ick Mcnerney As Does 1 And 101 DENIED. Plaintiff fails to present facts to show that it was ignorant of any claims it had against Mr. McNerney at the time the complaint was filed nor does plaintiff identify any ultimate facts showing that Mr. McNerney is the alter ego of any of the builder defendants. While leave to amend is liberally granted, a DOE amendment must be denied if there is an insufficient showing of ignorance per CCP 474 and/or the a...

Excerpt: ...dent. The November 7, 2016 email sent by Ms. Strong's attorney does not constitute a formal institution of arbitration proceedings per Insurance Code 12580.2(i)(1)(C). Insurance Code 12580.2(i)(3) provides that this court, not an arbitrator, decides whether the doctrine of equitable estoppel excuses Ms. Strong's noncompliance with section 12580.2(i)(1). Even considering the facts submitted with the reply papers, Ms. Strong failed to show ...

Excerpt: ...017 entry of its default is denied. The evidence submitted by plaintiff Legal Recovery LLC shows that Pioneer 74 Lots is in suspended status with the Secretary of State and thus it may not take any action to defend itself in this case, including bringing this motion. Nor has Pioneer 74 Lots provided any admissible evidence that Ms. Yip was not validly served with the summons and second amended complaint on its behalf. Counsel for Legal Recovery i...

Excerpt: ...engineer exercising discretion and the approval was reasonable. The declaration of the plaintiffs' expert contradicting the reasonableness of the approval is insufficient to defeat immunity. Plaintiffs failed to identify any change in physical conditions after the design approval and before the incident that rendered the design dangerous. Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to [email protected] with a copy to ...

Excerpt: ... summary adjudication is granted as to the fourth cause of action for race harassment and denied as to the first through third causes of action for race discrimination. There is a triable dispute whether the termination of plaintiff Leticia Dixon's employment was substantially motivated by discriminatory animus against Ms. Dixon. A reasonable juror could find in favor of Ms. Dixon on her discrimination claims based on: 1) Defendant Kathleen K...

Excerpt: ...must be deleted: "Eng contends that he holds 70% interest in Lombard Flats, LLC as of July 19, 2015. Eng's interest is contested." The following sentences must be added: "There is considerable doubt and uncertainty regarding the percentage interest, if any, in Lombard Flats, LLC that is held by Eng that is subject to this sale. There have been numerous conflicting or arguably conflicting contentions about this issue that have been...

Excerpt: ...ance With Responses To Request For Production Of Documents, Set One; And Request For Sanctions Against Denise Li Plaintiff Bay City View, LLC's motion to compel defendant Denise Li's compliance with responses to request for production of document set one and request for monetary sanctions is denied in its entirety and Denise Li is awarded sanctions of $540 against Bay City View to be paid by January 31, 2018. The court adopts in full the ...

Excerpt: ...ly permits dismissal of the lawsuit when there has been a showing that there was unreasonable or prejudicial delay by the plaintiff. Ms. Ladin has not shown either unreasonable or prejudicial delay. Plaintiff Bank of the West provided a satisfactory explanation for the delay. 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) o...

Excerpt: ...ames For Fictitious Names Plaintiff Harleysville Lake States Insurance Company's motion to amend complaint to substitute true names for Does 1‐3 is denied without prejudice to refiling if it can remedy the deficiencies in its motion papers. Harleysville fails to provide any facts, as opposed to conclusions, that support its contention that "Upon recent investigation ? Plaintiff has become aware of the need to amend its Complaint" to...

Excerpt: ...part and DENIED in part. The motion is GRANTED as to plaintiff Gruen, who signed a release containing an arbitration clause that is broad enough to apply. Gruen is very sophisticated; the circumstances do not indicate fraud in the execution of the release. Gruen's argument that he did not consent to the Google merger does not go to arbitrability. The motion is DENIED as to plaintiff Howard. The arbitration clauses defendants cite from Howard&...

Excerpt: ...ies. (See Jarrow Formulas, Inc. v. LaMarche (2003) 31 Cal.4th 728, 734.) O'Neill therefore is obligated to demonstrate a prima facie case of malicious prosecution to meet his prong two burden. O'Neill must make a showing that is similar to avoiding summary judgment. (See Taus v. Loftus (2007) 40 Cal.4th 683, 714.) The elements of the cause of action are (1) termination in favor of O'Neill; (2) action prosecuted without probable cause;...

Excerpt: ...360's motion to strike is DENIED in its entirety. Causes of action 1 and 2 are not duplicative. Paragraphs 16‐17 of the Third Amended Complaint arguably allege that the mistreatment occurred pre and post‐conviction and judicially noticeable documents do not indisputably demonstrate that the claims are duplicative. Punitive damages are recoverable on a survivorship claim pursuant to CCP 377.34. Paragraph 1 of the Third Amended Complaint al...

Excerpt: ...eviously by the Court, plaintiff is barred from bringing the dangerous condition cause of action because it is based on a completely different factual theory than that alleged in Mr. Ghadieh's government claim. Mr. Ghadieh was required to file an application to amend his initial government claim pursuant to Gov't Code 911.4 after he allegedly learned the accurate location of the accident on or about July 6, 2017 but failed to do so. Even ...

Excerpt: ... 360's demurrer to the Third Amended Complaint is OVERRULED. Judge Dekreon already concluded that there was good cause and genuine ignorance to allow the Doe amendment and the court will not revisit that issue. HealthRIGHT 360's authorities are distinguishable and it fails to show that plaintiff's claims are time barred. Scherzer v. Mark (1976) 64 Cal.App.3d 834 stands for the unremarkable proposition that a plaintiff cannot feign ign...

Excerpt: ...Without Leave To Amend To be heard by Judge Charlene Kiesselbach at 2:00 PM in Department 302. Judge Kiesselbach issues the following tentatuve ruling: Plaintiff's Jamil Bey motion for reconsideration of the order sustaining a demurrer without leave to amend to plaintiffs original complaint is denied and plaintiff Cornejo is ordered to file a an amended complaint removing Mr. Bey from the action. Mr. Bey has not alleged any new facts that wou...

Excerpt: ...Motion And Motion For Reconsideration Of Order Granting Ex Parte Application For Leave To File A First Amended Cross‐Complaint Adding Maxxon As A Dross‐Defendant; Memorandum Of Points And Authorities In Support To be heard by Judge Charlene Kiesselbach at 2pm in department 302. Judge Kiesselbach issues the following tentative ruling: Third Party Cross‐Defendant Defendant Maxxon Corporation's motion for reconsideration of order granting ...

Excerpt: ...ded complaint adequately alleges that TinyCo, Inc. assigned its obligations under the Revenue Share Agreement to Jam City. Loytr's failure to file the first amended complaint in the time frame required by the July 20, 2017 order is not a basis to preclude it from filing the first amended complaint at least where, as here, Jam City did not seek entry of judgment prior to Loytr's filing of the first amended complaint and Jam City has not sh...

Excerpt: ... Berkley Assurance Company DENIED. There is a ripe controversy between Ms. Levinson and Mr. Taylor, on the one hand, and Berkley on the other, whether there is any possibility that Berkley's policy covers the malpractice claims asserted by Ms. Levinson and Mr. Taylor against Mr. Wiseblood in the underlying action. Based on the order rescinding the policy, Berkley is entitled to a declaration in its favor and against Ms. Levinson and Mr. Taylo...

Excerpt: ...othy Lis' motion to set aside default and default judgment is granted in part. The default entered against Timothy Lis on June 25, 2018 is vacated on the condition that must be accepted by Timothy Lis that he will not assert any argument that any claims of plaintiff Lynne Crawford against him are barred by the five year statute. No default judgment has been entered against Timothy Lis, so that portion of the motion is off calendar. Timothy Li...

Excerpt: ... to compel arbitration is granted. This case is stayed pending the conclusion of arbitration proceedings. The FAA applies to this case because it involves interstate commerce as acknowledged in the complaint. Instquest is a Delaware corporation and its on‐line services implicate interstate commerce. Paragraph 13 of the parties' agreement expressly states that the FAA will govern with the limited exception that the procedural rules of the CA...

Excerpt: ...re and Dr. Slosar must occur at a mutually agreeable date no later than January 15, 2018 or the experts will not be allowed to testify at trial. Plaintiff's counsel must pay sanctions of $3050 to defendants no later than January 15, 2018. Although plaintiff Lee Nager did not have permission to file any papers on this motion after the hearing before Judge Pro Tem Peter Catalanotti, the court reviewed those papers and does not believe that any ...

Excerpt: ... fraud in the third amended complaint filed by plaintiff David Lampach GRANTED. By presenting Mr. Lampach's responses to the deemed‐served discovery, Mr. Keller and Delft satisfied their summary adjudication burden that Mr. Lampach has no information that either of the defendants made any communication in connection with the offer for the sale or purchase of securities in the consulting agreement that either included an untrue statement of ...

Excerpt: ...nth, eighth, seventeenth, and twenty‐first affirmative defenses, b) OVERRULED as to the fifth, sixteenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, twenty‐second through twenty‐fourth and twenty‐eighth affirmative defenses, and c) SUSTAINED without leave to amend as to the sixth, ninth through fifteenth, twentieth, twenty‐fifth through twenty‐seventh and twenty‐ninth affirmative defenses. Defendants' request for leave to amend certain of their af...

Excerpt: ...nt Litigation In Favor Of Arbitration. Memorandum Of Points And Authorities And Declaration Of Defendant Defendant Chung Chan, Jr.'s motion to compel arbitration is granted. This case is stayed pending completion of arbitration proceedings. If Mr. Chan does not cooperate in obtaining resolution of the claims filed by plaintiff Tour‐Sarkissian Law Offices, LLC by arbitration, TSLO is given leave to file a motion for determination that Mr. Ch...

Excerpt: ...that the video produced by Mr. Luini is not entitled to the protections in the protective order or that his ability to prosecute this case is impaired by that protective order. While some of the evidence submitted with the moving papers is suggestive that counsel for defendants may be interested in avoiding embarrassment of their clients by public dissemination of the video, reviewed as a whole, the evidence submitted on this motion shows that de...

Excerpt: ... 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 by telephone, the stipulation ma...

Excerpt: ...Azarinfar are the prevailing parties in this case for purposes of recovering costs. All costs claimed by the defendants in their memorandum of costs filed October 31, 2017 are allowable as a matter of right or in the exercise of the court's discretion. All claimed costs were reasonably incurred. None of Dr. Nanda's arguments why some or all of the claimed costs should be stricken or taxed have any merit. Any party who contests a tentative...

Excerpt: ...nd Production Of Documents By Fca Us Llcs Dealership Personnel And Request For Sanctions In The Amount Of 3,060 GRANTED. The noticed deposition location is appropriate under CCP 2025.250. A claim of undue burden is properly made by a motion for protective order or stay. Discovery sanctions of $3,060 are awarded against defendant. Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to [email protected] with a copy to all other par...

Excerpt: ...fraud. Defendants' request that the court take judicial notice of the special consent signed on September 8, 2015 is DENIED. The special consent is not explicitly referred to in the first amended complaint and is not the kind of document that a court may judicially notice. 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: ...aylor did not make any intentional misrepresentation about the damages the plaintiffs suffered as a result of the Sonoma County fires. Mr. Wiseblood's accusations to the contrary and his efforts to obtain a litigation advantage not only are unfounded and violate norms of civility expected of all counsel, but are also arguably violative of CCP 128.5. Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to [email protected] with...

Excerpt: ...DLSE proceedings is granted in part. All DLSE proceedings are stayed pending the California Supreme Court's decision in OTO, L.L.C. v. Kho. Once the decision in OTO is issued, the parties should meet and confer regarding the impact of that case on this petition. If any of the respondents believe that the California Supreme Court's decision in OTO does not support granting the petition, Uber may re‐notice its petition for a hearing at th...

Excerpt: ...ion which is based on sufficient facts establishing the absence of any assets attributable to Ms. Elizon that could be paid in settlement of this lawsuit. The papers filed on behalf of Ms. Elizon do not adequately show that there are no assets attributable to Ms. Elizon that could be paid in settlement of this lawsuit. Nor do those papers show that sufficient efforts were made to locate any heirs of Ms. Elizon or determine the scope of her decede...

Excerpt: ...el Zephyr is an entity that can be sued. Defendants have adequately shown that Hotel Zephyr is not a legal entity and thus it cannot be sued. If Ms. Salas learns information to the contrary, she may seek to amend her complaint or any judgment that she might obtain to add Hotel Zephyr and may do so without regard to any statute of limitations or laches defense due to principles of judicial estoppel. Any party who contests a tentative ruling must s...

Excerpt: ...ed on his recent receipt of discovery supporting these allegations. Granting the motion comports with California's liberal policy of allowing amendments to pleadings at any time, particularly where, as here, there is no legal prejudice to cross‐defendants by doing so. The court's previous comments about a last opportunity to amend are fairly construed to cover only matters that Mr. Schuldiner then knew or should have known, not matters ...

Excerpt: ...e strongest case of extrinsic mistake, Mr. Wong has adequately shown all of the required elements to invoke the court's exercise of its discretion to relieve him of the default and default judgment on the grounds of extrinsic mistake. Granting the motion comports with California's strong policy of deciding cases on their merits and plaintiff has not shown that it will suffer any legal prejudice by the granting of the motion. Plaintiff'...

Excerpt: ... mistake. The order was the result of an ex parte application which was heard on or about October 11, 2017 and Mr. Lopez was represented at the hearing by Phil Kilduff. In all events, even if there were any irregularities in the October 23, 2017 order, which there were not, Mr. Lopez suffered no prejudice because he had a full and fair opportunity to respond to the order to show cause initiated by plaintiff John Cowan and appeared and argued agai...

Excerpt: ...overriding interest" per CRC 2.550. Plaintiff has not made a sufficient showing that there is an overriding interest or that it is unable to request a default judgment without publicly disclosing truly confidential and business sensitive information. 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...

Excerpt: ...tate and thus it may not take any action to defend itself in this case, including bringing this motion. Nor has Pioneer 74 Lots provided any admissible evidence that Ms. Yip was not validly served with the summons and second amended complaint on its behalf. 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 rul...

Excerpt: ...sel per Le Francois v. Goel (2005) 35 Cal. 4th 1094. Mr. Rogers has failed to provide any persuasive reason why he needs the Lees' current address and the Lees have shown that there is at least some risk that their disclosure of their address will needlessly expose them to harassment. The extraordinary manner in which this case has been litigated provides at least some corroboration for the Lees' concerns. Any party who contests a tentati...

Excerpt: ...laint with leave to amend. The Court sustains defendant's demurrer to the seventh cause of action without leave to amend. As to the sixth cause of action, Plaintiff fails to plead specific facts sufficient to establish the elements of fraud. (Small v. Fritz Companies, Inc. (2003) 30 Cal.4th 167, 184; Stansfield v. Starkey (1990) 220 Cal.App.3d 59, 73.) The complaint lacks particularized facts showing that Defendant did not intend to perform t...