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: ...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: ... 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: ...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: ...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: ...#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: ...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: ...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: ...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: ...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: ... 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: ... 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: ...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: ...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: ...nue. Cross‐defendant City of South San Francisco's motion to change venue to San Mateo County is denied and its alternate motion to sever the Shek cross‐complaint and transfer that cross‐complaint to San Mateo County is also denied. Per still valid and binding case law, a cross‐ complaint for indemnity and contribution is not an action for "injury" based on "negligence" within the meaning of CCP 394. (Tutor‐Saliba‐...

Excerpt: ...ntil the completion of arbitration is granted. This case is stayed pending completion of arbitration proceedings on all claims alleged by plaintiffs Theodore Wilson and Tradingpost Modern LLC. The 2014 Operating Agreement includes an arbitration clause with a broad scope that also contains clear and unmistakable language evidencing the parties' intent to delegate issues of arbitrability to the arbitrator. This delegation language is not uncon...

Excerpt: ...than August 31, 2018. Ms. Griffin has shown sufficient grounds to set aside the default based on both the discretionary and mandatory relief provisions of CCP 473(b). Plaintiff Gilbert Papazian is estopped to assert that the portion of Ms. Griffin's motion seeking to set aside the default based on the discretionary relief provisions of CCP 473(b) is untimely due to his counsel's filing of a notice of unavailability for the period July 3, ...

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: ...CAPITAL PARTNERS, L.P., HOSPITALITY INVESTMENT GROUP, INC.'s MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT Or In The Alternative, Summary Adjudication. Defendants Kimpton Group Holding, LLC, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, LLC, KHP Capital Partners, L.P. and Hospitality Investment Group, Inc. (calling themselves the "Kimpton entities") move for summary judgment or, in the alternative, summary adjudication. The case involves plaintiff's fall down ...

Excerpt: ...e 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 authority as a Sup...

Excerpt: ...ndant American Arbitration Association's demurrer to the fourth and fifth causes of action in the first amended complaint is sustained without leave to amend as to both causes of action. AAA's request for judicial notice of the Escrow Agreement, the Partial Final Award, and Procedural Order No. 11 is granted as to all three documents. Based on those documents, the fourth and fifth causes of action fail as a matter of law since those docum...

Excerpt: ...to determine whether, in light of the asserted extrinsic evidence, the guaranty agreement is reasonably susceptible to Ms. Shahrestani's proffered interpretations of that agreement. It is. Liberally construing the allegations in the complaint and considering all of those allegations and the documents attached to the complaint, the guaranty agreement is reasonably susceptible to both of the following interpretations: 1) the guaranty agreement ...

Excerpt: ...judgment is denied and its alternate motion for summary adjudication is granted as to the fifth cause for violation of Labor Code 2802(a) and is denied as to the four other causes of action alleged in the complaint filed by plaintiff Jessica Taylor. Using a multi- faceted approach, the court concludes that the California Labor Code provisions that Ms. Tayor alleges were violated by MariaDB are applicable to this case even though the alleged viola...

Excerpt: ... Guadalupe Hernandez Gomez is sustained without leave to amend as to the ninth cause of action and overruled as to all other causes of action. Liberally construed, the fourth through eighth and tenth causes of action all contain sufficient allegations of ultimate facts supporting Ms. Gomez's claims for violations of FEHA and CFRA, discrimination, failure to accommodate, retaliation and wrongful termination. The fourth, sixth and seventh cause...

Excerpt: ...sponse To Request For Production Of Documents Set Three To Martin Mcnerney Development Inc Dba Martin Building Company. Pro Tem Judge Robert Kane, 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....

Excerpt: ...n's application for determination of the good faith of his settlement with plaintiff Vincenzo Corbelli is denied. Mr. McMahan appears to acknowlege that his settlement is not within the reasonable range of his proportionate share of liability for Mr. Corbelli's claimed harm and thus seeks a good faith imprimatur of the settlement solely based on the settlement for the limits of his insurance policy and his personal financial condition. Ho...

Excerpt: ...omplaint Within Three Years, Pursuant To Code Of Civil Procedure Sections 583.210 ‐ 583.250. Defendant Susan Bailey's motion to dismiss this action due to plaintiff's failure to serve the complaint within three years is granted. Mr. Rea has not shown that his failure to serve Dr. Bailey within three years of filing this case was impossible, impracticable or futile due to causes beyond his control. While the court is very sympathetic to ...

Excerpt: ...e tentative hearing issued prior to the August 7 hearing: Defendants Latin Grammar School, Inc. and Latin College Preparatory Charter School, Inc.'s motion 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 t...

Excerpt: ...hether the possibly provable facts known to MCIC and Truck by the time they received the arbitration award created a possibility of coverage, thereby triggering a duty to defend Mr. Somerville. Farmers Insurance and Farmers Insurance Group's request for summary judgment in their favor is granted. Mr. Giles' declaration which showed that "Farmers Insurance" and "Farmers Insurance Group" are merely trademark names and they a...

Excerpt: ...ction for construction defects against Mr. Zhen and sustained with thirty days leave to amend as to the first, second and fourth causes of action for breach of contract, unlicensed contractor and slander of title against both Mr. Zhen and Sam Wing and the third cause of action against Sam Wing. Liberally construed, Mr. Kung's third cause of action for construction defects alleges a viable negligence claim against Mr. Zhen. Mr. Kung is given o...

Excerpt: ...ports with California's liberal policy of allowing amendments to pleadings at any stage in a case. and none of the defendants have identified any legal prejudice to them if the motion is granted. Even if Mr. Mertz‐Prickett was not as diligent in seeking to amend as he might have been, no defendant has identified any legal prejudice to him or it if the motion is granted. Because the amended complaint seeks to add two paragraphs to an existin...

Excerpt: ...udication of plaintiff John Cox, Jr.'s request for Civil Code 3345 treble penalties is granted. Mr. Cox's supplemental interrogatory responses dated April 2, 2018 show that Mr. Cox does not now have and is unable to obtain any evidence that: 1) at the time Mr. Cox made his request to buyback his 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, either defendant knew or should have known his age and 2) defendants' alleged wrongful refusal to buyback the Jeep ...

Excerpt: ...nd International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society's anti‐SLAPP motion to strike the second and third causes of action for declaratory relief and defamation in plaintiff Raphael Stricker's complaint is denied. Assuming without deciding that defendants satisfied their first prong burden that the declaratory relief and defamation claims arise from activity protected by the anti‐SLAPP statute, Dr. Stricker has shown that there is mini...

Excerpt: ...ble dispute whether the conduct of the bus operator, for which the City is vicariously liable, fell below the heightened standard of care applicable to common carriers per CCP 2100. A reasonable juror could find that the driver failed to "to do all that human care, vigilance, and foresight reasonably can do under the circumstances" (Lopez v. Southern Cal. Rapid Transit Dist. (1985) 40 Cal.3d 780, 785) based on evidence that Mr. Celeste di...

Excerpt: ...ociation's motion for summary judgment is denied. The HOA withdrew its motion in the reply memorandum. Mr. Courtney, Mr. Rattonetti, and Mr. Phanichphant are not entitled to summary judgment in their favor based on their Civil Code 580 affirmative defense. Section 580 does not preclude liability against the individual moving parties based on evidence that, when they were officers of the HOA, they failed to conduct an inspection of the balcony...

Excerpt: ...of its breach of contract and common counts claims. Both claims are premised on the existence and enforceability of the April 30, 2012 Attorney‐Client Fee Agreement. However, some of the fees L&S seeks on this motion were for services purportedly rendered before the date of that agreement and there is no evidence submitted by L&S that the agreement applies to those fees. Moreover, the agreement provides for a deed of trust in favor of L&S to be...

Excerpt: ...ause it was contrary to California law. "Lack of personal jurisdiction over defendant is not ground for demurrer. It must be raised, if at all, by motion to quash service of summons [CCP ?418.10?] If defendant instead demurs, the demurrer constitutes a general appearance, waiving any defect in personal jurisdiction [CCP ?1014]". (Weil & Brown, California Practice Guide: Civil Procedure Before Trial (TRG 2016) p. 7(I)‐36 (emphasis in ori...

Excerpt: ... to hire an expert to investigate for construction defects upon the occurrence of minor maintenance problems. (Creekridge Townhome Owners Assn., Inc. v. C. Scott Whitten, Inc. (2009) 177 Cal.App.4th 251, 256-59; Geertz v. Ausonio (1992) 4 Cal.App.4th 1363, 1371.) Plaintiff has sufficiently pled the time and manner of the discovery of the alleged latent defects (FAC 15, 17-20) and the reason for the late discovery has also been alleged (id. at 13-...

Excerpt: ...County of San Francisco is denied. Viewed against the backdrop of her having previously filed two Government Code claims with the CCSF Controller, including one she personally filed shortly before the date of the incident that is the subject of this petition, Ms. Hall's conclusory declaration raises more questions than it answers and falls short of the required showings of (1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect and (2) reaso...

Excerpt: ... contract; b) sustained with twenty days leave to amend as to the fourth, fifth, and sixth causes of action for breach of fiduciary duty, intentional tort, and fraud; and c) sustained without leave to amend as to the seventh cause of action for reckless misconduct. Mr. Archer adequately alleges a conversion claim based on his right to own and possess the 350 Bitcoin Gold coins and Coinbase's interference with that right. Mr. Archer adequately...

Excerpt: ...eld Co. (2001) 25 Cal.4th 826. However, the declaration of Charles Ay creates a triable issue whether plaintiff Mike Vandevoir was exposed to asbestos‐containing products or materials (pipe insulation) attributable to defendant. Defendant's objections are sustained as to Exhibit C of Jason Rose's declaration, but overruled as to the declarations of Mike Vandevoir (8) and Charles Ay (48). If a hearing is requested, it will be at 9:30 a.m...

Excerpt: ... Of Points And Authorities And Declarations Of Plaintiff Sohni Ahluwalia And John A. Holman. Hearing required. Ms. Ahluwalia's refusal to submit to a further session of her deposition after being ordered to do so and giving varying excuses why she would or could not be deposed, not any actions or inactions of defendants or their counsel, is what resulted in the imposition of terminating sanctions and the failure to have those sanctions vacate...

Excerpt: ...close friend of his, but neither that friendship nor any other matter causes him to be other than fair and impartial in deciding this case. Defendant The Regents of the University of California's motion for summary judgment on the sole remaining cause of action for retaliation in violation of the California Family Rights Act is denied. The Regents satisfied its summary judgment burden by showing that it had a legitimate reason for terminating...