Excerpt: ... the case has not been brought to trial within three years. (Code of Civ. Proc. S 583.420, subd. On April 18, 2019, plaintiffs' counsel filed this action. unfortunately, plaintiffs' counsel died in or around July 2021, over two years ago, and no counsel has substituted into the case and plaintiffs have not appeared in pro per. Defendants have served this motion on plaintiffs' counsel (which is proper since there has been no substitution of attorn...

Excerpt: ...uirements of the local rule. Plaintiff, an employee of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office ("SMCSO"), brings this action under Government Code section 12940 alleging hostile work environment, discrimination, retaliation, failure to prevent harassment, failure to engage in the interactive process, and failure to accommodate. As part of her Complaint, Plaintiff alleges that SMCSO has a pervasive atmosphere and pattern of sexual harassment and ass...

Excerpt: ...").) These have not been bookmarked in compliance with California Rules of Court rule 3.110(f)(4) or Local Rule 3.3. A court can sanction for local rules violations. (Shiheiber v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (2022) 81 Cal.App.5th 588, 695.) Indigo is reminded to comply with all rules of court and local rules. Indigo moves here to reclassify this unlimited case to limited, contending that Plaintiffs Rajesh Yalamanchili and Olga Gritsevskaya (collect...

Excerpt: ...d Zhiying Qui (collectively defendants). The court finds that there are not grounds under Code of Civil Procedure secton 1008 because there are no new or different facts which warrant reconsideration. All the facts were known or could have been known at the time the two prior motions for preliminary injunction were filed. A filing of a cross-complaint is not a new fact justifying reconsideration. Nor is the fact that defendants deny liability a f...

Excerpt: ... 56, 76—77 ["trial court should evaluate a PAGA settlement to determine whether it is fair, reasonable, and adequate in view of PAGA's purposes to remediate present labor law violations, deter future ones, and to maximize enforcement of state labor laws."]; Kullar v. Foot Locker Retail, Inc. (2008) 168 Cal.App.4th 116, 129 (" 'The court has a fiduciary as guardians of the rights of the absentee class members when deciding whether to approve a s...

Excerpt: ...2(d). Legal standard on demurrer. A demurrer may be used only to challenge defects that appear on the face of the pleading under attack or from matters outside the pleading that are judicially noticeable. Blank v. Kirwan (1985) 39 Cal. 3d 311, 318. A demurrer tests the legal suffciency of the pleading it is attacking, and only raises questions of law." Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 589. For the purpose of testing the sufficiency of a cause of action, the ...

Excerpt: ... to a commercial lease. The dispute centers on whether the parties' lease agreement included/incorporated by reference an "Addendum A," which purportedly granted/provided the tenants/defendant an option to renew the lease upon its expiration. The parties participated in a July 7, 2023 court trial, which inwlved witness testimony. upon its conclusion, the Court issued a Minute Order indicating its intenton to find in favor of Defendant (tenant) an...

Excerpt: ...-motions for summary judgment. Plaintiff partially settled with four of the five defendants, leaving Defendant Matthew Klein ("Defendant" or "Klein") the sole remaining Defendant in the action. The Court granted summary judgment for Plaintiff against Klein and entered the Judgment following its Order Granting Summary Judgment on June 29, 2023. Plaintiff served the Notice of Entry of Judgment Following Order Granting Summary Judgment on Defendant ...

Excerpt: ...ss and Professions Code section 7031(b). "Except as provided in subdivision (e), a person who utilizes the services of an unlicensed contractor may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction in this state to recover all compensation paid to the unlicensed contractor for performance of any act or contract." (Bus. & Prof. Code S 7031(b).) Plaintiffs seek summary adjudication on the ground that Defendant was an unlicensed contractor duri...

Excerpt: ...he Complaint. PhotoGauge contends that (1) the first cause of action fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action and (2) the Court has no jurisdiction over the subject of the second cause of action. (Code of Civ. Proc., S 430.10, subds. (a), A. First Cause of Action: Breach of Contract The first cause of acton is premised upon the employment contract entered into Heslin and PhotoGauge in March 2021. (Sep. 14, 2022 Complaint, '...

Excerpt: ...claim is one upon which an attachment may be issued, (2) plaintiff has established the probable validity of the claim, (3) the attachment is not sought for any purpose other than to secure recovery on the claim, and (4) the amount to be secured is greater than zero. CCP S 484.090. Except as otherwise provided by statute, a claim is one upon which an attachment may be issued: (1) in an action on a claim or claims for money, (2) based upon a contra...

Excerpt: ...of this order. As a preliminary matter, the hearing on this demurrer was originally set for July 21, 2023. The Court found that Defendant MPH International LLC ("MPH") had failed to meet and confer as required by Code of Civil Procedure section 430.41. The Court continued the hearing and ordered MPH to file a declaration, confirming that the parties had met and conferred, no later than September 5, 2023. MPH has failed to file a declaration, and ...

Excerpt: ...e sole grounds for Defendant's motion as to the first cause of action is that the LLC Operating Agreement has terminated, the LLC has dissolved, and Defendant withdrew from the LLC in 2017. These facts are undisputed. Defendant contends, therefore, that he cannot be liable for a breach of contract claim. The argument has no basis in law, and Defendant cites no legal authority to support the argument. When a contract terminates or expires, it is n...

Excerpt: ...raud is OVERRULED. The elements of a claim for fraudulent concealment are: "(1) the defendant must have concealed or suppressed a material fact, (2) the defendant must have been under a duty to disclose the fact to the plaintiff, (3) the defendant must have intentionally concealed or suppressed the fact with the intent to defraud the plaintiff, (4) the plaintiff must have been unaware of the fact and would not have acted as he did if he had known...

Excerpt: ...ristopher Dunn Cust(Nlianship ("Plaintiffs") "Motion to compel and Request for sanctions," filed June 12, 2023, is GRANTED-IN-PART and DENIED-INPART. Background. Plaintiffs filed this case in March 2022. Plaintiffs' present Motion argues that since roughly mid-2022 and continuing to the present, Defendants David Bragg and Silicon Valley Real Estate Ventures, LLC (SVRV) have engaged in various forms of discovery abuse/misconduct that warrants sanc...

Excerpt: ...he parties entered into a Settlement Agreement, which that Defendants South Bay Real Estate Commerce Group, LLC and George Cresson (Judgment Debtors) would pay to Plaintiff MDIG, pursuant to a payment plan. There is no dispute that the Judgment Debtors paid of the Settlement, several years ago. MDIG contends that no additional payments have been made (i.e., Judgment Debtors have made no payments in over five years now), during which time MDIG has...

Excerpt: ... to Strike. As a preliminary matter, McLennan identifies four statutory grounds for this demurrer to the Complaint of Plaintiff 930 Linden Avenue, LLC ("930 LLC"): (1) 930 LLC's lack of capacity to sue, (2) misjoinder, (3) failure to state a claim, and (4) uncertainty. (See Code of Civ. S 430.10, subds. (b), (d)—(f).) However, none of the papers filed in support of the motion discuss capacity to sue, misjoinder, or uncertainty. The Court theref...

Excerpt: ... ON DEMURRER AND DEMURRER TO DEFENDANT AND CROSS-COMPLAINANT DONNA GOLDSTEIN'S VERIFIED CROSS COMPLAINANT BY PLAINTIFF AND CROSS-DEFENDANT TENTATIVE RULING: The instant dispute arises out of a loan and Deed of Trust ("DOT") executed by Defendant Donna Goldstein's nowdeceased husband, Andrew Goldstein, pledging real property at 1431 Laguna Avenue, Burlingame CA (the "subject property") to Option One Mortgage ("Option One") as security for a loan (...

Excerpt: ... filed a Cross-complaint against Plaintiff. On May 5, 2022, Plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint to add claims for accounting and declaratory relief. On June 28, 2022, this case was set for trial to commence June 1, 2023. On May 8, 2023, less than one month before trial, Defendant brought an ex parte application to continue the trial date, allow further merits discovery, and allow more time to complete expert discovery — due to the recent ...

Excerpt: ...elevant Facts This personal injury case arises out of a December 16, 2019 incident in which Plaintiff and Cross-defendant Nancy Hey, who had already been legally blind, was struck in the eye by a metal protrusion on the premises of Rancho Viejo horse stables located at 145 Ansel Lane in Portola Valley (the "Premises"). The Premises are owned by the Defendant Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University ("Stanford") and leased to Def...

Excerpt: ..."). In the operative First Amended Complaint, Plaintiff alleges causes of acton against both Watt and AVM for whistleblower retaliation, false imprisonment, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.l Defendant AVM now demurs to all causes of action, arguing that Plaintiff has failed to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action as to his whistleblower retaliation claim, and that AVM has failed to allege sufficient fac...

Excerpt: ...n suing a public entity defendant. Public entities can be liable only to the extent prov-ded by statute. Government Code Section 815 states, in pertinent part: " Except as otherwise provided by statute: (a) A public entity is not liable for an injury, whether such injury arises out of an act or omission of the public entity or a public employee or any other person." To assert a valid claim against Defendant, which is public entity, Plaintiff must...

Excerpt: ...ntiffs opposition and accepts counsel's explanation and apology for the reason that the opposition was not filed on time. The court grants defendant's request for judicial notice for the fact that the documents were filed in the court, but not for the truth of the contents of the documents. Plaintiff argues that this demurrer repeats the same arguments as raised in defendant's motion for judgment on the pleadings to the first amended complaint, w...

Excerpt: ...ntly determine whether a settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate. (Moniz v. Adecco USA, Inc. (2021) 72 Cal.App.5th 55, 76—77 ["trial court should evaluate a PAGA settlement to determine whether it is fair, reasonable, and adequate in view of PAGA's purposes to remediate present labor law violations, deter future ones, and to maximize enforcement of state labor laws."]; Kullar v. Foot Locker Retail, Inc. (2008) 168 Cal.App.4th 116, 129 'The ...

Excerpt: ... Lyudmyla Grytsayenko ("Lyudmyla") and Yuriy Grytsayenko ("Yuriy") (also collectively "Plaintiffs") is ruled on as follows: The Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED. The Complaint alleges claims for General Negligence and Premises Liability. (McCann Decl., Exh. A.) Plaintiffs claim that Lyudmyla was forced to walk toward metal cross-bracers that were a part of scaffolding with no padding or warning tape in place, and hit her head against the lo...

Excerpt: ...and there are no allegations of fraud in the complaint. Plaintiffs' counsel's continued use of these terms elevates the emotions in this case and is unnecessary. The parties are to APPEAR to address the following issues: Plaintiffs' discovery is much broader than appears to be relevant or reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence regarding the remaining issues in the case. The court's understanding was that plaintiffs ...

Excerpt: ...s "Director of the Department of Motor Vehicles" ("Department"). Wyant was detained and arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. He submitted to a chemical test of his blood on the night of his arrest, and results of that chemical test showed a 0.082 percent blood alcohol content ("BAC") in violation of Vehicle Code section 23152. The Department suspended Wyant's privilege to drive a motor vehicle for four months, from Oc...

Excerpt: ...Snowflake's motion for summary judgment. These exhibits contain both (1) thirdparty personally identifiable information of Snowflake employees and former employees, including performance reviews, employment histories, and financial information; and (2) confidential business information re Snowflake's confidential competitive business information. Public versions have been filed. The private versions were lodged conditionally under seal on June 22...

Excerpt: ...e granted approval by this Court at the final fairness hearing. (Kullar v. Fint Locker Retail, Inc. (2008) 158 cal.App.4th 115, 133.) (See MPA, at po. 9:2-17, 10:7-13; Potashnick Dec., 9, 12.) Multiple portions of Plaintiff's memorandum are not supported by citations to evidence or contemplated in counsel's declaration. (See MPA, at pp. 10:24-25, • Plaintiff failed to append the Settlement Agreement as Exhibit A or Exhibit 1 to the Potashnick D...

Excerpt: ...10) days after service of written notice of this order. Defendant City of South San Francisco (the "City") demurs to the second and third causes of action in the Complaint of plaintiff L C General Engineering & Construction, Inc. ("LCG") on the grounds that neither states facts sufficient to constitute a cause of acton. (See Code Civ. Proc., S 430.10, subd. (e).) A. Legal Standard on Demurrer The purpose of a demurrer is to test the legal suffici...

Excerpt: ...e applicable statute of limitations. The Complaint alleges that on November 29, 2019, the decedent, plaintiff's mother, was admitted to Mills Peninsula Medical Center due to difficulty breathing. (Complaint, 6.) Plaintiff alleges that one of decedent's lungs collapsed on November 30, 2019, and she was transferred to the ICU and placed on a ventilator. (Ibid.) According to the Complaint, "[Orom 11-28-2019 until 12-19-2019 it was here that [the dec...

Excerpt: ...E RULING: For the reasons stated below, Defendants Wayne Podesta et. al.'sJune 6, 2023 Motion to Strike portions of Plaintiffs Franciscan Resident Advisory committee, et. al.'s April 10, 2023 complaint is GRANTED-INPART and DENIED-IN-PART. code Civ. Proc. Sects. 435, 436. Defendants' June 6, 2023 Request for Judicial Notice is GRANTED-INPART and DENIED-IN-PART. (See Order on Defendants' Demurrer to Complaint, which explains the Court's rationale)...

Excerpt: ...rrer on behalf of only one Defendant (Indrawous Azar) and pay a single First Appearance Fee, rather than filing a Demurrer on behalf of all clients and incurring multiple First Appearance Fees. There is no statute, court rule, or regulation that supports this strategy. Mr. Bender's approach, though possibly well- meaning, constituted attorney neglect because a reasonable attorney would have known that demurring on behalf of just one client would ...

Excerpt: ... to state a claim as the parties (or their predecessors in interest) entered into a settlement with broad mutual releases as part of the Second Settlement Agreement. (2) SUSTAINED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND as to the second cause of action for negligence. Although the negligence claim cannot be based upon the prior settlements, the Second Amended Complaint also contains some allegations that the failure of Defendant to maintain its subslab depressuraton...

Excerpt: ...the Ford pickup truck he was in broke down. (UMF No. 3.) A Caltrans tow truck towed Plaintiff's vehicle and deposited it on university Avenue in Menlo Park, approximately 200 feet from the intersection with Bayfront Expressway. (UMF No. 4.) The tow truck driver left shortly thereafter. (UMF No. 5.) Plaintiff's friend subsequently gave him a ride to AutoZone Auto Parts to purchase parts to repair his truck. (UMF No. 6.) After purchasing the needed...

Excerpt: ...ed fifty-percent interest in the subject property, and Plaintiffs Triple 8 Holdings, LLC and Donald Chua to be entitled to a partition of the subject property. Plaintiffs Triple Eight Holdings, LLC's and Donald Chua's Request for Judicial Notice is GRANTED as to items nos. 1—6 and 12 and DENIED as to items 7—11. Defendant Bernice Turner's Request for Judicial Notice is DENIED as to all items. Defendant Bernice Turner's Evidentiary Objections�...

Excerpt: ....310.) On June 17, 2019, defendants filed answers and no advice of counsel defense was asserted. Since the inception of the case, the action has been vigorously litigated. There have been over 40 hearings on motions, case management conferences and informal discovery conferences, and the docket contains over 550 entries. On December 1, 2020, this case was assigned to the Hon. Nancy L. Fineman for all purposes. The court held its first pretrial co...

Excerpt: ...e suspension or disabling in all circumstances." (MPA, p.2.) Defendant also contends that collateral estoppel bars Plaintiff from seeking monetary damages because the federal district court's decision dismissing Plaintiff's Complaint in King v. Facebook, Inc. (N.D. Cal. 2021) 572 F.Supp.3d 776 has determined that Plaintiff cannot allege a claim for monetary relief. In King v. Facebook, Inc., 572 F.Supp.3d at 790, the federal district court determ...

Excerpt: ...on brief is single-spaced, which violates California Rules of Court, Rule 2.108. In its discretion, the Court has chosen to overlook this procedural defect in this instance. The Court will expect Plaintiff to strictly comply with the Rules of Court going forward. Plaintiff has not highlighted/marked the relevant portions of the deposition transcripts. Plaintiff has filed deposition testimony in support of her Opposition papers, but has not highli...

Excerpt: ...ext, Inc. to provide a further account is GRANTED. Plaintiff and Cross defendant Open Text, Inc. shall serve a further account no later than ten (10) days after service of written notice of the formal order. Defendant and Cross-complainant Michelle Beasley's request for an order appointing a referee to hear and decide an issue or specific question of fact is DENIED. A. Procedural Background On March 8, 2023, Beasley served a demand for a bill of ...

Excerpt: ...ion of Katie Fones "in its entirety" is overruled. Objections to evidence must be specific. (Evid. Code Sect. 353, subd. (a); Coit Drapery Cleaners, Inc. v. Sequoia Ins. Co. (1993) 14 Cal.App.4th 1595, 1611.) The objection to the entirety of the declaration on the ground that "reasonably equivalent value" is not susceptible to ex#rt testimony is overbroad and non-specific. Further, the Fones Declaration never provides an opinion on what constitut...

Excerpt: ...the "SAC") asserts nine causes of action against Defendant County of San Mateo (the "County") and one hundred unnamed employees of the County for their respective roles in the alleged sexual abuse committed by Probation Officer John Domeniconi of Plaintiff Jane DT Doe while the latter was a minor. The County moves here for an order striking the entirety of the SAC for Plaintiff's failure to file timely certificates and obtain court approval—as ...

Excerpt: ...d notify Department 4 and all other parties by 4:00 p.m. on August 21, 2023. In these motons in these related cases, defendant/judgment debtor Josefina A. Manalo seeks pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 473 to vacate the clerk's judgments confirming orders of the Labor Commissioner on the basis of fraud and for a new trial pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure secton 657. Both the Labor Commissioner and plaintiffs/judgment creditors agree ...

Excerpt: ...lass Action Settlement Agreement (2) Approval of Notice to Class Members and Related Materials; (3) Approval of Settlement Administrator; and (4) Setting Hearing For Final Approval of Settlement ("Motion") is ruled upon as follows. The Court appreciates the work engaged in by the parties in revising its requests for approval. The Court has conducted an independent review of the request to determine whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and a...

Excerpt: ... Coalition for Pacificans for an Updated Plan and Kristen Cramer (plaintiffs) filed this action which inwlves a CEQA challenge to a proposed project called Vista Mar located in Pacifica, California ("the Project"). Both plaintiffs sued on both causes of action. Plaintiffs sued the City of Pacifica (the City) and real parties in interest Monterey Road Pacifica, LLC, Vistamar Development, and Javier Chavarria (real parties). On January 21, 2021, th...

Excerpt: ...(California Rule of Court, rule 3.1320(g); Code of Civ. Proc., S 472b.) If Plaintiff decides not to amend, Plaintiff's counsel shall so notify defense counsel and the parties shall meet-and-confer on a date where defendant County of San Mateo's answer is due. Plaintiff John JV Doe's Request for Judicial Notce is GRANTED. Defendant County of San Mateo's Request for Judicial Notice is GRANTED. The Second Amended Complaint (the "SAC") asserts nine c...

Excerpt: ...elf when he fell through an inadequately secured piece of plywood flooring. Plaintiff served Bomel with Set One of his Requests for Admission ("RFAs"), which included the three requests (the "subject RFAs") at issue: Request Number 39: Admit that YOLI were the creating employer pursuant to Labor Code S 6400 at the time of the SUBJECT INCIDENT. Request Number 40: Admit that YOU were the controlling employer pursuant to Labor Code S 6400 at the tim...

Excerpt: ...tate and International Depositions and Subpoena Discovery Act, a motion to enforce a subpoena may be filed in the superior court for the county in which the discovery is to be conducted, and shall comply with the rules and statutes of this state. Cal. Code of Civil Procedure Section 2029.3CL Here, Petitioners' California subpoena was served on Respondent Meta Platforms, Inc. on May 9, 2023. Franklin-Murdock Decl., 97, Exh. E. Respondent thereafte...

Excerpt: ... across the parking area, an unknown third-party assaulted Plaintiff, who then asked a manager at the hotel to call the police. The manager allegedly refused. Plaintiff brings this action against Defendants as the owners and operators of the hotel, alleging inter alia that they were negligent in failing to provide adequate lighting in the parking area, and should have known of the danger posed to Plaintiff by the unknown third-party. On December ...

Excerpt: ...r responses to the Special Interrogatories is GRANTED as to Special Interrogatory Nos. 1-3, 6-10, 15, 17, 22-23, and 25-26, and DENIED as to Special Interrogatory Nos. 12-14, and 19. Within three weeks of this Order, Plaintiff shall serve further, written responses, without objections, to Special Interrogatory Nos. 1-3, 5-10, 15, 17, 22-23, and 25-26. All objections to these Interrogatories are overruled. Because Nos. 12-14, and 19 contain typogr...