Excerpt: ...ndants' conversion/theft of Plaintiffs' corporate assets (i.e., Defendants' alleged theft of funds from Plaintiffs' corporate bank accounts). Defendants contend the dispute centers on Plaintiffs' violation of labor and employment laws (i.e., alleged failure to pay its Californiabased employees' wages). In 2018, shortly after filing the Complaint in this case, Plaintiffs filed their first application for a writ of attachment, seeking to attach pro...

Excerpt: ...lace of business in Los Angeles, (2) the parties' Subcontract was to be performed in Los Angeles County, and (3) Joel Parker executed the parties' Subcontract and Personal Guarantee in Los Angeles. (MPA, p.1.) Plaintiff contends that venue is proper in San Mateo County pursuant to the following provision in the parties' Subcontract: “SUBCONTRACTOR agrees that this Agreement is to be executed in San Mateo County, California and that venue for an...

Excerpt: ...r hearing,” “that the plaintiff resides out of the state . . . and that there is a reasonable possibility that the moving defendant will obtain judgment in the action . . . .” Here, Plaintiff concedes that he resides out‐of‐state. (Compl., ¶ 7.) Plaintiff's ownership of real property and bank accounts does not fulfill the “reside” requirement of Code of Civil Procedure section 1030. There is also a reasonable possibility of Defenda...

Excerpt: ...ust (Plaintiffs) unopposed Motion for Judgment Pursuant to Stipulation and Order, is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. (Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 664.6; see also Stip. & Order filed 11‐ 19‐20.) Plaintiffs' motion for entry of judgment for possession is GRANTED. Because Defendant is not a “tenant” as defined by the COVID‐19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020 (Tenant Relief Act) (Code Civ. Proc., § 1179.02, subd. (h)) and because this action does no...

Excerpt: ...endant's Demurrer to the First Cause of Action for Breach of Contract is SUSTAINED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND. The elements of a claim for breach of contract are: (1) existence of the contract, (2) plaintiff's performance or excuse for nonperformance of the contract, (3) defendant's breach, and (4) plaintiff's damages as a result of the breach. (Miles v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. (2015) 236 Cal.App.4th 394, 402.) If the action is based on a writt...

Excerpt: ...intiff does not allege the existence of any contract between Plaintiff and Hollyvale. Plaintiff has only alleged a contractual relationship with the parties to the loan and the deed of trust. Hollyvale, however, is not a party to either of those contacts. Plaintiff argues that Hollyvale is a necessary party because the Complaint seeks equitable relief that would require Hollyvale to reconvey the property to Plaintiff. But the fact that Plaintiff ...

Excerpt: ...s contained within the documents. Defendant/Cross‐Complainant Cullens' Motion to Enforce Settlement is GRANTED. Plaintiff/Cross‐Defendant Jeromes' Motion to Enforce Settlement is DENIED. Defendant/Cross‐Complainant Cullens' request for attorney's fees is DENIED. The Court has jurisdiction to enforce the Settlement Agreement pursuant to Cal. Code of Civ. Proc. § 664.6, item 7 of the Settlement Agreement, and the March 5, 2020 Order Retainin...

Excerpt: ...or Summary Judgment or in the alternative, Summary Adjudication, is ruled on as follows: (1) As a threshold matter, Defendants' Notice of Motion indicate that this Motion is brought to the First, Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Causes of Action (“COA”) based on Plaintiff's failure to produce admissible evidence in support of these COA. (See Defendants' Notice of Motion, Issues 1‐3, and 5‐7.) A defendant moving for summary judgment...

Excerpt: ...so primarily in the interests of judicial economy and efficiency, minimization of expense, and avoidance of potentially inconsistent rulings. Having reviewed the parties' briefing, given the still ongoing Delaware court proceeding, the Court finds that the rationale and policy concerns underlying the 3‐2‐20 stay Order still apply, and thus declines to lift the stay at this time. Plaintiffs Blum et. al. argue the Delaware lawsuit is “essenti...

Excerpt: ...s well as a code‐compliant separate statement of material facts. Plaintiff appears not to have filed any evidence in support of the opposition, in violation of CRC 3.1350(3). The clerk's office has confirmed that it is not in receipt of any of Plaintiff's evidence. Further, the Court notes that Plaintiff's separate statement is 515 pages. The separate statement sets forth pages of narrative in response to each of Defendant's undisputed facts an...

Excerpt: ...§ 437c. The parties agree that Privette v. Superior Court (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689 and its progeny apply to the facts, but disagree as to the result. In general terms, the California Supreme Court's decision in Privette limits the liability of the hirer of an independent contractor for on‐the‐job injuries sustained by the independent contractor's employees. Id. As the Supreme Court explained in subsequent case law, however, the Privette doctrine...

Excerpt: ...tively, Summary Adjudication, to the Complaint of Plaintiffs Sherlene and Lawrence Wong is ruled on as follows: Stillwater has brought this motion for summary judgment on two grounds: (1) that there was no direct physical loss to property as described in Coverage C of the policy; and (2) any loss was not covered by one of the sixteen perils covered under the policy. Defendants then claim that the other causes of action fail because they depend on...

Excerpt: ...and the forum state to justify imposition of personal jurisdiction. Elkman v. National States Ins. Co. (2009) 173 CA4th 1305, 1313. In this case, Plaintiffs contend the Court has specific personal jurisdiction over Defendants Hart and HME Legal because Defendants (1) accepted payment out of funds administered in California; (2) intentionally offered their services to Plaintiffs in California; and (3) proposed California dispute resolution in a te...

Excerpt: ... Darrow (“Plaintiff”) and Defendant providing that any action arising out of the agreement be brought in Florida. (See Barnes Decl., Exh. A, ¶ 18.f.) A mandatory forum selection clause is valid and enforceable absent a showing that enforcement of such a clause would be unreasonable. (CQL Original Products, Inc. v. National Hockey League Players' Assn. (1995) 39 Cal.App.4th 1347, 1353–1354.) The plaintiff bears the burden of demonstrating t...

Excerpt: ...ch the demurrer was sustained. (See Harris v. Wachovia Mortgage, FSB (2010) 185 Cal.App.4th 1018, 1023 [holding that plaintiff may not amend complaint to add a new cause of action without having obtained permission from the court to do so].) Here, Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint (SAC) alleges several new causes of action and a new defendant that were not included in his First Amended Complaint (FAC). Specifically, Plaintiff alleges new cause...

Excerpt: ...3, plus late fees and loan costs of $1,432.81. Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED. Plaintiff contends that it is entitled to summary judgment or, in the alternative, summary adjudication on its breach of contract claims. As explained below, Plaintiff is entitled to summary adjudication on its breach of contract claims but not summary judgment. The essential elements of a claim for breach of contract, whether express or implied, are...

Excerpt: ...Act (CLRA) is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND. Defendant's demurrer to the seventh cause of action for violation of the Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and eighth cause of action for violation of the False Advertising Law (FAL) are SUSTAINED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND. Sixth Cause of Action for Violation of the CLRA In sustaining the demurrer to the cause of action for violation of the CLRA in the FAC, the Court found that “Plaintiff has not alleged com...

Excerpt: ... other responsive pleading on or before five days after service upon him of the notice of entry of the order denying the motion to quash. In unlawful detainer actions, the filing of a motion to quash “extends the defendant's time to plead until five days after service upon him of the written notice of entry of an order denying his motion[.]” C.C.P. § 1167.4(b). Defendant filed a motion to quash on March 4, 2020. The Court denied the motion t...

Excerpt: ...2 Cal.App.4th 1234); Weil & Brown, Civil Procedure Before Trial ¶6:94‐¶6:96. Plaintiffs appearing pro per drafted and filed their Complaint on December 21, 2018, alleging claims for negligence and personal injuries arising from a vehicle collision on January 2, 2017. In the caption, Plaintiff identified “AAA Insurance (American Automobile Association)” as Defendant. Throughout the body of the Complaint, Plaintiffs addressed their negligen...

Excerpt: ...e answer. Sebago, Inc. v. City of Alameda (1989) 211 Cal.App.3d 1372, 1379. “The grounds for a motion for judgment on the pleadings must appear from the face of the complaint or from a matter of which the court may take judicial notice.” RichardsonTunnell v. Schools Ins. Program for Employees (2007) 157 Cal.App.4th 1056, 1061 (disapproved on other grounds by Quigley v. Garden Valley Fire Protection Dist. (2019) 7 Cal.5th 798). Here, Plaintiff...

Excerpt: ...t notes that he threw the papers away without looking at them and asserts that “[t]his is not outside the realm of normal behavior for a small business owner who is inundated with paperwork and has limited time to response to administrative issues.” (Id., at p.6.) Defendant bears the burden of showing that he is entitled to relief pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 473, subdivision (b). In the absence of an attorney affidavit of faul...

Excerpt: ... to Defendants' Merger Agreement. Further, the only portion of the Agreement that is relevant to Defendants' demurrer is a brief passage on page 22 of the Merger Agreement; the remainder of the Agreement's contents are not relevant to the demurrer for which Defendants cite the Agreement. For these reasons, the Court finds that (1) There exists an overriding interest that overcomes the right of public access to the record; (2) The overriding inter...

Excerpt: ...(See Code of Civ. Proc. § 395.5.) “In tort, ‘liability arises where the injury occurs….'” (Mission Imports, Inc. v. Sup.Ct. (Monterey Bay Co., Inc.) (1982) 31 Cal.3d 921, 929.) Injury refers to a wrongful invasion of rights. (Black Diamond Asphalt, Inc. v. Sup. Ct. (2003) 109 Cal.App.4th 166, 172.) The burden is on Defendant to overcome the presumption that the venue selected by Plaintiffs Yolanda S. Recania and Vernon Recania (“Plaint...

Excerpt: ...oc. § 430.10(e). On 9‐11‐20, the Court granted Defendants' Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (MJOP) with leave to amend, directed to the original Complaint's asserted causes of action for (1) actual fraudulent transfer, (2) constructive fraudulent transfer, (3) common law fraudulent transfer, (4) declaratory relief, and (5) accounting. Plaintiff thereafter filed the FAC, reasserting the same first four causes of action, but dropping the a...

Excerpt: ...tiff paid $15,000 against a surety bond it issued to Defendant. Plaintiff contends it is entitled to reimbursement of the $15,000 payment on the grounds that it made payment out of the surety bond in good faith, that Defendant waived his right to contest the payment when he failed to specifically instruct Plaintiff not to make payment, and that Plaintiff has a statutory right to reimbursement under Civil Code section 2847. However, the pleadings ...