Excerpt: ...tled law that e ach party to a lawsuit must pay its own fees absent an applicable statute or an attorney fees provision in a valid contract. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1021; Amtower v. Photon Dynamics, Inc. (2008) 158 Cal.App.4th 1582, [as modified Feb. 15, 2008]; see also Royst er Construction Co. v. Urban West Communities (1995) 40 Cal.App.4th 1158, 1170 [“A contract which provides for the payment of ‘costs' alone does not usually include attorn...

Excerpt: ... a staffing agency wh ich placed her for a work assignment with its client, Alcon. Defendants now jointly move to compel arbitration of Plaintiff's claims. For the reasons set forth below, the motion is DENIED. As a preliminary matter, the Court SUSTAINS the evidentiary objecti ons raised by Plaintiff as to Mr. Gohil's declaration, and OVERRULES the evidentiary objections raised by Defendants as to Plaintiff's declaration. California law, like fe...

Excerpt: ...April 25, 202 4. Sanctions as imposed below shall be paid no later than May 2, 2024. Plaintiff Jane Doe moves here to compel further responses and compel production with respect to three requests for production of documents nos. 10 and 13 –14 propounded to Defendant Gold en Gate Bell, LLC (“GGB”). Each seeks documents relating to the respective personnel files and background checks of three employees of GGB, who purportedly sexually harass...

Excerpt: ...re not recovera ble as of right or otherwise barred by statute. Id. at § 1033.5(c)(4). An award of costs is subject to the court's determination that those costs: (1) are reasonably necessary to the conduct of the litigation rather than merely convenient or beneficial to its purpose; and (2) that the costs are reasonable in amount. Id. at § 1033.5(c)(2) –(3). To claim costs, the prevailing party must serve and file a memorandum of costs wit...

Excerpt: ...hether the se rvice provided to Defendant Caixing Xie is sufficient. Prior filings with this court show that Xie is likely incarcerated in China. Notice of Dismissal of Involuntary Bankruptcy Petition, filed Mar. 29, 2024, Ex. A, at 1 –2. However, Plaintiffs have only pr ovided notice to Xie's United States -based counsel. The due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution requires that if a person is entitle...

Excerpt: ...ests for Admi ssions, Set One, to be deemed admitted. Defendants also request monetary sanctions. The motion to compel and for sanctions is GRANTED in its entirety, as set forth in further detail below. Interrogatories Defendants seek to compel responses, not compel f urther responses, as they contend that no response to their interrogatories was ever received. (Declaration of William H. Coke (“Coke Decl.”) in support of Motion.) Therefore, t...

Excerpt: ...an action or proce eding if it is contended that the action has no merit or that there is no defense to the action or proceeding.” (Code of Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (a)(1).) Summary judgment will only be granted “if all the papers submitted show that there is no triable iss ue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” (Id., at subd. (c).) A defendant moving for summary judgment has an...

Excerpt: ... admissions (“RFAs”) were denied without objection or explanation from Plaintiffs Robert Michael and Ellen Williams (“the Williamses”). Having successfully defended himself from all twelve causes of action in the Williamses' suit, he claims that he is entitled to cost of proof sanctions. If a party is requested to admit the truth of any matter and fails to do so, and the propounding party subsequently proves the truth of that matter, the ...

Excerpt: ...action pending between the same parties due to the wrongful foreclosure of the property. Defendant claims that a wrongful foreclosure action (“foreclosure action”) was filed on August 22, 2023. (See Steven Yu v. FCI Lender Services, Inc. (Super. Ct. San Mateo County No. 23C IV03933).) Defendant has not requested judicial notice of the operative pleading in the foreclosure action to support this argument though. A demurrer may be used to chal...

Excerpt: ...�Motion Number One for Determination of Evidentiary and Legal Issues Affecting the Determination of Compensation,” filed Feb. 20, 2024, is DENIED. The Gearings' 2- 20-24 Request for Judicial Notice (RJN) is GRANTED. (Evid. Code Sect. 452(d).) The Gearings request judicial n otice of 22 documents previously filed with this Court. The RJN provides no explanation as to their significance/relevance, although of these documents are referenced in ...

Excerpt: ...d Complaint is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND. The Second Amended Complaint (the “SAC”) asserts six causes of action, for: (1) reversal of the void deed of trust and/or novation of the mortgage loan based on a theory of fraud and cancellation of instruments; (2) cancellation of foreclosure action; (3) quiet title; (4) declaratory relief; (5) accounting; and (6) preliminary and permanent injunction. Defendants Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc...

Excerpt: ...ileged documen ts no later than April 18, 2024 or a date agreed upon in writing by Oracle Corp. and Oracle America, Inc. and Plaintiff David Weiner. On December 1, 2023, Weiner served on non- parties Oracle Corp. and Oracle America, Inc. (collectively, “Oracle”) Oracle a subpoena for production of business records issued on November 30, 2023. Neither Weiner nor Oracle raises a relevant distinction between Oracle Corp. and Oracle America, Inc....

Excerpt: ...g Plaintiff's time as a student at a high school run by the District, he was sexually assaulted by Perpetrator after being sent to be evaluated by Perpetrator, a psychiatrist, as part of a special education program. Plaintiff's claim against the District is brought under Govt. Code § 81 5.2, alleging negligent supervision and protection of a minor student. The District demurred to the FAC on the basis that Assembly Bill (“AB”) 218, which mod...

Excerpt: .... Code Sect. 329 4.) Defendant's 2-16-24 Request for Judicial Notice is GRANTED. (Evid. Code Sect. 452(d).) Defendant Liao's Motion to Strike the Complaint's request for punitive damages against defendant Liao is GRANTED with leave to amend. (Code Civ. Proc. Sect. 435, 436; Civ. Code Sect. 3294.) To survive a motion to strike, a complaint that seeks punitive damages must allege facts, not conclusions, that could support a finding that the defend...

Excerpt: ... 5 Palms, LLC, an d Natural Software Systems, Inc. Money Purchase Pension Plan (the “Dakota Parties”) have here moved to expunge three lis pendens recorded by Plaintiffs/CrossDefendants/Cross -Complainants Nariman Teymourian, Gail Teymourian, and 2700 Middlefield Road, LLC (the “Teymourian Parties”) against 66 Barry Lane in Atherton (the “Barry Property”). Counsel for both parties is ORDERED TO APPEAR at the hearing on this motion. A...

Excerpt: ...kins' Form I nterrogatories (Sets One and Two), Special Interrogatories (Set One), and Demand for Production (Set One). Defendant served the requests on February 14, 2023 and October 17, 2023. (Declaration of David E. Hunter III in Support of the Motion, ¶¶ 3 -5, 7.) (“Hunter Decl.”) Counsel for Defendant wrote Plaintiff's counsel repeatedly to request verified answers, but to no avail. (Id. at ¶ 6.) After Plaintiff failed to appear at th...

Excerpt: ...n. 24, 2024, is DEN IED. (Code Civ. Proc. Sect. 2025.420(h).) Courthouse/hearing location. The Court notes that CLT's 1 -24- 24 Notice of Motion incorrectly states that the March 14 hearing will take place in the San Mateo courthouse. Department 3 (Judge Greenberg) is located o n the Second Floor of the Redwood City courthouse, located at 400 County Center in Redwood City. The Gearings' 3 -1 -24 Request for Judicial Notice, which requests that th...

Excerpt: ...e of Civ. Pro c., § 473, subd. (a)(1).) The proposed amendment would simply delete the first two affirmative defenses from the Answer. Plaintiff Alfredo Ortiz refused to stipulate to obtaining an advantage for himself and opposes this motion on the basis of delay and pr ejudice. However, both principles are founded upon a consideration of fairness. Ortiz presents no coherent argument as to why the elimination of his adversary's defenses works a...

Excerpt: ...ber 16, 2023. Pla intiff now moves for attorney's fees pursuant to the lease agreement, which provides in section 31 that the prevailing party to the action shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees. Defendant argues that attorney's fees, as part of the judgment, are automatically stayed pending appeal. This is incorrect. Unlike in civil actions generally (see Cal. Civ. Proc. § 916), appeals from unlawful detainer judgments do not automati...

Excerpt: ...�City”), to the First Cause of Action in the First Amended Petition for Writ of Mandate (“FAP”) is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND based on failure to allege facts sufficient to support a cause of action. Generally, a writ under section 1085 may only be employed to compel the performance of a duty which is purely ministerial in character. (Transdyn/Cresci v. City and County of San Francisco (1999) 72 Cal.App.4th 746, 752.) “A ministerial...

Excerpt: ...two weeks to thirty days, on the grounds that Defendant's counsel is unavailable for the trial due to a preceding trial in San Francisco County Superior Court and his son's planned wedding on June 29, 2024. The court finds circumstances are not excusable under Cali fornia Rules of Court, Rule 3.1332, subsection (c)(3) because Defense counsel is, in actuality, available to be present in the courtroom on the trial date. As to Defendant's making of...

Excerpt: ...must allege facts to s how: “(1) outrageous conduct by the defendant; (2) the defendant's intention of causing or reckless disregard of the probability of causing emotional distress; (3) the plaintiff's suffering severe or extreme emotional distress; and (4) actual and proximate causation of the emotional distress by the defendant's outrageous conduct.” (Yau v. Santa Margarita Ford, Inc. (2014) 229 Cal.App.4th 144, 160 –161.) Fo...

Excerpt: ...e basis that AB 218 retroactively strips statutory governmental immunity from public entities, in violation of Article XVI, § 6 of the California Constitution, which prohibits gifts of public funds where there is no enforceable claim. The Demurrer is OVERRULED, as follow s. Each parties' requests for judicial notice are GRANTED pursuant to Cal. Evidence Code Section 452(c), (d). Standard on Demurrer In ruling on a demurrer, the Court treats it �...

Excerpt: ...� in Plaintiff's O pposition brief (pp. 1-6). OVERRULED to the extent that Defendant objects to the entirety of Plaintiff's “Statement of Facts.” However, the Court disregards any referenced “facts” or “evidence” that is/are not identified, and properly cited, in Plaintiff's Separate Statement. San Diego Watercrafts, Inc. v. Wells Fargo Bank (2002) 102 Cal.App.4th 308, 315 -316. • Objection to Plaintiff's assertion of theories not ...

Excerpt: ...ked merit and that Defendant is entitled to recover attorneys' fees and costs as a prevailing party in the amount of $38,265.26. For the reasons set forth below, Defendant's motion is DENIED. Defendant sets forth a litany of inconsistencies in Plaintiff's testimo ny, and argues that Plaintiff is a serial litigant whose counsel has brought high numbers of meritless claims against businesses, seeking a payout for ADA and Unruh Act violations withou...