Excerpt: ...) the claim upon which the attachment is based is one upon which an attachment may be issued, (2) Petitioner has established the probable validity of her claim (see Code Civ. Proc. § 481.190, “more probable than not…”), (3) the attachment is not sought for a purpose other than the recovery on the claim upon which the attachment is based, and (4) the amount to be secured is greater than zero. Code Civ. Proc. § 483.090(a). Based on the alle...

Excerpt: ... CONTINUED to January 17, 2020 at 9 a.m. in the Law & Motion Department to allow Plaintiff time to conduct jurisdictional discovery. Defendants' alternative Motion to Dismiss on grounds of inconvenient forum (forum non conveniens) is DENIED, for the reasons stated below. Personal jurisdiction is determined by evidence, not allegations Without belaboring the issue, the Court notes that when a Defendant challenges the Court's personal jurisdiction ...

Excerpt: ...tive ruling, Plaintiffs served a “partial joint response” to Defendants' requests for production. In conjunction with that response, Plaintiffs produced approximately 600 pages of documents. Subsequent to the filing of this motion, Plaintiffs produced approximately 1900 electronic files. In this motion, Defendants emphasize that Plaintiff's production was deficient. According to Defendants, “[Plaintiffs] have disobeyed [the court's July 23]...

Excerpt: ...tani et. al.'s express request. See 8‐16‐19 Minute Order. Dattani et. al. has repeatedly represented that this civil case should follow the criminal case. See 8‐22‐19 Wood Decl., ¶6 (“In Dec. 26, 2018 Defendants moved to continue trial, in accord with Defendants understanding that everyone agrees the criminal matter must proceed before the civil matters.”). The criminal case has not yet resolved. Further, Dattani et. al. has not iden...

Excerpt: ...parties. The Motion to Compel the Request for Production of Documents in the Notice of Deposition is DENIED as to Request nos. 1 and 2, except as to copies of checks to or from Defendant, McDonald's Restaurants, and Travel Faire, Inc. that Plaintiff has agreed to produce. The requests for the remaining checks and deposits are denied because Defendant failed to provide a separate statement in compliance with CRC Rule 3.1345(a)(5). These requests a...

Excerpt: ...ry, Plaintiffs fail to establish that Defendant HOLTZMAN both purposefully availed himself of forum benefits with respect to the matter in controversy, and that the controversy is related to or arises out of Defendant's contacts with California. Accordingly, the motion to quash is GRANTED. If the tentative ruling is uncontested, it shall become the order of the Court, pursuant to Rule 3.1308(a)(1), adopted by Local Rule 3.10, effective immediatel...

Excerpt: ... Release of All Claims,” Plaintiff appears to be entitled to a judgment in the amount of $50,000.00. Plaintiff, however, seeks only $33,333.64. Defendants contend their performance under the agreement is excused because Plaintiff materially breached the settlement agreement as a result of the fact that “Plaintiff's fiduciary simply had Plaintiff rubber stamp [the declaration identified in the agreement], which Plaintiff neither read for under...

Excerpt: ... the forum state is such that the exercise of jurisdiction does not offend “traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.” International Shoe Co. v. State of Wash. (1945) 326 US 310, 316. Jurisdiction is proper where the contacts proximately result from actions by the defendant himself or herself that create a substantial connection with the form state. Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz (1985) 471 U.S. 462, 475. California has the br...

Excerpt: ...ry Adjudication is DENIED. Based on the declarations of the parties, a genuine dispute of material fact exists with regard to the impact of the dispute between the LLC members on Plaintiff's membership interest such that dissolution would be reasonably necessary to protect the rights or interests of Plaintiff. A genuine dispute of material fact also exists with respect to whether management of the LLC is subject to internal dissention such that d...

Excerpt: ...ell as third party privacy rights. (See Defendant's Exh. A; see also Board of Trustees v. Sup. Ct. (1981) 119 Cal.App.3d 516, 528‐530 (disapproved on other grounds in Williams v. Sup. Ct. (2017) 3 Cal.5th 531, 557).) Privacy rights are not absolute, but rather the court must balance whether such privacy rights are outweighed by the relevance of the information sought to the subject matter in the pending action. Discovery will not be ordered if ...

Excerpt: ... seek documents regarding any loans or loan applications with respect to the property at issue. Defendants have asserted that such documents are privileged pursuant to their constitutional right to privacy, and that the documents are therefore not discoverable. According to Plaintiff, the documents are “directly relevant to Defendants' efforts to obtain financing to pay their outstanding balance to NOLAN. Indeed, it was the promise of financing...

Excerpt: ...ue. A. Rough approximation of plaintiffs' recovery and settlor's proportionate liability. “The ultimate determinant of good faith is whether the settlement is grossly disproportionate to what a reasonable person at the time of settlement would estimate the settlor's liability to be.” (City of Grand Terrace v. Sup.Ct. (1987) 192 Cal.App.3d 1251, 1262.) That the settlement was 1.16 percent of the claimed damages does not, by itself,...

Excerpt: ...of Labor v. Chimes District of Columbia, Inc., U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Case No. 1:15‐cv‐03315‐RDB (“Chimes”). That case has since concluded. Thus, the stated basis for the stay no longer exists. Heffernan argues another recently‐filed case against Plaintiff militates in favor of extending the stay, namely, Abraha, et. al. v. Colonial Parking, Inc., U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Case No. 16...

Excerpt: ...‐531589. A Tentative Statement of Decision was issued in case PRO‐ 122577 on December 17, 2018. Objections to that Tentative Statement of Decision were overruled and a Final Statement of Decision was issued on March 14, 2019. The only reason that a Judgment has not yet been entered in Case PRO‐122577 pursuant to the terms of the Final Statement of Decision is that the attorneys who represent Carleen Whittelsey in Case PRO‐122577, the same...

Excerpt: ...efects, however, as there are more significant reasons the motion must be denied. The request for relief under Code Civ. Proc. § 663 lacks merit. Plaintiff seeks relief from an Order sustaining a Demurrer. As noted in the Opposition and not addressed in any Reply, a motion to vacate judgment under § 663, subdivision (1) may only be brought when the trial judge draws an incorrect legal conclusion or renders an erroneous judgment upon the facts f...

Excerpt: ... client in the same “or a substantially related matter” if the lawyer received information from the prospective client “that could be significantly harmful to that person in the matter.” (Rules of Prof. Conduct, Rule 1.18(b), (c).) Here, Plaintiff does not sufficiently demonstrate that the alleged confidential information shared with Perkins Coie during a May 4, 2017 telephone conversation involves the same or “substantially related mat...

Excerpt: ...nd claims was, and still is, the rightful owner of the membership interest in 1893, and was and still is, entitled to the possession of the following personal property: the membership interest in 1893.” [4ACC, ¶ 68] Under this cause of action, the complaint further alleges the Ceccatos intended to “convert 1893's membership interest for themselves.” [4ACC, ¶ 70] The complaint states, “As a direct and proximate result of Ceccato and Mont...

Excerpt: ... party in interest, it does not have standing to seek costs. Because the named Defendant is deceased, counsel cannot act on his behalf to seek costs. As the moving papers note, it is wellestablished that “The authority of an attorney necessarily ceases with the death of the client, for no one can act for a dead man. After the death of the client, his attorney therefore becomes a stranger to the proceedings.” Swartfager v. Wells, 53 Cal.App.2d...

Excerpt: ...low, the Court cannot resolve these disputed issues as a matter of law. First, the record contains sufficient evidence of negligence to withstand summary judgment/adjudication. The underlying facts appear largely undisputed. Defendants represented Plaintiffs/sellers in two 2012 real estate transactions, the first of which fell through. In the first transaction (involving potential buyer McLaughlin), Defendants received and reviewed a preliminary ...

Excerpt: ...CrossComplainant McLean's contention, the mandatory provision of § 473(b) does not require a showing of excusable neglect. Further, even had there been no attorney declaration, Abaunza's own neglect/failure to timely respond to the Cross‐Complaint after his attorney withdrew was excusable. After Mr. Hecht substituted out of the case on 10‐25‐18, Abaunza obtained new counsel within about four months, who promptly sought relief from the defa...

Excerpt: ... petitioning activity. Plaintiff's complaint alleges an unlawful detainer cause of action based on failure to pay rent and failure to cure following notice of default. Defendant's declaration asserts that “this lawsuit is a retaliatory eviction lawsuit for expressing my First Amendment right for free speech in connection with the public interest after I called the police and reported Mr. Victor Scheff for yelling into my face from a close dista...

Excerpt: ...wing that the relevant portions of the complaint arise from protected freedom of petition or free speech activity under the United States Constitution or the California Constitution in connection with a public issue pursuant to Code of Civ. Proc. Section 425.16(b)(1). If the tentative ruling is uncontested, it shall become the order of the Court. Thereafter, counsel for Plaintiff shall prepare a written order consistent with the Court's ruling fo...

Excerpt: ...asserted in Raval v. Wells Fargo Bank, San Mateo County Superior Court case number 18 CIV 00308, or are based on the same primary rights that were asserted in case number 18 CIV 00308. The plaintiffs and the demurring defendants in this action are identical to the parties in the prior action. The prior action ended with Judgment of Dismissal against Plaintiffs after demurrer was sustained without leave to amend. The judgment in that action is fin...

Excerpt: ...ablishing that plaintiff is entitled to the relief sought. Clauson v. Superior Court (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 1253, 1255. In establishing a claim for punitive damages, plaintiff must show by “clear and convincing” evidence that the defendant is guilty of oppression, fraud or malice. Civil Code § 3294(a). Plaintiffs fail to do so here, and fail to demonstrate how they may amend their Complaint to properly state a punitive damages claim. Accordin...

Excerpt: ...tiff has failed to set forth specific facts demonstrating malice or oppression by Defendant, as those terms are defined in Civ. Code § 3294. Further, although Plaintiff has attempted to add allegations relating to Defendants' ratification of the actions of their employees, Plaintiff has nonetheless failed to set forth specific facts demonstrating authorization of wrongful conduct or advance knowledge of the likelihood of wrongful conduct by Defe...

Excerpt: ...d. SUSTAINED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND as to the Seventh cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress. A cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress requires (1) extreme and outrageous conduct by the defendant; (2) intention to cause or reckless disregard of the probability of causing emotional distress; (3) severe emotional suffering; and (4) actual and proximate causation of the emotional distress. Heller v. P...

Excerpt: ...h, fifth, and sixth causes of action on the ground that the Court previously issued a tentative ruling in a different action is overruled. A tentative ruling is not a ruling. Plaintiffs dismissed the prior action before the Court ruled on the demurrer. Demurrer to the first cause of action (breach of contract) is sustained with leave to amend. The claim alleges that “Defendants failed to perform its duties” and “cancelled Plaintiff's loan m...

Excerpt: ...es only that he is not seeking compensation “at this time.” Defendant shall supplement his response to indicate whether he incurred any injuries or damage, and describe the injuries or damage, regardless of whether he is seeking compensation at this time. Form Interrogatory 115.2. Granted. Even without discovery, Defendant highly likely has knowledge of some facts to support his general denial and affirmative defenses. Signing a paper filed w...

Excerpt: ...e, however, involved a dispute over the petitioner's claim to an easement. No easement is at issue in this case. Plaintiff does not allege that Defendant has presented any right to possession or title to Plaintiff's property. Plaintiff's first amended complaint asserts that “Defendant's conduct will eventually interfere with Plaintiff's possession of the Scott Property through the imposition of a servient easement in favor of Defendants across ...

Excerpt: ...not provided a copy of the stipulated judgment with the moving papers. Further, Defendant has not provided a proposed order. Most significantly, however, Defendant provides no authority for the relief that he seeks; i.e. enforcement of a non‐money judgment. The court notes that lack of compliance with a non‐money judgment is generally enforced through contempt proceedings. CCP § 1209(a)(5). Further, the court notes that the merits of Defenda...

Excerpt: ...conduct business in California under that name. It has no bearing on whether Plaintiff has capacity to sue or defend, nor does it bear on whether Plaintiff was the legal owner of the vehicle. B. Plaintiff Fails to Show Probable Validity of Its Claim. To obtain writ of possession, the applicant must show that he or she (1) has the right to immediate possession of tangible personal property; and (2) the property is being wrongfully withheld by defe...

Excerpt: ... incur legal expenses in his defense, the Court finds the evidence here insufficient to justify a fee award. Lopes argues he was falsely accused of threatening to kill Petitioner and ultimately “prevailed on the merits.” The Minute Order for the 02‐15‐19 hearing indicates that no one (no party and no attorney) showed up for the hearing. Thus, the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) dissolved because no one appeared – not because of any va...

Excerpt: ...eir capacity as cross‐defendants. However, the court's records reflect that Cross‐Defendants' defaults have been entered. Furthermore, Sha has not provided evidence sufficient to establish that the underlying discovery was properly served on Cross‐ Defendants. The declaration of Carmen Aviles merely states she served the discovery on July 19, 2018. No further information is provided such as method or location of service. If the tentative ru...

Excerpt: ...ion on the grounds that “Plaintiff has undergone three major surgeries relating to Crohn's and cancer, with a fourth surgery currently scheduled and longterm health issues leading up to these surgeries that indeed not only made it “‘impractical,' but ‘impossible,' to file an at‐ issue to proceed with this case at this time.” Notably, Plaintiff's “declaration” is not made under penalty of perjury and, therefore, does not constitute...

Excerpt: ...al, filed 02‐14‐19, is GRANTED. Code Civ. Proc. §473(b); Basinger v. Rogers & Wells (1990) 220 Cal.App.3d 16, 21; see also The Rutter Group: Civ. Proc. Before Trial, §12:982 (“Where a settlement agreement provides the court may retain jurisdiction to enforce the settlement, but the dismissal fails to provide for retained jurisdiction, plaintiff's remedy is to move to vacate or modify the dismissal under CCP §473(b) for ‘mistake, inadve...

Excerpt: ...rsuant to Code Civ. Proc. §664.6. The motion appears to have merit. The Opposition only argues the Court lacks jurisdiction because Plaintiffs filed a 10‐29‐18 Request for Dismissal without requesting that the Court retain jurisdiction to enforce the Settlement Agreement. That issue, however, is now moot because the Court is granting Plaintiffs' related Motion for Relief from Dismissal under Code Civ. Proc. §473(b). The Opposition does not ...

Excerpt: ...usiness owners policy].” [Opposition, p.11] AMCO notes that “TDIC concedes that its BOP Policy does cover ‘Tenant Improvements and Betterments,'” and asserts that a portion of the sums AMCO paid were for improvements covered by the business owners policy issued by TDIC to Endodontics Associates. TDIC responds that AMCO “has failed to produce admissible evidence supporting such a claim.” [Reply, p.9] It also contends that “the partie...

Excerpt: ... state facts sufficient to support a cause of action. The First Amended Complaint fails to allege any facts with respect to Plaintiffs Marquetta Benton and Marquel Benton. Also, the First Amended Complaint attaches the form for one cause of action for general negligence. The elements of a negligence claim are: (1) a legal duty of care toward the plaintiff; (2) a breach of that duty; (3) legal causation; and (4) damages. (Century Sur. Co. v. Crosb...

Excerpt: ... Dec. 2015 notifying them of an address change and thereafter had no further interaction with Plaintiff or the court until after judgment was entered against him in early 2018. Defendant concedes he did not notify the court of a change of address, as required by CRC 8.32. By his own account, Defendant intermittently monitored the case on the court's website/docket in 2016 and 2017, but thereafter stopped. Defendant admits he could have contacted ...

Excerpt: ...nder CCP §1632. That section provides, in pertinent part, as follows. (b) Any person engaged in a trade or business who negotiates primarily in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean, orally or in writing, in the course of entering into any of the following, shall deliver to the other party to the contract or agreement and prior to the execution thereof, a translation of the contract or agreement in the language in which the contract o...

Excerpt: ...e section 435.5 is based on an incorrect reading of the Code of Civil Procedure. Moving party's Reply brief contends that the meet/confer requirement is inapplicable because the motion is pursuant to sections 128(a) and 436. Section 128(a) merely identifies the court's general powers; it has nothing to do with a motion to strike. Section 436 authorizes a motion to strike. However, section 435.5 provides that the moving party must meet and confer ...

Excerpt: ...ing KW's Demurrer to the fraud cause of action in Plaintiffs' original Complaint, on grounds Plaintiffs had alleged no underlying facts supporting their conclusory allegation that KW ratified/authorized Defendant Yu's conduct (Civ. Code § 2339), and had alleged no facts supporting employer liability under the doctrine of respondeat superior. The 12‐6‐18 Order granted Plaintiffs leave to amend to allege, if they could, a fraud claim against K...

Excerpt: ...o the settlement, or (2) had no intention of honoring the terms of the settlement, or (3) allowed the motion to be filed because it intended to cause a delay of the trial or delay performance on the settlement causing additional damage to Elevation.” [MPA, p.3] Elevation, however, has failed to set forth sufficient facts to establish that Terrace acted for the sole purpose of harassment or delay. Counsel for Terrace asserts in his declaration t...

Excerpt: ...th interests materially adverse to those of a prospective client in the same “or a substantially related matter” if the lawyer received information from the prospective client that could be significantly harmful to that person in the matter.” (Rules of Prof. Conduct, Rule 1.18(b), (c).) Plaintiff contends that Defendant Chew failed to close escrow on the sale of Chew's property after consulting with Perkins Coie. Plaintiff contends that cer...

Excerpt: ... to Evidence Code Sections 403, 702, 1401, and 1402, and California Rules of Court Rule 3.1110(g). The assertion that the March 17, 2015 agreement, including both the English translation and the Chinese language version, was prepared by SUE is not supported by the evidence currently before the court. The remainder of Defendant's evidentiary objections are OVERRULED. Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Adjudication is DENIED pursuant to Code of Civ. Pr...

Excerpt: ...1) Defendant entered into an account with Bank of America, (2) Defendant authorized all transactions on the account, (3) the present balance is $5,005.59, and (4) Defendant's last payment on the account was on April 16, 2017. These admissions are sufficient to establish amount of a debt, but not sufficient to entitle Plaintiff to judgment on the pleadings. B. The Motion Fails to Dispose of Any Cause of Action. The complaint alleges three common c...

Excerpt: ...1, is ruled on as follows: The motion to Request nos. 12‐16 is GRANTED. The County establishes good cause for production of these documents. (See C.C.P. § 2031.310(b)(1).) Once good cause is shown, the burden shifts to the responding party to justify the objection. (Kirkland v. Sup. Ct. (2002) 95 Cal.app.4th 92, 98.) Here, Jane Doe #1 failed to oppose this motion, and therefore has not justified her objections. The motion to Request no. 17 is ...

Excerpt: ...detect the wrongful acts of Clark. A. The Proposed Cross‐Complaint Appears to State a Cause of Action. Generally, whether a pleading states a cause of action should be decided by demurrer, not on a motion for leave to file the pleading. For purposes of this motion only, the Court declines to apply the case of Jaffe v. Huxley Architecture (1988) 200 Cal.App.3d 1188. The same court that decided Jaffe later limited that case to its facts. (See Pla...

Excerpt: ...ion to Compel Arbitration and Stay Action is DENIED. Plaintiff waived his right to compel arbitration. Plaintiff complied with Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.5 by alleging that he does not waive the right to arbitrate and intends to move, within 30 days after serving the Complaint, to compel arbitration. (Code of Civ. Proc. Sect. 1281.5, subd. (a); see Complaint at 12:13‐20.) Section 1281.5 requires that “within 30 days” after serving...

Excerpt: ...sufficient evidence to establish that Judgment Debtor has the right to any payment from Momentum Auto Group, Inc. and Fairfield CJD, LP. The declaration of Plaintiff's account manager, Pliny Jones, states that declarant is informed and believes that Defendant is entitled to receive income from these entities as an independent contractor based on an internet search performed. However, declarant fails to set forth any facts to support how declarant...