Excerpt: ...provides temporary staffing assignments and other support to businesses throughout the country. (First Amended Complaint (FAC), ¶ 22.) Plaintiff is a former non‐ exempt employee of Defendant, who resided in Washoe County, Nevada during his employment. (Id., ¶ 21.) He worked for Defendant as an Implementation Support Specialist, traveling to various jobsites and registering the assets and commodities of various businesses. (Ibid.) He was frequ...

Excerpt: ...s motion. I. BACKGROUND As alleged in the operative complaint, Defendant employed Plaintiff and other California residents as non‐exempt employees throughout the state. (Second Amended Complaint (SAC), ¶ 26.) Plaintiff and other putative class members were not paid all wages (including minimum wages and overtime wages) for all hours worked when Defendant required them to work off‐the‐clock. (Id., ¶ 29.) They also did not receive compliant...

Excerpt: ...on‐exempt, hourly employee beginning on March 30, 2014. (First Amended Complaint (FAC), ¶ 18.) He regularly arrived to work well before his shift began, and clocked in ten minutes before his shift. (Id., ¶¶ 19–23.) But he and other putative class members were not paid for such time, and were only paid for time during their scheduled shifts. (Id., ¶ 23.) In addition, Plaintiff and other employees were not provided with meal periods of at l...

Excerpt: ...is of the settlement and settlement class are set forth in that order. Before the Court are Plaintiffs' motions for final approval of the settlement and for approval of their attorney fees, costs, and service awards. Plaintiffs' motions are unopposed. As discussed below, the Court GRANTS final approval. I. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR SETTLEMENT APPROVAL A. Class Action Generally, “questions whether a [class action] settlement was fair and reasonable, w...

Excerpt: ...plaint. Plaintiff opposes both motions. As discussed below, the Court OVERRULES Regional's demurrer and DENIES its motion to strike. I. BACKGROUND A. Factual As stated in the operative Second Amended Complaint (SAC), Regional is a major hospital in San Jose, and has an active emergency room. (See FAC, ¶ 6.) Plaintiff is a California resident who was billed two EMS Fees after being seen there on two occasions. (Id., ¶ 5.) Plaintiff alleges that ...

Excerpt: ...filed a Third Amended Cross‐Complaint (“TAXC”), alleging that SinCo's founder and others permitted and even required XingKe to operate as “SinCo Electronics (Dongguan) Co., Ltd.” for years before changing course and sabotaging XingKe after it was sold in 2016. Several motions are before the Court. First, SinCo moves for summary adjudication of asserted issues of contractual duty. The parties have also filed two motions to seal materials...

Excerpt: ...ts treatment of employees' claims under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), but invites the parties to meet and confer concerning possible modifications to the settlement. I. BACKGROUND As alleged in the complaint, Defendant is in the calibration lab and software services industry, performing laboratory calibration and industry repair services. (Complaint, ¶ 6.) From November 2017 to December 2018, Ms. Kelly was employed by SIMCO ...

Excerpt: ...e set forth in that order. Before the Court is Plaintiffs' motion for final approval of the settlement and for approval of their attorney fees, costs, and service awards. Plaintiffs' motion is unopposed. As discussed below, the Court GRANTS final approval. I. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR SETTLEMENT APPROVAL A. Class Action Generally, “questions whether a [class action] settlement was fair and reasonable, whether notice to the class was adequate, whether...

Excerpt: ...First Amended Complaint (“FAC”), RFI is a manufacturer and Plaintiff was hired as a non‐exempt employee at its location in San Jose. (FAC, ¶¶ 8, 10.) Plaintiff alleges that RFI failed to pay all wages in a timely manner: while it paid wages on a weekly basis, the wages were paid more than seven days after the close of the payroll period. (Id., ¶ 17.) Further, non‐exempt, non‐union employees worked overtime and earned nondiscretionary...

Excerpt: ...poses Defendant's motion. For the reasons explained below, the Court GRANTS summary judgment. I. BACKGROUND As alleged in the operative Complaint, Mr. Cunha was employed by Defendant in California. (Complaint, ¶ 6.) When he applied for employment, Defendant provided a disclosure and authorization form to perform a background investigation. (Id., ¶ 20.) But the disclosure contained extraneous and superfluous language that did not consist solely ...

Excerpt: ... that drive traffic to such videos, falsely verifying YouTube channels that carry such videos, and providing other false and misleading information to promote them. Before the Court is defendants' demurrer to each cause of action in the operative Amended Complaint (“AC”). Defendants contend that plaintiffs' claims are barred by section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (the “CDA”)1 and otherwise fail to state a cause of action. (Code ...

Excerpt: ... motions. As discussed below, the Court OVERRULES the demurrer and DENIES the motion to strike. I. BACKGROUND As alleged in the operative First Amended Complaint (“FAC”), Defendant is a Silicon Valley‐based company whose products combine traditional Robotic Process Automation (“RPA”) with cognitive elements such as natural language processing and reading unstructured data. (FAC, ¶ 7.) Although it markets itself as a start‐up company,...

Excerpt: ...nacted through Proposition 218—which prohibits local public agencies from imposing property‐related fees that exceed the cost of service. They allege that the Retail Water Providers use retail water rates to subsidize water service to the government and for general government services like public fire hydrants, and some Retail Water Providers violate Proposition 218 by providing below‐cost “SAWR” rates for agriculture/irrigation. Before...

Excerpt: ...ton filed a memorandum of costs on February 18, claiming a total of $98,716.04 in costs. Before the Court is Dollinger's motion to tax all of the costs claimed by Preston, which Preston opposes. Through its opposition, Preston seeks to amend its costs to total $110,123.04 due to increased attorney fees. As explained below, the Court DENIES Dollinger's motion, along with Preston's improper request. I. DOLLINGER'S MOTION IS NOT UNTIMELY As an initi...

Excerpt: ...es in violation of article XIII C of the California Constitution “to the extent [the City's General Fund Transfer] and/or market‐based rental charges were passed through to ratepayers.” The Court found that these improper pass‐throughs totaled approximately $12.6 million. Before the Court is Ms. Green's motion for attorney fees, costs, and a service award. The City opposes her motion not as to her entitlement to attorney fees, but as to t...

Excerpt: ... stay the case pending Mr. Bhika's sentencing in a related criminal action, which is scheduled for June 30, 2021. Mr. Bhika and Ms. Teng filed a notice of nonopposition, and no other party opposes the motion. As discussed below, the Court GRANTS Cisco's unopposed motion to stay the proceedings pending Mr. Bhika's sentencing. I. BACKGROUND InESS filed Case No. 19CV347622 on May 7, 2019 and Case No. 19‐ CV‐350478 on June 28, 2019. Its operative...

Excerpt: ...ate as a nonexempt, hourly engineer from January 2015 through May 18, 2020. (Complaint, ¶ 7.) He and other employees routinely earned non‐discretionary incentive wages that increased their regular rates of pay, but were incorrectly paid sick pay at their base rates. (Id., ¶ 27.) In addition, Plaintiff and other employees who received Shift OT and Shift Premium wages received wage statements that failed to identify the hours worked and hourly ...

Excerpt: ...t forth in that order. Before the Court is Plaintiff's motion for final approval of the settlement and for approval of her attorney fees, costs, and service award. Plaintiff's motion is unopposed. As discussed below, the Court GRANTS final approval. I. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR SETTLEMENT APPROVAL A. Class Action Generally, “questions whether a [class action] settlement was fair and reasonable, whether notice to the class was adequate, whether certif...

Excerpt: ...materials filed in connection with discovery motions previously heard by the Court, which Plaintiff opposes. As discussed below, the Court GRANTS this motion. Also at issue is Plaintiff's motion to compel FEV and Innogy SE to provide further discovery responses. FEV and Innogy SE oppose this motion, which the Court GRANTS for the reasons explained below. I. MOTION TO SEAL A. Legal Standard Generally, “[t]he court may order that a record be file...

Excerpt: ... and sequencing discovery. As discussed below, the Court GRANTS Google's motion. I. BACKGROUND As alleged in the operative complaint, Plaintiff Olga Ortmann was hired by Defendants as an hourly, non‐ exempt employee who worked in California during July 2018. (FAC, ¶ 9.) She was not provided with 30‐ minute meal periods for each five hour work period due to Defendants' policy of not scheduling meal periods for each shift; their imposition of ...

Excerpt: ...int against Defendants Warren Painting and Drywall, LLC and DM&G Construction/Remodeling, LLC, alleging that Warren hired DM&G to perform work on its subcontract with Allied without permission, and Allied did not learn that Warren had failed to obtain a California contractor's license and to properly compensate workers until receiving Plaintiffs' claim. Before the Court is Warren's motion to dismiss the Cross‐ Complaint, which Allied opposes. A...

Excerpt: ...filed a Third Amended Cross‐Complaint (“TAXC”), alleging that SinCo's founder and others permitted and even required XingKe to operate as “SinCo Electronics (Dongguan) Co., Ltd.” for years before changing course and sabotaging XingKe after it was sold in 2016. Before the Court are SinCo's demurrer to and motion to strike portions of the TAXC, which Cross‐Complainants oppose. As discussed below, the Court OVERRULES the demurer and DENI...

Excerpt: ...loyed by Samaritan since at least June of 2014. (First Amended Class Action Complaint (“FAC”), ¶ 7.) She alleges that, during pay periods when she received overtime wages, her wage statements failed to identify the accurate rates of overtime pay and the accurate total hours worked as required by the Labor Code. (Ibid.) Based on these allegations, Ms. Richert brings a class claim under Labor Code section 226 (“Section 226”) and a represen...

Excerpt: ...ory of liability, (3) the 1992 public release of the AcerPAC 150 computer publicly disclosed the alleged trade secrets, which Plaintiff failed to take reasonable efforts to protect, and (4) Intellisoft has not sufficiently identified its alleged trade secrets. Also before the Court is Intellisoft's motion to seal one exhibit associated with its opposition. As discussed below, the Court GRANTS Acer's motion on the ground that Intellisoft's sole th...

Excerpt: ...); and the California Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, California Civil Code sections 1788‐1788.33 (“RFDCPA”). Before the Court is (1) a demurrer to the operative First Amended Class Action CrossComplaint (“FAXC”) by Cross‐Defendants CCS, Patenaude & Felix (P&F), and Todd Christopher Simonson, which Ms. Guzman opposes. Also at issue are Ms. Guzman's motions (all opposed) (2) to compel further responses to interrogatories ...

Excerpt: ...otions. I. BACKGROUND A. Factual Plaintiff incurred a consumer debt in the form of a credit account issued by WebBank. (Complaint, ¶ 15.) She was unable to pay the debt and defaulted on her payments to WebBank. (Id. at ¶ 16.) The debt was subsequently assigned or otherwise transferred to Defendant for collection, and it sent an initial collection letter to Plaintiff dated February 9, 2017. (Id. at ¶¶ 17‐21.) The letter notified Ms. Guzman o...

Excerpt: ... in an order filed on November 23, 2020. The factual and procedural background of the action and the Court's analysis of the settlement and settlement class are set forth in that order. Before the Court is Plaintiff's motion for final approval of the settlement and for approval of his attorney fees, costs, and service award. Plaintiff's motion is unopposed. As discussed below, the Court GRANTS final approval. I. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR SETTLEMENT APP...

Excerpt: ...and moves to strike the class, representative, and punitive damages allegations. As discussed below, the Court SUSTAINS the demurrer in part and OVERRULES it in part; it also GRANTS IN PART the motion to strike, which is otherwise MOOT. I. BACKGROUND Apple hired Ms. Schulze as a Technical Engineer in 2008. (FAC, ¶ 11.) Her Senior Manager was a Hindu Indian man and her Direct Manager was a Muslim Pakistani man (collectively, “Managers”). (Id....

Excerpt: ...of which are opposed: (1) FEV's motion for disqualification of Plaintiff's counsel; (2) Plaintiff's motion to compel further discovery responses from Innogy NV/FEV; (3) Plaintiff's motion to compel further discovery responses from Innogy SE; (4) FEV's motion to compel further discovery responses from Plaintiff; and (5) Plaintiff's motion to compel Innogy SE's deposition on jurisdictional issues. As explained below, the Court DENIES FEV's motion f...

Excerpt: ...ompany that purchases and collects charged‐off consumer debts in California. (First Amended Complaint (FAC), ¶ 11.) It is a “debt collector” as defined by Civil Code section 1788.2. (Ibid.) Plaintiff is alleged to have incurred a “consumer debt” under the same statute, in the form of a consumer credit account issued by Barclays Bank Delaware. (Id., ¶ 15.) Barclays received the last payment on this debt on September 8, 2016, and sold i...

Excerpt: ...fore the Court is Plaintiff's motion to tax a total of $45,710.62 in costs, which SUSA opposes. As discussed below, Plaintiff's motion is GRANTED IN PART as to $16,771.68 in costs. I. LEGAL STANDARD “Except as otherwise expressly provided by statute, a prevailing party is entitled as a matter of right to recover costs in any action or proceeding.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 1032, subd. (b).) Items explicitly allowed as costs are set forth in Code o...

Excerpt: ...ant's motion to preemptively decertify certain of the class claims, which Plaintiff opposes. As explained below, the Court DENIES Defendant's motion in large part. I. BACKGROUND A. Factual According to the operative complaint, Dart is a Michigan corporation with its principal place of business in Michigan, which does business in California. (First Amended Complaint (“FAC”), ¶¶ 7, 9.) When Plaintiff applied for employment with Defendant on O...

Excerpt: ...on. I. BACKGROUND As alleged in the operative complaint, Plaintiff worked for DAL in Santa Clara County during the relevant time period. (First Amended Complaint (“FAC”), ¶ 1.) She and other employees were regularly required to use their cell phones in the normal course of their job duties to communicate with each other, respond to communications from supervisors, check flight times, and place calls to disarm alarms and to operations. (Id., ...

Excerpt: ...oyees; and retaliate against employees. Plaintiff also brings a range of individual claims arising from his employment with Google. Before the Court are four motions to compel discovery by Plaintiff, which Google opposes. As discussed below, the motions are GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. I. BACKGROUND A. Factual According to the operative complaint, plaintiff had a successful career in Illinois as the former chief executive officer of a fami...

Excerpt: ...otion for final approval of the settlement and for approval of her attorney fees, costs, and service award. Plaintiff's motion is unopposed. As discussed below, the Court GRANTS final approval. I. LEGAL STANDARD FOR CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT APPROVAL Generally, “questions whether a [class action] settlement was fair and reasonable, whether notice to the class was adequate, whether certification of the class was proper, and whether the attorney fe...

Excerpt: ...t. It also moves to continue the discovery stay “unless and until Plaintiff … can state a viable cause of action.” As discussed below, the Court OVERRULES Hospital's demurrer and DENIES its motion to continue the discovery stay, but largely GRANTS its motion to strike with leave to amend. I. BACKGROUND Regional Medical Center is a major hospital with an emergency room in San Jose. (First Amended Complaint (“FAC”), ¶ 5.) Plaintiff Taylo...

Excerpt: ...C's demurrer. I. BACKGROUND According to the FAC, defendants Marriott International, Inc. and SJMEC, Inc. own and operate a chain of hotels under various brands nationwide and throughout California, including approximately 52 Marriott hotel locations in California. (FAC, ¶ 21.) Defendants maintain their corporate headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, with a centralized Human Resources department responsible for recruiting and hiring employees, as ...

Excerpt: ...ing for appellate resolution two questions of law raised by that order. It also asks the Court to stay this action pending resolution of Defendant's forthcoming writ petition. As discussed below, the Court DENIES Northrop Grumman's motion in its entirety. I. DISCUSSION “Upon the written request of any party …, a judge may indicate in any interlocutory order a belief that there is a controlling question of law as to which there are substantial...

Excerpt: ..., subd. (e)). In addition, Waymo demurs to and moves the quash the FAC. Plaintiff opposes all three motions (although, as discussed below, her opposition to Waymo's motions was filed extremely late). As explained below, the Court OVERRULES Google and Adecco's demurrer and GRANTS Waymo's motion to quash; Waymo's demurrer is consequently MOOT. I. BACKGROUND As alleged in the operative complaint, Plaintiff was hired by Defendants as an hourly, non�...

Excerpt: ... on the grounds that Jesmar's work was completed and accepted by DPM prior to Mr. Mendoza's accident and there is no evidence Jesmar dug the hole into which Plaintiff fell. Dollinger opposes this motion. Also at issue is Cross‐Defendant Preston Pipelines, Inc.'s renewed motion for summary judgment or adjudication as to Dollinger's cross‐complaint. Preston contends that, since its first summary judgment motion was denied, additional investigat...

Excerpt: ...the operative complaint, Plaintiffs Guadalupe Sosa and Sandra Aragon Gamero worked as Housekeepers at the Santa Clara Marriott, Ms. Sosa from September 8, 2014 to December 2018 and Ms. Aragon Gamero from August 2013 to November 2018. (Second Amended Complaint, ¶¶ 10–13.) Defendants required Plaintiffs and other Housekeepers to continuously work without authorizing or providing paid rest periods, and consequently did not compensate them for al...

Excerpt: ...ass are set forth in that order. Before the Court is Plaintiff's motion for final approval of the settlement and for approval of his attorney fees, costs, and service award. Plaintiff's motion is unopposed. As discussed below, the Court GRANTS final approval. I. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT APPROVAL Generally, “questions whether a [class action] settlement was fair and reasonable, whether notice to the class was adequate, whether...

Excerpt: ...nt class are set forth in that order. Before the Court is Plaintiff's motion for final approval of the settlement and for approval of his attorney fees, costs, and service award. Plaintiff's motion is unopposed. As discussed below, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff's motion with reductions to the requested attorney fee award. I. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR SETTLEMENT APPROVAL A. Class Action Generally, “questions whether a [class action] settlement was fair a...

Excerpt: ...es reached a settlement, which the Court (Judge Walsh) preliminarily approved in an order filed on August 7, 2020. The factual and procedural background of the action and the Court's analysis of the settlement and settlement class are set forth in that order. Before the Court is Plaintiff's motion for final approval of the settlement and for approval of his attorney fees, costs, and service award. Plaintiff's motion is unopposed. As discussed bel...

Excerpt: ...nd settlement class are set forth in that order. Before the Court are Plaintiffs' motions for final approval of the settlement and for approval of their attorney fees, costs, and service awards. Plaintiffs' motions are unopposed, but one objection was submitted to class counsel and the settlement administrator. I. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT APPROVAL Generally, “questions whether a [class action] settlement was fair and reasonab...

Excerpt: ...and settlement class are set forth in that order. Before the Court is Plaintiff's motion for final approval of the settlement and for approval of his attorney fees, costs, and service award. Plaintiff's motion is unopposed. As discussed below, the Court GRANTS final approval. I. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT APPROVAL Generally, “questions whether a [class action] settlement was fair and reasonable, whether notice to the class was ...

Excerpt: ...ULES Defendants' demurrer. I. BACKGROUND As alleged in the operative complaint, Defendants own and operate a media‐sharing platform, YouTube (the “YouTube Platform”), which contains videos created by individuals and entities that have registered with YouTube and uploaded their videos to a “channel.” (Complaint, ¶ 2.) The YouTube Platform is accessible as a website at youtube.com (the “YT Website”), or as a mobile application or app...

Excerpt: ...tate firm that owns, develops, and manages apartments and multifamily communities throughout California. (Complaint, ¶ 10.) Plaintiff Raul Aceves worked for LP for sixteen years, as a Maintenance Supervisor and a Maintenance Technician. (Id., ¶ 4.) Plaintiff Francisco Alcazar has worked for LP as a Maintenance Technician for twelve years. (Id., ¶ 5.) LP assigns Plaintiffs and other Maintenance Supervisors, Maintenance Technicians, and similarl...

Excerpt: ... Plaintiff Edge Law Group as its counsel in June 2018, as did defendant The Phyto Foundation (“Foundation”). (Complaint, ¶¶ 23, 24, 26, 28 and Exhibits A, B, D and F.) Barahona executed the agreement for legal services with Plaintiff on behalf of the Foundation. (Id., ¶ 28.) Peak Health retained Plaintiff to pursue claims alleging trademark infringement, unfair competition, and unfair trade practices against Jared Berry and Carlsbad Natura...

Excerpt: ...tius Azzarello (“Azzarello”) purchased three commercial properties in San Jose as equal joint partners approximately 50 years ago. (Complaint, ¶ 2.) At that time, they also opened a joint business checking account. (Id.) Jerkovich's father passed away in February 2013, leaving her as 50% owner of the property and joint business checking account. (Id.) In early 2014, Jerkovich requested that Azzarello remove her father's name from the joint c...