Excerpt: ...ff is entitled to reasonable attorney fees, costs and interest under Sections 1194 and 226 of the Labor Code which entitles Plaintiff to recover attorney fees as allowable costs under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §1033.5 and case law and Plaintiff obtained a net monetary recover from all defendants by accepting defendant's settlement offer made pursuant to Section 998 of the Code of Civil Procedure which provided a net monetary recovery and payment of a...

Excerpt: ... in the TAC, in April 2015, Wu was recruited by China Science & Merchants (“CSC Group”) as CoPresident. (TAC, ¶ 4, 19.) She was told there would be a competitive profit‐ sharing plan. (TAC, ¶ 25.) She was hired to lead the investment activity. (TAC, ¶ 20.) By 2019, Wu built what became a top tier portfolio in early‐stage technology companies by applying rigor and high selectivity in investing. (Ibid.) Had it not been for the promises a...

Excerpt: ...2017, HMI executed and delivered to Plaintiff a Revolving/Installment Note (the “Note”) and Security Agreement (collectively, the “Loan Documents”) pursuant to which HMI borrowed and promised to pay to Plaintiff the principal sum of $250,000, together with interest at a variable rate of Prime plus 1.75% per year, in monthly installments as stated in the Note. (Complaint, ¶ 6, Exhibits 1 and 2.) In order to induce Plaintiff to furnish the...

Excerpt: ... “Motions for leave to amend are directed to the sound discretion of the judge: ‘The court may, in furtherance of justice and on any terms as may be proper, allow a party to amend any pleading…' [Citation.] However, the court's discretion will usually be exercised liberally to permit amendment of the pleadings. The policy favoring amendment is so strong that it is a rare case in which denial of leave to amend can be justified.” (Howard v....

Excerpt: ...ns in the FAC, on December 10, 2016, Plaintiff was at a complete stop in her motor vehicle at a red light. (FAC, p. 5, GN‐1.) At the time of the accident, Madelyn was a minor and she was driving a vehicle that she and the other defendants knew or should have known had defective and/or dysfunctional brakes and was likely to cause personal injury, wage loss, and property damage. (Ibid.) Because of the defective/dysfunctional brakes and Madelyn's ...

Excerpt: ...titled to its attorney's fees pursuant contract. Defendant does not dispute that Plaintiff is entitled to an award of fees under the contract, but disputes that all of the fees claimed by Defendant were reasonably incurred in the defense and prosecution the claims. DISCUSSION A. Legal Standard CCP § 1032 provides that except as otherwise expressly provided by a statute, the prevailing party in an action or proceeding is entitled to recover its c...

Excerpt: ...), which was manufactured and/or distributed by FMC. (FAC, ¶ 7.) In connection with the purchase, Plaintiffs received an express written warranty, including a 3‐year/36,000 mile express bumper to bumper warranty, a 5‐ year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty, which covers the engine and transmission. (FAC, ¶ 9.) During the warranty period, the Vehicle contained or developed defects, including but not limited to, defects related to the transmiss...

Excerpt: ...ts' insured. According to the allegations of the SAC, Plaintiff is a medical services provider. (SAC, ¶ 1.) CNP, a food preparations' business, arranges for the provision of health care services to its enrollees and the payment or reimbursement of the cost of those services. (Id., ¶ 3.) HCS, a third‐party claims administrator, works in such a capacity for CNP pursuant to a contractual agreement. (Id., ¶¶ 2, 10.) Collectively, HCS and CNP wi...

Excerpt: ...ailing party under the SBA and the CCP § 998 offer Plaintiffs accepted entitles them to recover their attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses. Defendants Ford Motor Company et al (Defendants) do not dispute that Plaintiffs are the prevailing parties and entitled to seek an award of fees costs and expenses under the applicable law and the terms of the Settlement Agreement. However, Defendants dispute the amount of fees being sought based on the numb...

Excerpt: ...the allegations of the underlying TAC, Francis is the former head pastor and board chairman of the Church. (TAC, ¶¶ 11.) Hungsun is Francis' wife and she handled financial matters for SJKCC. (TAC, ¶ 13.) Kim and Jung are former board members and chief financial officers of the SJKCC. (TAC, ¶ 12.) Austin is an agent for an entity named Healing Hands Dental Mission, Inc. (“HHDM”). (TAC, ¶ 14.) Park is Austin's wife and she, along with Hung...

Excerpt: ...“Complaint”), on February 13, 2019, Dr. Farris performed a total right knee arthroplasty on Plaintiff. (Complaint, ¶ 6.) Approximately three months later, on May 10, 2019, Plaintiff went to the emergency room due to problems in her right knee and was informed that the arthroplasty had not been performed correctly. (Id.) Plaintiff alleges that the arthroplasty was performed negligently, causing misalignment and misplacement of the knee, resul...

Excerpt: ...t on the grounds that the motion was made prematurely while the parties were still meeting and conferring, and on the further grounds that the motion is moot because for all but one request, Defendant has provided code‐complaint responses to the requests, made a complete responsive production and served three sets of supplemental responses, a privilege and over 23,000 pages of responsive documents. Defendant asks the Court to sanction Plaintiff...

Excerpt: ..., Wu was recruited by China Science & Merchants (“CSC Group”) as CoPresident. (TAC, ¶ 4, 19.) She was told there would be a competitive profit‐sharing plan. (TAC, ¶ 25.) She was hired to lead the investment activity. (TAC, ¶ 20.) By 2019, Wu built what became a top tier portfolio in early‐stage technology companies by applying rigor and high selectivity in investing. (Ibid.) Had it not been for the promises and assurances by Xiangshuan...

Excerpt: ...out Plaintiffs' consent, Defendants maintained a retaining wall on Plaintiffs' property (the “Property”) and refused to remove it when Plaintiffs demanded they do so. (TAC, ¶ 3.) Defendants maintain that they were given consent to enter the Property while Plaintiffs argue that such consent was revoked when they sent a letter to Defendants on March 26, 2019 demanding that they remove the retaining wall. (Id., ¶ 4.) Defendants failed to respo...

Excerpt: ...onto the property located at 14105 Columbet Avenue in San Martin (the “Ranch”), pursuant to an agreement with the property manager at the time. (Complaint, ¶ 10.) In or around December 2019, UFA purchased the premises.1 (Ibid.) After UFA gained title to the Ranch, Castillo and Plaintiff formed a verbal agreement allowing him to live on the property in exchange for labor completed around the Ranch. (Complaint, ¶ 11.) Pursuant to the agreemen...

Excerpt: ...ropriate. Defendant seeks orders compelling further response to the following discovery: 1. Defendant's First Set of Requests for Requests for Production: 3, 5, 8, 9, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30, and 38; for an order compelling Plaintiff to produce all documents responsive to request for production numbers 2, 4, 6, 7, 12, 15, 28, 29, and 39; and Production: 3, 5, 8, 9, 2. Defendant's Special Interrogatories numbers 4, 7 ‐13, 17, 20‐24, and...

Excerpt: ...n. Defendant City of San Jose (the “City”) demurs to the FAC and joins in the demurrer filed by the County Defendants. I. Background A. Factual This is an action for declaratory and injunctive relief based on the assertion by Plaintiffs‐ four City employees and a non‐profit organization comprised of the same‐ that health orders issued by Dr. Cody on December 28, 2021 and amended on March 7, 2022, are a COVID‐19 “vaccine/booster mand...

Excerpt: ...ccording to the allegations of the operative Complaint, on October 9, 2015, Plaintiff is alleged to have incurred a financial obligation in the form of a consumer credit account issued by One Main Financial, Inc. (“One Main Financial”) which qualifies as a “consumer debt” within the meaning of the RFDCPA. (Complaint, ¶ 13.) Plaintiff alleges that this alleged debt was sold, assigned or otherwise transferred by One Main Financial to One M...

Excerpt: ...state and without a surviving spouse, child, or parent. (FAC, ¶ 1.) Decedent was Defendants' patient from July 12, 2008 to her passing on September 16, 2021.2 (FAC, ¶ 6, 27.) During the entirety of her stay at Defendant's facility, she was mentally incapacitated due to hypoxic brain injury and other conditions. (FAC, ¶ 6.) As a result of those conditions, Decedent was unable to comprehend rights that she was otherwise bound to know, and was un...

Excerpt: ...‐Tenant Lease‐ Gross (the “Lease”) with Defendant. (FAC, ¶ 6.) Pursuant to the Lease, Plaintiff agreed to lease approximately 20,710 square feet of industrial office and warehouse building and yard space at 2240 Paragon Drive in San Jose, California (the “Premises”) for bicycle sales and storage for an initial term of five (5) years. (FAC, ¶¶ 5, 6.) An addendum (“Addendum”) was attached as part of the Lease. (FAC, ¶ 7.) Paragr...

Excerpt: ... finally determined; and 3) Plaintiff repeatedly files unmeritorious pleadings, conducts unnecessary discovery, and engages in other tactics that are frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay. The motion is opposed by Plaintiff. Plaintiff is a pro se litigant. Plaintiff has filed three lawsuits against Defendant. Each of Plaintiff's three lawsuits allege that Defendant discriminated against Plaintiff in some way. The court ruled aga...

Excerpt: ...lid arbitration agreements. (Armendariz v. Foundation Health Psychcare Services, Inc. (2000) 24 Cal.4th 83, 97, 99 Cal.Rptr.2d 745, 6 P.3d 669 (Armendariz), abrogated in part on another ground in **233 AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion (2011) 563 U.S. 333, 339–340, 131 S.Ct. 1740, 179 L.Ed.2d 742.) The California Arbitration Act (CAA), Code of Civil Procedure1 section 1280 et seq., sets forth “a comprehensive scheme regulating private arbitrati...

Excerpt: ...ntiffs have refused to cooperate in engaging in ADR. The Motion is opposed by Plaintiffs. This case arises out of a light airplane crash that occurred on 11/19/18 in San Jose, CA. McClelland is the owner of the aircraft. Squadron 2 is the flight school. Plaintiffs filed their complaint against McClelland, Squadron 2 its related entity on 4/10/18. Plaintiffs settled their claims for injuries against the Squadron 2 and its related entity (settling ...

Excerpt: ..., by an employer against a former employee. According to the allegations of the complaint (“Complaint”), Black Sails is a virtual reality (“VR”) startup which possesses a variety of cutting‐edge VR technology, most of which was created by Wang and Zhao, as coinventor. (Complaint, ¶ 11.) Zhao began her employment with Black Sails in November 9, 2016 and ceased working there in June 2018, when all of the company's employees quit due to i...

Excerpt: ...s purchased a 2011 FORD Fusion (the Vehicle) from the Dealer on or about December 2, 2010. The Vehicle was manufactured by FORD. The purchase of the Vehicle was governed by a written “RETAIL INSTALLMENT SALE CONTRACT – SIMPLE FINANCE CHARGE” (with arbitration provision) (“RISC”). Immediately above the final buyer/co‐buyer signature block that Plaintiffs signed the RISC provides that: YOU AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS CONTRACT. YOU CONFIR...

Excerpt: ...fendant seeks monetary sanctions against Plaintiff for a misuse of the discovery process. DISCUSSION A. Legal Standard 1. Compelling Further Discovery Responses CCP § 2017.010 provides the following: Unless otherwise limited by order of the court in accordance with this title, any party may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action or to the determination of any m...

Excerpt: ...2 I. Background A. Factual This is an action for financial elder abuse, among other things. It is one of several cases that have been litigated between the parties. According to the allegations in the Complaint, in 1960, Philip C. Barbaccia and Josephine G. Barbaccia (“the Parents”) of Lou, Rita Pecoraro (“Rita”), Josephine B. Pecoraro (“Josephine”) and Cyril G. Barbaccia (“Cy”), purchased real property at 165 Blossom Hill Road, S...

Excerpt: ... unnecessary motion. DISCUSSION A. Legal Standard Requests for Admission Code of Civil Procedure, § 2033.280(a) provides that if a party to whom requests for admissions have been directed fails to serve a timely response, that party thereby waives any objection to the requests, including one based on privilege or on the protection for work product under Code of Civil Procedure, § 2018.010 et seq. “[I]f the response is served within the statut...

Excerpt: ...7/22 Plaintiff was served with the instant Demurrer. Plaintiff's opposition was due 6/30/22. Plaintiff did not file timely opposition. DISCUSSION A. Legal Standard 1. Failure to file timely opposition “Unless otherwise ordered or specifically provided by law, all moving and supporting papers must be served and filed in accordance with CCP § 1005.” (California Rules of Court, rule 3.1300(a).) Opposition to noticed motion must be filed and ser...

Excerpt: ... on procedural grounds. Plaintiff not opposed the motions on the merits. Because all three motions involve a similar procedural issue, the Court will follow Plaintiff's lead and issue a single omnibus order with separate rulings as to each motion as appropriate. Defendant's motions were all filed on 3/21/22. Plaintiff filed a consolidated opposition to these motions on the sole grounds that attorney Eric Hartman claims the he and his clients have...

Excerpt: ... DISCUSSION A. Legal Standard Code of Civil Procedure section 1008 provides the only legal basis for a court to reconsider a prior order. (Code Civ. Proc, § 1008, subd. (e).) Code of Civil Procedure section 1008, subdivision (a) states: When an application for an order has been made to a judge, or to a court, and refused in whole or in part, or granted, or granted conditionally, or on terms, any party affected by the order may, within 10 days af...

Excerpt: ...themselves out to the public as competent and skilled dentists. (SAC, ¶ 5.) Williams was Defendants' patient. (Ibid.) He went to Defendants to determine the best method to get individual implants on both his lower and upper maxillary jaw so he would not have to maintain dentures anymore. (Ibid.) On January 7, 2016, Dr. Trinh performed bone graft surgery, in conjunction with performing a sinus elevation. (SAC, ¶¶ 6, 22.) Without providing Willi...

Excerpt: ...three responses: (1) a statement that the party will comply with the particular demand, (2) a representation that the party lacks the ability to comply, or (3) an objection. CCP §2031.210(a). Under Code of Civil Procedure section 2031.310, subdivision (a), a party may move for an order compelling a further response to a document demand on the ground that (1) an objection is without merit or too general, (2) a statement of compliance with the dem...

Excerpt: ...ed the use of the Account for the acquisition of goods, services, balance transfers or cash advances. (Id.) However, Defendant failed to make periodic payments on the outstanding balance and the Account was ultimately charged‐off. (Id.) Consequently, the entire Account balance of $49,761.90 is presently due and payable in full. (Id., ¶¶ 7‐8.) B. Procedural Based on the foregoing, Plaintiff filed the Complaint on April 23, 2021, asserting cl...

Excerpt: ...e “Vehicle”), which was manufactured and/or distributed by FMC.1 (FAC, ¶ 7.) In connection with the purchase, Hunter received an express written warranty, including a 3‐year/36,000 mile express bumper to bumper warranty, a 5‐ year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty, which covers engine and transmission, and a 8‐ year/80,000 mile emission warranty, which covers the exhaust system and transmission control module (“TCM”). (FAC, ¶ 8.) Du...

Excerpt: ...Notice Moving Parties ask the Court to take Judicial Notice of documents filed and rulings by this Court and the Sixth District Court of Appeals in support of their motion to have Plaintiffs declared vexatious litigants. Evidence Code section 452(d), provides that the Court may take judicial notice of “[r]ecords of any court of this state.” Section 452(d) permits the trial court to “take judicial notice of the existence of judicial opinions...

Excerpt: ... DISCUSSION A. Legal Standard CCP § 2017.010 provides the following: Unless otherwise limited by order of the court in accordance with this title, any party may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action or to the determination of any motion made in that action, if the matter either is itself admissible in evidence or appears reasonably calculated to lead to the di...

Excerpt: ... the same operative facts so the Court will consider them in a single ruling with separate orders as appropriate. DISCUSSION A. Failure to Oppose a Motion Notice of hearing was given. No opposition was filed. A failure to oppose a motion may be deemed a consent to the granting of the motion. CRC Rule 8.54c. B. Legal Standard for Demurrer As relevant to the instant case, “[t]he party against whom a complaint or crosscomplaint has been filed may ...

Excerpt: ...re limited liability company and a subsidiary of China Science and Merchant Investment Management Group Co. Ltd. (“CSC Group”), which is not a party to this case. (Cross‐ Complaint, ¶ 2.) In April 2015, Veronica Wu (“Wu”) was hired by CSC Group. (Cross‐Complaint, ¶ 8.) She was elected a member of the Board of Directors, where she remained until September 2020. (Ibid.) On May 20, 2015, CSC Group established CSC Group International Co...

Excerpt: ...ifornia (APNs: 086‐25‐020 and 086‐25‐021) on November 24, 2020. The motion is not opposed. DISCUSSION GreenLake's Motion was filed March 28, 2022. Amended notice of Motion providing ARC with the time and date of the hearing was served April 21, 2022. Timely Notice of hearing was given. No opposition was filed. A failure to oppose a motion may be deemed a consent to the granting of the motion. CRC Rule 8.54c. A failure to oppose a motion m...

Excerpt: ...f the alleged sexual harassment, sexual molestation and sexual abuse of Plaintiff while she was a student at Ida Jew Academy, a charter school within defendant Mount Pleasant Elementary School District (“MPESD”). According to the allegations of the Complaint, MPESD contracted with defendant Santa Clara County Office of Education (“SCCOE”) to provide an outdoor education experience for minor students, including Plaintiff, particularly at W...

Excerpt: ...particular dispute has not resolved. DISCUSSION A. Legal Standard Right to Discovery CCP § 2017.010 provides the following: Unless otherwise limited by order of the court in accordance with this title, any party may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action or to the determination of any motion made in that action, if the matter either is itself admissible in evid...

Excerpt: ... March 6, 1958, Plaintiffs' predecessors in interest, Louis A. Filice and Lee Nora Filice (the “Filices”), grantors, and the State of California (the “State”), as grantee, executed a Grant Deed (recorded April 29, 1958) (the “Grant Deed”), which effectuated three transfers of various interests in real property owned by the Filices (the “Original Filice Land”). (FAC, ¶¶ 26‐27 and Exhibit 4.) The first transfer was of a fee inte...

Excerpt: ...te. According to the allegations of the First Amended Complaint (“FAC”), Plaintiff is a Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (“SCAN”) physician who was hired by the County on July 1, 2011 as a Child Abuse Pediatrician at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (“SCVMC”). (FAC, ¶ 8.) As a component of her contractual employment agreement with the County, Plaintiff was required to abide by the Medical Staff Bylaws and the internal policies ...

Excerpt: ... A defendant prevailing on an anti‐SLAPP motion is entitled to recover attorneys' fees. (CCP §425.16(c)(1).) The award of fees to a prevailing defendant is mandatory. Marshall v. Webster (2020) 54 Cal.App.5th 275, 285. Attorney fee awards should be fully compensatory, and include compensation for all hours reasonably spent. Ketchum v. Moses (2001) 24 Cal.4th 1122, 1133. The court may use the "lodestar" method to compute the amount of the fee a...

Excerpt: ...g Santa Clara University (“SCU”) that is owned by the City/non‐party Valley Transportation Authority (“VTA”). According to the allegations of the Complaint, after a year of in‐person meetings and conversation with City officials, members of the VTA, SCU representatives and community leaders, on May 31, 2017, Richard Kramer (“Kramer”), Chairman of the family of companies that includes Plaintiff, sent the City a letter detailing a p...

Excerpt: ...was accompanied by express warranties that Hyundai undertook to preserve or maintain the utility or performance of the Vehicle or to provide compensation if there was a failure in such utility or performance. (Ibid.) The Vehicle was delivered to Natera with serious defects and nonconformities to warranty and developed other serious defects and nonconformities to warranty including, but not limited to, engine, transmission, electrical, and exterio...

Excerpt: ... Code of Civil Procedure Section 128.5 (“Section 128.5”) and Code of Civil Procedure Section 128.7 (“Section 128.7”). The Motions are opposed by Gandhi, Raber and Rimon on procedural and substantive grounds. Because the two motions arise out of the same operative facts and the motions share critical procedural requirements, the Court analyzes the motion together but will make separate rulings as to each motion. DISCUSSION A. Legal Standar...

Excerpt: ...vely, “Cross‐Complainants”). I. Background A. Factual 1. Complaint This is an action for breach of contract. According to the allegations of the complaint (“Complaint”), PAPO is the owner of CTC, a real estate development project located in Palo Alto which includes the premises located at 2108 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (the “Property”). On November 20, 2013, CTC, as landlord, and J&A Family Markets, Inc. (“J&A”), as tenant, ente...

Excerpt: ... limited liability company and a subsidiary of China Science and Merchant Investment Management Group Co. Ltd. (“CSC Group”), which is not a party to this case. (Cross‐Complaint, ¶ 2.) In April 2015, Wu was hired by CSC Group. (Cross‐ Complaint, ¶ 8.) She was elected a member of the Board of Directors, where she remained until September 2020. (Ibid.) On May 20, 2015, CSC Group established CSC Group International Corp. (“CSC Internatio...