Excerpt: ...Jerry Ivy Sr. and Deborah Ivy, Plaintiff's parents, reside in Santa Clara County. Defendant Edward lw, Plaintiff's brother, resides in Contra Costa County. Plaintiff's original Complaint was filed on November 17, 2020. Defendants initially brought a demurrer against this complaint, but this was rendered mint when the operative First Amended Complaint ("FAC") was filed on May 18, 2021. The FAC originally stated 13 causes of action against all Defe...

Excerpt: ...led to prov-de timely notice of Chau's claim under the insurance policy. Formation8 and Arch have now filed dispositive motions against each other. For the reasons that follow, the court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Formation8's motion for summary adjudication, DENIES Arch's moton for summary judgment, and GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Arch's motion for summary adjudication. l. BACKGROUND A. The Policies Formation8 was the named insured ...

Excerpt: ...for legal services between Ari Law and that client. (Complaint, 10.) Defendants' defamatory statements included statements about the quality of Ari Law's legal work and billing practices, which allegedly caused the former client not to pay Ari Law for services rendered. (ld. at '1 11.) On June 13, 2023, Affeld and David W. Affeld, APC filed a special moton to strike the complaint under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16, also known as an "ant...

Excerpt: ...irst. 1. Requests for Admissions / Form Interrogatory No. 17.1 C.N.'s requests for admissions focus on whether Stewart was a mandated reporter from 2CM to 2004 (Nos. 1-4) and whether Stewart contacted law enforcement or child protective services regarding "John Zoe," C.N.'s abuser (No. 5). This information is discoverable and is not shielded from disclosure by the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, as the court finds that there...

Excerpt: ...ues that the inclusion of AAA renders the arbitration provision unconscionable, because AAA does not guarantee him the right to conduct discovery. The court finds Robertson's position to devoid of merit and GRANTS the motion to compel. The party challenging a contractual arbitration provision bears the burden of proving that it is both procedurally and substantively unconscionable. (OTO, LL.C. v. Kho (2019) 8 Cal.5th 111, 126.) This may be done o...

Excerpt: ...nd a Virginia corporation) by DLSE to enforce judgments for unpaid wages obta-ned by former CMS employees. This case was consolidated with Case No. 20CV269589, a lawsuit originally filed in Placer County and later transferred to this county, on July 7, 2020. The original complaint in this action was filed on June 13, 2019. A First Amended Complaint ("FAC") was filed on December 6, 2019. A Second Amended Complaint ("SAC") was filed on July 7, 2020...

Excerpt: ...parent amount of $58,237.41. Attached to the complaint as Exhibit A is a copy of a December 14, 2020 offer of employment letter from LoanDepot to Chen, signed by Chen (only). Paragraph 8 of the letter states: Agreements and Policies. This offer is contingent upon all agreements being acknowledged and agreed upon via the companvs HRIS tool, Workday, prior to your first day of employment. Agreements could include: Arbitration Agreement, Employee Co...

Excerpt: ... the Managing Director of Investments at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Robert F. Wallace, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Stanford Management Company. Wallace and the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University have filed a joinder in Defendants' motion to quash the subpoena to Wallace. Because the court finds that plaintiff John l. Malik has failed to show either: (1) that the requested discovery is releva...

Excerpt: ..."von Kaenel"); (3) defendant Alexa Andrea Ingram-Cauchi (erroneously sued as Alexa Andrea Ingram-Cuachi) as Trustee of the Old Santa Cruz Revocable Trust dated January 13, 2015 ("Ingram-Cauchi"); and (4) defendant Anthony Dariano ("Dariano"). Plaintiffs filed their initial complaint on May 24, 2017 to quiet title and prevent interference with an easement that runs from their property through land that they sold. Plaintiffs filed a second amended ...

Excerpt: ...it. OTO opposes, arguing that the new pleading is tantamount to filing a new lawsuit, because it presents six new causes of action, a drastic change in this nearly two-year-old case. OTO also argues that the addition of the proposed sixth cause of action for intentional and/or negligent infliction of emotional distress would be futile, because it is time-barred and fails to state sufficient facts to constitute a cause of action. Having closely co...

Excerpt: ...yed the court's prior order and have not provided necessary discovery, the City has not shown that a terminating sanction is the appropriate remedy here, given its failure to seek issue sanctons and failure to seek an order deeming admitted its requests for admissions. 1. Recent Procedural History The City filed this motion on January 18, 2023, with an original hearing date of May 9, 2023. At a case management conference on April 11, 2023, after ...

Excerpt: ...otes that notice dæs not ap#ar to be proper for the motion for reconsideration. Although there is a prtnf of service dated July 20, 2023 in the file, indicating service of the "motion to reconsider" on Berman by Pomogaibo's husband, Sergey Firsov, there is no amended notice of the October 17, 2023 hearing, as required by the court's læal rule. As a result, the court has no way of knowing whether Berman received notice of the hearing date. In ad...

Excerpt: ...on, and that the amounts he seeks are excessive. Having reviewed the parties' submissions, as well as prior orders of the court in this case (of which the court takes judicial notice under Evidence Ctxle section 452, subdivision (d)), the court GRANTS the motion in part and DENIES it in part. 2 The court awards attorney's fees in the amount of $56,702.00, as well as costs in the amount of $3,932.76, for a total of $ü634.76. 1. Timeliness GM argu...

Excerpt: ... corporation) to enforce judgments for unpaid wages obtained by former CMS employees. The Virginia entity is hereinafter referred to as "PEW Based on the operative third amended complaint ("TAC"), DLSE brought a motion for summary judgment or summary adjudication, which was heard on July 6, 2023. In a formal order issued that same day, the court denied summary judgment but granted summary adjudication to DLSE as to the first and fourth causes of ...

Excerpt: ... to show the profits that they earned— either directly or through trusts that they own—from the "AC Master Franchise," and that this information is needed in order for him to calculate and prove damages in this case. Plaintiff notes that Judge Kirwan's order specifically found that "the profits earned by Defendants (and/or entities they own and control) from the AC Master Franchise" are "directly relevant to Plaintiff's damages claims." (Sept...

Excerpt: ...the parties' submissions, including the proposed protective order and protocol, and now rules on the disputed provisions as follows: • Paragraph 3: The proposed amendment to this paragraph of the protective order creates an "outside counsel only" tier of protection for the most highly confidential information. As a general matter, the court has no problem with the creation of an "attorneys' eyes only"- level tier in the protective order, as suc...

Excerpt: ...e May 23 hearing, the court noted that Wormley's counsel's declaration in support of the moton to vacate (Declaration of Patrick Khalil) was inadequate, because it did not provide enough information about an alleged calendaring error that led to his multiple failures to appear, and was also not delivered under oath, as required by Code of Civil Procedure section 473, subdivision (b). Nevertheless, the court also stated that it would grant the mot...

Excerpt: ...19. It states four causes of action: (1) Breach of Contract (the insurance policy, alleged against State Farm only); (2) Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing (insurance bad faith, alleged against State Farm only); (3) Negligence (against all defendants); and (4) Unfair Business Practices (against all defendants). While the specific policy for the subject pro#rty is mentioned in the complaint, there are no attached exhibit...

Excerpt: ... does not dispute the costs amount, but it challenges the fees amount as excessive, particularly given that this case was filed as a limited civil action, and Xia's eventual monetary recovery was only $223.00. Defendant also questions whether Xia should be considered the prevailing party at all. Having reviewed the parties' submissions, as well as Judge Rosen's statement of decision, the court GRANTS Xia's motion in large part and DENIES it in sm...

Excerpt: ...ecton 1281.2, until resolution of the plaintiffs' claims against SFM and Sterling DAF. 1. Background According to the plaintiffs, "[t]his case is about a defective estate planning vehicle ... that was supposedly designed to allow plaintiff Joseph Wong ... to transfer assets into a charitable donor's fund which he could manage for growth and utilize in advertised beneficial ways while getting a tax deduction." (Opposition to Sterling Foundation Ma...

Excerpt: ...s, arguing that venue is proper in either Santa Clara County or Tulare County. The court finds this motion to be somewhat vexing, because neither side appears to have presented a full picture of the relevant circumstances that would allow the court to make a knowledgeable decision on the question presented. The court believes that key pieces of information are missing. Because the burden of proof is ultimately on the moving party, the court finds...

Excerpt: ...crimination, Harassment, and Retaliation (in violation of the FEHA). Balon sought punitive damages in relation to all four causes of action. Balon's original complaint alleged that he was hired by Intel on November 4, 2014 and was a vice president. He was terminated on August 18, 2020, when he was 51 years old. Prior to his termination, Plaintiff had no record of discipline and had received positive performance reviews. The complaint alleged that...

Excerpt: ...h of Fiduciary Duty; and 4. Judicial Dissolution of LLC Pursuant to Cal. Corp. Code S 17707.03. According to the complaint, Patton and Sandman jointly own real property through Sandpatt, LLC. (Complaint, 1-3.) In 1999, Sandpatt, LLC formed with the sole business of acquiring and operating the Property. (ld. at 9-10.) Patton was a 40% owner and manager of Sandpatt, LLC, while Sandman was a 60% owner and manager of Sandpatt, LLC. (ld. at 11-12.) Th...

Excerpt: ...ion: (1) Violation of Civil Code Section 1793.2(D); (2) Violation of Civil Code Section 1793.2(B); (3) Violation of Civil Code Secton 1793.2(A)(3); (4) Breach of the Implied Warranty of Merchantability; and (5) Fraud (specifically, fraudulent inducement-concealment). The FAC alleges that, as part of the vehicle lease, Sharifirad entered into a warranty contract with GM on or about January 4, 2021. (See FAC at 6-7.) A copy of the warranty contract...

Excerpt: ...and six form interrogatories. The court GRANTS Stanford's motion, and the court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part the Meyers' motion. 1. Stanford's Motion to Compel Compliance (the "Mirror Drive") The court finds that the Meyers agreed to priNluce the "mirror drive" of Katie's laptop in responses verified under oath by both of them (on March 10, 2023) and then backtracked on this agreement, including expressly serving "amended" responses (on June...

Excerpt: ...any common issues of law and fact, as well as many common parties. What GBR has not shown, however, is how consolidation at this exceedingly late stage of the proceedings—after three of the four cases have already been appealed, two of the four cases are still on appeal, and one of the cases is on remand from the Court of Appeal—will conserve any resources or help avoid any inconsistent outcomes. Even more critically, GBR has not shown that c...

Excerpt: ...osition. The court finds the parties' briefing on this motion to be singularly unhelpful, with the parties mainly talking past each other and failing to explain clearly to the court exactly what remains to be resolved between the parties. For example, neither side's briefing actually addresses the language of Categories 1-4, 7, and 10. The lack of clarity may have been ameliorated with a separate statement, but as GM points out, Sanchez failed to...

Excerpt: ...stees of the Leland Stanford Junior University and operated by defendant Stanford Health Care. The complaint, filed on October 5, 2020 by Sharif and Marghuba Razzaqui (collectively, "Plaintiffs"), 3 is a form complaint stating two causes of action—motor vehicle negligence and premises liability—against several named defendants and various Doe defendants. The first cause of action for negligence is alleged against all defendants, including the...

Excerpt: ...and We Party, Inc. ("We Party"). Ren filed her original complaint on April 25, 2022 (Case No. 22CV397314), while she was represented by counsel. That complaint stated claims for: (1) Breach of Contract; (2) Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing; (3) Promissory Estoppel; (4) Fraud; (5) Unfair Business Practice; (6) Unjust Enrichment; (7) Money Paid; (8) Accounting; and (9) Conspiracy. She alleged that defendants Wu, Hu, and...

Excerpt: ...(against Encore only); 2. Breach of Fiduciary Duty (against Vogel only); and 3. Declaratory Relief (against all Defendants). On March 27, 2023, the court heard Encore's demurrer to the complaint. The court overruled the demurrer to the second cause of action and sustained the demurrer to the third cause of action (based on application of the business judgment rule), with 10 days' leave to amend. In addition, the court denied Vogel's joinder to th...

Excerpt: ...confirm. The basis for Signature's opposition (and petition to vacate) is the fact that the arbitrator who awarded the attorney's fees and costs to Silva, Jonathan Polland, supposedly failed to disclose the fact that he teaches an American Arbitration Association (AAA) class called "Everything an Advocate Needs to Know About Winning Attorney's Fees and Costs in an Arbitration." According to Signature, the very title of this class evinces a bias i...

Excerpt: .... Pendar alleges that the County Medical Examiner took possession of Njawa Pendar's body shortly thereafter but failed to notify Pendar of his brother's death until December 26, 2022, more than three and a half months later. In his complaint, filed on April 10, 2023, Pendar asserts three causes of action against the County: (1) Negligence; (2) Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress; and (3) Violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act ("Unruh Act"...

Excerpt: ...presented when the original complaint was filed. Vo brought a motion for preliminary injunction which was denied by the court (Judge Williams) on January 11, 2022. Defendant Truong then brought a demurrer to both causes of action alleged in the original complaint. Plaintiff Vo failed to file any opposition to this demurrer and on March 10, 2022 the court (Judge Kirwan) adopted its uncontested tentative ruling sustaining the demurrer with 10 days'...

Excerpt: ... Plaintiffs' original complaint was filed on January 27, 2021. It stated four causes of action: (1) Unjust Enrichment; (2) Negligence; (3) Fraud, and (4) Breach of Contract against two defendants, ATI and Berkeley Insurance Company, alleged to be ATI's bonding company. Attached to the complaint as exhibit A was a copy of the contract ("Work Proposal and Authorization") between Plaintiffs and ATI. The operative First Amended Complaint ("FAC") was ...

Excerpt: ...Diamond Elevator propounded to Defendant John Construction, lnc„ its Form Interrogatories, which included a Request for Admissions, Special Interrogatories, and Requests for Production, Set One. When Defendant did not respond to the discovery, Plaintiff filed its motion to compel. Defendant failed to file an opposition to the motion to compel. A hearing on the motion was held on August 1, 2023. At the hearing, Judge Chung continued the motion t...

Excerpt: ...rchard City Holdings, Inc. at an unspecified date. (ld. at 8.) Hix worked for RealPage as a "System Administrator" from September 2017 until his termination on September 30, 2019. (Ibid.) On March 3, 2020, an amendment substituted "Orchard City Holdings, Inc." ("Orchard") in place of Doe 1. On April 14, 2021, an amendment substituted "Thomas Harrington" for Doe 2 and "Jonathan Harrington" for Doe 3 (collectively, "Harrington Defendants"). Current...

Excerpt: ... also named James T. Stroud, the Chu Defendants' attorney of record, as a defendant. According to the complaint, in 1993, Plaintiffs, the Chu Defendants, Chi Chu, and Lan Chu purchased the Property; the eight of them agreed to share equally in the management costs and ownership of the Property. (Complaint, 9-10.) Only the Chu Defendants were named on the title of the Property, however, because they suggested that it was faster for two owners to r...

Excerpt: ...udgment and a motion to quash a deposition subpoena. In the lead case, plaintiff Chang Long Realty Development LLC ("CLRD") filed the original and still operative complaint on January 18, 2019. The complaint states seven causes of action against Sun and Zhu: (1) Quiet Title; (2) Partition; (3) Accounting; (4) Breach of Fiduciary Duty; (5) Conversion; (5) Trespass to Chattels; and (7) Imposition of Constructive Trust. On April 22, 2019 Sun and Zhu...

Excerpt: ... that make a preference necessary to prevent prejudicing her interest in the case. The court finds that Getty has satisfied the statutory requirements for a trial preference and GRANTS the motion. Defendants Villa Verde, Dominica Oliva, Sequoia Home Health & Hospice, Cornerstone Healthcare, Inc., Pennant Services, Inc. have filed four separate oppositions to the motion, raising several overlapping and needlessly repetitive arguments. 4 The court ...

Excerpt: ...cal examination of Souza is directly relevant to her claim of damages and that good cause exists to GRANT the motion under Code of Civil Procedure section 2032.320. Souza raises a number of arguments in opposition to the motion, none of which alter the court's decision. First, Souza argues that Jepson did not adequately meet and confer before filing this motion. The court finds otherwise. Although the correspondence and discussions on March 21 an...

Excerpt: ...cuments (on August 22 and 23, 2023), and Jones's reply brief, filed on August 30, 2023, indicates that an order compelling compliance is no longer necessary. Instead, Jones reserves only his request for monetary sanctions ($2,872.50) for having had to bring this motion. Plaintiffs oppose the imposition of sanctions on multiple grounds. First, they argue that Jones has been "impatient" and failed to provide reasonable allowances for John Pilling t...

Excerpt: ... l. Background This achon arises from a dispute over the leadership of a now-dissolved limited liability company, RS Enterprise, LLC ("RS"), formed to process and sell cannabis products in Santa Cruz, California. Plaintiff William Sump ("Sump") alleges that he was improperly deprived of his voting and membership interest in Rs—including three pieces of real property owned by RS in Santa Cruz—by defendants Nathaniel Ready, John Vitale, Trevor ...

Excerpt: ...Moore, and K&K Confidential Investigations (collectively, "Defendants") relating to an inc:ident that occurred at Plaintiffs' place of business in Missouri in 2010. Currently before the court is Travelers' demurrer to the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth causes of acton in the third amended complaint. A. Background Plaintiffs filed their original complaint on October 18, 2018. The complaint attached two exhibits: (1) a copy ofa "Water Tank Lease with...

Excerpt: ...n. On September 15, 2022, this court (Judge Kirwan) granted Gargano's motion for judgment on the pleadings, finding, among other things, that Plaintiffs' causes of action were an "apparent attempt to evade" the mandatory ADR provisions of the operating agreements between the parties. On February 2, 2023, Judge Kirwan denied Plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration. Gargano then moved for an award of attornevs fees and costs. On April 25, 2023, this...

Excerpt: ...so been narrowed in scope, as Balfour has produced about 20WJ more documents. Based on the opposition, filed August 18, and the reply, filed August 24, it appears that the remaining items in dispute are: (1) job cost reports, and (2) "key letters" between Balfour and the Santa Clara Valley Water District (aka the "Project Owner"). Job cost reports: Balfour argues that its job cost reports are not responsive to Neal's first set of document request...

Excerpt: ...plaint, 1.) In the fall of 2019, White, Wall, Thompson, Harris, and White's girlfriend, "S.V.," formed a cover band. (ld. at '127.) In the fall of 2020, White, Wall, and Thompson lived as friends and roommates in an apartment near Stanford. (ld. at '1 26.) White had a close but platonic relationship with Wall, Thompson, and Harris. (ld. at 33-34.) From the fall of 2019 to early 2020, White was a residential advisor who lived in the same dorms as ...

Excerpt: ...de provisions, the court GRANTS the motion. 1. Factual Background For some reason, it dæs not appear that anything substantive happened in this case between August 3, 2020 and December 2, 2022, the time period between this court's (Judge Barrett's) order compelling arbitration and the date on which plaintiffs finally submitted a demand for arbitration to JAMS. Nevertheless, once that occurred, JAMS sent an invoice for a $6mo retainer to defendan...

Excerpt: ...g papers and $3,665 for the reply. Apart from a brief answer or two, Omega has admittedly failed to prov-de responses to nearly all of these interrogatories and requests, serving only objections. Omega offered to serve substantive responses to Ahedo by September 15, 2023, in exchange for Ahedo's willingness to take the motion off calendar. Ahedo declined. Notwithstanding the lack of any meaningful responses to date, Omega now seeks $5,649.20 in m...

Excerpt: ...nal and still operative complaint is a form complaint filed on September 24, 2021. It states causes of action for: (1) Premises Liability/Dangerous Condition of Public Property, and (2) General Negligence. Three of the several defendants are the City of San Jose (the "City"), the 1939 Monterey Road Owners Association (the "Association"), and Verity Properties, Inc. ("Verity"). The complaint makes little distinction between the defendants and has ...

Excerpt: ...C&Rs") to maintain the common areas—specifically, the swimming pool and spa—caused him injury in the form of lung disease. Hudspeth filed his original complaint on April 22, 2022. This was a form complaint alleging a single cause of action for "General Negligence" with an "Exemplary Damages Attachment" seeking punitive damages. Also attached was a copy of the Association's CC&Rs. The Association brought a motion to strike the request for puni...