Excerpt: ...or gravamen of the claim, i.e the “allegedly wrongful and injury producing conduct that provides the foundation for the claims”. Weil and Brown, California Procedure Before Trial, TRG, §7:775. The act “underlying the plaintiff's cause of action must itself have been an act in furtherance of the right of petition or free speech”; and the court must distinguish between “(1) speech or petitioning activity that is mere evidence related to ...

Excerpt: ...y affiliates of Monomoy Capital Partners III],West Marine was sold to Monomoy for only $12.97 per common share. Plaintiff should state what a fair and reasonable price per common share would have been but for the allegedly severely conflicted and flawed sales process. (Plaintiff's P's & A's p. 2:19‐28) • [Repass'] actions resulted in the Company entering into lease agreements for properties owned or controlled by Repass, netting him “millio...

Excerpt: ...t provides that, “[In] Any action to enforce or interpret this Agreement… [the] prevailing party shall be entitled to reimbursement of fees, costs, and expenses incurred in connection with the action.” (Ex. A to Mohammed Declaration, Ex.A to Shields Declaration.) Cal Civ Code § 1717 Contract provision for attorney fees and costs provides: (a) In any action on a contract, where the contract specifically provides that attorney's fees and cos...

Excerpt: ...attorney‐client relationship with the attorney, and the fees are actually incurred. Witte v Kaufman (2006) 141 Cal. App. 4th 1201; Mix v. Tumanjan Development Corp. (2002) 102 Cal.App.4th 1318, 1324– 1325. Defendants have presented no evidence that Mr. Laydon was “in fact” retained and stood in an attorney‐client relationship with Defendants, or that the claimed fees were actually incurred (e.g. engagement agreement, amount billed, amou...

Excerpt: ...e the civil claims. Moreover, bifurcation is not necessary here to promote judicial economy, convenience of witnesses, and the interests of justice. Contrary to Encompass' claim that an early hearing on the Probate Petition can be conducted in a few hours, without the need for live witnesses or testimony, (Encompass P's & A's p. 15:4) the court in Estate of Bennett, (2008) 163 Cal. App. 4th 1303 held that in a contested hearing, it was error to f...

Excerpt: ...0:95.1, citing Nazir v United Airlines, Inc. (Cal. App. 1st Dist. 2009) 178 Cal. App. 4th 243, 252. Defendant has included UMFs No. 7 and 8 in its Separate Statement under Issue No 1 (the County is entitled to summary judgment because it is absolutely immune from liability pursuant to Govt. Code §831.2); under Issue No. 2 (the County is entitled to judgment on Plaintiffs' first cause of action because there was no notice of a dangerous condition...

Excerpt: ...�1033.5 (c)(1), (3). No declaration or other evidence has been presented demonstrating that fees have been incurred; and in the absence of any evidence as to how the fees were calculated there no way for the court to determine if the claimed fees are reasonable. The court may only award costs that are “reasonably necessary to the conduct of the litigation rather than merely convenient or beneficial to its preparation”. CCP §1033.5(c) (2). In...

Excerpt: ...Quelimane Co. v. Stewart Title Guaranty Co.,(1998) 19 Cal. 4th 26, 38) Moreover, a demurrer is simply not the appropriate procedure for determining the truth of disputed facts.' The hearing on demurrer may not be turned into a contested evidentiary hearing through the guise of having the court take judicial notice of documents whose truthfulness or proper interpretation are disputable.”(Fremont Indemnity Co. v. Fremont General Corp., (2007) 148...

Excerpt: ...nd partially oral”, and that the written agreement sets forth the terms of the agreement. He therefore meets the pleading standard for alleging a contract. Plaintiff alleges that the oral agreement was memorialized by the written agreement attached the FAC as Exhibit A. He further alleges on information and belief that it was signed by Defendants (i.e. signed by the party to be charged). A statute of frauds defense therefore does not appear on ...

Excerpt: ...den, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to show that a triable issue of one or more material facts exists as to the defense. The contract here provides: No action of any character arising from or related to this contract or the performance thereof, the construction of the project or the furnishing of any work, labor services or material, shall be commenced by either party against the other more than two (2) years after completion or cessation of ...

Excerpt: ...edure Before Trial, TRG, §2:15. The naming of these two entities as plaintiffs therefore appears to have been done due to mistake or inadvertence. “If the original statement was due to mistake, inadvertence, inadequate knowledge of the facts, and the amended pleading seeks to allege the true facts as known, there is no admission, judicial or evidentiary”. 4 Witkin, California Procedure, 5th Ed., Pleading, §457. Given the nature of the case,...

Excerpt: ...se allegations demonstrate that Defendant/Cross‐complainant has “created and/or assented to and has been using” the driveway that he now claims is illegal for 30 years, and he has therefore waived any claim of nuisance from illegal use; that “any violation of fire codes is a matter of fire safety, not access issues with undefined construction vehicles”; and therefore the Cross‐Complaint does not contain a cognizable theory of nuisance...

Excerpt: ...omplaint for injunctive and declaratory relief in intervention. Counsel for the Parties are directed to meet and confer re: whether this case is appropriate for coordination with County of Santa Cruz et al. v. Bureau of Cannabis Control, et a1., Fresno County Superior Court, Case No.19CECG01224 (filed on April 4, 2019), pursuant to CCP §404 et seq. and CRC 3.520 et seq. The Parties are directed to appear at the hearing to advise the Court of the...

Excerpt: ...rtz Corp. 221 Cal. App. 4th 768, 775. The demurrer is overruled as to the first cause of action for declaratory relief. Plaintiff has stated a dispute and an actual controversy over the interpretation of the March 21, 2018 Purchase and Sale Agreement and the March 30, 2018 Addendum. The Court is unable to conclude as a matter of law that the terms of the agreement between the parties are clear and unambiguous on their face ‐ both as to the amou...

Excerpt: ...the settlement terms. The standard governing review of such determinations by a trial court is whether the court's ruling is supported by substantial evidence. (In re Marriage of Assemi (1994) 7 Cal.4th 896, 911.) LAW AND MOTION TENTATIVE RULINGS DATE: SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 TIME: 8:30 A.M. 2 To make this factual determination, the court in its discretion may receive oral testimony or determine the motion on declarations. (Id.) A judge ruling on ...

Excerpt: ...ra at 9:632.1.) "It frequently is observed that a preliminary injunction is an extraordinary and drastic remedy, one that should not be granted unless the movant, by a clear showing, carries the burden of persuasion." (Mazurek v. Armstrong (1997) 520 U.S. 968,972). LAW AND MOTION TENTATIVE RULINGS DATE: SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 TIME: 8:30 A.M. 2 Examining the first of these elements, whether Plaintiff has a reasonable probability of success on ...

Excerpt: ...rden then shifts to the plaintiff to establish a probability of prevailing on the claim.” (Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, 184 Cal. App. 4th 1539, 1547 (2010). The defendant may meet his burden by showing the act which forms the basis for the plaintiff's cause of action was a written or oral statement made before a legislative, executive, or judicial proceeding. (§ 425.16, subd. (e)(1).) Thus, if the defendant's act was a lawsuit,… the ...

Excerpt: ...pply for a new CDP application, and 2) in threatening civil penates if neither of these actions are taken. The Commission essentially argues that this claim is not ripe until Petitioners accept the Commission's authority by submitting a new CDP application; and that they must do so in order to exhaust their administrative remedies. However, the Commission's legal authority for its position that Petitioners “must” submit a new CDP application ...

Excerpt: ...defendant will obtain judgment in the action. Case law has interpreted Defendant's burden to show that there is no reasonable possibility the out‐of‐state plaintiff will prevail: “The purpose of section 1030 is to protect California residents who are sued by out‐of‐state plaintiffs when there is no reasonable possibility the out‐of‐state plaintiff will prevail.” (Yao v. Superior Court, (2002)104 Cal. App. 4th 327,331, 333.) Unlike...

Excerpt: ...ich a money judgment could be docketed against the defendant liable for such deficiency, such a judgment was not the sole object of the action but was an incident of the equitable relief sought. It might not even become necessary, as the mortgaged premises might bring a sufficient sum to pay the mortgaged debt and the circumstance, that in the contingency of the premises proving insufficient, a judgment for the deficiency might result, did not en...

Excerpt: ...or prior to or during the trial, unless the parties otherwise agree in the settlement or compromise. Following entry of judgment in related case No.18CV03613, mobile home owner filed requests for entry of dismissal of his complaints in case no's 18CV02825 & 18CV03386, therefore Defendant Park Owner is prevailing party and entitled to reasonable attorney's fees. As for what constitutes “reasonable” attorney's fees: "Reasonable" attorne...

Excerpt: ...re the Court noted that the content of section 15610.57, subdivision (b)… seems to contemplate the existence of a robust caretaking or custodial relationship—that is, a relationship where a certain party has assumed a significant measure of responsibility for attending to one or more of an elder's basic needs that an able‐bodied and fully competent adult would ordinarily be capable of managing without assistance. (Winn v. Pioneer Medica...

Excerpt: ...st supports sealing the record; (3) A substantial probability exists that the overriding interest will be prejudiced if the record is not sealed; (4) The proposed sealing is narrowly tailored; and (5) No less restrictive means exist to achieve the overriding interest. II. VIKAS GOEL'S MOTION TO SET ASIDE VOID JUDGMENT AND TO QUASH SERVICE A. The Motion is Timely Cal. Code Civ Proc § 473 Amendment of pleadings provides: (d) The court may, upon mo...

Excerpt: ...ted/Complex. (2) Plaintiffs assert the matter should be designated complex under CRC 3.400 due to the number of parties and the volume of discovery. Answering Defendants do not oppose the motion. Plaintiffs are judgment creditors who in this action is seeking to hold Defendant entities liable for Plaintiffs' two judgments on alter ego theories. California Rules of Court Rule 3.400 provides guidance and notes the following factors are to be consid...

Excerpt: ...ks. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 710, 717) In Lyles v. State of California, (2007) 153 Cal. App. 4th 281, the Sixth District applied the 3 year statute of limitations to bar an inverse condemnation cause of action for damages to residential property allegedly caused by an inadequate drainage system surrounding public roads which allowed flooding of the property. Significant to the Court was the fact that “this case involves a one‐time known damage event�...

Excerpt: ...ed facts demonstrate that Ford's express warranty does not cover items needed to maintain the vehicle, such as “oils, lubricants, other fluids”; and that it does not cover “damage caused by using contaminated or improper fuel/fluids” [UMF 3]; that the truck was “perfect”, and did not have any problems in the first year [UMF 2]; that during the third repair visit on 10/16/16, after testing and diagnosis, a dealership technician working...

Excerpt: ... a non‐judicial foreclosure and trustee's sale of their property, because they did so under color of two recorded assignments of the Deed of Trust which are void: • A Corporate Assignment of Deed of Trust, executed on October 29, 1997 and recorded on May 17, 1999, by ICI Funding Corporation to Bankers Trust “as trustee under Indentiture relating to IMH Assets Corp., Collateralized AssetBacked‐Bonds, Series 1998‐3” [Assignment #2]; and...

Excerpt: ...y constituted unprejudiced Committee on Charges, and then strictly adhering to the procedures mandated by CAPM 002.015”. The gravamen of Petitioner's claim is that Kletzer's predecessor, CP/EVC Tromp, deviated from the protocol set forth in CAPM .002.151 by assigning the investigation of LAW AND MOTION TENTATIVE RULINGS DATE: AUGUST 9, 2019 TIME: 8:30 A.M. 3 complaints against Petitioner for sexual harassment to the University's Title IX office...

Excerpt: ...djudication as to Plaintiff's second cause of action for fraud is DENIED. The operative complaint (Plaintiff's Fourth Amended Complaint) asserts a cause of action for medical negligence against Defendants Dignity Health (dba Dominica Hospital), Tobias Yeh, M.D., and John Christensen, M.D.; and a cause of action for the intentional tort of fraud in falsifying medical records against Defendant Dignity Health. Medical negligence cause of action‐�...

Excerpt: ...ith CCP § 435.5's meet and confer requirements. In addition, Principal has failed to establish that Bonner is in default as to discovery, etc. as to Principal. For example, the order Principal cites in support of its motion entered 9/11/18, was an order finding that Steven Bonner disobeyed orders pertaining to discovery propounded by Plaintiff, not Principal. (Ex. D to Dec. M. Brisbin) Therefore, the Court, having reviewed Principal's Motion to ...

Excerpt: ...se to believe that information disclosed constituted a violation of law or regulation Plaintiff alleges that she reported to principal Oklin that it was not appropriate for her to teach a full 15 units of a 30‐unit Algebra course, because (1) she only had a substitute teaching credential and did not have the proper credential required to actively and directly teach an Algebra course; and (2) as a substitute teacher she could not legally teach 5...

Excerpt: ...of at least $25,000 as it requested in its Complaint. However, Plaintiff did prevail, on a practical level, by achieving its main litigation objective of stopping work in Defendant's unit until all necessary permits were obtained and ensuring that such work was carried out in compliance with the CC &R's. The Court concludes that had the litigation not been initiated, and the temporary restraining order obtained, Defendant would have continued wit...

Excerpt: ...ettlement is granted. A rough approximation of plaintiffs' total recovery is $5,000,000.00 As for settlor's proportionate liability, Settlor's percentage of liability is the touchstone question to be considered by the trial court in a contested good faith settlement hearing. (City of Grand Terrace v. Superior Court, (1987) 192 Cal. App. 3d 1251, 1262.) UCC had several viable defenses which would tend to limit its percentage of liabili...

Excerpt: ... on Maleksalehi's filing of the underlying complaint, which constitutes protected speech. Turner alleges that Malkesalehi “filed this action” after her divorce proceeding with Tabatabai was set for trial; and that he is “asserting the claim” to recover a loan from Enabledware in order to lower the value of Enabledware and help Tabatabai in the divorce proceedings. Her cause of action for Interference with Economic Advantage specifically a...

Excerpt: ...n for general negligence fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against this defendant and the pleading is uncertain, ambiguous and unintelligible”. As these causes of action are for Conversion, Theft, Constructive Trust and Declaratory Relief, Defendant has failed to specify the grounds for demurring to these causes of action. The demurrer is therefore disregarded pursuant to CCP S430.60, and overruled. The motion to s...

Excerpt: ...er Tunnels/Pre‐Con v. Traylor Brothers, Inc./Obayashi Corp., (2003) 111 Cal. App. 4th 1328 where the court found the agreement to the Dispute Resolution Board unconscionable because only the owner and general had the right to select neutrals resulting in a DRB that was biased against the sub‐contractor, here the parties, i.e. the general and the subcontractor, each have the right to select one neutral with the third neutral being selected by ...

Excerpt: ... when the trial court conducts independent judgment review under section 1094.5. (Fukuda v. City of Angels,(1999) 20 Cal. 4th 805,819) Here, after his arrest ( after the initial PAS test), petitioner was formally advised of his post‐ arrest obligations under the implied consent law, with the officer reading him the verbatim admonishment from the official DMV DS 367 form which included the admonition that Petitioner was now required to submit to...

Excerpt: ... is any substantial evidence, or reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom, in support of the verdict, the motion should be denied.” Hauter v. Zogarts (1975) 14 Cal.3d 104,110 BFR principally contends that John Cunningham's act of killing himself so far outweighs any “passive” failures on the part of BFR that the court must conclude as a matter of law that the negligence of BFR was not a substantial factor in causing Cunningham's death. B...

Excerpt: ...d the proposed settlement of 17% of that amount totaling $231,750. Plaintiffs are requested to provide supplemental briefing and declarations addressing the following so that the Court may evaluate whether the proposed settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate: 1. A factual assessment of the strength of the case, including a factual basis for counsel's wholly conclusory statement that the proposed settlement for 17% of the total maximum recove...

Excerpt: ...cts. ‐ identify all documents that support its denials or affirmative defenses and the name, address, and telephone number of anyone who has each document. The motion to compel further responses to form interrogatory 17.1 is granted. As to Plaintiff's requests RFA F7—F8 and F10‐F14 BONY is ordered to address these specific requests for admission in its response and: ‐state the name, address, and telephone number of anyone with knowledge o...

Excerpt: ...gle such issue, the motion must be denied…On a motion for summary adjudication , the test is whether there is any “triable issue of material fact as to the particular claim… “If a triable issue is raised as to any of the facts in the separate statement, the motion must be denied.” Matters going to the weight of the evidence must be disregarded in ruling on the motion. Thus, one witness's declaration may effectively controvert a dozen to...

Excerpt: ...t proceeds among plaintiffs, and a recognition that a settlor should pay less in settlement than he would if he were found liable after a trial. Other relevant considerations include the financial conditions and insurance policy limits of settling defendants, as well as the existence of collusion, fraud, or tortious conduct aimed to injure the interests of nonsettling defendants. (Id at p. 499) LAW AND MOTION TENTATIVE RULINGS DATE: July 1, 2019 ...

Excerpt: ...ptance of the dedication was not required to make the 1929 dedication effective. The case of Wright v. City of Morro Bay, (2006) 144 Cal. App. 4th 767 resolves this issue. That case involved the city of Morro Bay's acceptance of an offer of a dedication of a public street in 1935, 20 years prior to the enactment of the predecessor to CCP 771.010. There the court held, “It is an accepted rule of statutory construction that, absent a clear indica...

Excerpt: ...owe a duty to the plaintiff or plaintiffs. A motion for summary adjudication shall be granted only if it completely disposes of a cause of action, a claim for damages, or an issue of duty. (o) A cause of action has no merit if either of the following exists: (1) One or more of the elements of the cause of action cannot be separately established, even if that element is separately pleaded. (2) A defendant establishes an affirmative defense to that...

Excerpt: ...0 A.M. 2 The terms “discriminate” and “harass” appear in separate provisions and define distinct wrongs under FEHA. FEHA's discrimination provision addresses only explicit changes in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment; that is, changes involving some official action taken by the employer (such as hiring, firing, failing to promote, adverse job assignment, significant change in compensation or benefits, or official disc...

Excerpt: ... a cause of action for fiduciary duty, Plaintiff alleges Defendants owed a fiduciary duty to Plaintiff as his real estate agent and broker. (Complaint p. 10:8) Plaintiff also alleges Defendants breached their duty by saying Plaintiff had to be on title with Defendant and by working together to enter a lease agreement over Plaintiff's objection. (Complaint p. 10: ¶ 38) Plaintiff also alleges damage. (Prayer at pp. 14‐15). LAW AND MOTION TENTATI...

Excerpt: ...y has no legal right to relocate existing public utilities serving the Konzen property. (SAC ¶ 31) Plaintiffs have alleged an actual controversy, therefore they have stated sufficient facts to constitute a cause of action for declaratory relief. With respect to the argument that the SAC should be dismissed as a sham pleading due to the inconsistent allegations between the verified Answer in case no. 16CV00307 Konzen v City of Santa Cruz and the ...

Excerpt: ...quiring the continuance. Petitioner claims that an essential expert witness, Dr. Richard Alloy, is unavailable during the scheduled trial dates. However, there is an alternative means to procure and preserve his testimony in that Dr. Alloy is still available on multiple dates in May, June and July during which he could appear for a deposition which could be video recorded for use at trial. Secondarily, Petitioner asserts that his client, Jessica ...

Excerpt: ... remedy. Id., §9:522, 9:527. In ruling on the motion, the court is to evaluate the potential–merits and interim‐harm factors, and the greater the showing on one, the less that must be shown on the other. Id., at §9:531. The parties have given widely divergent declarations as to the events surrounding Steven Smith's work at the two properties owned by Mr. Valente, for whom Defendant French acted as real estate broker. The court is unable to ...

Excerpt: ...Midtec, Inc. (2008) 168 Cal. App. 4th 1194, 1209, on which Viking relies, is factually distinguishable. There a builder brought a claim against a manufacturer under the Right to Repair Act, which provides that only homeowners can be “claimants”. The court found that the builder was limited to a claim for indemnity because he did not qualify as a “claimant” under the Act. The crosscomplaint by Above & Beyond is not brought under the Right ...