Excerpt: ...e objections to be raised in the demurrer.” Defendant provided no evidence of this and did not file a declaration addressing meet and confer efforts as required by CCP § 430.41(a)(3). However, Plaintiff did not raise an issue regarding meet and confer efforts and De fendant alleged in the Notice of Motion that counsel wrote a meet and confer letter to Plaintiff's counsel. “A determination by the court that the meet and confer process was in...

Excerpt: ... Commission now moves to change venue pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 394. Plaintiffs oppose the motion. The parties agree that Shasta County is an appropriate initial venue for filing. They disagree as to whether section 394, a removal statute, app lies in this case. Code of Civil Procedure section 394 provides, in pertinent part: [A]ny action or proceeding brought by a county, city and county, city, or local agency within a certain...

Excerpt: ...nly known a s a Pitchess motion. See Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 531. Pitchess motions have been codified in Evid. Code § 1043 which requires a written motion in both civil and criminal actions. Evid. Code § 1043(a). The motion shall include: “1) identification of the proceeding in which discovery or disclosure is sought, the party seeking discovery or disclosure, the peace or custodial officer whose records are sought, the ...

Excerpt: ...erica (Saf eco) is Plaintiff's alleged insurer. Safeco demurs to the Second Cause of Action of Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint (FAC), on the grounds that it fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against Safeco pursuant to CCP 430.10(e). Meet and Confer: CCP § 430.41 requires the demurring party to “meet and confer in person or by telephone with the party who filed the pleading that is subject to demurrer for the ...

Excerpt: ... state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action pursuant to CCP § 430.10(e). Meet and Confer: CCP § 430.41 requires the demurring party to “meet and confer in person or by telephone with the party who filed the pleading that is subject to demurrer for the purpose of determining whether an agreement can be reached that would resolve the objections to be raised in the demurrer.” The Declaration of Peter Witherington indicates complia...

Excerpt: ...Reques t for Judicial Notice. The Court further notes that the Declaration of Andrew S. Pletcher provides evidence establishing how each of the documents in Requests 2 -8 (Ex. A -G) were obtained. Plaintiffs' Requests for Judicial Notice are granted pursuant to Ev id. Code §§ 452(h) and 453. Post jurisdictional discovery, Plaintiffs also requested the Court take judicial notice of three maps from Google Maps pursuant to Evid. Code §§ 452 and ...

Excerpt: ... discovery law provides for a broad range of sanctions for conduct that amounts to abuses of the discovery process including evidentiary and issue sanctions. Cedars -Sinai Medical Center v. Superior Court (1998) 18 Cal.4th 1, 12. The spoilation of evidence can be a n abuse of discovery. Id. Spoilation of evidence is defined as “the destruction or alteration of relevant information or the failure to preserve evidence for another party's use in ...

Excerpt: ...ovides t hat “In any action on a contract, where the contract specifically provides that attorney's fees and costs, which are incurred to enforce that contract, shall be awarded either to one of the parties or to the prevailing party, then the party who is determined to be the party prevailing on the contract, whether he or she is the party specified in the contract or not, shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees in addition to other ...

Excerpt: ...that i t is uncertain and fails to state sufficient facts for a cause of action. Plaintiffs oppose the demurrer. Meet and Confer: CCP § 430.41 requires the demurring party to “meet and confer in person or by telephone with the party who filed the pleading that is subject to demurrer for the purpose of determining whether an agreement can be reached that would resolve the objections to be raised in the demurrer.” The Declaration of Ian Schar...

Excerpt: ...73. Plaint iffs allege Kacalek suddenly and unexpectedly lost consciousness while en route to an emergency call, causing the Subject Vehicle to go off the road and overturn. Plaintiffs Ryan and Charity Kacalek allege Strict Product Liability and Negligence [Product Liability] against Defendants Faurecia USA Holdings, Inc. and Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies USA, LLC (“Defendants,” for purposes of this Motion). Plaintiffs allege design...

Excerpt: ...the Third Amended Complaint. The Cross- Complaint filed on January 12, 2022 contains nine separate causes of action. The Answer filed on March 25, 2022 alleges twenty affirmative defenses to the Cross -Complaint. Plaintiff does not state in the Notice of Motion whether Plaintiff is proceeding with a motion for summary judgment on the Complaint, the CrossComplaint, or both. Instead, the Notice states that Plaintiff prays “That the Court issue ...

Excerpt: ...d with the Second Amended Notice of Taking Deposition of Witness Jonathan Martin and Request for Production of Documents on September 15, 2023. The Second Amended Notice noticed a Deposition of Jonathan Martin on October 18, 2023. Defendant also provided a Depo sition Subpoena compelling Jonathan Martin to appear on October 18, 2023, with an attached Proof of Service indicating that Jonathan Martin was personally served with the Deposition Subpoe...

Excerpt: ...or, managi ng agent, employee, or agent most qualified in the following categories: 1. Research and Development of any and all stanchions built on Defendant Sierra Pacific Industries' Property. 2. Safety measures/concerns/or considerations taken into account in the d esign of all stanchions built on Defendant Sierra Pacific Industries' Property. 3. Any and all differences between the subject stanchion involved in Plaintiff's injury and the new...

Excerpt: ... or impro per matter inserted in any pleading;” or 2) “strike out all or any part of any pleading not drawn in conformity with the laws of this state.” CCP § 436(a) & (b). A motion to strike is the proper method to challenge an improper request for punitive damage s. Caliber Bodyworks, Inc. v Superior Court (2005) 134 Cal.App.4th 365, 385. In order to seek punitive damages, a plaintiff must plead that the defendant was guilty of oppression...

Excerpt: ...f America (Safeco) is Plaintiff's insurer. Safeco moves for an order severing Plaintiff's claims against Safeco from Plaintiff's claims against Defendants Simao, Rayfifield, and Reservoir Lane, LLC, pursuant to CCP § 598 and § 1048(b), Evid. Code § 1155, and the Court's inherent powers. These code sections do not directly support a motion to sever related to claims at the outset of litigation. “Although judges and lawyers commonly use the ...

Excerpt: ...otion for Summa ry Judgment and other related matters.” As this motion is included in the limited scope representation, Melvin S. Hodges may appear on behalf of Plaintiff for the limited purpose of this motion. Merits. “To ensure the prompt disposition of civil cas es, the dates assigned for a trial are firm. All parties and their counsel must regard the date set for trial as certain.” CRC 3.1332(a). “Although continuances of trials are ...

Excerpt: ... 5, 2024 for a Final Approval Hearing. No oral objections were made on February 5, 2024. The Final Approval Hearing was continued to today's date because a declaration was not filed and additional information was necessary. This information has been provided. F inal Approval of the Settlement. The parties agreed to settle the case for $675,000.00. The breakdown of the settlement is as follows: Total Settlement Amount 675,000.00 Proposed Attorney...

Excerpt: ...tatemen t of Non-Opposition to the Motion. Merits: The law favors the settlement of lawsuits, particularly in complex litigation, where they save time and resources. Neary v. Regents of the University of California (1992) 3 Cal. 4th 273, 277 -281 (superseded by statute on other grounds). However, courts cannot automatically and instantly approve a proposed settlement or dismiss a class action suit, even if the representative plaintiff and defenda...

Excerpt: ...is uncertain and fails to state su
¯icient facts for a cause of action. Plainti
¯s oppose the demurrer. Defendant Chapman has Þled a Notice of Hearing directed to all parties and their attorneys of record, however there is no proof of service on Þle. Additionally, no Declaration has been Þled 2 regarding compliance with meet and confer requirements of CCP § 430.41. Proof of service must be Þled no later than Þve court days before the time...

Excerpt: ...Agreement Þled with the Court on September 16, 2022. This request is granted pursuant to Evid. Code §§ 452(d) and 453. Merits. CCP § 664.6 provides the Court with authority, upon motion, to enter judgment pursuant to the terms of a settlement agreement entered into in writing, or orally before the Court. If requested by the parties, the Court also retains jurisdiction over the parties to enforce the settlement until performance in full of the...

Excerpt: ...ling a motion to strike. No evidence of meet and confer e
¯orts has been provided. However, a determination by the Court that meet and confer e
¯orts were insu
¯icient is not a ground upon which a motion to strike can be granted or denied, therefore, the Court will issue a ruling on the merits. Merits. The court may, upon a motion made pursuant to Section 435, or at any time in its discretion, and upon terms it deems proper: (a) Strike out any...

Excerpt: ...vil Procedure Section 1021.5. Respondent opposes the motion. Background: On April 10, 2023, this Court issued a Ruling on Writ of Mandate ordering County to release the records sought. In that Ruling, the Court found the Petitioner was the prevailing 3 party entitled to reasonable attorneys fees and costs according to proof. On April 28, 2023, County Þled a M oti on to Vacate th e R ul i n g or i n th e A ltern ati ve fo r a N ew Tri al , a n d ...

Excerpt: ...he Vilchez Declaration are OVERRULED. Song-Beverly: The Song- Beverly Act contains a cost-shifting provision that speciÞcally allows prevailing buyers to recover their costs, including attorney's fees. Civ. C. § 1794(d). The attorney's fee award is limited to the amount the court determines was reasonably incurred by the buyer in commencing and prosecuting the action, based on actual time expended. The prevailing buyer has the burden of proving...

Excerpt: ...material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. CCP § 437c(c). A plainti
¯ has met his burden of showing that there is no defense to a cause of action if that party has proved each element of the cause of action entitling the party to judgment on the cause of action. Once the plainti
¯ has met that burden, the burden shifts to the defendant to show that a triable issue of one or more material facts exists ...

Excerpt: ... the Decedents. Plainti
¯s have Þled competing motions to compel the inspection of the same records pursuant to CCP §§ 2017.010, 2031.010, 2031.310 and 2031.320. Both sides have requested sanctions. The crux of the present dispute is the scope of access to be provided to the Plainti
¯s. The parties appear to agree that the Decedent's medical records are discoverable and can be obtained through an inspection. Plainti
¯s request access to Def...