Excerpt: ...ss the moving party's evidence. Further, the separate statement in opposition is not in any of the formats prescribed by CRC 3.150(h). The Court will overlook the procedural defects and issue a ruling on the merits. Evidentiary Defects: Defendant has submitted no evidence in support of its opposition and separate statement. The Court notes that Defendant's separate statement cites to a declaration but no declaration was submitted. Therefore, ther...

Excerpt: ...asement for ingress and egress to and from the Upper Sacramento River. The Amended Judgment also ordered Defendants to remove or modify the portion of the chain link fence that prevents Plaintiff's use of the easement. Now Plaintiffs seek further orders against the Defendants on the grounds that the gate and chain link fence continue to interference with Plaintiff's easement. The general rule is “the owner of the servient tenement may make any ...

Excerpt: ...ableness of the hourly rate or the amount of hours spent. As a preliminary note, a Substitution of Attorney was filed on behalf of Defendant LATAP on November 25, 2019. LATAP appears in pro per. Mr. Cogan remains attorney of record for Defendants Henry Lopez and Jan Lopez. Mr. Cogan has filed an objection on behalf of all three defendants, despite the fact that he is no longer attorney of record for LATAP. The Court has reviewed the briefing and,...

Excerpt: ...y. Objections: Plaintiff has submitted four objections to evidence. The objections are OVERRULED. Summary Adjudication Standard: CCP § 437c states a motion for summary adjudication shall be granted if all the papers submitted show that there is no triable issue of material fact as to the challenged cause of action and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. “A defendant…has met his or her burden of showing that a ca...

Excerpt: ... uncertain. CCP § 430.10(e) & (f). Procedural Issues: Cornerstone's opposition claims that the present demurrer is untimely. Cornerstone's Proof of Service of Summons appears to make reference to the Plaintiff's summons for the Complaint. The Court notes that Cornerstone has not obtained a summons as to the new party, BCA, as required by CCP 428.60. The proof of service is therefore invalid. Without proper proof of service on BCA, the timeframe ...

Excerpt: ...ted. Finally he seeks monetary and terminating sanctions for Plaintiff's various abuses of discovery. An unverified discovery response is ineffective and is the equivalent of no response at all. Appleton v. Superior Court (1988) 206 Cal.App.3d 632, 636. Plaintiff while represented by counsel provided unverified discovery responses. Plaintiff's counsel then withdrew. Defendant sought to further meet and confer directly with the Plaintiff about the...

Excerpt: ...rded by Defendant to the insurer from April 17, 2008 to May 17, 2008 in order to open the claim regarding the incident of Jasmine Bolds here (sic).” On the basis of the authority cited by Defendant, Soltani‐Rastegar v. Superior Court (1989) 208 Cal.App.3d 424, the Court finds that the documents requested are protected by the attorney client privilege; however, the key document sought here is an undated sweep log. Defendant admits that the und...

Excerpt: ... forms, including the proposed order, on the clients as well as information related to why the motion has been brought instead of filing the substitution of attorney. Counsel has shown in general terms that there has been a violation of the AttorneyClient Agreement i.e. a failure to pay. Counsel has not provided an explanation as to why a substitution of attorney cannot be obtained from the client. No information has been provided that Counsel ha...

Excerpt: ...Motion: CCP § 474 permits a plaintiff to add a Doe defendant if they were ignorant of their identity when the action was commenced. When a person is sued by a fictitious name on the ground that plaintiff is ignorant of the true name of such defendant, the ignorance must be real and not feigned. Herschfelt v. KnowlesRaymond Granite Co. (1995) 130 Cal.App.2d 347, 351‐52. If this requirement is met, the Doe defendant is considered a party to the ...

Excerpt: ...for the benefit of Plaintiffs. CCP Section 526 sets forth those situations where an injunction is proper. The situation at issue is contained in CCP § 526(a)(3) which states in pertinent part, “When it appears, during the litigation, that a party to the action is doing, or threatens, or is about to do, or is procuring or suffering to be done, some act in violation of the rights of another party to the action respecting the subject of the actio...

Excerpt: ...ffs challenge whether Defendant has its initial burden to establish the existence of an agreement to arbitrate. While Plaintiffs are correct that Defendant did not attach a copy of the agreement, the moving papers quote the language of the agreement. Further, Plaintiffs own complaint provides a copy of the agreement that contains the arbitration terms and their supporting correspondence shows that they previously claimed that there was an agreeme...

Excerpt: ...ts, Plaintiff was again seen on November 30, 2015 due to an acute injury to Plaintiff's right elbow. Defendant noted the elbow suffered from a nondisplaced fracture of the radial head. Plaintiff was placed in a cast and seen two weeks later for removal of the cast and follow up. While subsequent x‐rays showed healing of the fracture, plaintiff continued to complain of discomfort and additional diagnostic procedures showed fragments and a need f...

Excerpt: ...to set aside the default judgment entered pursuant to CCP § 473. Defendant alleges that service was invalid and the resulting judgment was therefore void. Defendant's wages from Grove Contracting, Inc., a California Corporation, have been garnished to satisfy this judgment since 2015. He explains that he would have brought this motion earlier, but he contends he was represented by incompetent counsel. Merits of Motion: “Personal service remain...

Excerpt: ...and whether a further response is required to each discovery request at issue in the motion. No opposition to the motion was filed. Overbroad, Overburdensome and Oppressive: Plaintiff's responses to discovery repeatedly object on the grounds that the discovery is overbroad, overburdensome, and oppressive. No reason is given, and there is nothing in the responses to indicate how responding to the discovery would be unduly burdensome. The Court doe...

Excerpt: ...and on any terms as may be proper, after notice to the adverse party. The Court's discretion in this regard will usually be exercised liberally to permit amendment. Nestle v. Santa Monica (1972) 6 Cal. 3d 920, 939. A Court is rarely justified in refusing a party leave to amend so that he or she may properly present the case. Redevelopment Agency v. Herrold (1978) 86 Cal.App.3d 1024, 1031. It is an abuse of discretion to deny a timely motion to am...

Excerpt: ...t case involves three of the drivers. The Allstate case involves the same three drivers plus a fourth. The factual and legal issues are therefore identical and consolidation is appropriate. Plaintiff Stevenson argues that she will be prejudiced because there will be a longer trial and she will be faced by additional attorneys. This argument is simply untrue. Stevenson is a party to both actions already. If the matters are not consolidated she wil...

Excerpt: ... counsel's mistake, Plaintiff request the Court issue an order relieving her from the obligation to file a claim under the Act. Merits of Motion: Pursuant to Gov. Code § 905.2(b) all claims for money or damages against public entities require the filing of a government claim prior to initiating litigation. Under Gov. Code § 911.2(a) causes of action for injury to a person shall be presented no later than 6 months after the accrual of the cause ...

Excerpt: ...y terms as may be proper, after notice to the adverse party. The Court's discretion in this regard will usually be exercised liberally to permit amendment. Nestle v. Santa Monica (1972) 6 Cal. 3d 920, 939. Here the Court finds that prior counsel failed to properly respond to the allegations and allege all applicable affirmative defenses. The Court is therefore inclined to grant the motion. The granting of the present motion will make moot the con...

Excerpt: ...Goodin (1998) 17 Cal.4th 599, 606. The award of costs pursuant to section 1032 is discretionary, and the costs recoverable are restricted to only those costs that are both reasonable in amount and reasonably necessary to the conduct of the litigation. CCP § 1033.5(c)(2)(3). The Court has the power to disallow costs, even those allowable as a matter of right, if they are not reasonably necessary or in a reasonable amount. Perkos Enterprise, Inc. ...

Excerpt: ...y establishing one of two grounds. First, if the pleading on which the notice is based does not 5 contain a real property claim. CRC § 405.31. Second, if the Court finds the claimant has not establish by a preponderance of the evidence the probable validity of the real property claim. CCP § 405.32. Real Property Claim: A real property claim in the context of lis pendens is defined as a “the cause or causes of action in a pleading which would,...

Excerpt: ... order. Eight main terms were specified. The eighth term stated: “The parties will execute a mutually agreed upon settlement agreement and release, which shall include as a term that any party who prevails in a motion to enforce settlement shall be entitled to recover attorney's fees and costs associated with that motion.” Defendant submits that the language reflects the parties' agreement at the mandatory settlement conference. However, plai...

Excerpt: ...on. The agreement in paragraph 4 provided that Cross‐Defendant would pay royalties for materials removed from the real property. There is no provision in the agreement for “rent”. Paragraph 8 provided that if the royalties were not paid that the Cross‐Complainants could terminate the lease. There is no exclusivity language related to the cancellation remedy in the agreement. There is no language that would appear to waive the standard bre...

Excerpt: ...ot yet occurred and therefore Plaintiff alleges that additional evidence may be discovered through the deposition of Abe Salehpour. The need for a continuance to properly oppose a motion for summary judgment is directly addressed by CCP § 437c(h) which states in pertinent part, “If it appears from the affidavits submitted in opposition to a motion for summary judgment or summary adjudication, or both, that facts essential to justify opposition...

Excerpt: ...dards and Enforcement (“DLSE”) seeking unpaid wages and penalties. In the course of this claim, plaintiff was terminated at a DLSE hearing on September 14, 2015. After a full evidentiary hearing on plaintiff's DLSE claim, on November 5, 2015, the DLSE issued its decision finding plaintiff to be a non‐ exempt employee and awarding him $27,637.87. On November 25, 2015, defendant filed an appeal of the DLSE matter with this Court. On June 22, ...

Excerpt: ...complaint is one filed by a defendant against the plaintiff for a related cause of action. CCP § 4256.30. A related cause of action is defined as “a cause of action which arises out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences as the cause of action which the plaintiff alleges in his complaint.” CCP § 426.10(c). CCP § 426.50 permits a party who failed to timely file a compulsory cross‐complaint due to ove...

Excerpt: ... Rice (deceased) was negligent but that her negligence was not a substantial factor in causing harm to the Plaintiff. Merits of Motion: CCP § 2036.010 permits for a party to obtain discovery after judgment is entered if an appeal has been taken or the time for an appeal has not expired. A party seeking post judgment discovery must obtain leave of court. CCP § 2036.030(a). The motion shall set forth: 1) the names and addresses of the person from...

Excerpt: ...019 against, Defendant Craig E. Miller, as Successor Trustee of the Miller Family 1993 Revocable Trust. A first amended complaint was filed on March 1, 2019 and alleges causes of action for breach of secured 2 promissory note, judicial foreclosure, common count, foreclosure of equitable lien and declaratory relief. Defendant filed his answer and cross‐complaint on April 9, 2019. The cross‐ complaint named Plaintiff as a Cross‐Defendant as w...

Excerpt: ...re restricted to only those costs that are both reasonable in amount and reasonably necessary to the conduct of the litigation. CCP § 1033.5(c)(2),(3). CCP § 1033.5 sets forth categories of costs that are presumed allowable under section 1032 if incurred, whether or not paid, by the prevailing party. Service of Process: Service of process cost are expressly authorized by CCP § 1033.5(a)(4). Plaintiffs have provided an explanation as to the met...

Excerpt: ...urts to prosecute the action.'” Jameson v. Desta (2009) 179 Cal.App.4th 672, 678; citing Wantuch v. Davis (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 786, 792. If the litigant is indigent and has a bona fide claim, the trial court must consider the remedies that are available to protect the litigant's right of meaningful access to the courts. Apollo v. Gyaami (2008) 167 Cal.App.4th 1468, 1483. A trial court is to exercise its “sound discretion” in determining th...

Excerpt: ...155,960. He provides no other evidence. Typically a motion of this nature is supported by a detailed declaration if not copies of the billing sheets. This information allows the Court to review and consider if the amount of hours were reasonable and if the hours were expended related to a cause of action or claim that supports the award of attorney's fees. The evidence provided does not produce such information and therefore the Court cannot cond...

Excerpt: ... issue the instant OSC re dismissal. This decision was made based on counsel's appearance and his promises that the default prove up would be filed. Remarkably, there is no response to this OSC and no default judgment has been entered. Plaintiff continues to violate CRC 3.110(h), despite these several OSCs. Plaintiff's failure to timely prosecute this case has unnecessarily caused the Court and its staff to expend vital resources reviewing the fi...

Excerpt: ...hearing plus five calendar days if mailed. CCP § 1005(b). For a hearing date of May 28, 2019, the last day to have served the motion by mail was April 28, 2019. The motion was served by mail on May 2, 2019 and therefore fails to satisfy the service requirements of CCP § 1005(b). Defects in the notice are waived if the motion is opposed on the merits absent sufficient prejudice. Carlton v. Quint (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 690, 697. Plaintiff has obje...

Excerpt: ... vehicle was owned by Defendant Gerald Olsen. At the time of the incident, Plaintiff was an employee of JF Shea. JF Shea had been retained by Defendant, State of California, Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to perform repairs on a state highway made necessary due to a landslide. Caltrans moves for summary judgment or, in the alternative, summary adjudication, on grounds that (1) Plaintiff's recovery is barred by the Workers' Compensation E...

Excerpt: ...ive order in place. Plaintiff's counsel failed to provide a formal objection to the deposition notices. No protective order was sought prior to the deposition dates and no motion to quash the subpoena was ever filed. The service of a deposition notice is effective to require a party or party affiliated individual to appear for the deposition. CCP § 2025.280. In addition a subpoena can be issued to require the appearance of a non‐party deponent...

Excerpt: ...ent an agreement between the parties. Third, the motion is actually a motion for reconsideration considering that Plaintiff previously filed a motion for a trial continuance. That motion also failed to comply with Code of Civil Procedure Section 1005(b) and was denied after Plaintiff failed to appear for the hearing. Despite the numerous procedural defects, the Court will consider the motion on the merits. A motion for a trial continuance is allo...

Excerpt: ...provides a mechanism for a party to move for reconsideration within 10 days after service of the written notice of entry of order. A party may make this application to the same judge or court that made the order “based upon new or different facts, circumstances, or law” and request the court “reconsider the matter and modify, amend, or revoke the prior order.” Id. The application must include an affidavit showing what application was made...

Excerpt: ...mitted that all the allegations of Plaintiff's complaint are true. Defendant has not asserted any affirmative defenses. Here, Plaintiff alleges a breach of contract and common count causes of action to collect on a debt; specifically, account stated, open book account and money lent. The element for a breach of contract cause of action are: 1) the existence of a valid contract; 2) performance of the contract by the plaintiff or excuse for nonperf...

Excerpt: ...hat they would “arrange” the depositions in question. Regardless, of misrepresentations by Defendant, the CMI employees are not employees of Defendant. Any order issued by the Court ordering Defendant to comply would be a nullity. Especially for Ms. Gaylord who no longer works for CMI. The proper procedure would have been to obtain the addresses of these individuals and to issue subpoenas to them; a course of action that Plaintiff considered ...

Excerpt: ...tes the writ is based on the administrative record. No administrative record has been submitted. Third, whether this matter has been set for a peremptory or alternative writ, it fails to follow the proper procedure. If an alternative writ has been sought, Petitioner has not followed the ex parte process to seek such a writ. See CRC 3.1200 et seq. If the peremptory writ has been sought, which appears to be the case, Petitioner has failed to follow...

Excerpt: ...t) of CCP § 437c as the basis for this motion. Subdivision (t) provides that a party may move for summary adjudication of a legal issue that does not completely dispose of a cause of action when certain steps are followed. Subdivision (t) states in pertinent part as follows: (1)(A) Before filing a motion pursuant to this subdivision, the parties whose claims or defenses are put at issue by the motion shall submit to the court both of the followi...

Excerpt: ...o provide a sufficient factual basis for punitive damages. She also provides a general allegation that Defendant Sparks as the Senior Vice President was certainly a managing agent and argues that no further specificity is needed. The title of Senior Vice President alone is insufficient to allege that Sparks was an officer or other responsible individual for corporate policy that would allow punitive damages to be alleged against a corporation. Th...

Excerpt: ...ty on March 29, 2017. During this inspection Rosas noticed there were no record to show the proof of payments and that Petitioner was not able to provide any payroll records. Rosas also did not believe the Petitioner's technicians were independent contractors. That day Rosas issued Citation No. SO. 103170 to Petitioner for his failure to cover his employees with worker's compensation insurance in violation of Labor Code Section 3700. The citation...

Excerpt: ... today's hearing. No response has been filed. The Court also notes that Defendants have failed to appear at recent hearings and/or trial. The Court finds that Defendants have abandoned their defense and that lesser sanctions would not compel Defendants to appear in this action. Defendants' answer is STRICKEN. The clerk is instructed directed to prepare a separate Order Striking Defendants' answer. The review hearing set for 9:00 a.m. is confirmed...

Excerpt: ...ken against him or her through his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect.” The relief is mandatory when the application is accompanied by an affidavit showing that the mistake was committed by counsel. Here, counsel Lee Mendelson, has failed to provide evidence that his mistake was the cause of the dismissal. The Court issued an Order to Show Cause re: Dismissal which was set to be heard on September 10, 2018. At that hear...

Excerpt: ...filing and improper service of the Opposition is excusable neglect and considers both the Opposition and Reply brief in ruling on this motion. Factual background. The parties do not dispute the following facts: On December 4, 2018, after the instant lawsuit was filed but before defendants were served with the complaint, defendant Casey Bishop and Santiago Schenone, an engineer retained by Mr. Bishop's homeowner's insurance carrier, attempted to g...

Excerpt: ...on for a hearing on the issue of whether a settlement has been made in good faith. A good faith determination bars any other joint tortfeasors or coobligors from any further claims for indemnity, comparative fault or equitable contribution. CCP § 877.6(c). The settlement must be within the reasonable range of the settling tortfeasors' share of liability taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case. Tech‐Bilt, Inc. v. Woodw...

Excerpt: ...he complaint or from matters that may be subject to judicial notice. Blank v. Kirwan (1985) 39 Cal. 3d 311, 318. The court “treat[s] the demurrer as admitting all material facts properly pleaded, but not contentions, deductions or conclusions of fact or law.” Hood v. Hacienda La Puente Unified School District (1998) 65 Cal.App.4th 435, 438. No matter how unlikely, a plaintiff's allegations must be accepted as true for the purpose of ruling on...

Excerpt: ...ice of summons. The general authority provided by Defendant is accurate that if the summons is not properly served then the Court lacks jurisdiction over the party. Renoir v. Redstar Corp. (2004) 123 Cal.App.4th 1145, 1150. Any judgment entered without jurisdiction is void. Carlson v. Eassa (1997) 54 Cal.App.4th 684, 691‐92. The present scenario is a simple factual dispute with great ramifications. Both parties provide plausible factual scenari...

Excerpt: ...nd McDonald. Evidence submitted with the parties' pleadings provides that the vehicle which allegedly collided with the Plaintiffs' vehicle was driven by Mickiewicz, owned by McDonald and insured by Armenta. Defendants, Krystopher Maskiewicz and Carla McDonald (hereinafter collectively “Defendants”) move to quash the Doe amendment adding them to this litigation on the grounds that their identities were known to Plaintiffs at the time the comp...

Excerpt: ...y.” As a preliminary matter, plaintiffs' request for judicial notice of documents previously filed in this action is granted. Improper combining of motions. Counsel has filed this motion seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction and also seeking trial preference. The request for trial preference is content for a separate motion. The improper combining of multiple motions within one document, with differing facts and legal authority, unnece...