Excerpt: ...e, the other side will not engage in good faith settlement and will not offer any viable settlement alternatives. Furthermore, plaintiff indicates personal attendance at a mandatory settlement conference represents a significant burden and expense to plaintiff. In fact, it appears to be plaintiff who is not proceeding in good faith. Pursuant to CRC §3.1380(b): [All] “Trial counsel, parties, and persons with full authority to settle the case mu...

Excerpt: ...ate (3d ed. 1989) § 6:1, pp. 2‐3 (rev. 9/00); see Fin. Code, § 17003, subd. (a).) An escrow holder is an agent and fiduciary of the parties to the escrow. (Amen v. Merced County Title Co. (1962) 58 Cal.2d 528, 534 [25 Cal.Rptr. 65, 375 P.2d 33] (Amen); Rianda v. San Benito Title Guar. Co. (1950) 35 Cal.2d 170, 173 [217 P.2d 25].) The agency created by the escrow is limited ‐limited to the obligation of the escrow holder to carry out the ins...

Excerpt: ...ut instead by a daughter to whom he had long ago signed a power of attorney to under certain conditions act on his behalf, is binding, and authorized her to consent to arbitration of all claims brought arising out of the care he received from Defendants. The general rule that only parties who signed an arbitration agreement are bound by it is subject to a health care facility exception, such that the signature of the Page 2 of 4 patient or their ...

Excerpt: ...is that the defendant's alleged wrongful conduct must be wrongful independent of its interfering character such that it is proscribed by some constitutional, statutory, regulatory, common law, or some other determinable legal standard. (Edwards v. Arthur Andersen, LLP (2008) 44 Cal.4th 937, 944; Korea Supply Co. v. Lockheed Martin Corp.(2003) 29 Cal.4th 1134, 1153‐1154; Della Penna v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. (1995) 11 Cal.4th 376, 392‐393....

Excerpt: ...(4); Benach v. County of Los Angeles (2007) 149 Cal.App.4th 836, 857‐858; Ladas v. Cal. State Auto. Ass'n (1993) 19 Cal.App.4th 761, 776.) The court notes that defense counsel's office is located in Irvine and the court does not accept electronic filing. While the option for filing by mail was available, it was not unreasonable for counsel to employ a messenger service to ensure prompt and proper filing of the documents with the court. Page 2 o...

Excerpt: ...mplete verified responses to Request for Production, Set One, without objections, shall be properly served and responsive documents produced within 15 days after the date of this hearing. Plaintiff served Special Interrogatories, Set One, on defendants on June 21, 2022. Also served that date were Requests for Production of Documents. There is no agreement between the parties for electronic service. Responses were therefore due to each set of disc...

Excerpt: ...repeatedly regarding the deposition and the production of documents. The parties engaged in an informal discovery conference in July regarding these topics. Further meet-and-confer took place thereafter and a date was provided. However, plaintiffs' counsel desires an earlier date than the offered dates of November 2, 3 or 4, 2022, because trial is scheduled to commence February 13, 2023. Both attorneys' pleadings contain arguments that have merit...

Excerpt: ...issions controvert her answer and establish that there is no defense to the complaint. Relief from Deemed Admissions. Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.300 permits a party to withdraw or amend an admission made in response to a request for admission if it obtains leave of court, which is only to be granted if the court determines that the admission was the result of mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect and the party that obtained the ad...

Excerpt: ...nt is Allstate Northbrook Indemnity Company. Respondent properly noticed an Independent Medical Examination of Claimant Martha A. Block, which took place on January 25, 2022. Dr. Jones prepared a report of the IME and a copy was provided to counsel for Claimants. Thereafter, Claimants' counsel served a subpoena for the production of business records of Dr. Jones, specifically seeking “(a)ll records pertaining to the IME performed on January 25,...

Excerpt: ...llejo's motion for summary judgment or, in the alternative, summary adjudication is denied. The court overrules objections 3, 6, 9 and 10 to the declarations presented by Defendant County of Solano in support of its opposition. In order to state a cause of action for dangerous condition of public property, a plaintiff must establish: 1) the property owned or controlled by the public entity was in a dangerous condition at the time of the injury, 2...

Excerpt: ...Interrogatories‐‐General Nos. 12.1; 12.2; 12.6 and 15.1; to Form Interrogatories—Employment Law Nos. 201.1(d); 201.5; 201.6; 209.2; 215.1; 215.2 and 216.1; and to Requests for Production 6; 13‐15; 19; 21; 23; 28; 29‐35; 40‐43; 46‐47; and 48. The court declines to compel further responses to Requests 44 and 45, as both are too general and overbroad. SUNDT's further responses shall be verified, and shall also be without objections, ex...

Excerpt: ...o legal requirement for Plaintiff to have filed a cross‐complaint in the proceedings for Defendant's petition for writ of mandate. (See, Code Civ. Proc. § 426.60(a) [“This article applies only to civil actions and does not apply to special proceedings.”]; Dhillon v. John Muir Health (2017) 2 Cal.5th 1109, 1115 [“An application for a writ of administrative mandamus is a ‘special proceeding of a civil nature'”].) And, the action cannot...

Excerpt: ...ression is defined in the Merriam‐Webster Dictionary, language similar to the definition of oppression found in Civil Code §3294(c)(2). Malice generally requires outrageous conduct by a defendant with evil motive. Henderson v. Security Nat. Bank (1977) 72 Cal.App.3d 764, 771‐772. While evil motive is often alleged, conscious disregard of the probable dangerous consequences of one's actions can also support a punitive damages claim. Hoch v. A...

Excerpt: ...Petitioners cannot demonstrate any prejudice from the untimely filing since the motion was timely served. (Jones v. Goodman (2020) 57 Cal.App.5th 521, 541.) Respondent is entitled to recover “all costs of investigating and prosecuting the action, including expert fees, reasonable attorney's fees, and costs” as the Page 2 of 2 prevailing party in a civil action to enforce relevant sections of the Water Code. (Code Civ. Proc. § 1021.8(a).) But...

Excerpt: ...2, and subject to certain statutory exceptions, worker's compensation is the exclusive remedy to an employee suffering an injury unintended by the employer, in the scope of employment. The rationale behind the workers' compensation exclusivity rule is that most workplace injuries fall within the expected risks of employment, and it is better policy to require an employer to cover those injuries without regard to fault to ensure that employees who...

Excerpt: ...ertainable amount of money damages for the breach of monthly payment obligations from an agreement to purchase Plaintiffs' property. (Complaint, ¶¶ 11, 15.) Injunctive relief is not available for breach of contract unless it appears that monetary relief would not afford an adequate remedy or that it would be extremely difficult to ascertain the amount of damages. (Pac. Decision Scis. Corp. v. Superior Court (2004) 121 Cal.App.4th 1100, 1110; Th...

Excerpt: ...f the order sustaining the demurrer, they have not shown that they are likely to succeed in obtaining reconsideration of the order that would result in a ruling overruling the demurrer. Motion for Summary Judgment/Adjudication Defendant City of Vallejo's unopposed motion for summary judgment is granted. Plaintiffs filed non‐opposition, essentially conceding the merits of the motion. Not only is Plaintiffs' failure to comply with the requirement...

Excerpt: ...t date, plaintiffs were not present and the court rescheduled the settlement conference to January 6, 2022. On January 6, the court was informed that Mr. Shamieh had passed away a few days earlier. A status conference was set for January 12, 2022, and on that date, the settlement conference was rescheduled to February 14, 2022, a date which was agreeable to both attorneys. On February 14, 2022, Mrs. Shamieh and her attorney participated in the se...

Excerpt: ...Plaintiff to submit, to a mental examination, by Dr. Rachyll Dempsey, Psy. D., California Board Certified and licensed clinical psychologist. If the notice of motion and other motion papers provide the correct legal basis for the court to make its ruling, the court can grant it, even if the title of the motion is inaccurate. Austin v. Los Angeles Unified School Dist. (2016) 244 Cal. App. 4th 918 [court could consider a request for relief based on...

Excerpt: ...d proceedings are therefore limited to those specified in the reviewing court's directions, and if the reviewing court does not direct the trial court to take a particular action or make a particular determination, the trial court is not authorized to do so.” (Ayyad v. Sprint Spectrum, L.P. (2012) 210 Cal.App.4th 851, 859‐860.) The proposed amended complaint continues to seek to expand the action beyond the scope of the court's jurisdiction. ...

Excerpt: ...handful of cases of importance on when an arbitration provision contained in a handbook constitutes an enforceable arbitration agreement. They focus on matters such as whether the employee signed an acknowledgment of receipt of the handbook which expressly referred to the arbitration provision; whether the arbitration provision is specifically identified in the handbook's table of contents; whether the arbitration provision is highlighted in any ...

Excerpt: ...of a sales contract for a car (the “Vehicle”) that contained a serious latent manufacturing defect (the “Engine Defect”). Legal Standard on Demurrer. “The function of a demurrer is to test the sufficiency of the complaint as a matter of law.” (Holiday Matinee, Inc. v. Rambus, Inc. (2004) 118 Cal.App.4th 1413, 1420.) A complaint is sufficient if it alleges ultimate rather than evidentiary facts, but the plaintiff must set forth the ess...

Excerpt: ...ed Plaintiffs' evidentiary submissions and having weighed all relevant factors, class counsel shall be awarded reasonable attorneys' fees of $372,736, which represents the full lodestar amount for the 532.4 hours of attorney and legal assistant time claimed, with the remainder to revert to the common fund. The lodestar amount already incorporates inflated hourly rates for counsel far in excess of prevailing rates for attorneys in Solano County, s...

Excerpt: ...lin v. Nat'l Convenience Stores, Inc. (1979) 95 Cal.App.3d 279, 285‐286; see, Food Pro Int'l, Inc. v. Farmers Ins. Exch. (2008) 169 Cal.App.4th 976, 994 [mere carelessness or ignorance does not justify punitive damages].) Conscious disregard alone is no longer sufficient to establish malice and an award of punitive damages requires either the intent to harm the plaintiff or both willful and despicable conduct. (Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder C...

Excerpt: ... plaintiff alleging substantial compliance must therefore allege timely actual receipt of the claim by that public entity. Section 915(a)(1) reflects the Legislature's intent to precisely identify those who may receive claims on behalf of a local public entity. Section 915(e)(1) reflects the Legislature's intent that a misdirected claim will satisfy the presentation requirement if the claim is “actually received” by a statutorily designated r...