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...

Excerpt: ... SHARMA's Motions to Access Property and Expunge Lis Pendens TENTATIVE RULING Page 2 of 3 Defendant and Cross‐Complainant RAJ KUMAR SHARMA (“SHARMA”) moves to expunge the lis pendens filed November 30, 2020 on the real property at 7403 Porter Road, Dixon, CA 95620 (the “Property”). SHARMA also moves to be permitted to access the Property for purposes of performing repairs and showing the Property for sale. The Property is at issue in a ...

Excerpt: ...of Service (4/28/22).) A notice that fails to specify when it is to be heard is fatally defective. (Bohn v. Bohn (1913) 164 Cal. 532, 536‐537; Galleria Plus, Inc. v. Hanmi Bank (2009) 179 Cal.App.4th 535, 538.) If a party does not serve a notice that complies with the requirements of Code of Civil Procedure section 1010 within 60 days of the completion of the record of the deposition, the motion is untimely. (Weinstein v. Blumberg (2018) 25 Cal...

Excerpt: ...ure Section 473(b) reads (in pertinent part): “…Notwithstanding any other requirements of this section, the court shall, whenever an application for relief is made no more than six months after entry of judgment, is in proper form, and is accompanied by an attorney's sworn affidavit attesting to his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or neglect, vacate any (1) resulting default entered by the clerk against his or her client, and which wi...

Excerpt: ...on. When the personal records of a consumer are sought, notice to the consumer must also be served. C.C.P. §1985.3(e). A consumer is broadly defined, to include any individual. C.C.P. §1985.3(a)(2). This gives that person “a chance to seek appropriate orders protecting the privacy of such records”. Edmon & Karnow (Weil & Brown), Civil Procedure Before Trial, §8:566, p. 8E‐54. C.C.P. §1985.3(a) defines “personal records” to include r...

Excerpt: ...se guests whose “coordination and judgment have been adversely affected by the consumption of alcohol.” (Allen v. Liberman (2014) 227 Cal.App.4th 46, 55, emphasis added.) Plaintiff continues to allege that Defendant, a minor, invited other minors to her home where alcohol was served and Plaintiff became intoxicated. (SAC, ¶¶ 10‐12.) Plaintiff continues to allege that Defendant failed to protect her from the risk of harm caused by the cons...

Excerpt: ...pp.5th 453, 458.) Plaintiff has not made a showing of inability to meaningfully access the courts. This court previously denied a motion from Plaintiff for appointment of counsel in part because Plaintiff, by his successful maintenance of this case and another in another court department, showed that he enjoyed meaningful access to the courts. Plaintiff has not shown that the situation has changed. Evidence Code section 730 authorizes the court t...

Excerpt: ..., 893 [motion may be denied for noncompliance with requirement of separate statement].) Even if the court considered the merits of the motion, it would be denied. Plaintiff has not demonstrated that the records sought from Deponent Cayton are “personal records” of a “consumer” as defined by Code of Civil Procedure section 1985.3(a) and therefore has not established that the deposition notice was untimely when served more than 10 days prio...

Excerpt: ...er Code of Civil Procedure section 430.30, subdivision (a). The court declines to take judicial notice of JENNIFER's proffered items. The lease between the parties is not a fact or proposition beyond reasonable dispute. Plaintiff's complaint is already a part of the record. 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 ...

Excerpt: ...nia, including a blood draw. Plaintiff resides in Reno, Nevada. Procedure for Discovery via Physical Examination. Code of Civil Procedure section 2032.220 provides that any defendant in a personal injury case may demand, without leave of court, that the plaintiff submit to one physical examination, so long as the examination is not “painful, protracted, or intrusive” and is not set to take place more than seventy‐five miles away from the pl...

Excerpt: ...pleading is due. (Code Civ. Proc., § 430.41, subd. (a)(2).) Counsel for Defendant declares that the parties conferred over Plaintiff's original complaint and this process led to the filing of the 1AC. (Declaration of Gregory P. Wayland in Support of Demurrer at ¶¶ 3‐5.) Counsel declares his perception that the 1AC corrects no flaws of the original complaint. (Id. at ¶ 6.) Accordingly, counsel felt that a phone call on May 19, 2022 that was ...

Excerpt: ...essary to understand the requests. The requests are neither vague nor ambiguous. Nonetheless, Defendant is allowed to assert that it does not have sufficient information to admit or deny a request for admission despite a reasonable inquiry, as it has for request number 23. Because Defendant's objections are not meritorious, its responses to subdivisions (b) and (c) of form interrogatory 17.1 are evasive or incomplete. Defendant's answers to subdi...

Excerpt: ... efforts to meet and confer to work these issues out before resorting to a discovery motion. Code of Civil Procedure section 2016.040 requires a declaration “showing a reasonable and good faith attempt at an informal resolution of each issue presented by the motion” to compel. The trial court has discretion in determining whether adequate meet and confer efforts preceded the filing of the motion. (Obregon v. Superior Court (1998) 67 Cal.App.4...

Excerpt: ... information and under a false representation of GOMEZ's ability to later repurchase the Property from SHARMA. 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 essential facts of his...

Excerpt: ... failure to engage in the interactive process under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (the “FEHA”). CDCR additionally moves to strike portions of the complaint pertaining to conduct allegedly occurring prior to September 20, 2019, as well as the complaint's prayer for prejudgment interest. Request for Judicial Notice. Matters subject to judicial notice may support a demurrer under Code of Civil Procedure section 430.30, subdivision (a). Def...

Excerpt: ...prevailing party” as used in Code of Civil Procedure section 1032 and it is insufficient to simply show that the plaintiff achieved a net monetary recovery. (Duff v. Jaguar Land Rover N. Am., LLC (2022) 74 Cal.App.5th 491, 504‐505; MacQuiddy v. Mercedes‐Benz USA, LLC (2015) 233 Cal.App.4th 1036, 1047.) Instead, this court must “take a pragmatic approach to determine which party has prevailed” and “determine which party succeeded on a ...

Excerpt: ...et her burden of showing “in what manner [s]he can amend h[er] complaint and how that amendment will change the legal effect of h[er] pleading” as to any of the causes of action. (Goodman v. Kennedy (1976) 18 Cal.3d 335, 349; Cooper v. Equity Gen. Ins. (1990) 219 Cal.App.3d 1252, 1263‐1264; McMartin v. Childrens' Inst. Int'l (1989) 212 Cal.App.3d 1393, 1408.) ...

Excerpt: ...ff and KYLE BAKA subsequently granted their interests in that Property to KAREN BAKA. KAREN BAKA filed a probate petition in case FPR051416 on March 30, 2022 implicating the same deeds. The dispute between the parties concerns, among other issues, whether or not the Property is properly an asset of a trust created by Mark Duvall prior to his death. Court's Probate Jurisdiction. “Jurisdiction” refers in the truest sense to a court's authority ...

Excerpt: ...course and scope of employment with COMCAST, caused an automobile collision with Plaintiff. Plaintiff alleges that ALCANTARA was driving in a dangerous condition due to being severely tired, and that he drove in such a condition with COMCAST's approval. Plaintiff requests punitive damages against COMCAST for its acts causing and/or approving ALCANTARA's alleged dangerous driving. Legal Standard. Code of Civil Procedure section 436, subdivision (a...

Excerpt: ...ent amount to be fair and reasonable, and not the result of collusion, preferential treatment or conflicts of interest. The proposed PAGA payment and settlement administration costs also appear reasonable. The Motion is GRANTED subject to the following: 4) Based on the information currently before the Court, the requested attorney fees appear to be excessive. Locally, the range of 25% of gross settlement for attorney fees is the norm, absent extr...

Excerpt: ... conflicts of interest. The proposed PAGA payment and settlement administration costs also appear reasonable. The court also preliminarily finds that class certification is appropriate here based on the numerosity of the estimated eighty‐four class members and their well‐defined community of interest in their shared wage and hour claims. The named plaintiff shares the same claims as the class at large and is able to adequately represent the c...

Excerpt: ...ased on the same alleged defects existing or developing within one year of purchase. The Song‐Beverly Consumer Warranty Act imposes specified duties on manufacturers of consumer goods sold in California for which an express warrant is given. (Civ. Code § 1793.2(a).) A consumer good is specially defined as “any new product or part thereof that is used, bought, or leased for use primarily for personal, family, or household purposes”. (Civ. C...

Excerpt: ....040.) The meet and confer declaration submitted by Plaintiff simply concludes that counsel “met and conferred extensively” without any supporting facts describing what actions were taken in an effort to meet and confer or the scope of discussions between counsel. (Decl. of Ramsdell, ¶ 9.) At best, Plaintiff's counsel establishes that he sent one meet and confer letter, which has not been provided to the court, and received a response to tha...

Excerpt: ...o present the court with facts sufficient to show that the information about the property is credible and reliable. (Legis. Com. Comment to Code Civ. Proc. § 512.010.) “No writ directing the levying officer to enter a private place to take possession of any property shall be issued unless the plaintiff has established that there is probable cause to believe the property is located there.” (Code Civ. Proc. § 512.060(b).) The declaration atta...

Excerpt: ...Plaintiff to produce the audio recording of her physical examination before Defendant must produce the report of that examination. Plaintiff fails to present a valid reason for withholding the recording and preventing the examiner from preparing a potentially more accurate report. Defendant shall deliver a copy of the report of the examination to Plaintiff within 30 days of service of, or access to, Plaintiff's audio recording of the examination....

Excerpt: ... of action to which the demurrer was sustained”. (Cmty. Water Coalition v. Santa Cruz County Local Agency Formation Comm'n (2011) 200 Cal.App.4th 1317, 1329.) “The plaintiff may not amend the complaint to add a new cause of action without having obtained permission to do so”. (Ibid.; Harris v. Wachovia Mortgage (2010) 185 Cal.App.4th 1018, 1023.) Additionally, Plaintiff has not cured the defects previously identified in the court's ruling o...

Excerpt: ...posit Account Agreement” governing Plaintiff's account with Defendant Chase. Although he did not mention the agreement by name, Plaintiff incorporated the “Deposit Account Agreement” by reference in his complaint by alleging that he is a “depositor” of Defendant Chase. “The relationship of a bank and depositor is founded on contract, [citation] which is ordinarily memorialized by a signature card that the depositor signs upon opening ...

Excerpt: ... to an unreasonable risk of injury. (Rowland v. Christian (1968) 69 Cal.2d 108, 119; Barnes v. Black (1999) 71 Cal.App.4th 1473, 1478; Medina v. Hillshore Partners (1995) 40 Cal.App.4th 477, 481; Seaber v. Hotel Del Coronado (1991) 1 Cal.App.4th 481, 488.) Page 2 of 2 Plaintiff has been deemed to have admitted that the premises “was maintained safely at the time” of her alleged injury and that Defendant Parkview “is not liable to [Plaintiff...

Excerpt: ...rally operates prospectively to declare future rights, rather than to redress past wrongs.” (Jolley v. Chase Home Fin., LLC (2013) 213 Cal.App.4th 872, 909; Babb v. Superior Court (1971) 3 Cal.3d 841, 848.) There is no basis for declaratory relief if only past wrongs are involved. (Osseous Tech. of Am., Inc. v. DicoveryOrtho Partners, LLC (2010) 191 Cal.App.4th 357, 366; County of San Diego v. State of Cal. (2008) 164 Cal.App.4th 580, 607‐608...

Excerpt: ... ¶¶ 14, 16.) A notice that fails to specify when it is to be heard is fatally defective. (Bohn v. Bohn (1913) 164 Cal. 532, 536‐537; Galleria Plus, Inc. v. Hanmi Bank (2009) 179 Cal.App.4th 535, 538.) If a party does not serve a notice that complies with the requirements of Code of Civil Procedure section 1010 within 60 days of the completion of the record of the deposition, the motion is untimely. (Weinstein v. Blumberg (2018) 25 Cal.App.5th...

Excerpt: ...w, 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.) “The tort of intentional interference with prospective economic advantage is not intended to punish individuals or commercial entities for their choice of commercial relationships or the...

Excerpt: ...that employer, such as a contractor doing business with that employer. McVeigh v. Recology San Francisco (2013) 213 Cal.App.4th 443, 471. In general, a demurrer must knock out an entire cause of action, or it should be overruled. Edmon & Karnow (Weil & Brown), Civil Procedure Before Trial, §§7:42.2 and 7:42.4, p. 7(I)‐21, and 7:156, pp. 7(I)‐72 and 7(I)‐73. Thus, as long as JOHN P. WHITNEY (“WHITNEY”) has in the amended petition/compl...

Excerpt: ...ause of action for conversion, Plaintiffs assert that it is undisputed that Defendant caused at least $84,000 in damages caused by Defendant's conversion of their proprietary data. (Plaintiffs' UMF 3.) This statement of “fact” is supported only by a generalized and simplistic estimate of damages based on a specified number of employees working an “approximate” amount of days for “up to” 12 hours a day, as well as speculative lost reve...

Excerpt: ...ons (the “Property”). (Evid. Code, § 452, subd. (d); Fontenot v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (2011) 198 Cal.App.4th 256, 264‐265 [judicial notice of recorded documents], disapproved on other grounds in Yvanova v. New Century Mortgage Corp. (2016) 62 Cal.4th 919, 939 at fn. 13.) Sufficiency of Pleading. “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) 1...