Excerpt: ...lability, the court must declare a mistrial, and retry the entire matter. (*Given that the Reed parties share the same last name, the court will refer to the parties by their first name for convenience; no disrespect is intended.) Petitioner and Successor Personal Representative Shelley Ocana (Ocana) argues that William's request for mistrial is untimely and without merit. Ocana contends that Judge Shaffer's statement of decision is final and bin...

Excerpt: ...a conditional Notice of Settlement of Entire Case on May 9, 2018, indicating that a request for dismissal would be filed no later than June 30, 2018. The minutes from most recent OSC on December 13, 2018 indicate that Plaintiff's counsel informed the Court that the parties have settled but that there are disputes as to performance under the settlement and that he seeks to file a motion to enforce the settlement and that jurisdiction was not retai...

Excerpt: ...jections, to the form interrogatories, special interrogatories, and requests for production of documents by May 1, 2019.CSI's request for monetary sanctions is DENIED. This matter was referred to the discovery facilitator program and assigned to discovery facilitator David King. Mr. King filed a report on April 11, 2019 which thoroughly summarizes the issues and the parties' respective positions, states that the parties met and conferred in good ...

Excerpt: ...plaints for indemnity. This matter is on calendar for the motion by Cross-Defendant/Cross-Complainant RE West Builders, Inc. for leave to file an amendment to its cross-complaint to substitute South County Plumbing, Inc. for FOE 1 and Griffin Soil as Foe 2 (the “RE West Motion”). It is also on calendar for the joinder by Defendant/Cross- Defendant/Cross-Complainant John Carlisle Construction, Inc. (continued by the Court from 4/10/19)which se...

Excerpt: ... the Insurer Defendants); and 3) negligence (against Delaney). This matter is on calendar for the demurrer by Fire Insurance Exchange (“FIE”) pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) section 430.10(e) to the first cause of action on the grounds that Plaintiffs failed to attach the subject policy or otherwise properly plead their claim and to the second cause of action on the grounds that Plaintiffs do not allege an express breach of th...

Excerpt: ...on multiple grounds, most of which are untimely or would not justify the relief sought. For one, Defendant's Motion contends that a default judgment may not be entered against Defendant pursuant to California Insurance Code section 1063.2(g). (Motion at 3:21-4:20.)That section merely defines “covered claims” as excluding default judgments against an insolvent insurer or the insured of such an insurer. And what that definition means is that un...

Excerpt: ...) from offering any testimony, evidence, or argument at trial that it had conducted an inquiry or investigation into whether or not Plaintiff's vehicle qualified for repurchase or that Plaintiff is a qualified customer for purposes of the Warranty Act, and for monetary sanctions (“RFA Motion”); and 2) for an order compelling even further supplemental responses to Form Interrogatory (“FROG”) Nos. 1.1, 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 15.1 and 17.1 and fo...

Excerpt: ...t Defendant Cervantes contracted with the Fanucchi Defendants for the removal of trees on property owned or leased by the Fanucchi Defendants. It alleges that during the course and scope of Decedent's employment, Defendant Cervantes cut off a portion of the top of a tree, which fell on Decedent, causing fatal injuries and resulting in the losses and damages claimed by Plaintiffs. After Plaintiffs filed a motion to stay, the parties stipulated to ...

Excerpt: ...“CCP”) section 2031.310 and for monetary sanctions. The Motion is GRANTED. Defendant served a CCP section 2031.030 Request for Vehicle Inspection (the “Request”) on April 23, 2018, noticing the inspection for June 11, 2018 in Healdsburg and indicating what Defendant intended to do, including a “test drive.” (Nassirian Decl. ¶ 3 & Ex. A.) Plaintiff served an objection to the Request via overnight mail on June 6, 2018, which objects to...

Excerpt: ...fenses (the “Answer”). This matter is on calendar for Plaintiff's motion to strike the Answer pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) sections 435-437 on the basis that it is unverified and on the basis that the affirmative defenses are all irrelevant and therefore constitute immaterial allegations. Plaintiff's Motion is GRANTED with leave to amend due to the lack of verification but it otherwise DENIED. Defendant is required to file ...

Excerpt: ...r attorneys' fees pursuant to CCP section 425.16(c)(1) as the prevailing party on the anti-SLAPP motion, and the Court awarded Defendants $5,319.82 in attorneys' fees and costs. The Court also denied Plaintiff's motion to tax costs. Plaintiffs appealed the order granting Defendants' motion for attorneys' fees and costs and the order denying their motion to tax costs. MAC filed a request to dismiss its appeal and the order of dismissal was entered...

Excerpt: ...who was handling the matter did not file a CMC and quit a day before the hearing, he was never made aware that his associate had not scheduled the court call, and that he missed the hearing because it was not scheduled on his calendar. (Shemtoub Decl. ¶¶ 4-7.) He contends that the failure to appear and to file a CMC statement was due to “mistake, inadvertence, mistake [sic] or excusable neglect” within the meaning of CCP section 473(b) and ...

Excerpt: ...rce the right to the fees. (Lindelli v. Town of San Anselmo (2006) 139 Cal.App.4 th 1499, 1505.) Thus, as Lindelli explained, an attorney who has an interest in obtaining attorney's fees pursuant to CCP section 1021.5 satisfies the factors for permissive intervention. One may also obtain a sufficient interest in an action, and a timely basis therefore, when a party to the action fails to prosecute or defend it. (Continental Vinyl Products Corp. v...

Excerpt: ...as Secretary of State of the State of California (“Respondent”), contended in his October 29, 2018 Opposition to Petitioner's Petition to Disqualify Sen. Dianne Feinstein that the Petition was filed in the incorrect venue under Elections Code (“EC”) section 13314(b). That statute provides in relevant part that venue for a proceeding under EC section 13314(a)(1), which allows an elector to seek a writ of mandate in connection with certain ...

Excerpt: ...�) required that the OST “be served on all counsel by 3 pm on 3-1-19.” A proof of service filed on March 7 shows that Plaintiff timely served the OST. The unopposed Motion is GRANTED, except that sanctions are not awardable. Defendant is required to appear at a deposition at Plaintiff's counsel's offices at 10:00 am on Wednesday, March 20, except if March 20 is not convenient for Plaintiff, on another mutually convenient date on or before Mar...

Excerpt: ...�) Motion for Summary Judgment, or in the Alternative, Summary Adjudication. The Notice of Hearing solicited briefing on this issue, stating that parties wishing to be heard on the issue of “the propriety of including prejudgment interest in the judgment and, if proper, the amount of prejudgment interest” shall file their papers on or before March 4, 2019. No briefing was received. However, the Court is in receipt of, and has reviewed and con...

Excerpt: ...nd 7) injunctive relief. This matter is on calendar for a motion by Defendant pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) section 428.50 for leave to file a cross-complaint against Plaintiff for: 1) breach of equitable servitudes; 2) trespass to land; 3) injunction; and 4) declaratory relief (the “Proposed Cross-Complaint”). The Zimmerman Declaration filed in support of the Motion explains that the failure to timely file a cross-complaint...

Excerpt: ...n by defendant Chanate Property Owners Association (“Moving Defendant”) for leave to file an amended answer to the Complaint to include the affirmative defense of “recreational immunity” pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) sections 473(a) and 576(a). The unopposed Motion is GRANTED. This matter is also on calendar for Moving Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment on the grounds that Moving Defendant owed no duty to Plaintiff ...

Excerpt: ...est (hereinafter, “RPI”) Lytton Rancheria of California (hereinafter, “the Tribe”) to comply, or not comply, with the Forest Practices Act (hereinafter, “FPA”), Forest Practice Rules (hereinafter, “FPR”), California Environmental Quality Act (hereinafter, “CEQA”), the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Act (hereinafter, “WQA”), or the Fish & Game Code regarding Non-Industrial Timber Management Plan (hereinafter, “NTMP”), spe...

Excerpt: ...t no appearances had been made by any defendant prior to entry of the dismissal on October 4. The first Case Management Conference was set for August 23, 2018. The minutes from the August 23 CMC show that no CMC Statement was filed and that although the tentative ruling required an appearance, no appearance was made at the CMC by Plaintiff. The Court imposed sanctions against Plaintiff and its then-counsel Ralph Pollard of $150 for failure to fil...

Excerpt: ...d] over twelve years before the request to renew of the judgment has been filed.” Plaintiffs refer to their Exhibit A to support this argument, which is a December 9, 2008 “Modified Judgment” entered in Defendant's favor following a remittitur from the Court of Appeal, which affirmed the trial court's prior award of expert fees and litigation costs but reversed the trial court's award of attorneys' fees to Defendant. Alternatively, Plaintif...

Excerpt: ...igence; 2) breach of contract; 3) breach of implied warranties; 4) – 5) breach of express warranty; and 6) – 7) claim on contractor's license bond (against the sureties). The Complaint alleges that Plaintiffs entered into an Owners Contract Agreement with Defendant Ken Medrano, individually and dba Kendell Brook Builders (“Defendant Medrano”), and that as part of the work to be completed, Defendant Medrano retained Jack Shapiro and Shapir...

Excerpt: ...l infliction of emotional distress (against defendant Drew); and 3) negligent infliction of emotional distress (against defendant CSAA). This matter is on calendar for the demurrer by CSAA and Drew pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) sections 430.10(d) and 430.10(e) on the basis that they have been misjoined and that Plaintiff has failed to set forth facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. That Demurrer is SUSTAINED without ...

Excerpt: ...ith the court a verified application together with proof of service by mail in accordance with Code of Civil Procedure section 1013a of a copy of the application and of the notice of hearing of the application on all parties who have appeared in the cause and on the State Bar of California at its San Francisco office. The notice of hearing must be given at the time prescribed in Code of Civil Procedure section 1005 unless the court has prescribed...

Excerpt: ...on Insurance Fund's unopposed motion to consolidate its Subrogation Action with this case pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) section 1048(a). CCP section 1048(a) provides: “When actions involving a common question of law or fact are pending before the court, it may order a joint hearing or trial of any or all the matters in issue in the actions; it may order all the actions consolidated and it may make such orders concerning procee...