Excerpt: ...itration. Luci is the General Partner of Vineyards, which was established on September 19, 1998, by Luci's father, Val Peline (“Val”). Vineyards has three limited partners which are trusts (“Limited Partners”) set up by Val for his children: Luci, Christopher Peline, and Yvette Peline. Christopher and Yvette are deceased. The beneficiaries of Christopher's trust are his two children. The beneficiaries of Yvette's trust are Luci and Christ...

Excerpt: ...me of arbitration if the motion to compel arbitration is granted. The motions are DENIED. When a party seeks to compel arbitration, the Court considers only two issues: (1) whether the parties formed an arbitration agreement; and (2) whether the arbitration agreement covers the underlying dispute. (Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. v. Byrd (1985) 470 U.S. 213, 218.) Only the second element is disputed. Under CCP section 1281.2, the trial court determine...

Excerpt: ... Paid Rest Periods; (4) Failure to Pay Premium Wages At The Legal Pay Rate; (5) Derivative Violations of Labor Code §203; and (7) Unfair Business Practices. On February 23, 2022, the parties participated in mediation with Steven G. Mehta. As a result, the parties have agreed to the settlement of $200,000 on a class-wide basis with no claim form requirement and no reversion to defendant. The settlement was preliminarily approved on August 24, 202...

Excerpt: ...Relations. The demurrer is SUSTAINED with leave to amend. Onel's second cause of action is alleged against cross-defendants Tornado, Stella Miranda (“Miranda”), Enrique R. Lopez (“Enrique”), and POES 1-20 for Intentional Interference with Contractual Relations. Lopez alleges that his father Enrique owned 99% of real property located at 312 Broadmoor Street in Sonoma County (“the Property”). Onel alleges he owns 1% of the Property. He ...

Excerpt: ...n special interrogatory number 89, Defendant Buchman requests that Plaintiff: Identify by name all individuals and entities that paid, either directly or indirectly, the property tax associated with the ASSESSMENT (for the purposes of these interrogatories, the term “ASSESSMENT” means the re-assessment of property taxes that took place as a result of Gloria Egger's transfer of limited partnership interests, and which make up the basis of YOUR...

Excerpt: ...nt which included the following pertinent terms: 1) David and/or Eugene shall submit “the first lot line application” to the County which proposes a 3 parcel division of the property. 2) If David and/or Eugene withdraw or abandon the application, John Calvi may submit an application to the County proposing a 2 parcel division. 3) “If both the 3 parcel and the 2 parcel applications are denied by the County, the entirety of the two parcels sh...

Excerpt: ...aine McCoy and his brother, Defendant/Cross-Complainant Dean McCoy. (“Dwaine” and “Dean”) For many years, the McCoy brothers successfully ran insulation companies together. A dispute between the brothers resulted in Dwaine filing this action to wind up Dean's interest in the business and resolve various liabilities. Dwaine alleges that Dean developed a gambling habit and improperly took over $400,000 in company funds and used them for him...

Excerpt: ...He contends that Defendants discriminated and retaliated against him in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) and in retaliation for whistleblowing on Defendants' failure to ensure compliance with requirements regarding mandated reporting of suspected child abuse in violation of the California Abuse and Neglect Act (“CANRA”) and Labor Code section 1102.5. He specifically refers to alleged misconduct related to the abus...

Excerpt: ... referred to as “Defendants”). The Prior Action involved 97 plaintiffs and 28 defendants. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants negligently mishandled the litigation which resulted in Plaintiff's award being diminished, allowed defendant Zuckerman to obtain bankruptcy protection shielding him from the judgment, miscalculated how much of the award Plaintiff was entitled to, failed to allocate any of the award for fees and costs to Plaintiff, and h...

Excerpt: ...cts, a concise statement of the law, evidence and arguments relied on, and a discussion of the statutes, cases, and textbooks cited in support of the position advanced. (Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 3.1113(b).) Plaintiff's memorandum does not contain any legal authority in support of Plaintiff's requests. Nor does Plaintiff's declaration. Rather, the motion is a recitation of Plaintiff's point of view that the defendants' actions contradict the test...

Excerpt: ...Court address the issue of Plaintiff's attorneys acting in the capacity of debt collectors as described in the Fair-Debt- Collection-Practices-Act, find that their conduct is prohibited under federal law, and dismiss Plaintiff's complaint. The motion is DENIED. Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) section 1008(b) provides: “A party who originally made an application for an order which was refused in whole or part, or granted conditionally or on ...

Excerpt: ...exhaust their administrative remedies. The Board also argues that it did not proceed in excess of its jurisdiction, did not abuse its discretion by failing to proceed in the manner required by law, and its issuance of the Certificate of Registration is supported by substantial evidence. The Board further argues that it has no ministerial duty to investigate the alleged misrepresentations and has not abused its discretion by failing to revoke the ...

Excerpt: ...uries resulting from a “physical altercation” between the two and Jacobs tendered the defense to Defendant. The latter allegedly denied coverage. Jacobs allegedly then settled the Original Action with Plaintiff and entered into an agreement with Plaintiff by which he assigned all of his rights against Defendant to Plaintiff. Defendant answered on September 28, 2020, denying all allegations and asserting affirmative defenses. Defendant moved t...

Excerpt: ...Defendant negligently drove his vehicle by failing to keep his vehicle in his lane and driving it into oncoming traffic and Plaintiff's vehicle at the above time and place.” (Ibid.) Plaintiffs also allege that “[a]s a direct and proximate result, Plaintiffs suffered serious personal injury.” (Ibid.) Specifically with respect to their claim for punitive damages, Plaintiffs allege “[i]mmediately prior to the crash, Defendant…consumed beer...

Excerpt: ...l, and Harvey Rister, as Trustee of the Rister Family Trust. However, the FAC does not specifically state which of the fourteen causes of action is asserted against which defendant. Thus, even when the Court reads the FAC as a whole and liberally construes the allegations, the pleading is uncertain. (See, Code Civ. Proc. §430.10(f).) Because the FAC is “uncertain” and leave to amend has been granted, the Court need not address the remaining ...

Excerpt: ...atter is on calendar for the motion by Defendant to transfer venue pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. (“CCP”) § 397 on the grounds that Sonoma County is not the proper court, as pursuant to CCP §395.5 its principal place of business is in the County of San Luis Obispo, and because the Complaint “states no cause of action in the County of Sonoma and [Plaintiff] cannot amend the complaint to state a cause of action in Sonoma County.” Notice...

Excerpt: ...irement is to force the parties and their lawyers to reexamine their positions and to narrow their discovery disputes to the irreducible minimum before calling upon the court to resolve the matter. See, e.g. Stewart v. Colonial Western Agency, Inc. (2001) 87 Cal.App.4th 1006, 1016-17 (meet and confer requirement is designed to encourage the parties to work out their differences informally so as to avoid the necessity of a formal order). “This, ...

Excerpt: ...d on Defendants on July 8, 2019. Specifically, the motion addresses defendant Hammer's response numbers 1-8; defendant Trustee's response numbers 1, 5-9; and, defendant Western's response numbers 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, and 10. Plaintiff seeks monetary sanctions. The motion is GRANTED for the limited purpose of requiring Defendants to amend their statements to comply with CCP section 2031.230. Sanctions are DENIED. Plaintiff has not provided specific fact...

Excerpt: ..., LC § 2698 et seq. (the “Complaint”). This matter is on calendar for Plaintiff's unopposed motion for conditional certification of the class and preliminary approval of the class action settlement (the “Motion”). The Motion is GRANTED. I. The Complaint The Complaint alleges that LC § 226(a) requires employers to provide accurate itemized wage statements to its employees that identify all applicable hourly rates in effect during the pay...

Excerpt: ...'s requests for admissions are DEEMED ADMITTED. Mr. Sechrist's request for $3,538.00 in monetary sanctions is GRANTED. Plaintiff is ORDERED to pay the sanctions within twenty (20) days of service of the Court's final ruling. Code of Civil Procedure section 2030.290 provides that if a party to whom interrogatories were directed fails to serve timely responses, the responding party waives all objections, including those based on privilege and work ...

Excerpt: ...eby STAYED pending a resolution of the arbitration. “California has a strong public policy in favor of arbitration and any doubts regarding the arbitrability of a dispute are resolved in favor of arbitration.” (Howard v. Goldbloom (2018) 30 Cal.App.5th 659, 663, citing Aanderud v. Superior Court (2017) 13 Cal.App.5th 880, 890.) “[W]hen considering a motion to compel arbitration, the court must initially determine whether the parties agreed ...

Excerpt: ...under appeal. Defendant's alternative request for an undertaking in the amount of $652,380.78 is DENIED. Finally, Plaintiffs' request to stay enforcement of the entire judgment is DENIED. When the Court considers the likelihood that Plaintiff will prevail in Ramos II; the amount of recovery that Plaintiffs are likely to obtain in Ramos II; and Defendant's ability to satisfy a potential judgment in Ramos II, Plaintiffs have simply presented insuff...

Excerpt: ...erty from Johanna Szostak. Shortly after purchasing the property, Plaintiff discovered extensive problems with the Property, including a roof that was in need of repair. (First Amended Complaintat ¶11.) Plaintiff alleges that since purchasing the property, “the roof collapsed, forcing Plaintiff and his then—fiancée (now wife) to have to move out of the Property Plaintiff has had to spend tens of thousands of dollars addressing the condition...

Excerpt: ... with a decedent to distribution from an estate or trust or under another instrument, whether the promise or agreement was made orally or in writing, an action to enforce the claim to distribution may be commenced within one year after the date of death, and the limitations period that would have been applicable does not apply.”]; see also, Stewart v. Seward (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 1513, 1516, 1522–1523 [decedent orally promised to execute a w...

Excerpt: ...owever, on June 27, 2019, Day filed forms for substitution of attorney, substituting out and leaving each Defendant self-represented. Plaintiff now moves the court to strike the answer of Union on the basis that it is a business entity which may not appear without counsel. Although it has capacity to sue and defend, a corporation is not a natural person and therefore cannot appear in an action in propria persona. Merco Const. Engineers, Inc. v. M...