Excerpt: ...des that to the extent authorized by the chapter governing any particular discovery method or any other provision of this title, the court may impose the sanctions listed in the statute against anyone engaging in conduct that is a misuse of the discovery process. The conduct that is the basis of this motion is Plaintiff's counsel's failure to pay court ordered sanctions. On December 18, 2020, this Court entered an order granting Defendant's motio...

Excerpt: ... for misusing the discovery process by destroying reports and documents in the possession of Farmers Insurance Agent Dayna Sibert. (2) Plaintiffs' three separate Code of Civil Procedure section 2031.310 motions seeking to compel Defendant Farmers Insurance Exchange (“FIE”) to fully comply with identified requests for the production of documents: a. Plaintiffs' Requests 1-2 and 7-12; b. Plaintiffs' Requests 1-3, 6-13 and 22; and c. Plaintiffs'...

Excerpt: ...quested by the Defendants. Nonetheless, defense counsel appeared but failed to advise counsel for the opposing party of the requested appearance. At the hearing, defense counsel made the Court aware that Plaintiffs had filed a First Amended Complaint (“FAC”). The FAC had not been entered into the Court's system by the time of the hearing. However, it is now clear that Plaintiffs filed the FAC on April 1—the day before the hearing. The Court...

Excerpt: ...ents, numbers 4, 24, 25, and 26. The motion is DENIED as to Defendant's request to order Plaintiff's general objections waived. Sanctions are awarded in Defendant's favor in the amount of $2,095. Defendant served Plaintiff with form interrogatories, set one, special interrogatories, set one, and requests for production of documents, set one, on April 30, 2020. (Szela decl., ¶2, Exhibits A-D.) Responses were provided on May 23, 2020. (Id. at ¶3,...

Excerpt: ...l further responses to Requests for Production of Documents is GRANTED, in part, and DENIED, in part. The motion is DENIED as to Request Numbers 1, 3, 9, 45, and 48-50. The motion is GRANTED as to request numbers 37-42, and 51. Defendant is ordered to provide further response to Plaintiff's Request for Production of Documents, Numbers 37-42 and 51, within 20 days of the service of this order. Plaintiff is further ordered to provide verifications ...

Excerpt: ...e demurrer to the second cause of action for Negligence per se is SUSTAINED without leave to amend. The demurrer to the third cause of action for Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress is SUSTAINED with leave to amend. The demurrer to the fourth cause of action is OVERRULED. The motion to strike punitive damages is GRANTED with leave to amend. Malcolm Barrack was appointed demurrer facilitator in this matter. While the issues were not resolve...

Excerpt: ... to form and special interrogatories is GRANTED. Within 20 days of this order, NCCS is ordered to provide further responses to Defendant's first set of form interrogatories, excluding subparts as directed below, and to Defendant's first set of special interrogatories. The motion to compel further responses to Defendant's requests for production of documents is DENIED without prejudice. Sanctions are DENIED. The Court thanks Discovery Facilitator ...

Excerpt: ...located at 208 Vista Court, Sebastopol, California (“Vista”). The motion is made on the grounds that Plaintiffs failed to comply with the service, recording, and filing requirements set forth in California Code of Civil Procedure section (“CCP §”) 405.22, making the lis pendens void ab initio pursuant to CCP § 405.23. A second ground for the motion is that the operative complaint does not contain a cause of action which affects title or...

Excerpt: ...�”) 1985.3 and 1987.1 on the grounds that Cross- Complainant Jeanette Ann Bisno (“Bisno”) failed to comply with the procedural requirements for a subpoena under § 1985.3. Palmer argues Bisno violated CCP § 1985.3(b) by serving the Notice to Consumer by email on the same day Bisno served the subpoenas on the deponents, also by email, and by failing to serve Palmer with the subpoenas. Palmer requests sanctions in the amount of $11,165. The ...

Excerpt: ... infliction of emotional distress on January 27, 2020. Defendant has not filed a cross- complaint. On August 17, 2020, defendant Maria Dwyer Biggs filed a Notice of Settlement of Entire Case (“Notice”). The Notice indicates that the parties entered into a settlement agreement and that a request for dismissal would be filed no later than November 15, 2020. Plaintiff argues that the Notice was wrongfully filed by defendant Biggs. Judgment has n...

Excerpt: ...re granted in the amount of $18,298.91. “If parties to pending litigation stipulate, in a writing signed by the parties outside the presence of the court or orally before the court, for settlement of the case, or part thereof, the court, upon motion, may enter judgment pursuant to the terms of the settlement. If requested by the parties, the court may retain jurisdiction over the parties to enforce the settlement until performance in full of th...

Excerpt: ... facts sufficient to state a cause of action and/or the pleading is uncertain. With respect to plaintiffs' causes of action for fraud and nuisance, Defendants further argue these causes of action are barred by the applicable statutes of limitation. The demurrers are SUSTAINED, in part, and OVERRULED, in part, as discussed below. This matter is a landlord-tenant dispute over property located at 483 Bettencourt Street, Sonoma, CA (“the Subject Pr...

Excerpt: ...7, 2019. When no dismissal was filed, on March 7, 2019 the Court issued an Order to Show Cause why monetary sanctions should not be imposed and/or why the action should not be dismissed for failure to comply with Cal. R. Ct. 3.1385(b) in that Plaintiff failed to file a dismissal after a notice of settlement (the “OSC”). The OSC required Plaintiff to appear on May 9, 2019 and to file a Case Management Statement not later than fifteen calendar ...

Excerpt: ...-PI-001(3)) and premises liability (PLD-PI-001(4)). This matter is on calendar for the demurrer by Defendants pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. (“CCP”) § 430.10(e) to the entire Complaint generally, and to the intentional tort and premises liability causes of action in particular, on the basis that they fail to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. The Demurrer is SUSTAINED WITH leave to amend. The Complaint alleges that on ...

Excerpt: ...39.) “If the trial court orders the reference without the parties' consent, ‘[t]he referee's factual findings are advisory recommendations only; they are not binding unless the trial court adopts them.'” (Ibid, citing, In re Marriage of Petropoulos (2001) 91 Cal.App.4th 161, 177; see also, Code Civ. Proc. §644(b) [“The court may adopt the referee's recommendations in whole or in part after independently considering the referee's findings...

Excerpt: ...nstitute a valid defense. Defendant has not filed an opposition to this motion. The motion is not opposed. Plaintiff's Request for Judicial Notice of Exhibits 1-4 is GRANTED. Plaintiff's motion for judgment on the pleadings is also GRANTED. The Code provides that a plaintiff is entitled to judgment on the pleadings if “the complaint states facts sufficient to constitute a cause or causes of action against the defendant and the answer does not s...

Excerpt: ...hat the FACC does not state sufficient facts to constitute a cause of action and because the FACC is uncertain, vague and ambiguous. Additionally, Plaintiff moves to strike Defendant's prayer or punitive damages and attorneys' fees and contends that the FACC fails to state sufficient facts to justify these damages. Plaintiff also moves to strike various allegations in the FACC based largely on evidentiary objections. On March 25, 2019, Defendant ...