Excerpt: ...ld file a Second Amended Complaint but did not prior to the demurrer hearing. The Court granted additional time to do so and set timelines for filing and set a demurr er hearing date . On April 3, 2024, the Court expressed puzzlement that no opposition to the demurrer to the Second Amended Complaint was filed. Plaintiffs' counsel said she believed she could submit on her original opposition. Defense counsel and the Court thought the dire ctions w...

Excerpt: ...ty and to each cause of action on the ground that each fails to state sufficient facts to constitute a cause of action against it. For the reasons set forth below, the special demurrer and general demurrer are SUSTAINED, in full, with 30 days' leave to amend . Uncert a int y This is one of the rare cases where sustaining a special demurrer on the grounds of uncertainty is warranted. Defendant GBS was added to the pleading in place of Doe 1. No ot...

Excerpt: ... timekeepers, the nature of the work performed, the customary billing rate for each timekeeper, and the prevailing rate for comparable legal services in the co mmunity. ( Serrano v Unruh (Serrano IV) (1982) 32 Cal.3d 621, 643; Serra no v Priest (Serra no III) (1977) 20 Cal.3d 25, 48.) The Court itself has e xp e r ie n c e f r o m h is y e a r s in t h is c iv il la w a s s ig n m e n t r e v ie w in g a n d d e t e r m in in g attorney fee motio...

Excerpt: ...r granting preliminary approva l. Having considered the unopposed motion herein and the supporting declarations and evidence, the Court finds that the settlement was entered into good faith, is fair, reasonable, and adequate, and satisfies the standards for final approval under Californ ia la w . (Civ il Co d e § 1 7 8 1 ; Co d e Civ . Proc. § 382; Cal. R. Ct., rule 3.769.) Good cause appearing to the satisfaction of the Court, the proposed set...

Excerpt: ... of Anaheim ,(1994) 25 Cal. App. 4th 11, 35,); Da rr v. Lone St a r Industries , Inc., (1979) 94 Cal. App. 3d 895, 900,) . The Court also finds that the conveyance of the dominant tenement transfers all appurtenant easements to the grantee, even though the easements are not s p e c if ic a lly m e n t io n e d in t h e d e e d . ( Moyla n v. Dyke s , (1986)181 Cal. App. 3d 561, 568). Furthermore, an appurtenant easement is a part of, and cannot b...

Excerpt: ...he substance of the fee request, the Court notes that Plaintiff primarily contests the reasonableness of the hours claimed by Defendant herein. The successful party is normally entitled to a fully compensatory fee, which may be reduced only where special circumstances render the same unjust. ( Se rra no v. Unruh (1982) 32 Cal.3d 621, 639. ) Regarding the lodestar fees calculation, the Court finds, on the basis of the declarations submitted by Mr....

Excerpt: ...s, based on “what was, or should have been, known t o settlor at time questioned settlement was mad e ”, that the settlement entered by the parties was within the reasonable range of Ms. Gregg's proportional share of c o m p a r a t iv e lia b ilit y f o r p la in t if f ' s in ju r ie s b a s e d o n t h e in f o r m a t io n a v a ila b le a t the time of settlement. This finding is regardless of wheth er the settlement date was in Nove...

Excerpt: ...e h ic le warranty. ( Jensen v. BMW of Nort h America , Inc. (1995) 35 Cal.App.4th 112; Ro d r i g u e z v . F C A U S , LLC (2022) 77 Cal. App. 5th 209.) In this regard, the Court notes that the California Supreme Court granted review of Ro d r ig u e z , supra, in July 2022, explicitly allowing the opinion to continue to be cited both for persuasive value and for the limited purpose of establishing the existence of a conflict in authority which...

Excerpt: ...Cra ne v. R. R. Cra n e In v. Co rp ., (2022) 82 Cal. App. 5th 748, 298 citing Tr a h a n v. Tr a h a n , (2002) 99 Cal. App. 4th 62, 75; Go v. P a c ific He a lt h Se r vic e s , In c . (2009) 179 Cal.4th 522, 529 -532; Cot t on v. Expo Power Syst ems, Inc. (2009) 170 Cal.4th 1371, 1381- 1382) . The Court notes that the statutory buy -out procedure to avoid involuntary d is s o lu t io n o f a c o r p o r a t io n w h ic h in v o lve s t h e a p...

Excerpt: ... , § 1 2 8 1 ) . The Court finds that Plaintiff was not compelled to sign the arbitration agreement as a condition of employment and also had the option to opt out of said agreement. Therefore, the Court finds that said arbitration agreement was not a contract of adhesion. Civil Code section 1670.5; Armendariz v. Foundation Health Psychca re Services, Inc. (2000) 24 Cal.4th 83, 102 ; Pardee Construction Co. v. Superior Court (2002) 100 Cal.App.4...

Excerpt: ...d facts asserting the following : Defendant was issued a credit card account. (UF 1, 3.) Defendant agreed to be bound by the terms and conditions set forth in the Cardmember Agreement. (UF 2.) Aft e r re ce iving the cre dit card, t he account was charge d for various goods, se rvice s, or cash adv ances. (UF 3.) Plaintiff complied with its obligations under the Agreement by paying vendors for all charges that were made on Defendant's account. ( ...

Excerpt: ...r o p e r . Th e c la s s is s u f f ic ie n t ly n u m e r o u s , c o n s is t in g o f o ve r 2 ,6 0 0 in d iv id u a ls , a n d it is a s c e r t a in a b le b y r e f e r e n c e t o Defendant's personnel and payroll records. Also, Plaintiffs are adequate class representativ es, as their claims do not conflict with and are not antagonistic to the claims of other class members. Plaintiffs' claims are also typical and arise from the same emplo...

Excerpt: ...unt of time investment by Counsel. ( Ketchum v. Moses (2001) 24 Cal.4th 1122, 1133). The Court therefore awards Plaintiff attorney's fees of $84, 535.00 and costs of $3,336.27 . The Court also finds that regardless of Defendants' opposition to said partition, it m a y b e c o n s id e r e d a s b e n e f it in g f r o m s a id p a r t it io n . ( St ut z v. Da vis (1981), 122 Ca l.Ap p .3 d 1 ; O r i e n v . Lu t z (2017) 16 Cal.App. 5 th 957; Ri...

Excerpt: ... s h o w in g t h a t a t r ia b le is s u e o f m a t e r ia l fact exists. [ Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co. , supra , 25 Cal.4th at 850; see also La w Office s of Dixon R. Howe ll v. Va lle y (2005) 129 Cal.App.4th 1076, 1092. This case comes down to one simple question: Does Plaintiff have standing to bring this wrongful death claim and the associated negligence claim? In this case, Plaintiff and the decedent in a fatal vehicle collision in...

Excerpt: ...arious wage and hour claims, including meal and rest period violations, minimum and overtime wage violations, wage -statement violations, failure to timely pay wages during employment and at t e r m in a t io n , f a ilure to maintain accurate wage statements, failure to reimburse business expenses, failure to disclose material terms at the time of hire, a UCL claim and a claim for PAGA penalties. The subject class consists of current and forme r...

Excerpt: ...ccessful party is normally entitled to a fully compensatory fee, which may be reduced only where special circumstances render the same unjust. ( Serra no v. Unruh (1982) 32 Cal.3d 621, 639. ) Regarding the lodestar fees calculation, the Court finds, on the basis of Ms. Spiezia's declaration, that the hours claimed herein were reasonably incurred and substantially contributed to the ultimate successful result on the subject contract c la im s . ( ...

Excerpt: ...m . The original complaint contained allegations that there were written agreements via email. The new complaint describes the agreement as oral with supporting emails, which are not attached. Counsel is bound by the prior allegation that this is a w r it t e n a g r eement. ( Deveny v. Entropin, Inc . (2006) 139 Cal.App. 4 th 408.) Thus, the terms of the written agreement must be included in the complaint . There is no pleading of what the actua...

Excerpt: ...n d CO N TIN U ED in p a r t a s follows. a) P la in t if f 's m o t io n is GRANTED in part, DENIED in part and CONTINUED in part as follows. Th e Co u r t D EN IES Plaintiff's request for terminating sanctions at t h is t im e . However, the Court hereby O RD ERS Defendant to comply with its November 22, 2023, order compelling responses to the Plaintiff's Requests for Ad m is s io n o n o r b e f o r e Ap r il 1 6 , 2 0 2 4 , o r f a c e t e r ...

Excerpt: ...nt to be the prevailing party under the attorneys' fees provisions contained in the subject contracts. (Civ. Code § 1717.) Since the instant lawsuit involves adjudication of claims based on multiple, independent contracts, Civ. Code § 1717 requires the determination of a prevailing party as to each contract, without reference to which party prevails in the lawsuit as a whole. (See, e.g. Arntz v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. (1996) 47 Ca...

Excerpt: ... . (a ) The Court finds that Plaintiff entirely failed to respond to the subject discovery a n d a ll o b je c t io n s a r e w a iv e d . (Code Civ. Proc. § 2030.290(a).) Therefore, Defendant is entitled to an order compelling Plaintiff to provide verified responses, without ob jection, within 14 days. (Code Civ. Proc. § 2030.290(b). ) The Court further finds that Defendant is entitled to an award of monetary sanctions in connection with this ...

Excerpt: ...leged statutory and civil penalties concern various wage and hour claims, including meal and rest period violations, minimum and overtime wage violations, wage -statement violations, failure to timely pay wages during employment and at t e r m in a t io n , f a ilure to maintain accurate wage statements, failure to reimburse business expenses, failure to disclose material terms at the time of hire, a UCL claim and a claim for PAGA penalties. The ...

Excerpt: ...s t a g e , d is p o s it ive . P la in t if f 's complaint engages in what some courts call “shotgun pleading,” in which the specific actions of each defendant are poorly defined. Determining the potential lia b ilit y o f M EB Loan Trust VI and Specialized Loan Servicing requires some additional detail to assist the parties and the Court. The failure to outline which Defendants are liable under which theories is untenable . Whether lack of ...

Excerpt: ...hen shifts t o Cross-Complainant to demonstrate the probability that she will prevail on the merits of the subject cause of action as it relates to the protected activity. The Court finds that the application of the litigation privilege prevents Cross- Complainant from relying on the filing of the instant action as the basis for her breach of contract claim; therefore, she is unable to meet her burden on the instant motion. As a result, the Court...

Excerpt: ...ed in the opposition, the motion is DENIED . First, there is no separate statement as required by rule 3.1345(a)(2) of the California Rules of Court. The failure to file a separate statement is in and of itself sufficient grounds to deny the motion. (See Sinaiko Healthcare Consulting, Inc. v. Pacific Healthcare Consultants (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 390, 409 n.14; cf. Mills v. U.S. Ba nk (2008) 166 Cal.App.4th 871, 893. ) Second, the supporting decla...

Excerpt: ...s. The Court therefore GRANTS the preliminary injunction on t h e f o llo w in g c o n d it io n s : 1. P la in t if f is o n n o t ic e t h a t it s o n ly p r iv ile g e is f o r in g r e s s a n d e g r e s s o n t o it s own lands. The Court clarifies that this means Plaintiff's members may NOT cross Defendants' land in order to access current BLM lands. Plaintiff is charged with ensuring its members understand that whatever hunting and o t h...