Excerpt: ... Before the Court this day is the hearing on plaintiff's application for final approval of the settlement. The gross settlement amount (“GSA”) is $925,000.00, which is intended to cover 2,469 class members. This is a non‐reversionary settlement (meaning nothing goes back to the defendant). Based on the whole of the record, this Court concludes that the gross settlement amount is fair and reasonable in light of the pertinent factors to consi...

Excerpt: ...�778.). The matters contained in Request for Admissions, Set One, are deemed admitted. The Court further finds that Defendants are entitled to an award of monetary sanctions in connection with Plaintiff's failure to respond to the subject discovery. (Code Civ. Proc. §§2033.280(c), 2023.010(d), 2023.030(a); Cal. Rules of Ct., rule 3.1348(a).) Therefore, Defendants are awarded monetary sanctions in the amount of $230 against Plaintiff and her att...

Excerpt: ... Esq. and Hinshaw & Culberston LLP – GRANTED; c) Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Responses to Demand for Production of Documents and Things; Request for Sanctions in the amount of $1,100.00 against Defendant David Greer and his Attorney of Record Attorney Bradley M. Zamczyk, Esq. and Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP – GRANTED; d) Plaintiff's Motion to have Request for Admissions Deemed Admitted or in the Alternative for an Order Compelling Answers; Requ...

Excerpt: ...lement to judgment on the Plaintiffs' Complaint. Specifically, Defendant's evidence demonstrates that liability is barred by the immunity provisions of Gov. Code §831.8 and that Defendant did not own or control the subject drain, roadway, or the shoulder separating the two. The burden then shifts to Plaintiffs to demonstrate the existence of disputed issues of material fact that defeat judgment in Defendant's favor. While Plaintiffs have provide...

Excerpt: ...sel, class representative, third‐party administrator), preliminary approval of settlement, and approval of a PAGA portion. Since the last hearing, plaintiff has addressed the concerns raised by this Court, including payment of the $75 filing fee per § 2699.3(a)(1)(B), submission of the actual proposed settlement to the LWDA per §2699(l)(3), and provision of a conformed copy of the complaint to the LWDA within 10 days of filing per §2699(l)(1...

Excerpt: ...ice staff in failing to provide a conformed copy of the complaint to the LWDA within 10 days of filing per §2699(l)(1). This Court will forgive the error since no prejudice is shown. Plaintiff has provided the requested information supporting the request for reimbursement of litigation costs, as well as a declaration from plaintiff supporting his request for an enhancement. Since plaintiff actually attended the mediation, his request for $7,500....

Excerpt: ...y “first look” at the records and authority to redact as warranted. The motion is in essence a CCP §1008 request for reconsideration of that 06/08/21 order, and shall be viewed as such. A motion for reconsideration is only timely if presented “within 10 days after service upon the party of written notice of entry of the order,” subject to challenge. CCP §1008(a). There is no notice of entry in this Court's registry, and no evidence of a...

Excerpt: ...pposed demurrer to plaintiff's complaint, which does not effectively state any cause of action. The demurrer is SUSTAINED with 20 days leave to amend. Injunctive relief is not itself a cause of action, but rather a remedy attendant a properly‐framed substantive claim. Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. Superior Court (2020) 54 Cal.App.5th 356, 384‐ 385. The pleading here might be one for declaratory relief pursuant to CCP §1060, or...

Excerpt: ...e Court notes that even if this were not a wrongful death case, the allegations that Ms. Morgan drove “with a measurable amount of alcohol” in her system are insufficent. A measurable amount of alcohol could be 0.01%, which would not constitute the sort of behavior that merits punitive damages. ...

Excerpt: ...ed. While this was previously sufficient inandof itself to seek withdrawal, the current rule requires counsel to “given the client a reasonable warning after the breach that the lawyer will withdraw unless the client fulfills the agreement or performs the obligation.” Compare CRPC 3‐700(C)(1)(f) with CRPC Rule 1.16(b)(5). There is no statement regarding client consent or proposed order with the motion. See CRC 3.1362(c) and (e). Motion DENI...

Excerpt: ...nopposed demurrer to plaintiff's pleading, which defendant describes as a disguised writ of mandate. The demurrer is SUSTAINED with 20 days leave to amend. Injunctive relief is not itself a cause of action, but rather a remedy attendant a properly‐framed substantive claim. Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. Superior Court (2020) 54 Cal.App.5th 356, 384‐385. The pleading here might be one for declaratory relief pursuant to CCP §1060...

Excerpt: ...ng the principal record of transactions between a debtor and creditor arising out of a contractual relationship between the two. CCP §337a. Defendant filed an answer denying all allegations of wrongdoing, and asserting a number of defenses to the debt – including at its core that she did not request or “accept” the credit card. There is no opposition filed to the motion. The moving papers do appear to have been mail ‐served on defense co...

Excerpt: ... Motion to Strike Portions of First Amended Complaint; e) DMC Defendants' Demurrer to First Amended Complaint; f) Hospitalists of Modesto Medical Group Inc., Arun Monoharan MD, and Li Huang, MD's Demurrer to Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint – This is a business dispute between an oncologist and the hospital with which is works. The operative pleading is the First Amended Complaint filed 11/15/21, which includes eight (8) causes of action aga...

Excerpt: ...y be set aside on grounds implicating the validity of the sister‐state judgment (CCP §1710.40), and CCP §473.5 is generally inapplicable to motions attacking domestication of a sister‐state judgment. See Conseco Marketing, LLC v. IFA & Insurance Services, Inc. (2013) 221 Cal.App.4th 831, 844; Airlines Reporting Corp. v. Renda (2009) 177 Cal.App.4th 14, 21. However, before drilling down into the merits, this Court notes that there is no proo...

Excerpt: ...7 (hereinafter “Pena”). Pena is a class action lawsuit against the same defendant, based on the same wage/hour violations. A PAGA cause of action was added to that case on 01/07/22. The case at bar is not a class action, but instead a straight PAGA action. The case at bar was filed 12/07/21 – after Pena was commenced but before the PAGA cause of action was added. Courts wrestling with this issue have looked to pleas in abatement, the policy...

Excerpt: ...successful Vietnamese farmers), Harpreet Dhaliwal (gas station operations), and Amanda Bui (attorney and investment advisor). The “defendant group” includes Nirmal Singh (successful businessman), his long‐standing attorneys, and various persons/entities associated with his business. Before the Court this day is the continued hearing on defendants' special motion to strike seven of the eight causes of action in the Master Complaint. As previ...

Excerpt: ...w regarding the sufficiency of the allegations set forth in the complaint. The challenge is limited to the “four corners” of the pleading (which includes exhibits attached and incorporated therein), or from matters outside the pleading which are judicially noticeable. The complaint is read as a whole. Material facts properly pleaded are assumed true, but contentions, deductions or conclusions of fact/law are not. In general, a pleading is ade...

Excerpt: ...e accident. The motion to quash is DENIED, but a protective order is GRANTED limiting the reach of the subpoenas to just five years pre‐ accident. Plaintiff's request for sanctions is DENIED because the demand to limit the records to “parts of the body” impacted is not reasonable given the type of injuries claimed, and a good faith meet and confer (CCP §§ 1987.1, 1985.3, 2017.020, 2025.420(a)) should have led to some resolution without ju...

Excerpt: ...or negligence, fail to state facts sufficient to state a cause of action. Undue influence requires: i) the existence of a confidential or fiduciary relationship between the testator and the person alleged to have exerted undue influence; ii) active participation by such person in preparation or execution of the testamentary instrument; and iii) an undue benefit to such person or another person under the testamentary instrument thus procured. (Est...

Excerpt: ... a traditional writ of mandate under CCP §1085. Traditional mandamus is used to review adjudicatory decisions made without conducting evidentiary hearings required by law. Scott B. v. Board of Trustees of Orange County High School of Arts (2013) 217 Cal.App.4 th 117, 122‐124. It is most commonly used to compel an agency to exercise either a ministerial, or a discretionary, duty. See Keyes v. Bowen (2010) 189 Cal.App.4 th 647, 657‐ 661. An ac...

Excerpt: ...�Doe” and seeking leave to amend the pleading with that party's true name. CCP §474. Ignorance relates to either the defendant's identity (his name) or the capacity/manner in which the defendant may be responsible for the wrongdoing described in the operative pleading. McOwen v. Grossman (2007) 153 Cal.App.4 th 937, 942‐943. Ignorance as to “who” or “in what capacity” must be real, not feigned. See A.N. v. County of Los Angeles (2009...

Excerpt: ...d as follows: Delores Gates (hereinafter “decedent”) was an 88 year‐old elderly woman afflicted with dementia, and residing full‐time at defendant's senior memory care facility in Modesto since the summer of 2019. On the evening of 05/06/20, staff members applied a prescription lice treatment to decedent's scalp in the hopes of eradicating an on‐going (at recurring) lice infestation. The topical treatment was to have been rinsed out tha...

Excerpt: ...ital, so how could the allegations have merit? But an MSJ may be granted on legal or factual findings that a reasonable party might contest. Further, in this case, much of Plaintiff's evidence was stricken for lack of authentication; it is not clear from the record before the Court that the case was plainly frivolous or completely without merit. If the motion to tax were reached, the Court has substantial concerns that the claims for some of thes...

Excerpt: ...ses that are the subject of the instant motion. The failure to comply with this requirement constitutes a sufficient ground for denial of the motion, in the Court's discretion. (Mills v. U.S. Bank (2008) 166 Cal.App.4th 871, 892.) Nevertheless, Defendants have acknowledged that supplemental responses and production of documents are necessary and indicates that the same are in the process of being provided. Therefore, the hearing is continued and ...

Excerpt: ...each of a mandatory duty under Govt. Code §815.6. Public employee liability is limited by statute, and 815.6 specifies that liability only attaches to public entities. Individuals are not public entities. See Govt. Code §811.2. This is further evident from Govt. Code §820.4 [public employees not liable for failing to enforce laws], §821 [public employees not liable for failing to enforce enactments], and §822.2 [public employees not liable f...