Excerpt: ... to Form Interrogatories, Set One, from Defendant Kooger Farms, LLC and Conditional Request for Sanctions in the Sum of $1,050; d) Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Further Responses to Form Interrogatories, Set One, from J. Jesus Munoz Velasco and Conditional Request for Sanctions in the Sum of $1,050 – a) – d) – MOOT as to all issues raised except whether surveillance recordings of Plaintiff are to be immediately produced to Plaintiff. As to t...

Excerpt: ...trating on the basis of all the moving papers, declarations and evidence that there is no triable issue at to any material fact with respect to each and every cause of action in Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint, and that therefore SSH is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c(c), (b)(3); Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (2001) 25 Cal.4th 826, 850; Kojababian v. Genuine Home Loans, Inc. (2009) 174 Cal.App.4th 408 [p...

Excerpt: ...strating that both the convenience of witnesses and the ends of justice will be promoted by the requested change. (Pearson v. Superior Court (1962) 199 Cal.App.2d 69.) Even if the motion were procedurally proper at this juncture, it appears that Defendant's request does not establish that a transfer is warranted in this instance. ...

Excerpt: ...ction is valid. Indeed, Defendant's own citation of Palm Springs Villas II Homeowners Assn., Inc. v. Parth (2016) 248 Cal.App.4th 268 recognized there is a split of authority as to whether duplication alone is a valid basis for general demurrer. (Palm Springs Villas II Homeowners Assn., Inc., supra, 248 Cal.App.4th at 290, fn. 12, citing Blickman Turkus, LP v. MF Downtown Sunnyvale, LLC (2008) 162 Cal.App.4th 858, 889–890 [“BTC went on to arg...

Excerpt: ...mount. Supplying responses after the motion is filed does not moot the issue of monetary sanctions. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.290(b); Code Civ. Proc., § 2023.030; Sinaiko Healthcare Consulting, Inc. v. Pacific Healthcare Consultants (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 390. Weil & Brown, Cal. Prac. Guide Civ. Pro. Before Trial Ch. 8F-7, § 8:1136 [The motion to compel may be heard even if tardy responses are served after the motion is filed. Unless the propou...

Excerpt: ...ity with regard to the claim of negligence herein and that there are no issues of material fact with respect thereto. (Gov. Code §§844.6, 845.6; Castaneda v. Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation (2013) 212 Cal.App.4 th 1051.) Further, in the absence of any opposition, Plaintiffs have failed to offer evidence which raises a triable issue of material fact in that regard. Therefore, the motion is granted and judgment shall be entered in favo...

Excerpt: ...aims as well as a waiver of Civil Code section 1542. (Exhibit U to Defendant's Compendium of Evidence.) This language contained in the general release is plain on its face. Plaintiff argues that the release is invalid and unenforceable because she did not believe she was releasing and waiving all previous acts of discrimination, harassment and retaliation. She contends that there must be independent evidence, separate and apart from the release i...

Excerpt: ...hese motions were last before the Court in December 2020. While some issues remain outstanding, it appears that they may not survive the taking of two depositions. Accordingly, this Court orders that Travelers Insurance shall produce the person or persons most knowledgeable, as noticed in Core Brands' Third Amended Notice, for deposition by February 15, 2021. Travelers and Modesto City Schools are entitled to object to questions asked in the cour...

Excerpt: ...San Diego v. Gorham (2010) 186 Cal.App.3d 147, 158). In addition, Code of Civil Procedure section 128, subdivision (a)(8), gives the Court the ability to “amend and control its process and orders so as to make them conform to law and justice.” See, e.g., Amtower v. Photon Dynamics, Inc. (2008) 158 Cal.App.4th 1582; Venice Canals Resident Home Owners Assn. v. Superior Court (1977) 72 Cal.App.3d 675. Equity and justice requires that this judgme...

Excerpt: ...tance, that any allegations that are not legal conclusions are denied. Finally, the argument that Defendants' affirmative defenses are not true is not an appropriate claim for this stage of the proceedings, when the Court is required to accept the allegations of the challenged pleading as true, except insofar as they are obviously untrue on their face or as demonstrated by facts of which the Court may take judicial notice. The Court further notes...

Excerpt: ...tiffs as a matter of law. The Court finds that the Defendant has met its burden with regard to the First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth Causes of Action at issue herein. (The Third Cause of Action will be discussed below.) The burden then shifts to Plaintiffs to produce admissible evidence demonstrating the existence of a triable issue of material fact. (Code Civ. Proc. §437c(p)(2).) The Court finds that Plaintiffs have met that burden with regard t...

Excerpt: ...t. (Code Civ. Proc. §437c(p)(2).) The Court finds that Plaintiffs have failed to meet their burden in this regard, specifically with regard to the element of causation. Despite submission of an expert declaration, Plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate the existence of a material factual dispute as to whether Dr. Barandica's acts and/or omissions during his care and treatment of the patient constituted a substantial factor in the patient's injuri...

Excerpt: ...led to demonstrate that the arbitration provisions were intended to convey a benefit to Defendant. Lastly, Defendant has not demonstrated that the allegations against it are so intertwined with the contract between Plaintiff and her non- signatory employer, who is not a party herein, that arbitration should be compelled under the doctrine of equitable estoppel. ...

Excerpt: ... Expectations, as enacted by the City and made applicable to the construction of single-family residences. This failure constitutes an abuse of discretion in the City's approval of Mr. Noordeweir's applications in April and June of 2020. Therefore, the Court finds that the requested writ of mandate should issue and the City should be directed to comply with the subject procedure in connection with Mr. Noordeweir's applications. In view of the Cou...

Excerpt: ... Based upon review of the moving and supporting papers, the Court finds that the allegations in the Complaint are insufficient to support a claim for punitive damages, and the motion is GRANTED as to such allegations and the prayer for punitive damages. However, it appears that Plaintiff may be able to assert additional facts in support of his claim in this regard. Therefore, Plaintiff shall file his First Amended Complaint within 20 days. Furthe...

Excerpt: ... in the action. (Nelson v. Anderson (1999) 72 Cal.App.4 th 111, 131; Oak Grove School Dist. V. City Title Ins. Co. (1963) 217 Cal.App.2d 678, 698.) The Court further finds that Plaintiffs have offered adequate substantiation as to certain of the challenged costs but have failed to offer adequate substantiation as to other challenged costs. The Court acts within its discretion in determining whether costs are excessive and should be reduced. (Levy...

Excerpt: ... is entitled to an order compelling Ms. Lebow to provide answers, without objection, to Form Interrogatories, Set One, within 30 days of service of notice of entry of the Court's order. With regard to the motion concerning Plaintiff's Request for Admissions, Set One, however, the Court finds that the subject discovery did not contain the proper caption and was not directed to Ms. Lebow as a defendant in the instant case. Therefore, the motion is ...

Excerpt: ...ifies as the prevailing party for the purposes of recovering her fees under the Court's holding in Santisas v. Goodin (1998) 17 Cal.4 th 599. While the Court recognizes that the voluntary dismissal of the action does not confer prevailing party status on Defendant on the contract claims under Civ. Code §1717(b)(3), the tort and contract claims arise from common issues, such that they are intertwined and apportionment is not feasible or necessary...

Excerpt: ... unjust hardship. To the contrary this is a straightforward business dispute arising from the alleged breach of an insurance agency contract. Accordingly, paragraphs 57, 58, 59, 65, 66 and 79 of the Complaint and items 3 and 4 of Plaintiffs' prayer for relief are stricken. ...

Excerpt: ...monstrate that the agreement is unenforceable due to unconscionability. The Court does find some measure of procedural unconscionability inherent in the mandatory nature of the agreement. However, the Court finds that any surprise claimed by Plaintiff in connection with Defendant's efforts to compel his claims to arbitration are primarily the result of his failure to read the arbitration agreement before executing the same. Such failure does not ...

Excerpt: ...roperty a lessee is using as a residence, and Plaintiffs were not using this property as a residence, but essentially as a storage area / museum. As Defendants argue, the lease was more in the nature of a commercial lease than a residential lease. However, Plaintiffs argue in their opposition to the demurrer that the unlawful detainer action utilized by Defendants here applied only to a trailer on the property, and not to the storage area / museu...

Excerpt: ...l, or when the proposal was accepted so as to complete the formation of the contract. Defendant is correct that this matters in light of the applicable statute of limitations. The Court finds that the allegations of the second and fourth causes of action are sufficiently alleged so as to state causes of action. The First Amended Complaint alleges that Defendant Rogers was a party to the alleged contract and received a benefit from Plaintiff's wor...

Excerpt: ...t or its covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The demurrer is also sustained as to the twenty-first cause of action, for professional malpractice, which is duplicative of the fifteenth cause of action for professional negligence. The Court does not grant leave to amend as to these causes of action. The demurrer is otherwise overruled. These defendants argue that they cannot be held liable for injuries allegedly inflicted on plaintiff is his o...

Excerpt: ...mely submitted (Code Civ. Proc. §2025.410(a)), did not state valid legal grounds for the refusal to appear, and Defendant has not sought a protective order, which requires a noticed motion. (Code Civ. Proc. §2025.420(a); see St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Superior Court (1984) 156 Cal.App.3d 82.) Therefore, Plaintiff is entitled to an order compelling the appearance of Defendant's Person Most Knowledgeable as to the designated subjects of e...

Excerpt: ... Development Agency, while in the pending arbitration she represents no one but herself. As the Court of Appeal held recently in Jaboe v. Hanlees Auto Group (2020) 53 Cal.App.5 th 539, 557: “Because a PAGA claim is representative and does not belong to an employee individually, an employer should not be able dictate how and where the representative action proceeds.” Nor has Defendant demonstrated that abatement is appropriate. A review of the...