Excerpt: ...intiff, and administration costs of $25,000.00 to the settlement administrator Simpluris, Inc., thus leaving a net settlement fund of $1,237,209.00. The average estimated individual settlement share is $337.26, and the highest estimated individual settlement share is $9,185.13. Simpluris Declaration, paragraph 10. The settlement approval in class action settlements requires three distinct steps: (1) Preliminary Approval of the proposed settlement...

Excerpt: ...Court further finds that no meet and confer was required between the parties where, at the time of filing the motion, no responses had been provided by Plaintiff/Cross Defendant. (See Dmyer v. Costa Mesa Mobile Home Estates (1995) 36 Cal.App.4th 393, 395; St. Mary v. Superior Court (2014) 223 Cal.App.4th 762, 777‐778). Since the filing and service of the instant motion Plaintiff/Cross Defendant has filed and served Responses to said Request for...

Excerpt: ...sition to the Motion for Summary Judgment/Adjudication: 1. Lewis declaration, paragraph 25: Sustained, hearsay. 2. Lewis declaration, paragraph 27: Overruled, relevant to the effect on the listener. 3. Price declaration, paragraph 22: Sustained, hearsay. 4. Price declaration, paragraph 24: Overruled, relevant to the effect on the listener. 5. Sustained. 6. Sustained. 7. Overruled. The Court will consider the late‐filed declaration. This case wa...

Excerpt: ...embers so noticed. Based on the Petition and the Declaration of Ron Clark, the Court has weighed all the factors required to grant the relief requested and finds the revised CC&R's to be reasonable and all factors sufficiently met. (Civ. Code, § 4275(c)(1)‐(6)) In Fourth La Costa Condominium Owners Assn. v. Seith (2008) 159 Cal.App.4th 563, the Court found that the predecessor statute to section 4275 was designed to assist homeowners' associat...

Excerpt: ...l originated from Plaintiff's work as an anesthesiologist with Memorial Medical Center. The Court also finds that Plaintiff's employment with Memorial Medical Center is so interwoven with his employment contract with Gould Medical Group that Plaintiff cannot be reinstated with Memorial Medical Center without being reinstated with Gould Medical Group. Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiff's claim for reinstatement with Gould Medical Group is...

Excerpt: ...has failed to meet his burden in this regard. Specifically, Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate the existence of a material factual dispute with regard to (1) his independent contractor status as defined by the factors set forth in Labor Code §2750.5, or (2) Defendant's alleged retained control over the work. Therefore the Court finds that Defendant has established the absence of liability for Plaintiff's claimed injuries in this context as a ma...

Excerpt: ... substance of the objection, and whether the objection relates specifically only to allegations made in the supplement. In fact, respondent does not indicate when the supplement was even filed. It appears that no actual “supplement” was filed. An attorney declaration was filed on March 16, 2022, attaching Exhibits A through D, which were missing from the original petition. The objection is as to several paragraphs of the “supplement” (i.e...

Excerpt: ...y Process – DENIED; c) Defendant City of Oakdale's Motion to Compel Responses and Further Responses to Plaintiff Fernando Jaquez's Responses to Special Interrogatories, Set One; Motion for Monetary Sanctions for Misuse of the Discovery Process – DENIED; d) Defendant City of Oakdale's Motion to Compel Further Responses to Plaintiff Fernando Jaquez's Responses to Request for Admissions, Set One; Motion for Monetary Sanctions for Misuse of the D...

Excerpt: ...inancial information is only discoverable when such information is directly relevant to the issues of the ongoing litigation or essential to the fair resolution of the lawsuit. Britt v. Superior Court (1978) 20 Cal. 3d 844, 859. Specifically, as to Special Interrogatories 87 – 119, Requests for Admission 14 and 15, and Requests for Production 51 – 59, which concern loans between Moody and the Sandhu defendants, this information is not directl...

Excerpt: ...A motion for judgment on the pleadings has the same function as a general demurrer but can be made after the time for demurrer has expired. Pursuant to CCP Section 439, before filing a motion for judgment on the pleadings the moving party shall meet and confer with the party who filed the pleading for the purpose of determining if an agreement can be reached that resolves the claims to be raised in the motion. Defense counsel has shown that he me...

Excerpt: ...cks standing, he cannot state a claim for violation of the Act, and therefore granting Plaintiffs the ability to amend the complaint would be futile. Initially, the Court notes that it GRANTS Defendant's request for judicial notice of the Retail Instalment Sales Contract (RISC) and vehicle registration card in this matter. Plaintiffs did not oppose the Defendant's request for judicial notice and the RISC, most importantly, establishes that Plaint...

Excerpt: .... Price declaration, paragraph 22: Sustained, hearsay. 4. Price declaration, paragraph 24: Overruled, relevant to the effect on the listener. 5. Sustained. 6. Sustained. 7. Overruled. The Court will consider the late‐filed declaration. This case was originally filed in Fresno County in November, 2018. A First Amended Complaint was filed on February 26, 2020. In this case, Plaintiffs Lewis and Price allege that they worked for Defendant through ...

Excerpt: ...erplate is one non‐frivolous contention: that the declarations contain insufficient foundational basis for the attached exhibits. However, the declarants aver familiarity with the subjects of the declarations, including how the systems work, which is sufficient. Plaintiff alleges that she would not have entered the arbitration agreement with Lyft had she known, and does not think that she actually did. To the contrary, Lyft provides evidence th...

Excerpt: ...ne's December 2019 decision includes a finding that MID's 2016 rates were “unlawful” – “the Court has not determined whether MID's electric rates exceeded its costs”. Obviously, both statements cannot be true. In the Court's view, Judge Beauchesne's decision did conclude that MID's rates were unlawful – and constitute an improper tax. While Judge Beauchesne mentioned two specific facts in support of this conclusion – a reported $2.6...

Excerpt: ...rt or through deliberate avoidance of service on Defendant's part. Plaintiff's late‐filed opposition contains no admissible evidence that Defendant's address was as asserted. Plaintiff's counsel declares that an investigator did research, but does not identify the investigator or the research. If it did include that information, it would be hearsay. Plaintiff's assertion that unrepresented parties should be treated the same as represented parti...

Excerpt: ...n (15) days of signing same but failed to do so thereby breaching said agreement. The Court further finds that Plaintiff waived said breach by subsequently arranging with Defendant to retrieve said items on 9/15/22 (Whitney Inv. Co. v. Westview Dev. Co, (1969) 273 Cal. App. 2d 594). Accordingly, on 9/15/22 P should have delivered all items agreed upon in 2.e.1‐8 of said Settlement Agreement to Defendant. The Court also finds that under said Set...

Excerpt: ...e Code Section 1304(a). Samuel Orozco et al.'s Petition for Order Construing Trust Instrument, Determining Rights and Powers, Ascertaining Beneficiaries, Instructing Trustee, Quieting Title and Removing Trustee (“The Petition for Order Construing Trust Instrument”) is appealable under Probate Code Sections 1303(f) and 1304(a). Samuel Orozco et al.'s Petition for Removal of Henry Orozco as Personal Representative of the Estate of Guadalupe Oro...

Excerpt: ...in respect of Lara 1, as well as in respect of the Dismissal with Prejudice subsequently filed therein. (Probate Code § 50, Garcia v. Rehrig Int'l, Inc., (2002) 99 Cal. App. 4th 869). The Court further finds that Plaintiff's claims herein are precluded by the Settlement Agreement and dismissal with prejudice entered in Lara 1. Plaintiffs herein cannot state facts sufficient to constitute a case of action as they are estopped from doing so. As it...

Excerpt: ...ms related to the buyers' purchase of the property, including those against the broker; (2) all claims related to the deposits/holdbacks that were part of the purchase of the property; and (3) all claims related to the purchase contract and SIP (“Seller License to Remain in Possession Addendum”) between the Trust and the buyers pursuant to the Court‐approved settlement agreement. Motion, page 12, lines 6 – 9. Plaintiff argues that the Com...

Excerpt: ...arty, the court may grant leave to complete discovery closer to the initial trial date or to reopen discovery after a new trial date has been set. The date initially set for trial was October 4, 2022, so discovery originally closed on September 4, 2022, and the last day to hear a discovery motion was September 19, 2022. However, plaintiff filed an ex parte application to continue the trial date and “related dates thereto”. In the ex parte app...

Excerpt: ...September 9, 2022 minute order requiring Plaintiff to retain a lawyer and file a First Amended Complaint by November 7, 2022, in the absence of which Plaintiff was required to provide a declaration under penalty of perjury explaining the basis of said failure. Plaintiff has failed to retain a lawyer, failed to file a First Amended Complaint and failed to provide an explanatory declaration. Accordingly, Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is hereby GRAN...

Excerpt: ...o be premature for failure to participate in mediation and for failure to demonstrate good faith participation in the arbitration ordered by the Court in its minute order of January 3, 2022. (Weiler v. Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, Inc (2018) 22 Cal. App. 5th 970, 981.) Should Plaintiff subsequently elect to refile the instant application, the Court will require Plaintiff to demonstrate the inability of Plaintiff's estate to...

Excerpt: ...e service payment of $10,000.00. The average payment to participating class members is estimated to be $4,603.25, with the highest payment being $9,830.46. The attorney's fees of $166,666.67 are reasonable. This represents one third of the gross settlement amount, which is a standard benchmark in California for class action settlements. Chavez v. Netflix, Inc. (2008) 162 Cal. App. 4th 43, 66, fn. 11. One‐third of the total settlement amount is ...

Excerpt: ...iew of Estrada, supra, in June 2022, explicitly allowing the opinion to continue to be cited both for persuasive value and for the limited purposed of establishing the existence of a conflict in authority which supports the exercise of the trial courts' discretion under Auto Equity Sales, Inc. v. Superior Court (1962) 57 Cal.2d 450, 456 to choose between sides of such a conflict. (See Standing Order Exercising Authority Under California Rules of ...

Excerpt: ...o not apply to page length restrictions, that pages 5‐21 are a one‐page overage. In fact, they are a two‐page overage, as 17 pages is two pages more than 15 pages. I note that simply subtracting the page numbers – like subtracting days or other countable numbers – gives an answer that is one off. I intend the sanction as educational. I would surely have granted additional pages had I been asked to do so. Flouting the Rules of Court is n...

Excerpt: ... considered sanctioning Plaintiff's counsel for its efforts to put before this court the unpublished rulings from other trial courts in clear violation of Rule of Court 8.1115. The Court has an affirmative obligation to deter rules violations and will be dismayed if this effort to do so is unheeded. (See TBG Ins. Service Corp. v. Superior Court (2002) 96 Cal.App.4th 443, 447, fn2.) The Court has authority to determine arbitrability. (Sargon Enter...

Excerpt: ...the Court granted Plaintiff's Motion to Deem Requests for Admission Admitted as to Angels Crossing. As a result of the Court's ruling Angels Crossing is deemed to have admitted that as the owner of the subject properties it is obligated to pay the special taxes, that it has not paid any of the special taxes, that the special taxes for tax years 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 have not been paid, and that the special taxes are delinquent. There are no Iss...

Excerpt: ...d severally. The fact that World International is no longer represented by counsel is not a reason to cause the Court to delay in making its ruling, because the Court has given World International sufficient warning and time to obtain new counsel and/or to request a continuance of the hearing. On October 6, 2022, the Court granted defendant World International's counsel's Motion to be Relieved as Counsel. Carmen Millan, an accountant for World In...

Excerpt: ... a material factual dispute preventing judgment thereon. Plaintiff has failed to carry this burden. Specifically, Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that the additional insured endorsement for completed operations coverage in the 2010‐2012 policies covered Plaintiff's insured, since the definition of an additional insured under that endorsement and the related schedule requires reference to the terms of the subcontract between the parties' ins...

Excerpt: ...al facts are in dispute. The fact that World International is no longer represented by counsel is not a reason for the Court to delay in making its ruling, because the Court has given World International sufficient warning and time to obtain new counsel and/or to request a continuance of the hearing. On October 6, 2022, the Court granted defendant World International's counsel's Motion to be Relieved as Counsel. Carmen Millan, an accountant for W...

Excerpt: ... Southwest made a global settlement proposal on March 8, 2021. Cohen Declaration, Exhibit A, pages 7 and 22. In an e‐mail dated March 9, 2021, Alamo and APMI agreed to the amounts, and proposed that there be a time limit to receive the settlement checks and an enforcement mechanism under CCP Section 664.6. Id. at page 19. Southwest agreed to this in an e‐mail of March 9, 2021, but then stated that Mr. Goldstein had to confirm his clients' (Dr...

Excerpt: ... Defendant Lodi Memorial Hospital Association Inc dba Adventist Health Lodi Memorials' Motion to Strike Portions of the Complaint – MOOT. a) The Court finds the allegations of the First Cause of Action for Elder Abuse are insufficient at the pleading stage to state the challenged cause of action. In addition, the First Cause of Action for Elder Abuse is uncertain in that the Complaint does not distinguish between the two named defendants with r...

Excerpt: ...properly propounded Form Interrogatories, Set One and Requests for Production of Documents Set One constitutes misuse of the discovery process and warrants discovery sanctions. (Miranda v. 21st Century Ins. Co. (2004), 117 Cal.App.4th 913). The Court also finds, considering the length of time over which Defendant has willfully failed to comply with the Court's order (5 months), that lesser sanctions would be ineffective. (Department of Forestry &...

Excerpt: ...) The liability of a public entity established by this part (commencing with Section 814) is subject to any immunity of the public entity provided by statute, including this part, and is subject to any defenses that would be available to the public entity if it were a private person. Government entity liability for premises liability and the dangerous condition of public property is governed by Government Code Section 835, which provides as follo...

Excerpt: ... submit admissible evidence demonstrating the existence of a material factual dispute preventing judgment thereon. Cross‐Complainant has failed to carry this burden. Specifically, the undisputed evidence demonstrates that Cross‐Defendants complied with the requirements of the parties' agreement with regard to the provision of general liability insurance covering Cross‐Complainant as an additional insured. Therefore, Cross‐Complainant cann...

Excerpt: ...sition Testimony and Request for Sanctions – DENIED, without prejudice; d) Cross‐Defendants Staffing Solutions, Inc. and Balance Staffing Workforce LLC's Motion to Compel Attendance of Deposition and Testimony of Gailann Stargardter – DENIED. (a) The motion demonstrates insufficient efforts to meet and confer with opposing counsel in good faith toward an informal resolution of the stated issues. (Code Civ. Proc. §2025.420(a).) Discovery is...

Excerpt: ...errupted possession, hostile to the true owner and under a claim of title for 5 years. (Sevier v. Locher (1990) 222 Cal App. 3d 1082 citing Gilardi v. Hallam (1981) 30 Cal. 3d 317, 321). The Court further finds that the defects in Plaintiff's pleadings are incurable at present as Plaintiff is no longer in possession of the subject property and the delinquent property taxes have been paid by Defendant. Defendant's demurrer is hereby accordingly su...

Excerpt: ...ourt's jurisdiction with regard to party applications for reconsideration or renewal. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1008(c).) Second, the Court's inherent power to reconsider its own rulings and decisions sua sponte does not survive entry of judgment and finality. (APRI Ins. Co. v. Superior Court (1999) 76 Cal.App.4th 176, 181 [court loses jurisdiction to rule on a pending motion for reconsideration after entry of judgment and it is immaterial that the mo...

Excerpt: ...urt explicitly finds that Plaintiff Harpreet Dhaliwal's opposition to this motion to compel was unjustified. As evidenced by Plaintiff's provision of further responses to the requests for production on October 12, 2022, it is clear that Plaintiff's original responses were inadequate and not code‐ compliant. While the Court appreciates Plaintiff's willingness to admit as much and provide supplemental responses, where a motion to compel is necess...

Excerpt: ...five years of the seizure of the property. On October 19, 2021, the Court granted the People's discovery motions, including the Motion to Deem Requests for Admission admitted. Motion, Exhibit B. Pursuant to this Order, Mr. Cruz has admitted that the money at issue was furnished or intended to be furnished by a person in exchange for a controlled substance within five years of the date of its seizure, that the money is proceeds traceable to an exc...

Excerpt: ...es a non‐ parent. …a trial court has the responsibility to protect the rights of a minor who is a litigant in court, and in this role the court has the inherent authority to make decisions in the best interests of the child, even if the parent objects. This judicial protection of minors encompasses a court's authority to select a guardian ad litem who is not the parent or general guardian. Williams v. Superior Ct. (2007) 147 Cal. App. 4th 36,...

Excerpt: ... contain new or different facts which could not with reasonable diligence have been presented at the trial of the action. The moving party must provide a satisfactory explanation for the failure to produce the evidence at an earlier time. CCP Section 1008; Shiffer v. CVS Corp. (2015) 240 Cal. App. 4th 246, 255. Mr. Orozco states that the new evidence and facts include 15 confirmed documented instances of false and contradictory trial testimony, n...

Excerpt: ...g proposed to be filed therein, otherwise the application shall not be granted, and shall be made within a reasonable time, in no case exceeding six months, after the judgment, dismissal, order, or proceeding was taken. The Motion was not timely filed by Project‐Mate, Inc. On September 13, 2021, Project‐Mate, Inc. filed a Request for Dismissal of the Cross‐Complaint it had filed on March 10, 2021. Even if Project‐Mate, Inc. could show tha...

Excerpt: ...ce of Motion, was filed on August 23, 2022. Counsel for Defendants declaration attaches exhibits that only unilaterally confirm an extension on the forty‐five (45) time limit to compel further responses applicable to both motions through July 28, 2022. Even then, a stipulation to extend the 45 day time limit “on or before any specific later date to which the propounding party and the responding party have agreed in writing.” (Code Civ. Proc...

Excerpt: ...1, Defendant shall accordingly provide further substantive responses to same. Plaintiff's request for further responses to Form Interrogatory 17.1 is hereby denied for failure to comply with California Rule of Court 3.1345(c)(5) Plaintiff did not include in the accompanying separate statement, Defendant's verbatim responses to Plaintiff's request for admissions. Monetary sanctions of $1460 are awarded against Defendant and his Counsel of record G...

Excerpt: ...ering claim generally seen in a personal injury case. However, the Court is mindful of the law's protection of a plaintiff's privacy interest in records reflecting physical or mental conditions unrelated to the issues in the subject suit and of the Court's duty to balance the respective rights of the parties in this situation to reach a proper resolution of the issue. Therefore, the Court finds that the scope of the subject subpoena should be lim...

Excerpt: ...ion, within 15 days. (Code Civ. Proc. §§2030.290(b), 2031.300(b).) 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, necessitating this motion. (Code Civ. Proc. §§2030.290(c), 2031.300(c), 2023.010(d), 2023.030(a); Cal. Rules of Ct., rule 3.1348(a).) Therefore, monetary sanctions in the amount of $235 are awarded against Plaintiff,...

Excerpt: ...n is DENIED as to Issue No.'s 1, 2, and 4, and GRANTED as to Issue No. 3. Defendants' Request for Judicial Notice is granted. Plaintiffs' Evidentiary Objections are sustained as to objections no.'s 2, 5, 10, 49, 55, 56, and 57, and are otherwise overruled. Defendants' Evidentiary Objections are sustained as to objection no.'s 1 and 2 and overruled as to objection no.'s 3 – 11. Issue No. 1 – At the time when the subject accident occurred, defe...

Excerpt: ...CCP Section 386 and Rutter's Guide to Civil Procedure Before Trial, Ch. 2‐F (2019) at 2:470. The fact that plaintiff, by virtue of an attorney lien, may have a right to a portion of the $25,000.00, does not mean that plaintiff can simply deduct the amount it believes it has a right to before interpleading the remaining funds. The amounts which plaintiff and each defendant are entitled to must be determined by the Court. ...

Excerpt: ...arbitration, based on the U.S. Supreme Court's holding in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana (2022) 142 S.Ct. 1906. Therefore, the stay is lifted with regard to that portion of Plaintiff's PAGA claim and the motion is GRANTED in that respect. However, the issue of whether Plaintiff retains any ability to pursue a representative PAGA claim despite the existence of the arbitration agreement appears to be an open question under California law. Th...