Excerpt: ... the amount of $1,060.00 against Defendant and Defendant's Counsel – GRANTED, and unopposed; c) P la in t if f 's M o t io n t o Compel Further Responses to Demand for Production, Set One from Defendant, Mid Valley Agricultural Services, Inc; Request for Sanctions in the amount of $1,060.00 against Defendant and Defendant's Counsel – GRAN TED , a n d unopposed; d) Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Further Responses to Request for Admissions, Set O...

Excerpt: ...f demonstrating that Plaintiff does not possess the evidence to conclusively establish that said asphalt grindings were spilled by an employee/ contractor working on the Teichert / Caltrans Highway 99 jobsite on the date of Plaintiff's accident. (Code of Civil Procedure § 473c; Ag u ila r v . At la n t ic Ric h fie ld Co . , 25 Cal.4th at 850). (Defendants/ Cross Defendant's UMFs Nos. 20 - 23). However, the Court also finds that the available ev...

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: ...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: ...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: ...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: ...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: ...int are subject to the 2 -ye ar lim it a t io n s p e r io d s e t f o r t h in Co d e Civ . P r o c . § 3 3 5 .1 . As the action was filed outside that period, it is time -barre d. Plaintiff contends that she has adequately pleaded late discovery because she did not know how she had been injured until the BBS reports and findings issued in November 2022 . “In order to rely on the discovery rule for delayed accrual of a cause of action, ‘[a]...

Excerpt: ...satisfaction of the Court, the class is certified for settlement purposes only in accordance with Cal. Rules of Ct., rule 3.769(c). Th e class counsel, class representative, and claims administrator are hereby p r e lim in a r ily a p p r oved and appointed as set forth in the motion. The Court sets the following deadlines relative to this matter: 3-26 - 24 Defendant shall provide Class List and Data Report to Administrator 4-5-24 Administrator s...

Excerpt: ...ll Co. v. Cit y of Ana he im ,(1994) 25 Cal. App. 4th 11, 35,); Da rr v. Lone St a r Indust ries , 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 par...

Excerpt: ...finds that the opposing parties have met their burden in this regard. With regard to the existence of a dangerous condition, the opposing evidence demonstrates material factual disputes about the nature and severity of the subject condition which prevent this issue from being adjudicated as a matter of law. (See, at a minimum, Plaintiff's response to UMF 11 and Plaintiff's Additional Facts.) With regard to the issue of notice, the opposing eviden...

Excerpt: ...iate for determination on demurrer. Moreover, the instant demurrer is not the proper procedural vehicle for a challenge to Plaintiffs' ability to claim punitive damages. (See, e.g. Grieves v. Superior Court (Leonard L. Fox) (1984) 157 Cal.App.3d 159, 163.) Defendants' Request for Judicial Notice is GRANTED as to the existence and contents of the subject court records. (Sosinskyv. Grant (1992) 6 Cal.App.4th 1548.) However, the Court finds that the...

Excerpt: ... efforts to meet and confer with regard to the disputed requests. Counsel are reminded that discovery is intended to be self-executing and are instructed to continue to meet and confer in good faith, in person or by telephone, with the goal of narrowing and/or resolving the disputes herein. In addition, the Court recognizes the relevance of the requested discovery with regard to the identification of information and materials concerning other stu...

Excerpt: ...irst Amended Complaint. Therefore, the Court finds that the Second Amended Complaint fails to state facts supporting the 2nd, 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, and causes of action stated therein. With regard to the claims based on Plaintiff's alleged disability, the pleading lacks specific factual allegations establishing that Plaintiff suffered from a condition that constituted a disability, as that concept is defined by FEHA. ...

Excerpt: ...e the above-mentioned procedural deficits, the Court has reviewed the substance of the moton and finds that Plaintiff, as the moving party, has failed to meet her initial burden of demonstrating entitlement to judgment herein. Specifically, expert medical testimony is required to support Plaintiff's claim for medical negligence in this context, and no such testimony has been provided. (Hanson v. Grode (1999) 76 cal.App.4± 601, 605-607.) Further,...

Excerpt: ...esentation that responses would be served no later than 12-15-23; Counsel shall appear to confirm whether this was accomplished. In addition, the Court is inclined to award sanctions against Defendant Craven Farming Company and its counsel in favor of Plaintiff in connection with the instant motion, which appears to have been necessary in order to elicit the required responses. Therefore, sanctions are awarded in the amount of $460, to be paid to...

Excerpt: ...82; Cal. Rules of rule 3.769.) Good cause appearing to the satisfaction of the Court, the Court is inclined to find that the proposed settlement and the associated fees and costs are approved as set forth in the motion and supporting papers, as follows: Fees and costs of Settlement Administrator: $9,500 Payment to Class Representatives: $17,500 PAGA allocation to LWDA (75%): $15,000 Class Counsel's attorney's fees: $325,000 Class Counsel's costs:...

Excerpt: ...scovery Act under which Plaintiff seeks relief in this instance. Moreover, while the Court presumes that Plaintiff may be attempting to obtain an order suppressing the June 2023 deposition pursuant to Code Civ. Proc. S 2025.520(g), Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate the meet-and-confer efforts required by that section. Moreover, the Court questions whether Plaintiff brought the instant motion seasonably, as it appears she delayed in this regard ...

Excerpt: ...bitrate that controversy, the court shall order the petitioner and the respondent to arbitrate the controversy if it determines that an agreement to arbitrate the controversy exists, unless it determines that: (a) The right to compel arbitration has been waived by the petitioner; or (b) Grounds exist for rescission of the agreement." Petitioner Central Valley — Sierra Associates ("CVSA") is correct in contending that there is an overarching lev...

Excerpt: ...law. (Serrano v. Priest (1971) 5 Cal.3d 584, 591.) The Court also considers matters that can be judicially noticed. (Ibid.) The Court sustains the demurrer on the following grounds: (1) Plaintiff has not demonstrated that she complied with the Government Claims Act; (2) the pleading is barred by the statute of limitations; and (3) Defendant Lucas is protected by quasi-judicial immunity with regard to the allegations in the First Amended Complaint...

Excerpt: ...dant Fulmer Pursuant to California EVIDENCE Code Section 1043 - GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. a) Plaintiffs' motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Plaintiffs' motion to compel responsesto the three questions set forth in the notice of motion and motion is GRANTED. Any issues, questions, or "matters of first impression" arising during the meet and confer process which occurred after the Court initially heard the Plaintiffs' motion an...

Excerpt: ...tion of the application of the immunity provided in Civ. Code S 846 (UMFs 21, 24, 25 and Plaintiff's Additional Facts 33-38, 40, 43, 44), she has failed to meet her burden as to Defendant's actual or constructive notice of the allegedly dangerous condition and causation (UMF 9, 26-30). Therefore, the Court finds that Defendant is entitled to judgment in its favor on the grounds that Plaintiff cannot establish these elements of her cause of action...

Excerpt: ...efendant's motion argues that it is not liable to indemnify Cross-Defendant Nicklaus Rey Siguenza because it is not liable to Plaintiff, the fact that the Court concludes Defendant's motion should be denied — with regard to both primary and alternative relief — dispenses with any need to rule directly on issues raised by Defendant's motion as it pertains to Cross-Defendant Siguenza. The Court believes the Plaintiff's evidence of "substantiall...

Excerpt: ...ategories and documents specified in Plaintiff's deposition notice. To the extent that the latter issues are raised bythe instant motion, the Court finds that the motion is premature. In addition, the papers demonstrate insufficient meet-and-confer efforts on those issues. With regard to the scheduling of the deposition itself, the Court notes that the defense has indicated a willingness to produce a qualified witness at a "mutually agreeable dat...

Excerpt: ... are waived. (Code Civ. Proc. S 2031.3W(a).) Moreover, the Court finds that Plaintiff has not complied with the requirements for relief set forth in Code Civ. Prtw S 2031.3W(a). Therefore, Defendant is entitled to an order compelling Plaintiff to provide verified responses, without objection, within 14 days. (CINIe Civ. Proc. S 2031.3w(b).) In addition, the Court finds that Defendant is entitled to an award of monetary sanctions in connection wit...

Excerpt: ...ourt also finds the unanimous rate of participation by class members to be a strong factor in approving this settlement. The Court also finds the awards to the Class Representatives and to the Class Members to be appropriate given all relevant factors of the Settlement. The Court also finds the attorney's fees to be comparable to the award of fees generally issued by California Courts. Therefore, the Class Class Representatives, and Class Counsel...

Excerpt: ...ars to identify factual issues with regard to whether the defect at issue triggered the potential for liability under the notce provisions of Modesto Municipal Code S 7-1.304. (See, e.g. UMF 12, 13, 18, 23-25.) In addition, Defendants' evidence does not support the conclusion that the subject defect was trivial as a matter of law. (See, e.g. UMF 24.) Assuming arguendo that Defendants had met the initial burden of establishing prima facie entitlem...

Excerpt: ...nd Blanca Padilla's Motion to Deem Admitted the Truth of the Matters Asserted in Requests for Admissions; Request for Monetary Sanctions — GRANTED, and unopposed. (a) The Court finds that Plaintiff, Viorica Jerrick, entirely failed to respond to the subject discovery and all objections are waived. (Code Civ. Proc. S 2030.290(a).) Therefore, Defendants are entitled to an order compelling Plaintiff to provide verified responses, without objection...

Excerpt: ..., 1287.4.) In that event, judgment shall be entered in the amount of $4,925 plus interest at 10% per annum from 3-23-23 to the date of judgment. (b) Preliminarily, the Court notes that the “trial” referenced in the instant mo
Ÿon appears to reference the hearing on Pe
Ÿ
Ÿoner's request to conÞrm the contractual arbitra
Ÿon award issued on 2-23-23. In addi
Ÿon, the Court notes that the hearing on the subject pe
Ÿ
Ÿon was previously con...

Excerpt: ...in Department 23; With regard to Special Interrogatories 1, 4, 14, and 16, the Court finds that Defendant has provided Code-compliant responses and no further responses are required. With regard to Special Interrogatories 18 and 19, however, the Court is inclined to find that Defendant is entitled to the requested discovery, provided that the responsive information can be limited to avoid the disclosure of personal identifying information of non-...

Excerpt: ...aintiff's argument that the communications regarding the multiple extensions of time afforded Defendant established Defendant's waiver of objections is not correct; none included an express waiver. (Code Civ. Proc., S 2031.270(c).) Plaintiff's further argument that the initial, objections-only response were tantamount to no response because these were unverified is also incorrect; objections only need be signed by counsel. (Code Civ. Proc., S 203...

Excerpt: ...anted. Responses shall be provided within fifteen (15) days. The request for monetary discovery sanctions is denied without prejudice. The Court finds that a good faith argument regarding the private and/or confidential nature of the discovery sought renders the imposition of discovery sanctions unjust. That said, this is the second motion to compel that Plaintiff's were required to bring and discovery is designed to be self-executing. Repeated d...

Excerpt: ...rt (Cole National Corp.) (2004) 122 Cal.App.4± 1060, 1078.) Plaintiffs' generic reference to the "State of California" does not provide sufficient information to put the relevant agency or department on notce of the claim(s) against it herein. Moreover, Plaintiffs' argument in opposition, i.e., that the subject property is designated as "open irrigated land" under the California Land Conservation Act, appears insufficient to support the purporte...

Excerpt: ... with Cal. Rules of Ct., rule 3.769(c). The class counsel, class representatives, and claims administrator are hereby preliminarily approved and appointed as set forth in the motion. However, the Court is not convinced that the proposed payment structure for enhancement payments to the representative plaintiffs is justified; specifically, the Court does not believe that the moving papers and supporting evidence support the proposed award of $18,5...

Excerpt: ...t 23. The Court notes that the parties' efforts have resulted in Defendant's service of two sets of amended responses to date, the latest of which was provided while the instant motions were pending. Therefore, it appears to the Court that the potential exists for the parties to further narrow and/or resolve the issues presented herein with the pursuit of additional meet-and-confer efforts conducted in faith. The hearing is continued for this pur...

Excerpt: ... the parties and finds that Defendant has not provided sufficient evidence relative to the ownership of the phone account to justify his claim that disclosure will unduly violate the privacy rights of non-parties herein. Nevertheless, the Court acknowledges that Defendant himself likely has some level of privacy interest in the sought-after phone records, butthe motion herein has not sufficiently demonstrated that Defendant's privacy interests ou...

Excerpt: ...al.App.5* 933, 941; Sanchez v. Kern Emergency Medical Transportation Corp. (2017) 8 Cal.App.5* 146, 165.) In this regard, the Court notes that Dr. Chang relies, in part on a purported declaration from Dr. Roubach explaining his choice of an alternative lens during the initial cataract procedure on 2-11-20; however, the information described by Dr. Chang in this regard does not appear in the evidence submitted with the instant motion. In addition,...

Excerpt: ...ly, the motion lacks a discussion of the reasonableness of the proposed settlement as compared to the maximum and practical exposure of Defendant on the claims asserted herein. Likewise, with regard to the PAGA claim, the information provided is insufficient for the Court to determine whether the proposed settlement provides for relief that is genuine, meaningful, and consistent with the State's goal of benefitting the public through enforcement ...

Excerpt: ...d Cause of Acton herein rests on the suffciency of the pleading with regard to the District's alleged violation of the Ralph Civil Rights Act (Civ. Code S 57.1) and the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act (Civ. Code S 52.1). With regard to Defendant's argument that the extended limitations period and revival provisions of Cade Civ. PrcL S 340.1 and the claim exemption provisions of Gov. Code S 905(m) do not apply to the Third Cause of Action herein, the Co...

Excerpt: ...ant are not competitors — in business or any other forum it is decidedly Defendant's burden to demonstrate "good cause" for the AEO designation of any document produced during discovery. If the Defendant's proposed protective order were entered, and Plaintiffs did not "catch" an AEO designation immediately (or later determined a document was improperly designated AEO), that designation would be "final" without any analysis of the "good cause" f...

Excerpt: ... 9th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th causes of achon stated therein. With regard to the claims based on Plaintiff's alleged disability, the pleading lacks specific factual allegations establishing that Plaintiff suffered from a condition that constituted a disability, as that concept is defined by FEHA. In addition, the pleading lacks specific factual allegations of discrimination, retaliation, and harassment arising from Plaintiff's incl...

Excerpt: ...suffcient to enable the district to investigate and settle, if appropriate, Plaintiff's negligence causes of action. (Stockett v. Association of California Water Agencies Joint Powers insurance Authority (2004) 34 Cal.4th 441.) To the extent that the defense arguments herein rely on the assertion that Plaintiff's claim was missing information required by Gov. Code S 910, this consttutes an attack on the claim's sufficiency, which was waived by th...

Excerpt: ...to the subject discovery and all objec
Ÿons have been waived. (Code Civ. Proc. § 2030.290(a).) Therefore, Pe
Ÿ
Ÿoner is en
Ÿtled to an order compelling Ms. Lunardi to provide answers, without objec
Ÿon, to the subject discovery within 30 days. (Code Civ. Proc. § 2030.290(b).) b) The Court Þnds that Real Party in Interest has en
Ÿrely failed to respond to the subject discovery and all objec
Ÿons have been waived (Code Civ. Proc. § 2031....

Excerpt: ... with his claimed injuries, based on the undisputed evidence that Defendant did not own, possess, or exercise control over the property where the injury occurred, nor did Defendant have actual notice of any dangerous condition on the subject adjacent property. The burden then shifts to Plaintiff to produce admissible evidence establishing a material factual dispute preventing judgment against him. In view of the lack of opposition, Plaintiff has ...

Excerpt: ...t-and-confer efforts on the disputed issues in good faith. For example, the Court notes that the parties were able to agree to the terms of a protective order and that Defendant indicated the intenton to produce further documentation pursuant to the same, but it is unclear whether such additional production occurred or whether additional communication was had on those issues. Therefore, the Court believes that, with additional efforts expended in...

Excerpt: ...t the video footage is inconsistent with Cross-Defendant's declara
Ÿon tes
Ÿmony on these issues and does not support her prima facie en
Ÿtlement to judgment. Assuming arguendo that Cross-Defendant fulÞlled her ini
Ÿal burden herein, the burden would then shi
L to Cross-Complainant to introduce admissible evidence demonstra
Ÿng the existence of a triable issue of material fact. (Code Civ. Proc. § 437c(p)(2).) The Court Þnds that Cross-Com...

Excerpt: ...ns of the secton entitled Mediation and Arbitration of Disputes in the Amended Buy-Sell Agreement for Blue Tech Water, Inc., entered into on August 26, 2019. The court action is stayed pending completion of the arbitration. Respondent Anthony Delgado's Motion to Compel Further Responses to Requests for Production of Documents, Set One, which is set for June 15, 2023, and the Case Management Conference set for July 24, 2023, are taken OFF-CALENDAR...

Excerpt: ... submitted in connecton with Defendants' Memorandum of Costs, the Court finds that Plaintiff has met her burden of demonstrating that certain of the costs claimed are unrecoverable under Code Civ. Proc. S 1033.5 or are excessive and/or unreasonable, such that the burden shifts to Defendants to show that the items charged were for matters necessarily relevant and material to the issues inwlved in the action. (Nelson v. Anderson (1999) 72 cal.App.4...