Excerpt: ...s Request for Judicial Notice. Defendants' Demurrers No. 1 and No. 2 are OVERRULED. Defendants' Demurrer No. 3 is SUSTAINED, with leave to amend, for failure to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. However, it appears Plaintiff can amend this cause of action to cite to the correct Labor Code Section – which does provide her with a private right of action. (Labor Code Section 233.) Defendants' Demurrer No. 4 is SUSTAINED, with...

Excerpt: ...anting preliminary approval. Having considered the unopposed motion for final approval 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 California law. (Civil Code §1781; Code Civ. Proc. §382; Cal. Rules of Ct., rule 3.769.) Good cause appearing to the satisfaction of the Court, the proposed settle...

Excerpt: ...at are not the proper subject of court ordered fees. Additionally, the Court finds that there are some excessive amounts billed. Before setting a long cause hearing on this subject, the Court orders Plaintiff's counsel to do the following: 1. Review and consider the amounts billed; 2. Prepare a new bill for the Court's consideration and this bill shall be divided so that the tasks of each biller are listed separately, so the court may consider th...

Excerpt: ...s admissible. (Code Civ. Proc. §2015.5; Cal. Rules of Ct., rule 3.1306.) Moreover, the evidence he purports to offer in support of the motion suffers from the same defects and constitutes inadmissible hearsay. In addition, there is no indication that Plaintiff attempted to meet and confer prior to filing the motion, as is required by Code Civ. Proc. §2025.410. Plaintiff is reminded that a pro per litigant is held to the same rules of procedure ...

Excerpt: ...he licensing requirements, therefore allowing his action to proceed. (Bus. & Prof. Code §7031(e).) Specifically, the Court finds that, at a minimum, Plaintiff has demonstrated material issues of fact with regard to whether his conduct with regard to his license in 2018 was reasonable, given the totality of the alleged circumstances surrounding the interaction between the parties. (See, e.g., Plaintiff's Additional Facts 57-62, 71-75.) The partie...

Excerpt: ...s order granting preliminary approval. Having considered the unopposed motion for final approval 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 California law. (Civil Code §1781; Code Civ. Proc. §382; Cal. Rules of Ct., rule 3.769.) Good cause appearing to the satisfaction of the Court, the propo...

Excerpt: ...Schmidt possesses the “special knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education sufficient to qualify [her] as an expert” with regard to the issues presented herein. (Evid. Code, § 720(a).) As noted by the Court previously, “Whether [Dr. Schmidt's] knowledge in these areas would be sufficient to convince a trier of fact is irrelevant at this stage of the proceedings.” (See Lattimore v. Dickey (2015) 239 Cal.App.4th 959, 970.) Therefo...

Excerpt: ... therein. The Court has reviewed the entire Arbitration Agreement and concludes that it is enforceable. With regard to waiver, the Court notes there is no evidence presented by the Plaintiff that the Defendants "stretched out the litigation process, gained information about [the] plaintiff's case they could not have learned in an arbitration, or waited until the eve of trial to move to compel arbitration." See e.g. Khalatian v. Prime Time Shuttle...

Excerpt: ...e causes of action against Defendant. Plaintiff is reminded that it is her burden to demonstrate a “reasonable probability” that she can cure the defects in her Complaint via amendment. See Schnall v. Hertz Corp, (2000) 78 Cal.App.4th 1144, 1151. “Leave to amend should not be granted “where, in all probability, amendment would be futile.”” See Vaillette v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co., (1993) 18 Cal.App.4th 680, 685. “It is the plaintiff...

Excerpt: ...ting there is a likelihood she will prevail on her request for a civil harassment restraining order. Petitioner presents evidence which, if credited, demonstrates that she was the victim of a “knowing and willful course of conduct” that “seriously alarm[ed], annoy[ed], or harasse[d]” her and which “serve[d] no legitimate purpose.” (Code of Civil Procedure § 526.7, subd. (b).) ...

Excerpt: ...uestions of law and fact predominate over questions affecting individual class members; 5) the class representative has claims typical of the class and subclass members; and 6) the class representative and class counsel will fairly and adequately represent the class and subclasses. It appears adjudication of this matter as a class action is superior to other methods of adjudication and the action is manageable as a class action. Plaintiff Zachary...

Excerpt: ...rces. As the Court found when it denied a similar motion by Defendant Leitner, “Proper voir dire will be sufficient to address issues related to the jury's ability to competently perform its duties. . . . Where liability is disputed, there is much greater reason to bifurcate the phases of the trial. A jury in this case would be presented with evidence by Plaintiffs relating to the dynamics of the collision, their injuries and other elements of ...

Excerpt: ...ness and Professions Code section 6148, subdivision (b). (Code Civ. Proc., § 403.30, subd. (a)). Moreover, defendant has provided no authority showing that compliance with Business and Professions Code section 6148 is a defense around which plaintiff must plead, and the court rejects this contention. ...

Excerpt: ...ove School Dist. V. City Title Ins. Co. (1963) 217 Cal.App.2d 678, 698.) The Court further finds that Defendant has offered adequate substantiation as to some of the challenged costs but not as to others. The Court acts within its discretion in determining whether costs are excessive and should be reduced. (Levy v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (1992) 4 Cal.App.4th 807, 816-817.) The Court notes that Defendant has withdrawn its requests for co...

Excerpt: ...n one year after she first ‘discovers' the injury and the negligent cause of that injury. Secondly, she must file within three years after she first experiences harm from the injury.” (Ashworth v. Memorial Hospital (1988) 206 Cal.App.3d 1046, 1054; italics in original; Dolan v. Borelli (1993) 13 Cal.App.4th 816, 823 [discovery is defined as the point at which “the plaintiff is aware of both the physical manifestation of the injury and negli...

Excerpt: ... not provide for such a claim against a public employer. (Gov't. Code §815(a); see, e.g. Miklosy v. Regents of University of California (2008) 44 Cal.4th 876, 899.). As to the remaining causes of action, the Court will grant leave to amend in this instance despite Plaintiff's failure to oppose; however, Plaintiff is cautioned that it is his burden to demonstrate how additional factual allegations can overcome the demurrer. Therefore, future fail...

Excerpt: ...deemed to be presumptively valid, subject to any objections that may be heard at the final fairness hearing and final approval by this Court. The Court notes, however, that while fifty-percent of the residue from uncashed checks is to go to California Rural Legal Assistance, the remaining fifty-percent is left undesignated. Plaintiff is directed to designate in its Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement the organization to which the...

Excerpt: ...ed that Plaintiff had alleged only the glare of the sun as a dangerous condition. Plaintiff's third amended complaint alleges additional factors, such as location, failure to warn and the creation of a trap for students and drivers. Based upon the “amalgam” of these factors, reasonable minds could come to more than one conclusion as to whether a dangerous condition existed. As such, it is the jury's role to determine the facts and whether tho...

Excerpt: ...aintiff's “discovery abuses were ‘willful, preceded by a history of abuse, and the evidence shows that less severe sanctions would not produce compliance with the discovery rules.' ” (Doppes v. Bentley Motors, Inc. (2009) 174 Cal.App.4th 967, 994.) Should the court make this order at the hearing as intended, defendant's request for issue, evidentiary and/or contempt sanctions is denied as moot. Finally, the court denies defendant's request ...

Excerpt: ...itioners have provided Respondent with the transcripts of the recordings of the calls that are the subject of this petition and will produce the audio recordings of these calls to Respondent. Respondent's subpoena demanding additional documents, to the extent any exist, and the attendance of additional witnesses at the hearing, is unnecessarily burdensome and an improper attempt to conduct discovery under the limited restraining order statutory s...

Excerpt: ...itioners have provided Respondent with the transcripts of the recordings of the calls that are the subject of this petition and will produce the audio recordings of these calls to Respondent. Respondent's subpoena demanding additional documents, to the extent any exist, and the attendance of additional witnesses at the hearing, is unnecessarily burdensome and an improper attempt to conduct discovery under the limited restraining order statutory s...

Excerpt: ...s' vision of the crosswalk – is transitory and has nothing to do with the design of the crosswalk. This is insufficient to allege a dangerous condition of public property. See e.g. Erfurt v. The State of California (1983) 141 Cal.App.3d 837. In Erfurt, Plaintiff alleged physical characteristics of the freeway in question were “dangerous” including: (1) the three-lane freeway split into a “Y,” (2) a concrete pillar that supported an over...

Excerpt: ...se inappropriate.” Additionally, once the Defendants' examiner identified the potential tests that he might employ, there was no requirement that he identify in advance all of the specific tests he would actually conduct, since the ultimate selection depends upon the Plaintiff's presentation of his injuries during the examination. ...

Excerpt: ...ement agreement. Of course, the Court has discretion to approve a reversionary settlement (one that provides that unpaid residual funds will be returned to defendant), but such settlements are difficult to evaluate for fairness. If a reversionary settlement is negotiated, the parties should articulate the reasons it is in the class' best interests and the trial court's order should address that issue. (See In re Microsoft I-V Cases (2006) 135...

Excerpt: ...ement agreement. Of course, the Court has discretion to approve a reversionary settlement (one that provides that unpaid residual funds will be returned to defendant), but such settlements are difficult to evaluate for fairness. If a reversionary settlement is negotiated, the parties should articulate the reasons it is in the class' best interests and the trial court's order should address that issue. (See In re Microsoft I-V Cases (2006) 135...