Excerpt: ...ty and to each cause of action on the ground that each fails to state sufficient facts to constitute a cause of action against it. For the reasons set forth below, the special demurrer and general demurrer are SUSTAINED, in full, with 30 days' leave to amend . Uncert a int y This is one of the rare cases where sustaining a special demurrer on the grounds of uncertainty is warranted. Defendant GBS was added to the pleading in place of Doe 1. No ot...

Excerpt: ...r granting preliminary approva l. Having considered the unopposed motion herein 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 Californ ia la w . (Civ il Co d e § 1 7 8 1 ; Co d e Civ . Proc. § 382; Cal. R. Ct., rule 3.769.) Good cause appearing to the satisfaction of the Court, the proposed set...

Excerpt: ...e h ic le warranty. ( Jensen v. BMW of Nort h America , Inc. (1995) 35 Cal.App.4th 112; Ro d r i g u e z v . F C A U S , LLC (2022) 77 Cal. App. 5th 209.) In this regard, the Court notes that the California Supreme Court granted review of Ro d r ig u e z , supra, in July 2022, explicitly allowing the opinion to continue to be cited both for persuasive value and for the limited purpose of establishing the existence of a conflict in authority which...

Excerpt: ...s. The Court therefore GRANTS the preliminary injunction on t h e f o llo w in g c o n d it io n s : 1. P la in t if f is o n n o t ic e t h a t it s o n ly p r iv ile g e is f o r in g r e s s a n d e g r e s s o n t o it s own lands. The Court clarifies that this means Plaintiff's members may NOT cross Defendants' land in order to access current BLM lands. Plaintiff is charged with ensuring its members understand that whatever hunting and o t h...

Excerpt: ...eiro and Darlene Marie Ribeiro, located at 3951 Davis Avenue in Modesto, County of Stanislaus, by eminent domain for the construction of its planned State Route 108/ North County Corridor Phase 1 Project for the public benefit and for all uses necessary, incidental, and convenient thereto pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1255.410 . The Court further finds Plaintiff has, based on an appraisal, deposited the sum of $87,700.00 into the St...

Excerpt: ...d - CONTINUED, to 5/ 3/ 24 at 8:30 am in Department 22; c) Plaintiff's Motion to Quash Deposition Subpoena Seeking Plaintiff's Employment Records from Smithfield Packaged Meats and for Monetary Sanctions again Defendant and/ or it's Attorneys of Record – CONTINUED, to 5/ 3/ 24 at 8:30 am in Department 2 2 a-c) The motions are procedurally defective. A separate statement is required for a motion “”[t]o compel or to quash the production of do...

Excerpt: ...t in the county where the defendants or some of them reside at the commencement of the action is the proper court for the trial of the action. ” Plaintiff cites no authority for his assertion that liability under Labor Code § 558.1 is the equivalent of alter -ego liability and that the venue rules for alter ego therefore apply. Without such authority, the Court declines to extend alter -e go venue rul es to possible liability under Labor Code ...

Excerpt: ...�the superior court in the county where the defendants or some of them reside at the commencement of the action is the proper court for the trial of the action. ” Plaintiff's argument in opposition relies heavily on Labor Code § 558.1. The Court notes that this argument fails on its face because the current iteration of this pleading (the First Amended Complaint) does not allude at all to that statute, let alone contain a cause of action based...

Excerpt: ...itting all material facts properly pleaded, but not contentions, deductions or conclusions of fact or law. [Citation.] The courts “also consider matters which may b e ju d ic ia lly n o t ic e d . ” ( Serra no v. Priest (1971) 5 Cal.3d 584, 591. ) Fir s t Ca u s e o f Ac t io n Defendants contend that the statute at issue does not authorize a reverse validation action. Water Code § 10726.6(a) states, “A groundwater sustainability agency th...

Excerpt: ...e of the claim. Defendants can now use discovery to uncover the specific, evidentiary facts that Plaintiff contends supports the ultimate fact. As for the element of hostility, that is a question for the trier of fact. Second Cause of Action Overruled. The fact that Plaintiff alleged in another complaint the existence of another easement to the same parcels of land is not a conclusive admission that such easements ever existed or do in fact exist...

Excerpt: ... merits, Moving Party objects on the grounds of (1) privacy, and (2) lack of standing. Neither argument is persuasive. One of the chief allegations in this case is that Respondent abused the power-of-attorney agreement to use the proposed conservatee's funds and assets for his own benefit. That makes the information sought quite relevant to this case. While there is a state constitutional right to privacy applicable to financial records, that rig...

Excerpt: ...$82,845 for attornevs fees and $2,810.45 in costs. Paragraph 5 of the Settlement Agreement allows Plaintiffs Counsel to recover his fees and costs for both actions from Defendant Bob Harkrader & Sons Trucking, Inc., with a guaranty from Jacob Harkrader and Robin Harkrader. The Court deems the appropriate market rate in this case to be $450 per hour, taking into account Counsel's experience and the risks inherent in these types of cases. The numbe...

Excerpt: ... the beneficiary of another 1/3 of 40% through the Trust (although William Jackson is seeking to exercise the option he was given to purchase the Trust's interest). Because this inspection is outside of the Discovery Act, if a member has an issue with the inspection, then the appropriate procedural mechanism is for the member to file a civil pleading seeking a writ of mandate against the company—NOT try to shoehorn the issue through a trust pro...

Excerpt: ...Request for Production of Documents, Set Two and Request for Sanctions —GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. d) Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Further Responses of Defendant Secret River, Inc. to special Interrogatories, set one and Request for sanctions -GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. e) Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Further Responses of Defendant Smart Management & Co., Inc. to Special Interrogatories, set one and Request for sanctions - GRA...

Excerpt: ... Special Interrogatories, Set One and Request for Sanctions —GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART; d) Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Further Responses of Defendant Secret River, Inc. to Request for Production of Documents, Set Two and Request for Sanctions —GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART; e) Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Further Responses of Defendant Smart Management & Co., Inc. to Special Interrogatories, Set One and Request for Sanctions �...

Excerpt: ...ave not yet received the Bills of Sale. Without the Bills of Sale, performance cannot occur, and the cause of action for breach of contract has not yet accrued. Defendants therefore have defeated their own sham pleading argument because their admissions demonstrate that the correct cause of action here is anticipatory breach, not actual breach. The cause of action is not barred by the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations on a cause ...

Excerpt: ...ubstantial probability exists that the overriding -nterest will be prejudiced if the record is not sealed; (4) The proposed sealing is narrowly tailored; and (5) No less restri ctive means exist to achieve the overriding interest. The overriding interest here is the "highly confidential" and "commercially sensitive" information contained in the declarations filed by Mr. Hughes and Mr. Retsloff in support ofthe settlement negotiations between Plai...

Excerpt: ...rified that when — as is the case here - a petition challenges the disinheritance of a beneficiary from a trust, the petitioner has "limited stand-ng" to challenge the validity of the trust instrument which disinherited him. Therefore, the Court must first decide the "threshold issue" of the validity of the trust instrument which disinherited Petitioner here the Second Amendment to the Trust. If the trust amendment pursuant to which the benefic...

Excerpt: ...12/29/23 at 8:30 am in Department 22 is ADVANCED and CONTINUED to 1/12/24 at 8:30 am in Department 22, to be heard concurrently with the motion to award costs. MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL: The Court will hear arguments on the following issues: 2. Special Verdict Form Responses re Vicarious Liability: The Court notes that Plaintiff failed to address this argument in his opposition. The Court would like to hear from the parties on this Issue. Damages Awar...

Excerpt: ...Viejo Emergency Medical Associates v. Beta Healthcare Group (2011) 197 Cal.App.4th 1146, 1153-1154.) The Court finds that Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that the agreement should not be enforced herein. Specifically, Plaintiff has demonstrated only a slight degree of procedural unconscionability in connection with the adhesive nature of the agreement, and that alone is insufficient to render the agreement unenforceable. Plaintiffs arguments ...

Excerpt: ...bode" means the place defendant holds out as his or her principal residence and where he or she is most likely to receive actual notice. Zirbes u Stratton (1986) 187 cal.App.3d 1407, 1415-1417. In Zirbes v. Stratton the plaintiff left copies of the summons and complaint against Wife (i) at the restaurant she owned with estranged Husband (but she did not work there); and (ii) at her mother's home (listed as her residence on her drivers license). T...

Excerpt: ... or usual place of abode" means the place defendant holds out as his or her principal residence and where he or she is most likely to receive actual notice. Zirbes u Stratton (1986) 187 cal.App.3d 1407, 1415-1417. In Zirbes v. Stratton the plaintiff left copies of the summons and complaint against Wife (i) at the restaurant she owned with estranged Husband (but she did not work there); and (ii) at her mother's home (listed as her residence on her...

Excerpt: ...convenient Forum — a, b and c- DENIED. California favors contractual forum selection clauses so long as they are entered into freely and voluntarily, and their enforcement would not be unreasonable. (Smith, Valentino & Smith, Inc. v. Superior Court (1976) 17 Cal.3d 491, 496.) However, a forum selection clause will not be enforced if doing so would bring about a result contrary to the public policy of this state. (Smith, supra, at pp. 496-497; C...

Excerpt: ...y in the notice of motion and be repeated, verbatim, in the separate statement of undisputed material facts." The issues as stated in the notce of motion and moton do not duplicate the issues set forth in the separate statement. Because they are different, Defendants did not have fair notice of which issues to address, and the Court is unclear on what issues it should be deciding. Assuming the issues as set forth in the separate statement are the...

Excerpt: ...the statutory limits placed on motions for summary adjudication in this instance. Additionally, Plaintiff's previous motion for summary adjudication was denied on the merits— thus she is not entitled to a second bite at the apple. In determining the previous motion, the Court properly applied the statutory limits set forth in Section 437c and found that the issue on which the Plaintiff was attempting to secure summary adjudication would not com...

Excerpt: ...ight to li
Ÿgate this ma
©er to the extent of Defendant Gary Lee Cooksey dba Cooksey Construc
Ÿon's “available” insurance proceeds – the Court Þnds that the ques
Ÿon of “availability” is not fully and fairly resolved such that the Court can approve the se
©lement as it currently stands. Here, the non-se
©ling party is arguably en
Ÿtled to conduct discovery in order to fully answer the ques
Ÿon of what insurance proceeds are “...

Excerpt: ...ood faith meet and confer herein. As set forth in Plaintiffs' counsel's reply in support of the motions, Defendant has served supplemental responses to the Plaintiffs' Requests for Production of Documents, Set One, and Plaintiffs anticipate "meeting and conferring on these issues." Counsel are encouraged to engage in substantive meet and confer efforts prior to the next hearing date and are reminded that civil discovery is intended to be self-exe...

Excerpt: ...ration is that Plaintiff is worried about Defendants' financial stabil-ty. There is no indication that Defendant is in a precarious financial situation or has refused without explanation to pay a disputed claim. To support a writ of attachment Plaintiff needs to allege more than that Defendant owes it money and hasn't paid Plaintiff should submit evidence of Defendant's "past dishonesty, failure to meet obligations, or concealment of assets." Wes...

Excerpt: ...days of the Court's order. The responses shall conÞrm that Pe
Ÿ
Ÿoner will produce all non-privileged documents responsive to Respondent's demands that are in his possession, custody, or control. Pe
Ÿ
Ÿoner shall also produce all non-privileged documents responsive to Respondent's Demand for Produc
Ÿon of Documents Nos. 1-25 and 27-46 that are in his possession, custody, or control within ten (10) days of the Court's order. Pe
Ÿ
Ÿoner sha...

Excerpt: ...When an application for an order has been made to a judge, or to a court, and refused in whole or in part, or granted, or granted conditionally, or on terms, any party affected by the order may, within 10 days after service upon the party of written notce of entry of the order and based upon new or different facts, circumstances, or law make application to the same judge or court that made the order, to reconsider the matter and modify, amend, re...

Excerpt: ...e to Mr. Broderick-villa's supplemental declaration on August 4, 2023. The Court has decided to consider Mr. Broderick-villa's supplemental declaration because Mr. Eighmey has had time to file a responsive pleading on the merits and because the Court wishes to rule on the merits. Ms. Vega claims that Strategic Legal Group's fees are being paid by adverse party Miguel Duran Jr., which constitutes a violation of California Rule of Professional Cond...

Excerpt: ...1, 2022, or January 1, 2023, and the action was filed on January 11, 2023. Defendant is mistaken as to the time when the action was filed. The Complaint, naming only Doe's, was filed on December 19, 2022, which was within the three-year statutory revival period as set forth in 340.1(q). Ten days later, on December 29, 2022, the Certificate of Merit required by Code Civ. Proc. section 340.1(g)(3) was filed, which was well within the 50 days allowe...

Excerpt: ...ication for an order has been made to a judge, or to a court, and granted ...any party affected by the order may, within 10 days after service upon the party of written notice of entry of the order and based upon new or different facts, circumstances, or law, make application to the same judge or court that made the order, to reconsider the matter and modify, amend, or revoke the prior order. The Motion does not comply with Code Civ. Proc. secton...

Excerpt: ... newly discovered facts or circumstances or a change of law supporting the issues reasserted in the summary judgment motion. Defendant claims that since the first motion for summary judgment was filed, new facts have emerged which show that Mr. Amin did not exercise control over phases of the construction of the building, and the Court of Appeal has established a new standard for constructive notice of dangerous defects. However, the "newly disco...

Excerpt: ...rties to the marriage, and the Family Code does not address real property disputes involving third parties, as does this dispute. Therefore, a declaratory relief cause of achon involving not only the parties to the marriage but also a third party is properly before this Court. The Fourth Cause of Action for Breach of Fiduciary Duty This cause of action is asserted against Adam Vanderpool, but not Diane Neufeld. Family Code section 1101(a) provide...

Excerpt: ...rs, including, but not limited to, appointment notices, diagnoses, doctor's notes, bills, and correspondence, for pur physical, mental damage or emotional distress, since January 1, 2012. RFP No. 43 — For the health care practitioners identified in Interrogatory No. 5, a fully executed HIPAA Authorization for Release of Medical, Psychiatric, and/or Psychological Records, by you for all medical and associated billing records for visits and treat...

Excerpt: ...he status of the arbitration. Plaintiff Entered Into the Arbitration Agreement, and the Agreement Covers the Dispute A valid and enforceable agreement requiring the resolution of employment-related disputes through arbitration precludes the employee's right to pursue claims in the judicial context. Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams (2001) 532 U.S. 105, 123. The only prerequisite for a court to order arbitration is a determination that the partie...

Excerpt: ...shall state the specific ground upon which the objection is taken and, if the objection is taken by answer, the specific facts upon which the objection is based. An objection may be taken on more than one ground, and the grounds be inconsistent. Defendant has not stated specific facts in support of any of its affirmative defenses. The defendant makes factually unsupported allegations, such as the County has not established a right to take the Pro...

Excerpt: ...fails to survive the statute of frauds, because the FAC is based on an alleged oral contract to purchase real property, which under Civil Code secton 1524(a)(3) is required to be in writing. However, an exception to the statute of frauds is the doctrine of partial performance, pursuant to which an oral agreement for the transfer of an interest in real property is enforceable when the buyer has taken possession of the property, and either makes a ...

Excerpt: ... by the order may, within 10 days after service upon the party of written notice of entry of the order and based upon new or different facts, circumstances, or law, make application to the same judge or court that made the order, to reconsider the matter and modify, amend, or revoke the prior order. The Motion does not comply with Code Civ. Proc. secton 1008(a), because plaintiff has not shown any new or different facts, circumstances or law. Pla...

Excerpt: ...ferred the three parcels to his daughters, and petitioner has not shown that Arnaldo did not have the authority to do so. As a result of Arnaldo recording the Affidavit of Surviving Spouse, the daughters' parcels were arguably Mr. Avila's separate property as a matter of law pursuant to Probate Code section 13540 (the property shall be free of the rights of the state of the deceased spouse or of the devisees or creditors of the deceased spouse to...

Excerpt: ...that interest accrues at the rate of 10% per year through December 31, 2022, and thereafter interest accrues at the rate of 5% per year. Thus, the judgment only accrued interest at the rate of 5% per year between January 1, 2023, and March 22, 2023. Therefore, the total interest is $7,831.46, not $7,861.41, and the total renewed judgment is $15,819.58, not $15,834.53. Plaintiff asks that the Court use a 10% interest rate through the date of the r...

Excerpt: ...f Tree Guys, would cut and/or trim some palm trees on certain real property in lieu of a cash payment so Tree Guys could store some tree cutting equipment at a yard owned by defendant Eagle Valley Investment. Declaration of Larry Buehner, paragraphs 2 and 3. Thus, it cannot be determined as a matter of law that Tree Guys did not owe a duty to plaintiff Brandon Garcia. Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Superior Court (1985) 168 Cal. App. 3d 1155, dæs not m...

Excerpt: ...inistrator reports that all the distributions under the Settlement are complete and, if needed, an Amended Judgment is submitted to address distribution of any unclaimed funds in compliance with Code Civ. Proc. section 384. The settlement terms are as follows: (1) The settlement class is composed of all persons who are or were employed in California by defendant as non-exempt employees at any tme from March 5, 2017 through September 30, 2022 (app...

Excerpt: ...s not considered plaintiff's unauthorized Supplemental Reply filed on June 22, 2023. Code Civ. Proc. section 1048(a) provides for the consolidation of actions: When actions involving a common question of law or fact are pending before the court, it may order a joint hearing or trial of any or all the matters in issue in the actions; it may order all the actions consolidated and it may make such orders concerning proceedings therein as may tend to...

Excerpt: ...conference for Thursday, August 24, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. in Department 22. Clerk to give notice of the Court's ruling. Due to the amount of time which has elapsed since the entry of default judgment, the Court cannot grant relief pursuant to Code Civ. Proc. section 473(b), Code Civ. Proc. section 473.5, or Civil Code secton 1788.61. However, Civil Code section 1788.61(e) prov-des that 1788.61 shall not limit the equitable authority of the court or ...

Excerpt: ...hursday, July 13, 2023. a) Ms. Vega filed a Reply at 5:22 p.m. on Friday, June 16, 2023. According to the proof of service attached to the Reply, it was served by electronic mail and regular mail on June 15, 2023. On June 20, 2023, Ms. Yciano filed an objection to the Court considering the Reply because it was filed and served three days after the final day to file and serve as set by the Court on May 12, 2023. The Court was very clear at the hea...

Excerpt: ...e Buyers' Final Settlement Statement; and The Final Settlement Statement. See Supplemental Declaration of Robert Clancy, paragraph 3, and Exhibit 10 (Declaration of the custodian of records for North American Title, and copies of the above documents). The Court has considered the above documents because there is really no dispute that the documents are genuine: they were just not properly authenticated by attorney Clancy in the original moving pa...

Excerpt: ... Buyers' Final Settlement Statement; and The Final Settlement Statement. See Supplemental Declaration of Robert Clancy, paragraph 3, and Exhibit 10 (Declaration of the custodian of records for North American Title, and copies of the above documents). The Court has considered the above documents because there is really no dispute that the documents are genuine: they were just not pro#rly authenticated by attorney Clancy in the original moving pa#r...

Excerpt: ...uest for Sanctions in the amount of $2,280.00 a) GRANTED IN PART. Defendant Winco Holdings, Inc. is ordered to serve a verified further response by no later than June 30, 2023, limited to FEHA-based actions filed in the last ten years involving disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, failure to engage in the interactive process, failure to prevent discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination in violation of public policy. Discl...

Excerpt: ... 6, 2023. No additional filings by either plaintiff or by defendants concerning this Mohon are allowed. b) GRANTED. Attorney's fees of $2,800.00 are awarded in fawr of Narinderpal Sandhu and Rajwant Sandhu and against Van Rorabaugh as the Successor Trustee of The Ruth M. Maples Revocable Trust dated March 4,1992. Van Rorabaugh, as the Successor Trustee of The Ruth M. Maples Revocable Trust dated March 4, 1992, is ordered to execute and deliver to...

Excerpt: ... by the law without regard to the intention of the parties, which is designed to restore the aggrieved party to his or her former position by return of the thing or its equivalent in money. Unilab Corp. v. Angeles-IPA (2016) 244 Cal. App. 4th 622, 639. In addition, the theory of quasi-contractual recovery is that one party has accepted and retained a benefit with full appreciation of the facts, under circumstances making it inequitable for him to...

Excerpt: ...created by the law without regard to the intention of the parties, which is designed to restore the aggrieved party to his or her former position by return of the thing or its equivalent in money. Unilab Corp. v. Angeles-IPA (2016) 244 Cal. App.4*' 622, 639. In addition, the theory of quasi-contractual recovery is that one party has accepted and retained a benefit with full appreciation of the facts, under circumstances making it inequitable for ...

Excerpt: ...denied as to these requests except as to the records from Kaiser Permanente Dale Road Medical Offices that concern plaintiff's mental health conditions, as admitted by plaintiff in response to Special Interrogatory No. 5. Request for Production No. 44— GRANTED. Plaintiff Wendy Speakman is ordered to serve verified amended responses to Request for Production of Documents No.'s 12 and 43, without objections, but only as to the medical records ide...

Excerpt: ...uling by the California Supreme Court in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc., whichever occurs first. In the Sacramento County cases which are the subject of defendant's Request for Judicial Notice the court granted the motions to compel arbitration as to plaintiff's individual claims and stayed the acton as to the representative claims. In the Merced County and Fresno County cases (Exhibits K and L) the court compelled arbitration and dismissed th...

Excerpt: ... The Court continued the hearing to May 9, 2023, and ordered petitioner Lisa Judd to file a Sur-Repl',' by no later than April 21, 2023. The Court allowed this because the respondents had made a new substantive argument in their Reply concerning the lack of proof by the petitioner as to the "probable validity" of her real property claim. Lisa Judd timely filed and served a Sur-Reply on April 21, 2023. Although not specifically allowed by the Cour...

Excerpt: ...iff's counsel to request a hearing. The Court continued the hearing to May 5, 2023, and ordered counsel for both parties to file declarations by April 28, 2023, regarding who from their office made contact with opposing counsel giving notice of their respective requests for a hearing, and also to specifically state in the declarations what part of the tentative ruling they oppose. 80th counsel timely filed declarations. It is apparent to the Cour...

Excerpt: ...Collins; John E. Gish; and the Estate of Conrad G. Sanchez individually and collectively, as follows: $231,124.39 in reliance damages, $154,542.15 in costs, and $104,436.73 in interest through February 20, 2023, for a total judgment amount of $490,103.27, plus interest of 8% per year from February 20, 2023 through May 3, 2023. Code Civ. Proc. section 1285 provides as follows: Any party to an arbitration in which an award has been made may petitio...

Excerpt: ... January 5, 2016 to October 20, 2021. The records are to be produced by no later than Friday, May 26, 2023. The original subpoenas dated March 2,2023, issued to Aseracare Hospice, Hy-Lond Healthcare, and Sutter Gould Medical Foundation, for decedent Donna Lee Warner's medical records, sought medical records from Ms. Warner's date of birth through the present. The original subpoenas were clearly overbroad as to tme. The amended subpoenas issued on...

Excerpt: ...sition of Mr. Quijas. Mr. Quijas is ordered to make himself available for and attend and testify at his deposition. On March 15, 2023, the Court granted plaintiffs' Motion to Compel the Deposition of defendant Adolfo Torres Quijas. The Court ordered plaintiffs' counsel and defense counsel to meet and confer in good faith and set the deposition of Mr. Quijas. The Court also ordered Mr. Quijas to make himself available for and attend and testify at...

Excerpt: ...n good faith, that the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate, and that the settlement satisfies the standards and applicable requirements for preliminary approval of class action settlements under California law. The proposed settlement terms are as follows: (1) Gross Settlement Amount of $590,000.00; (2) $50,000.00 allocated for PAGA Penalties under the Private Attorney General Action of 2004 ("PAGA"), distributed 25% ($12,500.00) to the A...

Excerpt: ...FAA there is a liberal policy favoring arbitration agreements. Perry v. Thomas (1987) 482 U.S. The arbitration agreement in the Lease Agreement (Maugeri Declaration, paragraph 5, Exhibit 4) prov-des that it is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA"), which governs transactions involving commerce. 9 U.S.C. section 2. Courts interpret FAA's term "involving commerce" broadly, finding that the phrase is the functional equivalent of "affecting...

Excerpt: ...ms that defendant Karen Emily Johnson failed to see plaintiff in the crosswalk and hit him while he was in the crosswalk. PUMF, No.'s 2 and 3. There is a disputed issue of fact as to whether Mr. Lopez was actually walking in the marked crosswalk and whether or not Ms. Johnson is at fault. Ms. Johnson claims that Mr. Lopez was not in the crosswalk she did not see him there, and that prior to initiating her turning movement, she observed traffic an...

Excerpt: ... exist, and that plaintiff is entitled to summary judgment. Open Book Account Code Civ. Proc. section 337a defines "book account" as follows: The term "book account" means a detailed statement which constitutes the principal record of one or more transactons between a debtor and a creditor arising out of a contract or some fiduciary relation, and shows the debits and credits in connection therewith, and against whom and in favor of whom entries a...

Excerpt: ...and confer with the party who filed the pleading that is subject to the motion to strike for the purpose of determining if an agreement can be reached that resolves the objections to be raised in the motion to strike. Defense counsel sufficiently met and conferred with plaintiff's counsel before filing this Motion. Moths Declaration, paragraphs 5 — 10. The Merits Code Civ. Proc. section 436 prov-des that the court may, upon a motion made pursua...

Excerpt: ...s a matter of law. Code Civ. Proc. section 437c(c). The allegations concerning theft by plaintiff of defendant's property, and the facts concerning the grievance process engaged in by plaintiff are not relevant to the issues in this Moton. Plaintiff returned the property which defendant thought he had stolen (PMF No. 9, Itkin Declaration, Exhibit 1 (Deposition of Defendant's PMQ) 27:19-28:10) and the grievance process is a separate process from t...

Excerpt: ...Proc. section 437c(c), a motion for summary judgment shall be granted if all the papers submitted show that there is no triable issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. As the moving party, the defendant bears the burden of persuasion that there is no triable issue of material fact in order to prevail on summary judgment. However, defendant is not required to conclusively negate an elem...

Excerpt: ...ost by Dr. Huang and by Hospitalists of Modesto Medical Group, Inc. was within the standard of care. Pursuant to CCP Section 437c(c), a motion for summary judgment shall be granted if all the papers submitted show that there is no triable issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. As the moving parties, the defendants bear the burden of persuasion that there is no triable issue of materia...

Excerpt: ...d Property Law to be held in the name of the Settlement Class Member. The Court finds that the settlement was entered into in good faith, that the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate, and that the settlement satisfies the standards and applicable requirements for preliminary approval of class action settlements under California law. The Court takes the Motion to Dismiss set for July 14, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. off-calendar, and sets a complian...

Excerpt: ...ion." People v. Hutchinson (1969) 71 Cal.2d 342, 350. Ms. Engebretsen was the only juror who the award was not sufficient, and Ms. Engebretsen's observations concerning what the other jurors allegedly said concerning non-economic damages are not corroborated by any of the other jurors, none of whom have come forward, but only by plaintiff's counsel. The Court therefore finds that Ms. Engebretsen's observations are insufficiently to support a find...

Excerpt: ...CM991. On November 17, 2022, the Court dismissed Case No. PR-22-W021 without prejudice. The moving and opposing papers were only filed in Case No. not in the active case, which is Case No. PR-21- OW991. Therefore, the Court is ordering the clerk to image the moving and opposing pa#rs in Case No. PR-21-cm991. Petitioner is appealing the Court's denial of petitioner's Motion to Set Aside the Spousal Property Order. See Opposition, Exhibit A - The C...

Excerpt: ...s: At any time after notice of pendency of achon has been recorded, any party...with an interest in the real property affected thereby, may apply to the court in which the action is pending to expunge the notice. ...Evidence or declarations may be filed with the motion to expunge the notce. The court may permit evidence to be received in the form of oral testimony, and may make any orders it deems just to provide for discovery by any party affect...

Excerpt: ...found that Song-Beverly claims are arbitrable. Also, plaintiff has not shown that he would be prejudiced by the arbitration of his claims. The Motion as to Central Valley Nissan Defendant Central Valley Nissan has shown that on July 1, 2017, plaintiff Rodney Borba purchased the 2020 Nissan Titan at issue in this case from Central Valley Nissan, as memorialized by a Retail Installment Sale Contract—Simple Finance Charge (with Arbitration Provisi...

Excerpt: ...Defendant's medical expert, Dr. Marks, on the issues of standard of care and causation are conclusory, speculative, and unsupported by a reasoned explanation of the factual bases for his stated conclusions. (See, e.g. Doe v. Good Samaritan Hospital (2018) 23 Cal.App.5th 653, 662.) In addition, assuming arguendo that Defendant's moving evidence was sufficient to shift the burden to Plaintiff to introduce admissible evidence demonstrating the exist...

Excerpt: ...herwise to set aside the Trust or any of its dispositive provisions. The Court further does not find that Ms. Frey acted in bad faith. However, the Court awards attorney's fees of $52,789.43 ($49,289.43 for prior work and $3,500.00 for the current motion) and costs of $5,722.26 in favor of Carol Dupree, to be paid out of the Trust corpus, with no apportionment as to the beneficial interests. The Motion is timely in that it was filed within 60 day...

Excerpt: ... case, or part thereof, the court, upon motion, may enter judgment pursuant to the terms of the settlement. If requested by the parties, the court may retain jurisdiction over the parties to enforce the settlement until performance in full of the terms of the settlement. Mr. Salazar requests that the Court not enforce the settlement agreement because he did not sign it, and because he has now changed his mind. However, changing one's mind about a...

Excerpt: ...e counsel has shown that he met and conferred with plaintiff's counsel prior to filing the Demurrer, as required pursuant to CCP Section 430.41, but that counsel were unable to reach an agreement. Declaration of Jack D. Polales, paragraphs 3 and 4. Pursuant to CCP Section 430.41(e)(1), a complaint shall not be amended more than three times, absent an offer to the trial court as to such additional facts to be pleaded that there is a reasonable pos...

Excerpt: ...4, 2023. Defendant is ordered to prepare a Judgment of Dismissal. On January 5, 2023, the Court continued the hearing on defendant's Motion for Issue, Evidence and/or Terminating Sanctions and for Monetary Sanctions to March 2, 2023, and ordered plaintiff to serve verified responses to the discovery requests without objections by no later than Friday, February 4, 2023, or the Court may dismiss the action and impose additional monetary sanctions. ...

Excerpt: ...hat party from this waiver on its determination that the party has subsequently served a response that is in substantial compliance with CCP Sections 2033.210, 2033.220, and 2033.2030, and the party's failure to serve a timely response was the result of mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect. Pursuant to CCP Section 2033.280(b), the requesting party may move for an order that the genuineness of any documents and the truth of any matters spec...

Excerpt: ...tness fees) $175.00 (out of claimed costs of $8,520.69) Item No. 11 (court reporter fees) $17,007.38 Item No. 12 (models, photocopies) $1,402.20 Total Costs Allowed: $32,791.38 Pursuant to CCP Section 1033.5(c)(2)&(3), allowable costs shall be reasonably necessary to the conduct of the litigation rather than merely convenient or beneficial to its preparation. Item No. 1 – Filing and Motion Fees If the court determines that CCP Section 1033.5 ex...

Excerpt: .... Fischer seeks summary judgment or, in the alterative, summary adjudication concerning respondents' Objection to First Account and Report as to the following issues: 1. Whether Mr. Fischer has expended funds from the Morgan Stanley account without an order of the Court thereby being in violation of the September 27, 2016 Order, which allegedly requires that the funds of the Trust held by Morgan Stanley shall remain blocked until a further order ...

Excerpt: ...well Shaw & Garcia, jointly and severally; b) Defendants' Motion to Compel Plaintiff's Responses to Supplemental Request for Production of Documents, Set One, Request for Sanctions – is GRANTED as to the request to compel production, and GRANTED IN PART as to the request for sanctions. Plaintiff Alicia Espinoza Hernandez is ordered to serve defense counsel with verified responses with no objections, and copies of the requested documents, by no ...

Excerpt: ...s ordered to appear and show that, as ordered by the Court on January 31, 2023, he gave notice of this continued hearing. Also, Mr. Bravo is ordered to explain the status of plaintiff Avishak Davoud, as to whom Mr. Bravo has not moved to be relieved as counsel. The court admonishes counsel and the parties to refrain from making unnecessary derogatory and inflammatory comments about each other and possible witnesses. Motions to be Relieved as Coun...

Excerpt: ...to trial is suspended, with the result that less than six months remains of the five-year period when the suspension ends, the action shall not be dismissed if the action is brought to trial within six months after the end of the suspension period. At the time the appeals were filed on September 17, 2020, the five-year deadline was set to expire on October 22, 2020, just over a month later. The remittiturs were issued on December 20, 2022, which ...

Excerpt: ...can compel arbitration as a third‐party beneficiary of the Sales Contract under the doctrine of equitable estoppel, pursuant to which a nonsignatory defendant may invoke an arbitration clause to compel a signatory plaintiff to arbitrate its claims when the causes of action against the nonsignatory are intimately founded in and intertwined with the underlying contract obligations. Felisilda v. FCA U.S. LLC (2020) 53 Cal. App. 5th 486, 495. In Fe...

Excerpt: ...relieved as counsel. Motions to be Relieved as Counsel are governed by Rule of Court 3.1362. Plaintiffs' counsel has complied with all the requirements of this Rule. Plaintiffs' counsel has filed the completed mandatory judicial council forms for a Notice of Motion and Declaration, and has submitted a Proposed Order. Plaintiff's counsel has confirmed plaintiffs' address within the past 30 days by conversation and has timely served plaintiffs at t...

Excerpt: ...ides as follows: Whenever a party in a civil action knows or learns that the action or proceeding is related to another action or proceeding pending, dismissed, or disposed of by judgment in any state or federal court in California, the party must serve and file a Notice of Related Case. Pursuant to CRC 3.300(e), the Notice of Related Case must be served and filed no later than 15 days after the facts concerning the existence of related cases bec...

Excerpt: ...n agreement can be reached that would resolve the objections to be raised in the demurrer. Defense counsel did not attempt to contact plaintiff's counsel until the day before the Demurrer was filed. Amaral Declaration, page 2, paragraph 3. While this was not timely, there was a good reason for this delay in that plaintiff's counsel had filed ex parte applications attesting to his medical issues. Id. at paragraphs 2 and 3. In any event, counsel we...

Excerpt: ...6. Therefore, the Court finds that the pleading does not state facts sufficient to support a claim pursuant to Penal Code §496(c). Moreover, in light of the applicable law, the Court finds that the Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that he is capable of amending the pleading to assert a viable claim in this context. Therefore, leave to amend is denied. ...

Excerpt: ... County, the Court is not prepared to conclude that Defendant has carried its burden under Code Civ. Proc. §397(b) at this time. Therefore, the Court chooses to follow the procedure which was approved by the appellate court in People v. Mackey (2015) 233 Cal.App.4th 32, deferring ruling on the instant motion until voir dire has commenced and the Court is able to assess whether the responses of potential jurors confirm the defense's assertions wi...

Excerpt: ...ms are as follows: (1) The settlement class is composed of all persons who are or were employed in California by defendant as non‐exempt employees at any time from March 5, 2017 through September 30, 2022 (approximately 2,615 persons); (2) The maximum settlement amount is $1,900,000.00; (3) Attorney's fees of $665,000.00 (35% of the maximum settlement amount); (4) $20,000.00 for costs and expenses; (5) An enhancement payment to the class repres...

Excerpt: ...nsel Lawrence Knapp and defendant's counsel David Johnston are ordered to meet and confer in good faith by no later than Friday, January 21, 2023, to choose a date, time, and location for the taking of the deposition of Kevin Amin. CCP Section 2025.450(a) provides, in pertinent part, as follows: If, after service of a deposition notice, a party to the action… without having served a valid objection under Section 2025.410, fails to appear for ex...

Excerpt: ...on within 10 days after service of entry of the order granting relief from dismissal, pursuant to CCP Section 1008, instead of a demurrer. However, the Court is not limited to the restrictions of CCP Section 1008 but can reconsider its own rulings sua sponte. The language [of Section 1008] chosen by the Legislature strongly suggests it intended to restrict the actions of parties in bringing motions to reconsider, but did not contemplate restricti...

Excerpt: ...public sale of the Mobilehome. The Court enters judgment in the amount of $5,279.00 plus costs of $225.00, for a total judgment of $5,504.00 in favor of petitioner Country Western Mobile Home and RV Park LLC and against respondents Jerry Elmore, Gloria Keeney, Thomas Snow, and Neoma Snow, jointly and severally. Petitioner will be awarded attorney's fees according to proof submitted at the hearing. Petitioner has satisfied the requirements of Civi...

Excerpt: ...aken against a party based on mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. The pertinent provisions of the statute provide as follows: (b) The court may, upon any terms as may be just, relieve a party or his or her legal representative from a judgment, dismissal, order, or other proceeding taken against him or her through his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. Application for this relief shall be accompanied b...

Excerpt: ...l Defendant to Provide Responses to Special Interrogatories, Set One, and Request for Monetary Sanctions in the Amount of $5,040.00 Against Defendant – GRANTED; d) Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Defendant to Provide Written Responses and Documents to Request for Production of Documents, Set One, and Request for Monetary Sanctions in the Amount of $5,040.00 Against Defendant – GRANTED. a‐c) The Court finds that the requests were properly elect...

Excerpt: ...s, orders, or other proceedings based on mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect. The pertinent statutory language is as follows: (b) The court may, upon any terms as may be just, relieve a party or his or her legal representative from a judgment, dismissal, order, or other proceeding taken against him or her through his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. Application for this relief shall be accompanied by ...

Excerpt: ...lidate must list all named parties in each case, the names of those who have appeared, and the names of their respective attorneys of record, contain the captions of all the cases sought to be consolidated, with the lowest numbered case shown first, and be filed in each case sought to be consolidated. The notice of motion does not list the caption of the two cases with the lowest numbered case listed first, and the notice of motion has not been f...

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: ...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...