Excerpt: ... part and DENIED in part. The Court DENIES Defendants' motion to the extent it requests “correction” of the arbitrator's award and GRANTS Defendants' motion in all other respects confirming the arbitrator's Final Award as follows: Arbitral finality is a core component of the parties' agreements to submit to arbitration. As a result, this Court is generally powerless to review the arbitration awards for errors of fact or law, even when those e...

Excerpt: ...selection clauses, such as the one at issue here (Smith, Valentino & Smith, Inc. v. Superior Court (1976) 17 Cal.3d 491, 496 (Smith)). Rather, forum selection clauses are generally enforced “in the absence of a showing that enforcement of such a clause would be unreasonable.” (Ibid..) “Although [plaintiff] relies upon the factors of inconvenience and expense of a[n Illinois] forum, both [plaintiff] and [defendants] reasonably can be held to...

Excerpt: ...his action. This court therefore accepts the guidance from the Court of Appeal that the previous award appeared to include fees that were noncompensable, and this court accepts counsel's calculation that 20 percent of the time in this case was devoted to the claims that were determined to be noncompensable on appeal. This court thereby reduces the previous award by 20 percent and awards to the City of Patterson attorney fees in the amount of $538...

Excerpt: ... MD, Erik Lacy MD, Rex Adamson MD, Ricky Bassi MD, Rohini MD, Marney Fern, Cheryl Harless, Harvey Palitz MD, John Pfeffer MD, & Randy Winter MD's Demurrer to Complaint – SUSTAINED, with leave to amend; c) Defendant Hospitalists of Modesto Medical Group, Inc., Arun Manoharan, MD, Swapna Kamireddy, MD, Li Huange, MD, Otashe Nyoku Golden, MD, Vicoria Yehm MD, Qazi Muzaffar Mohsin MD, Patrick Wong DO, Natalie J Slowik MD, and Yan Li, MD's Motion to...

Excerpt: ...ty plans. See, e.g., Peterson v. Bank of America Corp. (2014) 232 Cal.App.4th 238, 255 [suit by hundreds of customers borrowing money from Countrywide “easily a complex case” given the number of parties and volume of documents]; Thayer v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (2001) 92 Cal.App.4th 819, 835 n.8 [“the coordinated actions with which we are here concerned are ‘complex' within the meaning of this rule only because of the large number of repr...

Excerpt: ...arez v. Seaside Transportation Services LLC (2017) 13 Cal.App.5th 635, 643.) On this motion, plaintiff therefore has the burden of showing that an exception to Privette applies. (Ibid.) Gonzalez v. Mathis (2021) 12 Cal.5th 29 (Gonzalez), on which this court requested supplemental briefing, held that there are only two exceptions to Privette such that, according to the Gonzalez court “a hirer may be liable when it retains control over any part o...

Excerpt: ...stments, Inc. v. Lido Preferred Ltd. (1992) 9 Cal.App.4th 373, 380.) The SAC and its attachments show that there was a section 1031 contingency in favor of the demurring defendants, and the SAC does not plead that this condition was satisfied, such that the SAC fails to plead that the demurring defendants ever acquired a duty to perform. The court therefore SUSTAINS the demurrer to the first cause of act. It appears plaintiff's complaints about t...

Excerpt: ...lays in this case (Roemer v. Retail Credit Co. (1975) 44 Cal.App.3d 926, 939–940 [“The law is also clear that even if a good amendment is proposed in proper form, unwarranted delay in presenting it may—of itself—be a valid reason for denial.”]), and that prejudice to defendants would likely occur if the amendment were allowed. (See, e.g., Melican v. Regents of University of California (2007) 151 Cal.App.4th 168, 176 [“[i]It would be p...

Excerpt: ...lisilda. (Auto Equity Sales, Inc. v. Superior Court of Santa Clara County (1962) 57 Cal.2d 450, 455 [“Under the doctrine of stare decisis, all tribunals exercising inferior jurisdiction are required to follow decisions of courts exercising superior jurisdiction. Otherwise, the doctrine of stare decisis makes no sense.”].) As plaintiffs failed to show that Felisilda is meaningfully different from this case, the court finds it must grant the pe...

Excerpt: ...v. Big Sur, Inc. (2016) 244 Cal.App.4th 982, 1008 [“Each element of a fraud claim must be pleaded with specificity.”]; Carter v. Prime Healthcare Paradise Valley LLC (2011) 198 Cal.App.4th 396, 410 [elder abuse must be pled with specificity because it is a statutory cause of action.) “‘The specificity requirement means a plaintiff must allege facts showing how, when, where, to whom, and by what means the representations were made, and, in...

Excerpt: ...posed second amended complaint (SAC) is insufficiently specific and therefore allows plaintiff to file the SAC. (See, e.g., Tarmann v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Insurance Co. (1991) 2 Cal.App.4th 153, 158 [ the “requirement of specificity is relaxed when the allegations indicate that ‘the defendant must necessarily possess full information concerning the facts of the controversy' [citation] or ‘when the facts lie more in the knowledge of the ...

Excerpt: ...ourts may consider the consequences which might flow from a particular interpretation and must construe the statute with a view to promoting rather than defeating its general purpose and the policy behind it.” ' ” (Pacific Merchant Shipping Association v. Newsom (2021) 67 Cal.App.5th 711, * 7.) ‘“ ‘The purpose of [Code of Civil procedure section 1030 (section 1030)] is to enable a California resident sued by an out-of-state resident “...

Excerpt: ...016) 244 Cal.App.4th 982, 1008 [“Each element of a fraud claim must be pleaded with specificity.”]; Carter v. Prime Healthcare Paradise Valley LLC (2011) 198 Cal.App.4th 396, 410 [elder abuse must be pled with specificity because it is a statutory cause of action.) “‘The specificity requirement means a plaintiff must allege facts showing how, when, where, to whom, and by what means the representations were made, and, in the case of a corp...

Excerpt: ...), and neither party appears to object to this approach. (See Pelton-Shepherd Industries, Inc. v. Delta Packaging Products, Inc. (2008) 165 Cal.App.4th 1568, 1586.) Plaintiff's meet and confer efforts on this motion were adequate because counsel says he called to obtain alternate deposition dates. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2025.450, and subd. (b)(2).) The court grants the motion and compels the City of Ceres to produce its PMK for deposition within 30...

Excerpt: ...leadings at which they are directed, the Court is of the initial impression that the only way to streamline what remains of these complex disputes post-arbitration is to bring all of the remaining matters under one metaphorical roof in the form of a master complaint by Doan et al under the lead case 684071, with abatement via voluntarily dismissal of the other three cases as a complete merger thereof. A master complaint would relate back to the f...

Excerpt: ...ws: 1. Judge Howard Broadman (ret) is appointed as referee for all purposes related to discovery in this action. Judge Broadman's address and telephone number are as follows: 300 N. Willis Street, Visalia CA 93291 (559) 738-1800. 2. The following exceptional circumstances require this appointment: The parties' continual pursuit of numerous, time-consuming motions related to discovery issues throughout the pendency of the matter; the demonstrated ...

Excerpt: ...nicate with all necessary parties and no discussion could occur because the attorney who was contacted was on vacation. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2034.250, subd. (a).) In part because of the weakness of the meet and confer efforts and in part because of the rest of the factors discussed below, the court finds there is “good cause” to alter the expert witness designation dates set forth in Code of Civil Procedure section 2034.230, subdivision (b). ...

Excerpt: ...See, e.g., Orcilla v. Big Sur, Inc. (2016) 244 Cal.App.4th 982, 1008 [“Each element of a fraud claim must be pleaded with specificity.”]; Carter v. Prime Healthcare Paradise Valley LLC (2011) 198 Cal.App.4th 396, 410 [elder abuse must be pled with specificity because it is a statutory cause of action.) “‘The specificity requirement means a plaintiff must allege facts showing how, when, where, to whom, and by what means the representations...

Excerpt: ...September 2018 for purposes of Code of Civil Procedure section 761.020, subdivision (d). Because the other causes of action are valid and because plaintiff alleges the acts of which he complains were performed in conjunction with a licensed realty transaction, the court overrules the demurrer to the fourth cause of action under Business and Professions Code section 17200, as well. ...

Excerpt: ...ure to respond to discovery was “willful” (see, e.g., Doppes v. Bentley Motors, Inc. (2009) 174 Cal.App.4th 967, 994), or that an order dismissing the complaint would not “go further than is necessary to accomplish the purpose of discovery.” (Newland v. Superior Court (1995) 40 Cal.App.4th 608, 613). The request for terminating sanctions is therefore DENIED. The court orders plaintiff to reimburse defendant Janelle Lynn Clowers the $300 p...

Excerpt: ...ir names removed from the CACI under the traditional mandamus statute, Code of Civil Procedure section 1085. “ 'To obtain [this type of] relief, a petitioner must demonstrate (1) no “plain, speedy, and adequate” alternative remedy exists [citation]; (2) ‘‘ ‘a clear, present ... ministerial duty on the part of the respondent' '' ; and (3) a correlative ‘ '‘clear, present and beneficial right in the petitioner to the performance of ...

Excerpt: ...to “meaningfully separate the attorney's fees incurred in litigating contractual claims from the attorney's fees incurred in litigating the inverse condemnation claim,” as required by both Carter and the court that heard defendants' appeal from the original attorney fees order. (See, e.g., (City of Patterson v. Patterson Hotel Associates (Jan. 11, 2019, No. F074038) at *7 [nonpub. opn.]).) Plaintiff has therefore failed to meet its burden on ...

Excerpt: ...t an order dismissing the complaint would not “go further than is necessary to accomplish the purpose of discovery.” (Newland v. Superior Court (1995) 40 Cal.App.4th 608, 613). The request for monetary sanctions is denied for noncompliance with Code of Civil Procedure section 2023.040. The notice of motion requests an amount of sanctions that is different from the amount requested in the supporting memorandum and declaration, so the declarati...

Excerpt: ...re[s] a creditor wishing to invoke the doctrine to demonstrate the absence of a plain, speedy, and adequate remedy at law would protect against reverse piercing being used to bypass legal remedies.” (Curci Investments, LLC v. Baldwin (2017) 14 Cal.App.5th 214, 223 (Curci).) Here, plaintiff still has an unsatisfied writ of execution and has not pursued remedies such as a charging order or wage assignment order. (Cf. Curci, 14 Cal.App.5th at p. 2...

Excerpt: ...cts sufficient to show why the City of Riverbank should be held liable for alleged torts of the independent contractor it hired to collect trash. The rule regarding this kind of liability is: “a private person who hires an independent contractor can be liable for an injury to an independent contractor's employee, even when the injury is proximately caused by an act or omission of the independent contractor, provided the private hirer (1) retain...