Excerpt: ...he delegation clause require the arbitrator to determine which of the Plaintiffs' claims are arbitrable? With regard to the first issue, Defendant has established that decedent Olivia Deloach signed the arbitration agreement on February 13, 2020. The supplemental declarations of Cristina Lewis and Ashlee Gilliam, combined with the original declaration of Deanna Brummell, establish that the decedent's electronic signature was generated a) in the p...

Excerpt: ...d the Decedent Shirley Strickland while she received treatment from them. Further, Defendants' evidence establishes that a family practice physician and a physician's assistant cannot be held to the same standard of care as applicable to cardiology experts. The Court further finds that Defendants have established the absence of a triable issue of material fact regarding a crucial element of Plaintiff's medical malpractice claim against Defendants...

Excerpt: ... complaint states Defendant sprayed on April 3, 2020. On the other hand, Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment and the exhibits and evidence submitted therewith state Defendant sprayed on April 2, 2020. This material contradiction in the moving papers means Plaintiff has not met his burden to establish no material disputes of fact such that summary judgment or summary adjudication would be appropriate. Even if Plaintiff had met his moving burde...

Excerpt: ... Code §47 under the auspices of Code of Civil Procedure §425.16. The burden then shifts to Defendant and Cross‐Complainant CAO to demonstrate the probability that it will prevail on the merits of the subject causes of action. The Court finds that CAO has failed to meet its burden particularly as there is no evidence that Lucky 8 disseminated the email to other than its customers. Therefore, the Court finds the Cross Complaint filed by CAO sha...

Excerpt: ...o two parts, sending one part to arbitration and the other to dismissal. On a motion to compel arbitration under CCP §1281 et seq, the moving party has the burden of demonstrating (1) an arbitration agreement covering the controversy, (2) a demand for arbitration consistent therewith, and (3) a refusal by the other party to arbitrate. The burden rests with the party seeking to compel arbitration to establish these three prerequisites by a prepon...

Excerpt: ...ion suit, petitioners and similarly‐situated electric customers claim that Modesto Irrigation District built a sizable electric slush fund and – instead of reimbursing electric customers for the surplus – is surreptitiously using the electric slush fund to cover serious losses from its irrigation customers. Petitioners contend (1) that Respondent's practice of robbing Electric Peter to cover Irrigation Paul's debt is an unauthorized tax on ...

Excerpt: ...troversy, (2) a demand for arbitration consistent therewith, and (3) a refusal by the other party to arbitrate. The burden rests with the party seeking to compel arbitration to establish these three prerequisites by a preponderance of the evidence. Sandquist v. Lebo Automotive, Inc. (2016) 1 Cal.5th 233, 244; Martinez v. BaronHR, Inc. (2020) 51 Cal.App.5th 962, 967. Neither side disputes the existence of an agreement to arbitrate between plaintif...

Excerpt: ... Watsonville, California. The operative pleading is the First Amended Master Complaint. Before the Court this day is a demurrer by all defendants to all eight (8) causes of action set forth in the operative pleading on the ground that none of them include facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action (CCP §430.10(e)). This type of demurrer only succeeds if there is no cognizable theory for relief of any kind, regardless of the labels and theo...

Excerpt: ...nt may at any time apply to the court for an order requiring the plaintiff to furnish an undertaking to cover a future award of litigation costs. See Alshafie v. Lallande (2009) 171 Cal.App.4th 421, 428; Yao v. Superior Court (2002) 104 Cal.App.4th 327, 329. The motion must be supported with evidence demonstrating “a reasonable possibility” that the moving defendant will prevail, as well as a good faith estimate of the costs/fees previously i...

Excerpt: ... to both. On or about 03/09/22, plaintiffs caused to be served upon Alliant Insurance Services a subpoena for the production of records containing insurance applications from, and communications with, defendants regarding any insurance coverage from 03/01/10 to the present. Although the subpoena called for the production to occur at 8:00 a.m. on 03/28/22, it included two different locations for where the records were to be produced (compare Box 1...

Excerpt: ...f all this, this Court concluded that a discovery referee for some aspect of this case is needed. This Court ordered both sides to submit the name of someone they would propose to serve as discovery referee. This Court selected defendant's proposal (Attorney Michael Kronlund), largely because he had a lower hourly rate (see Minute Order dtd 05/13/22). Before the Court this day is a motion by plaintiff to reconsider that order. Central to plaintif...

Excerpt: ...re and treatment provided to an individual with schizo‐ affective disorder, who is reportedly subject to an LPS conservatorship. The operative pleading is the original complaint filed 05/21/21, and consisting of the following seven causes of action: unfair practices; breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; Unruh; negligence; FEHA discrimination; defamation; and privacy violations. The pleading was filed ostensibly by Alla...

Excerpt: ... part and DENIED in part. In order to be code‐compliant, Plaintiff must represent that a “diligent search and a reasonable inquiry has been made in an effort to comply with the demand.” Code of Civil Procedure section 2031.230. As Plaintiff's response does not include this representation, Plaintiff shall amend it accordingly. As for the Defendant's argument that Plaintiff didn't identify anyone she “believes” might possess information r...

Excerpt: ...esto. Plaintiff opposes the request for leave, and requests sanctions in relation thereto. Pursuant to CCP §428.10, a party against whom a cause of action has been asserted may file a cross‐ complaint to include any cause of action he has against a person alleged to be liable thereon, if the cross‐ claim (1) arises out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences as the cause brought against him or (2) assert...

Excerpt: ... GRANTED, and unopposed. In their moving pleadings, Defendants make a prima facie showing that they are entitled to judgment against Plaintiffs as a matter of law. The Court GRANTS the Defendants' request for judicial notice. Based on the Declaration of Denise Billups‐Slone, the exhibits attached thereto, including the Declaration of Dr Justin Birnbaum, and the First Amended Complaint filed on June 13, 2019, as well as the other pleadings the C...

Excerpt: ...istress), neglect and abandonment by failing to bring plaintiff food and leaving him in the shower (causing emotional distress), and pharmaceutical abuse (causing plaintiff to fall in the shower). Before the Court this day is a defense demurrer and motion to strike, directing at most of the charging averments in the operative Fifth Amended Complaint. Pertinent Background Facts On or about 02/15/20, plaintiff was transferred from University of Cal...

Excerpt: ... agreement covering the controversy, (2) a demand for arbitration consistent therewith, and (3) a refusal by the other party to arbitrate. The burden rests with the party seeking to compel arbitration to establish these three prerequisites by a preponderance of the evidence. Sandquist v. Lebo Automotive, Inc. (2016) 1 Cal.5th 233, 244; Pinnacle Museum Tower Assn. v. Pinnacle Market Development (US), LLC (2012) 55 Cal.4th 223, 236; Martinez v. Bar...

Excerpt: ...;  on 06/24/17, during a recreational ride within the Oceano Dunes in San Luis Obispo, plaintiffs Julio and Christian sustained serious injuries when the Hisun 1000 roll cage collapsed upon them. Before the Court this day is an unopposed motion to continue trial, and a demurrer to L&K's cross‐ complaint against Hisun for express contractual indemnity and declaratory relief. As to the former, Hisun's motion to continue trial, and to trail all...

Excerpt: ...r and motion to strike directed at the First Amended Complaint, as well as the continued hearing on defendant's motion to compel further responses to special interrogatories. The discovery motion was continued to this date to clear the confusion regarding an opposition brief. In the interim, the parties have filed two more discovery motions, both set for hearing on 06/30/22. For the convenience of the parties, and since the scope of discovery mig...

Excerpt: ...e class allegations, leaving just her PAGA claim. What remains, as such, of this motion is whether the PAGA claim is subject to arbitration. First, defendant did not ask this Court to compel arbitration of the PAGA cause of action (see Notice 2:5‐6 and MPA 1:19‐24). Second, as both sides readily concede, the established law here in California is that PAGA claims are not subject to an aggrieved employee's private agreement with an employer to ...

Excerpt: ... prayer for punitive damages. The issue is whether the third cause of action, to which the prayer for punitive damages attaches, is viable in light of the economic loss rule. The economic loss rule bars most tort claims for purely economic losses covered by a contract, but does not apply to tort claims based on a theory that the defendant actually said something to the plaintiff at or about the time of contracting that was materially false. This ...

Excerpt: ...nt Nirmal Singh – for a derivative undertaking of $50,000. Regarding plaintiffs' motion for clarification, this apparently stems from the following statement contained in this Court's 09/01/21 minute order: “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 aba...

Excerpt: ...pproval. 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.) The class is conditionally certified for purposes of settlement and this matter is therefore d...

Excerpt: ... Motion to Strike Portions of First Amended Complaint; e) DMC Defendants' Demurrer to First Amended Complaint; f) Hospitalists of Modesto Medical Group Inc., Arun Monoharan MD, and Li Huang, MD's Demurrer to Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint – After thorough review of the operative pleading in this case, the Defendants' special motions to strike, the Plaintiff's oppositions thereto, as well as the relevant statute (CCP Section 425.16) and cas...

Excerpt: ...chael C. Kronlund is appointed as referee for all purposes related to discovery in this action. Mr. Kronlund's address and telephone number are as follows: Quinn | Kronlund, LLP, 3439 Brookside Road, Suite 207, Stockton, CA 95219; (877) 943‐3955. 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 matt...