Excerpt: ...fled the store w ith roughly $1,600 worth of unpaid merchandise. One week later, plaintiff was at Lowe's trying to return or exchange some of the flooring reportedly stolen the week prior. According to the arrest warrant, law enforcement confirmed the theft – and the identity of those involved – after viewing store surveillance video, private cell phone video, and information pertaining to the getaway vehicle(s). Plaintiff was charged with va...

Excerpt: ...eciate. Decedent 's family secured a medical transfer to the local Adventist Health emergency room, where decedent was assessed as having a serious brain bleed and a skull fracture. Decedent was transferred to a trauma facility in Modesto, which effectively concluded that decedent was at end -stage dementia. Soon thereafter, decedent was transferred to a private hospice provider in Stanislaus. Decedent passed away on 12/10/22 from acute respirato...

Excerpt: ...nce a petition to compel contractual arbitration is granted, the action at law sits in the twilight zone of abatement with the arbitrator taking over and the trial co urt retaining merely vestigial jurisdiction. Arbitration has a life of its own outside the judicial system. The arbitrator decides questions of procedure and discovery, and all questions needed to determine the controversy. During this time, under its ‘vestigial' jurisdiction, a c...

Excerpt: ...cedent. The school responded with a blanket objection, citing pupil privacy as codified by 20 USC §1232g and CA Education Code §49073 et seq. Plaintiffs have not filed any motion to quash said subpoena, nor have they filed any opposition to the pending motion to compel. Plaintiffs did file an initial objection on 08/16/24, but parties may not stop the discovery train involving non -consumer records with a mere objection. See Monarch Healthcare ...

Excerpt: ...nce a petitio n to compel contractual arbitration is granted, the action at law sits in the twilight zone of abatement with the arbitrator taking over and the trial court retaining merely vestigial jurisdiction. Arbitration has a life of its own outside the judicial system. The arbitrator decides questions of procedure and discovery, and all questions needed to determine the controversy. During this time, under its ‘vestigial' jurisdiction, a c...

Excerpt: ...his action w as ostensibly commenced with the filing of a Complaint on 09/25/2023. The Complaint does not include a signature from either counsel or plaintiff. See Page 3. A Complaint which does not include a signature “shall be stricken” unless the omission is promptly cured. See CCP § 128.7; Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Jr. Univ. v. Superior Court (2007) 149 Cal.App.4th 1154, 1167; Vaccaro v. Kaiman (1998) 63 Cal.App.4th 761, 768. ...

Excerpt: ... contains a single cause of action for quiet title, although plaintiffs are actually seeking a prescriptive easement. A nonexclusive easement acquired by prescription is an easement acquired by use and occupancy. Civil Code §1007; Romero v. Shih (2024) 15 Cal.5th 680, 692. It represents a restricted right to a specific use or activity upon another's property. It is not a type of ownership, but rather an incorporeal interest in land which confers...

Excerpt: ...California Departmen t of Transportation (hereinafter “Caltrans”) to summary adjudicate in its favor the claims asserted by plaintiff (only). Opposition to the motion is made by plaintiff. Co -defendant Sierra Mountain Construction (hereinafter “Sierra”) filed a partial opposition. The salient facts may be summarized as follows:  In the Spring of 2020, Caltrans put the Peaceful Oak Project out to bid. This public works project involved...

Excerpt: ...residence. T he property was inventoried as decedent's primary tangible asset (see PR12140), but the estate cannot be closed until property ownership is clarified. Before the Court this day is an unopposed demurrer directed at plaintiff's verified complaint and all fiv e of the causes of action pled therein. A demurrer presents an issue of law regarding the sufficiency of the allegations set forth in the complaint. Lambert v. Carneghi (2008) 158 ...

Excerpt: ...e property (in this case, a mobile home in Jamestown). The property was inventoried as decedent's primary intestate asset (PR12032), but the estate cannot be closed until the property is distributed. Before the Court this day is a request in this UD action to lift the existi ng stay (see CV400 dtd 10/03/22) so that the administrator may remove the occupants, distribute the residence, and close the estate. That stay in the UD action was expressly ...

Excerpt: ...than principles of e quity). Based on a totality of the circumstances, this Court concludes that leave to amend is in the interests of justice, and no undue prejudice will result. To amend a pleading already at issue, the moving party must: (a) specify in the moving papers by page, paragraph, and line number the allegations proposed to be added and/or deleted; and (b) include with the moving papers a copy of the proposed amended pleading and a de...

Excerpt: ...In light of the proceedings which took place in El Dorado County, i t comes as something of a surprise to this Court that the parties require judicial intervention to solve this patently innocuous condition the parties find themselves in. The filing of a motion to change venue stays proceedings in the case and “suspends th e power of the trial court to act upon any other question until the motion has been determined.” Beard v. Superior Court ...

Excerpt: ...1.97. Defendan t opposes. Once a petition to compel contractual arbitration is granted, the action at law sits in the twilight zone of abatement with the arbitrator taking over and the trial court retaining merely vestigial jurisdiction. Arbitration has a life of its own outside the judicial system. The arbitrator decides questions of procedure and discovery, and all questions needed to determine the controversy. During this time, under its ‘ve...

Excerpt: ... Judy Bennett to provide verified responses to Special Interrogatories; 3. Compel Louis Bennett to provide verified responses to Special Interrogatories; 4. Compel Jennifer Morgan to provide verified responses to Special Interrogatories; 5. Compel Richard Bennett to provide verified responses to Form Interrogatories; 6. Compel Judy Bennett to provide verified responses to Form Interrogatories; 7. Compel Louis Bennett to provide verified responses...

Excerpt: ...withdrawal m otion. Every motion to withdraw must set forth sufficient detail to permit a trial court to discharge its duty of inquiry regarding the grounds for the motion. Courts have a duty of inquiry regarding the grounds for the motion, and are not required to acce pt at face value vague, unsupported or uncertain representations as to reasons why an attorney wants out. Counsel has a corresponding duty to respond and to describe the general na...

Excerpt: ...emingly -obvio us depositions. As of today's date, the court file does not reflect any opposition filed by either plaintiff or any of the three non -party witnesses. Plaintiff's Deposition - Grant Service of a notice of deposition is effective to require a party or party -affiliated witness to attend and to testify. CCP §2025.280. A party may serve written objection to the deposition notice based upon an “error or irregularity” under Article...

Excerpt: ...allegations set f orth in the complaint. Lambert v. Carneghi (2008) 158 Cal.App.4th 1120, 1126. The challenge is limited to the “four corners” of the pleading (which includes exhibits attached and incorporated therein) or from matters outside the pleading which are judicial ly noticeable under Evidence Code §§ 451 or 452. The complaint is read as a whole: material facts properly pleaded are assumed true; contentions, deductions or conclusio...

Excerpt: ...§8386). PG&E disconnected the drop, resulting in an extended loss of electrical service to defenda nt's property. Over the years, this Court has attempted to fashion several remedies to quell the hostilities, to no avail. Before the Court this day is the continu ed hearing on a motion by PG&E seeking a declaratory judgment in its favor regarding the viability of easements to access electrical equipment on defendant's property. This court provide...

Excerpt: ...han principles of equity). By virtue of this Court's previous proclamations (08/09/24, 08/14/24, and 08/23/24), it might appear that the writing is “on the wall” regarding this very motion, which may explain Sierra's failure to file formal opposition beyond that which was contained in the ex parte papers. Nevertheless, this Court took a fresh look at the concerns raised therein, as well as the counter -points raised in CADOT's reply papers. B...

Excerpt: ...At the trial setting conference on 06/28/24, all parties appeared and accepted this Court's setting of trial in early November. Although defense counsel contends that neither he nor his associate “expected the Court to set trial in November,” defense co unsel failed to object to the trial date when set. Because trial continuances are strongly disfavored, any request to continue a trial must be supported by an affirmative showing of good cause...

Excerpt: ...cond, there is the motion filed by Sierra Mountain Construction, directed at CA -DOT'S cross - complaint. Both were filed in Hune, and set for hearing this day (which is the last day such a motion could be heard absent judicial intervention for good cause – see CCP §437c( a)(3)). =n the interim between the filing of the two motions and the scheduled hearing thereon, DOT filed a noticed motion for leave to amend its operative pleading, followed...

Excerpt: ...Constructio n (hereinafter “Sierra”) for contractual indemnity. DOT's original cross - complaint does nor contain any cross- claims for breach of contract, let alone breach of any contractual obligation to indemnify. There is a claim for equitable indemnification, but of course those are not the same thing. However, it is rather plain from Sierra's motion for summary adjudication that Sierra considered DOT's cross -claim for indemnification...

Excerpt: ...rounds during me al breaks. A PAGA claim is a type of qui tam action in which a private plaintiff pursues a dispute between an employer and the state Labor and Workforce Development Agency on behalf of the state. Because the aggrieved employee stands in the shoes of the L WDA when prosecuting and resolving a PAGA claim, the trial court must review and approve any settlement thereof. Before the Court this day is plaintiff's motion to approve the s...

Excerpt: ... Util. Code §8386 ). PG&E disconnected the drop, resulting in an extended loss of electrical service to defendant's property. Over the years, this Court has attempted to fashion several remedies to quell the unnecessary hostilities, to no avail. Before the Court this day is a motion by PG&E seeking a declaratory judgment in its favor regarding the viability of easements to access electrical equipment on defendant's property. The salient facts ar...

Excerpt: ... attorney fe es. Hyduke's Valley Motors v. Lobel Financial Corp. (2010) 189 Cal.App.4th 430, 434. However, a prevailing party may be entitled to recover attorney fees if authorized by contract, statute or law. CCP §1033.5(a)(10). There is such a statute here. Pursuant to Civil Code §1794(d), “if the buyer prevails in an action under this section, the buyer shall be allowed by the court to recover as part of the judgment a sum equal to the agg...