Excerpt: ...ey Fees, 04/20/2021 Cases, including ex parte matters, will be called at 9 a.m., or earlier, if the Parties are ready. Please check in withthecourtroom clerk by 8:45 a.m. If appearing by Court Call, please call in between 8:35 and 8:45 a.m. If you wish to submit on the court's tentative decision, please send an email to the court at:[email protected]. Absent waiver of notice and in the event an order is not signed at the hearing, ...

Excerpt: ...red document is irrelevant to the Court's determination of the instant motion. (People v. Rowland (1992) 4 Cal.4th 238, 268, fn. 6.) Defendant's motion for summary adjudication as to issues 1‐3 is DENIED. (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (p)(2).) “A motion for summary adjudication shall be granted only if it completely disposes of a cause of action, an affirmative defense, a claim for damages, or an issue of duty.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c...

Excerpt: ...ary District to prepare proposed judgment. Demurrer to Plaintiff's Fourth Amended Complaint This is a civil action for reliance damages resulting from a report issued in 2014 allegedly overestimating the number of new customer hook‐up options into defendant's sewer system. The operative pleading has gone through a number of iterations, landing now at the Fourth Amended Complaint. Before the Court this day is a demurrer filed by both Jamestown S...

Excerpt: ...n…” (Platypus Wear, Inc. v. Goldberg (2008) 166 Cal.App.4th 772, 787 [“Platypus”].) However, “a trial court must be wary about freely granting a party the right to file an anti‐SLAPP motion past the 60–day deadline.” (Ibid.) “In exercising its discretion in considering a party's request to file an anti‐SLAPP motion after the 60–day period, a trial court must carefully consider whether allowing such a filing is consistent wit...

Excerpt: ...0 p.m. If you wish to appear for oral argument, you must so notify the Court and all other parties by 4:00 p.m. one court day before the hearing, pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 3.1308. The phone number for Department 2 is (209) 533‐6555. The tentative ruling will become the ruling of the Court if the Court has not directed oral argument by its tentative ruling and notice of intent to appear has not been given. Page 3 of 3 This is a...

Excerpt: ...ican Textile (and sold at Walmart). Before the Court this day is a defense motion to bifurcate liability from damages. The defense concern is two‐fold: first, with liability being the main thrust in contention, having a trial on just this issue will avoid the cost associated with a damages phase; and second, by keeping liability separate from damages, there is less chance the jury will be improperly guided by sympathy in deciding the liability ...

Excerpt: ...g hit in the head by a falling pine tree – cut down by defendant. The dispute was submitted to a jury, which returned a verdict favorable to plaintiff in the amount of $37,085.00. Before the Court this day is a defense motion to tax costs and enter an amended judgment consistent with CCP §998. On 07/20/21, defendants caused to be served upon plaintiff a joint statutory offer to compromise in the amount of $40,000.00. On 08/04/21, trial commenc...

Excerpt: ... decision by the State Water Resources Control Board regarding clean water discharge from the Don Pedro and La Grange Projects along the Tuolumne Rover. Before the Court this day is a motion by the State Water Resources Control Board to transfer venue from here to “a neutral county” or to “an out‐of‐county judge” assigned to hear the matter here. Initially, this Court rejects the contention that the motion to transfer is time‐barred...

Excerpt: ...f the individual defendants. The demurrer is sustained with 30 days leave to amend. First, public entities are no longer liable for “general negligence,” and can only be held accountable pursuant to statute. See Gov. Code §815; Quigley v. Garden Valley Fire Protection Dist. (2019) 7 Cal.5th 798, 803‐ 804. A viable claim must be expressly tethered to a precise statute, and none of plaintiff's three causes of action identify any such statute...

Excerpt: ...ge” assigned to hear the matter here. Initially, this Court rejects the contention that the motion to transfer is time‐ barred in any way. Although both sides agree that motions to transfer should occur as promptly as possible, it made sense to await consolidation of the actions before presenting the motion to change venue. Otherwise, there would need to be two separate venue motions. On to the merits … Venue rules designate a particular co...

Excerpt: ...or oral argument, you must so notify the Court and all other parties by 4:00 p.m. one court day before the hearing, pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 3.1308. The phone number for Department 2 is (209) 588‐2382. The tentative ruling will become the ruling of the Court if the Court has not directed oral argument by its tentative ruling and notice of intent to appear has not been given. Page 2 of 4 This is a personal injury action, arisi...

Excerpt: ...poenas for Plaintiff's Health Insurance Records, etc. Moving Party: Plaintiff Motion filed: October 1, 2021 Tentative ruling: Motions are continued to December 2, 2021, at 1:30 p.m., in Dept. 1, at 12855 Justice Center Drive, Sonora, CA. Parties are ordered to meet and confer with genuine attempt at resolving the discovery issues before them. The parties shall file at least 10 calendar days prior to Dec. 2, 2021, a joint statement – not to exce...

Excerpt: ...gainst it. Plaintiff contends that a section of Chicken Ranch Road just west of Nelson Road is a dangerous condition of public property because (1) there are no roadway markings prohibiting cars from passing one another and (2) overgrown foliage adjacent to a bend in the road makes the risk of injury while passing other vehicles substantial due to a limited line of sight (aka “blind curve”). Defendant counters that the absence of roadway mark...

Excerpt: ...unfulfilled expectations for use of land acquired for development. Before the Court this day is a demurrer by both defendants, directed at the operative Third Amended Complaint. A demurrer presents an issue of law regarding the sufficiency of the allegations set forth in the complaint. The challenge is limited to the “four corners” of the pleading (which includes exhibits attached and incorporated therein), or from matters outside the pleadin...

Excerpt: ... file a First Amended Complaint. The original complaint was filed 12/31/20, and contains what appeared to be two causes of action: one for property damage, and one for contempt. Plaintiffs request leave to add a new cause of action for quiet title over the ongoing boundary dispute, as well as a revised identification of the proper defendant party. Plaintiffs' first motion for leave was denied without prejudice due to a myriad of procedural defect...

Excerpt: ...hospitality industry. The operative pleading is the First Amended Complaint, which contains seven (7) causes of action and a single proposed class as follows: “all persons employed by Defendant First Light Resorts, LLC in a non‐exempt position at Rush Creek Lodge in Groveland, California, between 12/11/16 and 03/16/21.” The operative pleading was first filed on 06/09/21, which predates the pending motion by three weeks. Before the Court thi...

Excerpt: ...represented individual on 01/22/20. He seeks recovery in the pecuniary amount of $10M. Before the Court this day is a defense demurrer to the operative pleading, which is the First Amended Complaint filed 03/23/20. The pleading is on a Judicial Council form, and includes two causes of action: one for negligence, and another for “intentional tort.” The FAC fails to designate defendant capacities, which is complicated by the fact that plaintiff...

Excerpt: ...sis for the motion more closely resembles a plea in abatement under CCP §430.10(c) than a true motion to strike, for the reasons which follow, the motion for relief is MOOT. Procedural Background On January 5, 2021, plaintiff Stanley Redick III (hereinafter “plaintiff”) commenced a civil action for damages against Lowe's, relating to the referenced 2018 incident. That filing was assigned case number CV63539. This case has since been removed ...

Excerpt: ...t interest set forth in the Judicial Council form complaint at Paragraph 11.g. For the reasons which follow, the motion is denied. Before reaching the merits, it is important to point out that defense counsel failed to faithfully discharge his statutory obligation to meet and confer prior to filing the motion to strike. Pursuant to CCP §435.5(a), “before filing a motion to strike pursuant to this chapter, the moving party shall meet and confer...

Excerpt: ...osition has been filed. For the reasons which follow, the demurrer to the 2nd cause of action for intentional tort is SUSTAINED without leave to amend, but without prejudice to later motion for leave to amend if the facts discovered so warrant. Defendants to answer in 10 days. Legal Analysis by Demurrer of the Cause of Action for Intentional Tort A demurrer presents an issue of law regarding the sufficiency of the allegations set forth in the com...

Excerpt: ...unty of San Francisco (CV63828), which is set for a hearing on 08/17/21. Based on a review of the operative pleadings, is does appear that the two cases involve the same controversy and are likely to require substantial duplication if resolved separately. A Notice of Related Case has been filed, and the time to Tentative Rulings: Department 2 Tuesday, June 29, 2021 Civil Law and Motion Calendar 8:30 a.m. If you wish to appear for oral argument, y...

Excerpt: ...According to proofs of service filed herein, each of the four named defendants was personally served with the summons and complaint as follows:  Avalon Care Center – Sonora (04/12/21)  Avalon Health Care Management (04/12/21)  Avalon of California, LLC (04/12/21)  Genesis Leininger (04/19/21) Since a trial court gains personal jurisdiction over a putative defendant upon service of the summons, and there being no facial defect in the...

Excerpt: ...d of reasons, the default/judgment were void ab initio and must be set aside. The motion is GRANTED. Procedural Background On 01/19/21, plaintiff Stanley Redick III (hereinafter “plaintiff”) commenced the pending civil action for damages, naming “Tuolumne County Jail” as a defendant therein. Plaintiff described Tuolumne County Jail as (1) “a business organization, form unknown,” (2) “a public entity,” and (3) “a corporation or u...

Excerpt: ...ction of business records. Discovery demanded from a nonparty will generally be more limited, and consequently less subject to lengthy dispute, than discovery demanded from a party. See CCP §§ 1987(a), 2020.220(a), 2020.430; Board of Registered Nursing v. Superior Court (2021) 59 Cal.App.5th 1011, 1030‐1032; Unzipped Apparel, LLC v. Bader (2007) 156 Cal.App.4th 123, 130. Here, there are two non‐party subpoenas at issue, both issued by the d...

Excerpt: ...amend is DENIED. The motion is post‐trial and is not brought for the purpose of conforming to proof at trial. The motion is also DENIED because it does not contain a proposed amended complaint, nor does it contain a declaration indicating: (1) the effect of the amendment; (2) why the amendment is necessary and proper; (3) when the facts giving rise to the amended allegations were discovered; and (4) the reasons why the request for amendment was...