Excerpt: ...rt that the unredacted documents may contain evidence regarding liability for the alleged asbestos exposure that occurred during Decedent's employment. Specifically, JKBCI speculates that the redacted information may include details regarding Decedent's job duties, work stations and job classifications that differ from Plaintiffs' allegations. Initially, Plaintiffs had objected to the approximately 450-page production of employment records obtain...

Excerpt: ...on for parties to file motions for summary judgment and for summary adjudication without conducting much if any discovery. The Court acknowledges the cost of litigation for Defendants accused of failing to comply with the myriad requirements imposed by the Labor Code and industrial wage orders. Defendants certainly would not be in a more favorable position if the Court were to grant their dispositive motion without the requisite supporting factua...

Excerpt: ...rts.ca.gov and provide notice to all counsel via File&ServeXpress of the intent to contest the tentative order. If not timely contested, and the tentative ruling will become the final order of the Court. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT "A party may move for summary judgment in an action or proceeding if it is contended that the action has no merit or that there is no defense to the action or proceeding." (CCP § 437c(a)(1).) "[T]he party mov...

Excerpt: .... 4th at p.851.) If the plaintiff makes a prima facie showing that evidence exists to support all elements of a cause of action, then the burden shifts to the defendant to show that one or more triable issues of material fact exist. (CCP section 437c(p)(1).) The Plaintiff has no burden to disprove affirmative defenses and cross-complaints. (Ibid.; Consumer Cause, Inc. v. SmileCare (2001) 91 Cal.App.4th 454, 468.) To establish triable issues of ma...

Excerpt: ...irst, the settlement anticipates funding the settlement in two stages (para 3.04) and then making distributions to the class members in two stages. (para 3.01). The funding would be $100,000 six months after preliminary approval (estd 12/25/21) and the balance of $150,000 two months after final approval (estd 2/3/22). The court has no concerns with the two-tier funding, but is not rationally related to the two-tier distribution. Regarding the dis...

Excerpt: ...ollowing findings: (1) [t]he party has a substantial interest in the action as a whole[;] [and] (2) [t]he health of the party is such that a preference is necessary to prevent prejudicing the party's interest in the litigation." (CCP § 36(a).) "The standard under subdivision (a), unlike under subdivision (d), which is more specific and more rigorous, includes no requirement of a doctor's declaration." (Fox v. Superior Court (2018) 21 Cal. App. 5...

Excerpt: ...Complaint that asserted subclasses that could plausibly be certified. The order of 4/9/21 stated: "At the hearing on 4/7/21, plaintiff noted that the creation of subclasses will arguably require that there be a representative for each subclass and on that basis requested leave to add new plaintiffs to the case to act as representatives of any subclasses. The court does not in this order permit plaintiff to add new plaintiffs. Plaintiff may file a...

Excerpt: ...ce, and on any terms as may be proper, allow a party to amend any pleading[.]" (CCP § 473(a)(1).) "[T]rial courts are to liberally permit such amendments, at any stage of the proceeding[.]" (Hirsa v. Superior Court (1981) 118 Cal. App. 3d 486, 488-89.) A court's discretion is usually exercised liberally to permit amendment of the pleadings, and it is a rare case in which denial of leave to amend can be justified. (See, e.g., Howard v. County of ...

Excerpt: ...para 44.) The parties may also address any other issues raised by this order. Plaintiffs and defendants must file any supplemental papers five court days before the continued hearing date, and send email courtesy copies to Dept 21. The court's PRE-TENTATIVE order is as follows: The Motion of Plaintiff for approval of PAGA settlement under Labor Code 2699(l)(2) is [UNDECIDED]. The Motion of Plaintiff for dismissal of class claims under CRC 3.770 i...

Excerpt: ...der Joe's Co. (2018) 20 Cal.App.5th 989, 996.) Plaintiff Portobello Residential Owners Association (the HOA) interviewed CIDology about whether it could do certain work regarding construction management. CIDology represented it could do the work, but knew that it could not do the work. (1AC, paras 69, 76, 85.) On 1/16/17, the HOA and CIDology entered into a contract. (1ACt, para 18, Exh 1.) Following the work, there were water intrusion issues. (...

Excerpt: ...murrer to the eighth cause of action. LEGAL STANDARD A general demurrer tests the sufficiency of the complaint, i.e., whether it states facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action upon which relief may be based. (Code Civ. Proc., § 430.10, subd. (e); Aragon-Haas v. Family Security Ins. Services, Inc. (1991) 231 Cal.App.3d 232, 238. ) The complaint must be "liberally construed, with a view to substantial justice between the parties." (Code C...

Excerpt: ...Defendants demurred to analogous causes of action in Dollaga's original operative complaint. The Court sustained that demurrer with leave to amend on March 30, 2021. Dollaga availed herself of the Court's leave and filed the FAC on April 15, 2021. The demurrer to the third cause of action is OVERRULED. The demurrer to the sixth cause of action is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND. Defendants are ordered to serve and file their answer the FAC withi...

Excerpt: ...at Homesite Services, Inc. owed Cross-Complainants a duty to defend and indemnify them in this personal injury action arising out of an accident occurring on a construction site. The Court ordered counsel for Cross-Complainant to submit a revised proposed order for its consideration. Cross-Complainant did submit a proposed order, but counsel apparently did not give opposing counsel an opportunity to approve it as to form as required by Rule of Co...

Excerpt: ...e potential liability for the claims alleged. Additionally, the court is concerned about the low settlement amount given the large number of aggrieved employees, 5,592, which would result in very small amounts that would ultimately be distributed to the individual aggrieved employees. The court is not convinced that the settlement is "fair, adequate and reasonable." (See, e.g., Wershba v. Apple Computer, Inc. (2001) 91 Cal.App.4th 224, 244-45.) P...

Excerpt: ...21, and by Defendant in support of its reply to Plaintiff's opposition on April 16, 2021. The Court may grant Defendant's motion to seal if it expressly finds that facts exist that establish: (1) There exists an overriding interest that overcomes the right of public access to the record; (2) The overriding interest supports sealing the record; (3) A substantial probability exists that the overriding interest will be prejudiced if the record is no...

Excerpt: ...ailer worker employed by Defendant from 2016 until 2020. Plaintiff alleges in paragraph 1 of the Complaint that he is representing the State of California and "other current and former employees at a retail store location" who were employed from April 24, 2019 until the date when judgment is entered. Plaintiff initially requested that the case be deemed complex and assigned to Department 23. On October 6, 2020, Plaintiff's request that the Court ...

Excerpt: ...ion of Jay Siegan Presents, LLC, to strike the cross-complaint (R-2261530) is DROPPED. BACKGROUND Defendants International Musicians League ("IML") and International Artists League ("IAL") are businesses the provided bands for events doing business as "Lucky Devils Band." Defendant IML and IAL advertise themselves as providing services to musicians. (2AC, para 27(a) and (b).) IML and IAL arrange events for musicians to showcase their talent. (2AC...

Excerpt: ...party must email [email protected] and provide notice to all counsel of the intent to contest the tentative order. Any requested hearing will most likely be conducted using the Blue Jeans Network, password # 5102676935. If a hearing is requested, the Court will advise the parties of the manner in which the hearing will be conducted in advance of the hearing. If not timely contested, and the tentative ruling will become the final order...

Excerpt: ...nsel. (Settlement Agreement, Exhibit A to Kennick Decl.) The Settlement Agreement required defendants to pay plaintiff a total of $65,000. The Settlement Agreement specified "Plaintiff agrees to vacate the unit (309) and move to unit 307 on or before January 19, 2021. Plaintiff agrees to remain in the next door unit until repairs are completed and approved by the City of Berkeley." (Id.) It appears from the evidence presented that defendants have...

Excerpt: ...ing reviewed the parties' respective papers, the Court is not impressed with the parties' respective meet and confer efforts to date regarding the at-issue matters. At an Informal Discovery Conference on this matter, the Court advised the parties that it would be inclined to order the parties to engage in a Belaire-West Notice process before compelling Defendant to turn over contact information for unrepresented Class members. (See Belaire-West L...

Excerpt: ...on. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS The issue on this motion is whether Bergy must answer certain questions. IML asserts that some of the information sought was IML's trade secrets or confidential business information. This is not a basis for refusing to answer. The parties entered into a protective order and the protective order has an "attorneys eyes only" provision that can apply to was IML's trade secrets or confidential business information. IML assert...

Excerpt: ...ditional information and proof of revisions to the Settlement Agreement and Class Notice identified below shall be filed with the Court no later than Wednesday, July 7, 2021, with courtesy copies provided by email to Dept. 19 on the date of filing. IF ANY PARTY WISHES TO CONTEST THIS TENTATIVE RULING, NO LATER than 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22, 2021 contesting party must email [email protected] and provide notice to all counsel of th...

Excerpt: ...ATER than 4:00 PM on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, the contesting party must email [email protected] and provide notice to all counsel of the intent to contest the tentative order. Any requested hearing will most likely be conducted using the Blue Jeans Network, password # 5102676935. If a hearing is requested, the Court will advise the parties of the manner in which the hearing will be conducted in advance of the hearing. If not timely con...

Excerpt: ...PARTY WISHES TO CONTEST THIS TENTATIVE RULING, NO LATER than 4:00 PM on Tuesday, June 22, 2021, the contesting party must email [email protected] and provide notice to all counsel of the intent to contest the tentative order. ANY REQUESTED HEARING WILL BE CONDUCTED ON WEDNESDAY, March 3, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. in Dept. 19 and will most likely be conducted using the Blue Jeans Network, password # 5102676935. If a hearing is requested, the C...

Excerpt: ...NTATIVE RULING, NO LATER than 4:00 PM on Friday, June 18, 2021, the contesting party must email [email protected] and provide notice to all counsel of the intent to contest the tentative order. Any requested hearing will most likely be conducted using the Blue Jeans Network, password # 5102676935. If a hearing is requested, the Court will advise the parties of the manner in which the hearing will be conducted in advance of the hearing...

Excerpt: ...n v. Apple Inc. (N.D. Cal. 2020) 500 F.Supp.3d 993, 1019-1022, that the Cal. Supreme Court's grounds for finding an exception to the economic loss rule where the defendant manufacturer has engaged in intentional misrepresentation applies also to properly pleaded claims of fraudulent concealment. (Robinson Helicopter Co., Inc. v. Dana Corp. (2004) 34 Cal.4th 979.) Nevertheless, Plaintiff in Opposition fails to address Bigler-Engler v. Breg, Inc. (...

Excerpt: ...d v. Brachfeld case but that Midland (having asserted the privilege) could not use those documents. (Orders of 10/6/20 and 1/14/21) Plaintiff now seeks three documents; (1) the Audit report (2) the Wohlfert Depo Exh 12; and (3) the Mikhail Depo Exh 3. Plaintiff asserts that they are not privileged or protected and if so, then the privilege or protection was waived because a "significant part of the communication" was disclosed. (Evid Code 912(a)....

Excerpt: ...to one or more causes of action within an action, one or more affirmative defenses, one or more claims for damages, or one or more issues of duty, if the party contends that the cause of action has no merit, that there is no affirmative defense to the cause of action, that there is no merit to an affirmative defense as to any cause of action, that there is no merit to a claim for damages . . . , or that one or more defendants either owed or did n...

Excerpt: ...o provide the Court with courtesy copies of the relevant pleadings if it is reasonably likely that the Court will need to review them to decide a motion. The Clerk's Office does not provide the individual departments with any portion of the court file for law and motion matters. The allegations in the Complaint indicates that Plaintiffs S.R. and J.O. are developmentally disabled high school students who attended Mt. Eden High School during the 20...

Excerpt: ...s cases and PAGA cases. (Lacour v. Marshalls of CA, LLC (2021) 2021 WL 2211953.) Below is a summary. The court uses the Supreme Court's preferred terms of claim preclusion and issue preclusion. (DKN Holdings LLC v. Faerber (2015) 61 Cal.4th 813, 824.) "[T]he preclusive effect of a prior judgment is determined by the court in which it is asserted, not the court that rendered it." (In re Fireside Bank Cases (2010) 187 Cal.App.4th 1120, 1131.) Where...

Excerpt: ...vices, Inc. (1991) 231 Cal.App.3d 232, 238. ) The complaint must be "liberally construed, with a view to substantial justice between the parties." (Code Civ. Proc. § 452.) The court gives the complaint a reasonable interpretation, and treats the demurrer as admitting all material facts properly pleaded. (Aubry v. Tri-City Hosp. Dist. (1992) 2 Cal.4th 962, 966-67; Blank v. Kirwan (1985) 39 Cal.3d 311, 318.) The court may consider all material fac...

Excerpt: ... budget related delays in filing, scanning, and serving its orders. The Judicial Council form interrogatories are designed for use in factually focused single plaintiff litigation. The form interrogatories re not designed for class actions or other cases where phrases like "Incident" cannot be defined with reference to a discrete time and place. Accordingly, the court considers the adequacy of the responses as they relate to plaintiff's individua...

Excerpt: ...rporation (2017) 15 Cal.App.5th 214, 220, citing Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (2001) 25 Cal. 4th 826, 843.) Summary judgment is proper only when "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." (Code of Civil Procedure ["CCP"] § 437c(c).) When a defendant moves for summary judgment, it is the defendant's burden as movant to show, for each cause of action, that "one o...

Excerpt: ..., Plaintiffs fail to allege facts suggesting that Tesla owned, operated, used, or drove the subject vehicle at the time of the accident. The Complaint alleges that Defendants Romeo Lagman Yalung (hereinafter "RYalung") and Vilima Yalung, not Tesla, owned the subject vehicle at the time of the accident. (See Complaint, paragraphs 4-5.) The Complaint alleges that at the time of the accident, the subject vehicle was occupied by RYalung, who was oper...

Excerpt: .... [Citation.] Further, we give the complaint a reasonable interpretation, reading it as a whole and its parts in their context. [Citation.]" (Blank v. Kirwan (1985) 39 Cal.3d 311, 318.) Every complaint must "set forth the essential facts of the plaintiff's case with reasonable precision and with particularity sufficient to acquaint the defendant with the nature, source, and extent of the plaintiff's claim." (Prue v. Brady Company/San Diego, Inc. ...

Excerpt: ...Oakland ("the City") asserts two causes of action against EBMUD, for nuisance and declaratory relief. Both causes of action are premised on the contention that EBMUD's placement of the metal trench plates on Richmond Boulevard "created a condition which interferes with the customary use, enjoyment, and free passage of the Street, and is a nuisance." (See Complaint, paragraph 10.) But the undisputed facts, as supported by admissible evidence, demo...

Excerpt: ...ms pled and the facts alleged by Plaintiff Wilson in the operative Fourth Amended Complaint filed on May 13, 2020. Defendant filed several demurrers, motions to strike, and a motion for judgment on the pleadings in response to Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint and Third Amended Complaint. On August 10, 2020, Defendant served the subject contention interrogatories on Plaintiff Wilson. Based on its review of the Fourth Amended Complaint, I belie...

Excerpt: ...ated in prior meet and confers that Plaintiff will not oppose the motion to strike. Therefore, the court GRANTS the motion to strike and STRIKES the Second (erroneously labeled "Third") Cause of Action, in the First Amended Complaint, in its entirety, Pages 4:13-5:17 as to Defendant Kritika Sehgal. PUNITIVE DAMAGES Plaintiff seeks to strike the third cause of action for Punitive Damages, as well as the prayer for "Punitive Damages/Exemplary Damag...

Excerpt: ... to determine whether Hilary Altman is entitled to reasonable fees under CCP 425.16(c). (Moore v. Liu (1999) 69 Cal.App.4th 745, 750-751.) Hilary Altman has reserved a hearing on a motion for fees for 8/6/21. The court ORDERS the parties to meet and confer regarding the amount of fee and make a reasonable effort to settle the issue of fees. This includes discussion about whether Altman requested dismissal of the claim before she filed the motion ...

Excerpt: ...ny prior lawsuits. IF ANY PARTY WISHES TO CONTEST THIS TENTATIVE RULING, NO LATER than 4:00 PM on Tuesday, June 15, 2020, the contesting party must email [email protected] and provide notice to all counsel of the intent to contest the tentative order. ANY REQUESTED HEARING will most likely be conducted using the Blue Jeans Network, password # 5102676935. If a hearing is requested, the Court will advise the parties of the manner in whi...

Excerpt: ...at no such cause of action is recognized under California law. In fact, California law does recognize a cause of action for breach of mandatory duty pursuant to Government Code § 815.6, and it has three required elements. (See, e.g., Guzman v. County of Monterey (2009) 178 Cal.App.4th 983, 991.) First, the statute or enactment on which the cause of action is based must require that a particular action be taken and include specific rules and guid...

Excerpt: ...t have engaged in numerous federal and state court actions that have already determined conclusively that Defendant has lawful title to the real property known as 2132 Longview Drive, San Leandro, CA (the "Subject Property") pursuant to a Trustee's Deed dated 8/25/2010 following a non-judicial foreclosure sale under a Deed of Trust dated 5/3/2007, which Mitchell executed. IF ANY PARTY WISHES TO CONTEST THIS TENTATIVE RULING, NO LATER than 4:00 PM...

Excerpt: ...tional compensation to which it was not entitled. Although the parties' contract included a procedure by which Flatiron could pursue claims for additional compensation, the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing imposes on each party the duty to assert its contractual rights fairly and in good faith. (See, e.g., Careau & Co. v. Security Pacific Business Credit Inc. (1990) 222 Cal.App.3d 1371, 1393 and Carma Developers (Cal.) Inc. v. Mara...

Excerpt: ...on the ground that the vegetation on the median strip was not a cause of the accident. On 11/5/20, both plaintiff Russell and defendant Zitani both filed oppositions to the City's motion for summary judgment. On 3/15/21, the court granted the City's motion for summary judgment. On 3/19/21, the City filed a memorandum of costs for $30.036.17. On 5/24/21, the City submitted a proposed judgment stating that it had prevailed against plaintiff Russell...

Excerpt: ...2014, Attorney Scott Greenspan was employed by Sedgwick. While at Sedgwick, Greenspan represented defendants American Home Assurance Company and National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburg, PA. (Greenspan Dec., para 22, 25.) Greenspan also defended AIG Claims on several coverage and bad faith cases and interacted with AIG Claims personnel on several matters. (Greenspan Dec, para 10-11, 30.) None of the cases or matters concerned either thi...

Excerpt: ...cord, Aanderud v. Superior Court (2017) 13 Cal.App.5th 880, 889.) As a result of this "strong public policy in favor of arbitration[,] ... any doubts regarding the arbitrability of a dispute are resolved in favor of arbitration." (Aanderud, at p. 890.) Public policy is not a consideration, however, until after a court has found the parties agreed to arbitrate their dispute. (Metters v. Ralphs Grocery Co. (2008) 161 Cal.App.4th 696, 701.) That is ...

Excerpt: ...nd was exposed to benzene from 1970 through 1973. (Cpt para 1, B-E.) Plaintiff worked in Sacramento County and Placer County and was exposed to benzene from 1974 through 2019. (Cpt para 1, F-P.) Plaintiff currently resides in El Dorado County. Plaintiff's health care providers are located in Sacramento County and Placer County. PROCEDURE AND EVIDENCE. The motion is timely. "There is no time fixed by statute when an action may be transferred for t...

Excerpt: ...7c(a)(1).) "A party may move for summary adjudication as to one or more causes of action within an action, one or more affirmative defenses, one or more claims for damages, or one or more issues of duty, if the party contends that the cause of action has no merit, that there is no affirmative defense to the cause of action, that there is no merit to an affirmative defense as to any cause of action, that there is no merit to a claim for damages . ...

Excerpt: ...time. The limit is due to a "clear cap" of 14 hours of deposition cross-examination, imposed by a new statute passed by the California Legislature, for deponents regarding whom a licensed physician has declared suffers from mesothelioma and that there is substantial medical doubt of the survival of the deponent beyond six months. (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2025.295.) Sadly, Mr. Edwards falls into that category. The Moving Defendants contend that th...

Excerpt: ...performed on Plaintiff's vehicle. Defendants earlier demurrer was granted with leave to amend. Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint is challenged by both defendants again. First Amended Complaint The First Amended Complaint ("FAC") alleged the following facts: On August 23, 2018, Plaintiff took his vehicle to MEI's Big O Tires service station to "get a flat tire on his car fixed." (FAC ¶ 15.) Although Plaintiff never asked for or consented to an...