Excerpt: ... any pleading[;] . . . [and/or] (b) [s]trike out all or any part of any pleading not drawn or filed in conformity with the laws of this state, a court rule, or an order of the court." (CCP § 436.) An "irrelevant matter," or "immaterial allegation," means: (1) an allegation that is not essential to the statement of a claim or defense; (2) an allegation that is neither pertinent to nor supported by an otherwise sufficient claim or defense; or (3) ...

Excerpt: ... pursuant to Government Code section 831.4. That section provides that a public entity is not liable for an injury caused by a condition of an unpaved road or a trail that provides access to "recreational or scenic areas". Whether the property on which the injury occurs is a trail depends on a number of considerations, including accepted definitions of the property, the purpose for which the property is designed and used, and the purpose of the i...

Excerpt: ...ll parties and their counsel must regard the date set for trial as certain."]; CRC, Rule 3.1322(c) ["[C]ontinuances of trials are disfavored[.]"].) Among other things, the trial date in this action was set on October 2, 2018, and Ontrac has not demonstrated to the Court's satisfaction that it has been unable, or will be unable, despite diligent efforts, to complete essential discovery prior to the cutoff date or to prepare for trial. (See CRC, Ru...

Excerpt: ...est of the real property that is the subject of this action. On September 12, 2014, Plaintiff filed a small claims case against Defendant and Fran Yeganeh (Case No. RG14-740333) in which admitted that he lost title to the subject property to a nonjudicial foreclosure and that he became a tenant of Defendant and Fran Yeganeh in 2012. Those allegations constitute judicial admissions, and Plaintiff is judicially estopped from alleging that he was th...

Excerpt: ...s "fair, adequate and reasonable." (See, e.g., Wershba v. Apple Computer, Inc. (2001) 91 Cal.App.4th 224, 244-45.) Further, the parties are to be prepared to discuss why attorney's fees of $416,666.67 are justified in the present action given that it appears that the parties engaged in discovery and then reached a settlement at mediation in a little over a year after the complaint was filed. Plaintiff's references to the risks taken by counsel in...

Excerpt: ...o intervene by noticed motion or ex parte application." (CCP § 387(c).) "The petition shall include a copy of the proposed complaint in intervention or answer in intervention and set forth the grounds upon which intervention rests." (Id.) "The court shall, upon timely application, permit a nonparty to intervene in the action or proceeding if either of the following conditions is satisfied: (A) [a] provision of law confers an unconditional right ...

Excerpt: ... of the factual allegations in a complaint." (Redfearn v. Trader Joe's Co. (2018) 20 Cal. App. 5th 989, 996.) The Court must determine "whether the complaint alleges facts sufficient to state a cause of action or discloses a complete defense." (Id.) The Court assumes "the truth of the properly pleaded factual allegations, facts that reasonably can be inferred from those expressly pleaded and matters of which judicial notice has been taken." (Id.)...

Excerpt: ... fiscal year) and is then renewed the following year. Plaintiff traveled to different schools within the District to perform her work. Plaintiff is also sometimes assigned to work with students at so-called "Nonpublic Schools" or NPS. The parties do not explain why SLPs are sometimes assigned to serve students at NPS, but Plaintiff does say that the particular school in question, Via, had a contract with the District. In the fall of 2017, a new S...

Excerpt: ...n, but is unclear].) Further, to the extent Plaintiffs seek to add a tort cause of action for emotional distress to the complaint based on the same facts as their breach of contract cause of action, doing so is generally impermissible. (See Erlich v. Menezes (1999) 21 Cal. 4th 543, 551 ["[C]onduct amounting to a breach of contract becomes tortious only when it also violates a duty independent of the contract arising from principles of tort law."]...

Excerpt: ...h Health & Safety Code section 25249.6; (C) the reimbursement of $31,000 for fees and costs to be paid to Plaintiff's counsel pursuant to the CJ is reasonable under California law; and (D) the civil penalty of $4,000 to be paid pursuant to the CJ is reasonable based on the criteria set forth in Health & Safety Code section 25249.7(b)(2). The CJ requires that no later than thirty (30) days after the Effective Date, Defendant Sur La Table, Inc. ("D...

Excerpt: ... a court of this State, the court in which such action or proceeding is pending, shall, upon motion of a party to such action or proceeding, stay the action or proceeding until an arbitration is had in accordance with the order to arbitrate[.]") STANDARD OF LAW "On petition of a party to an arbitration agreement alleging the existence of a written agreement to arbitrate a controversy and that a party thereto refuses to arbitrate such controversy,...

Excerpt: ... such action or proceeding is pending, shall, upon motion of a party to such action or proceeding, stay the action or proceeding until an arbitration is had in accordance with the order to arbitrate[.]") STANDARD OF LAW "On petition of a party to an arbitration agreement alleging the existence of a written agreement to arbitrate a controversy and that a party thereto refuses to arbitrate such controversy, the court shall order the petitioner and ...

Excerpt: ...scription of documents, none of the five documents is relevant nor likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. The documents apparently relate to a potential joint venture "that was never completed." The question of whether or not the logged documents are protected by the attorney-client privilege is moot. For completeness, however, the Court notes that Defendant appears to withdraw its claim of privilege for four of the documents at ...

Excerpt: ....) In amending, Plaintiff shall take note of Defendant's arguments in its demurrer, as to the asserted substantive flaws in each of the causes of action, and Plaintiff shall have a good faith basis in fact and law for asserting causes of action in an amended complaint. (See C.C.P. § 128.7(b).) Plaintiff shall also consider the authority cited in the demurrer, including Flowers v. Torrance Memorial Hospital Medical Center (1994) 8 Cal.4th 992, 10...

Excerpt: ...demnity granted by Section 31. Deacon's Cross-Complaint against MCP clearly constitutes an action to enforce the indemnity provisions of Section 31 of the Agreement. Although Section 31.2(d) specifically provides that MCP is to reimburse Deacon for all legal expenses incurred in enforcing the Agreement's indemnity provision, as a matter of law Section 31.2(d) must be interpreted as awarding legal expenses to whichever party prevails in an action ...

Excerpt: ...r's predecessors. The Court determines that Parker has not met its initial burden under Code of Civil Procedure § 437c(p)(2) of demonstrating that one or more elements of Plaintiffs' claims against Parker cannot be established. To the extent that Parker relies on Plaintiffs' responses to Parker's Special Interrogatories, the Court determines that that those responses are not so factually devoid as to demonstrate that Plaintiffs do not have, and ...

Excerpt: ...r that one or more elements of plaintiff's cause of action cannot be established or that there is a complete defense to that cause of action. (Code Civ. Proc. § 437c, subd. (p)(2).) Once defendant makes this showing, the burden shifts to plaintiff to show the existence of a triable issue of fact regarding the cause of action or defense. (Id.) "There is a triable issue of material fact if, and only if, the evidence would allow a reasonable trier ...

Excerpt: ...adjudication as to each of the nine causes of action therein (and two issues pertaining to "alter ego" liability). Because summary judgment cannot be granted unless Yu is entitled to judgment as to each and every cause of action, the court proceeds by addressing the motion for summary adjudication as to each such cause of action. A. First and Third Causes of Action The motion for summary adjudication as to the First and Third Causes of Action, fo...

Excerpt: ...ry adjudication as to each of the nine causes of action therein (and two issues pertaining to "alter ego" liability). Because summary judgment cannot be granted unless Xie is entitled to judgment as to each and every cause of action, the court proceeds by addressing the motion for summary adjudication as to each such cause of action. A. First and Third Causes of Action The motion for summary adjudication as to the First and Third Causes of Action...

Excerpt: ...which was directed to Richmond Dental Building ("Dental Subpoena"). Both subpoenas seek records pertaining to decedent Stanley Mitchell ("Decedent"), who died on July 10, 2018. The claims in this case, brought by Decedent's son (of the same name), arise from Defendant's handling of Decedent's remains. The motion is based on two arguments: (1) the subpoenas unreasonably infringe on Decedent's constitutional right to privacy under California law; a...

Excerpt: ...ugust 6, 2019. Further, the parties filed a stipulation on July 19, 2019 (granted on July 25, 2019) which addresses Plaintiffs' concerns about the scheduling of Plaintiffs' contemplated motion for summary adjudication. In the reply, filed on August 1, 2019, Plaintiffs do not seek an order compelling those depositions but instead seek monetary sanctions in connection with those depositions and the Khan deposition. As reflected below, that aspect o...

Excerpt: ...claim, Plaintiffs seek discovery related to the vehicle, Defendant's warranty and related policies, and Defendant's analysis and investigation of defects similar to those alleged in regards to the vehicle Plaintiffs purchased. (See Memo. Sup. Mtn., pp. 1-2.) Plaintiffs' present motion asserts Defendant has failed to comply with this Court's orders related to IDCs, particularly an IDC Order of May 29, 2019. (See id. at pp. 3-4.) Defendant does not...

Excerpt: ...ontinued because counsel for Defendant have advised the Court that they recently served supplemental responses to the subject requests for production and began to produce responsive documents to Plaintiff's attorneys. Defendant had maintained for several months that it had no obligation to provide substantive responses or to conduct a search for documents because the UC San Francisco Police Department executed a broad search warrant at its office...

Excerpt: ... the evidentiary problems, the Court nevertheless concludes that Plaintiff is entitled to summary judgment on its Complaint to Quiet Title as to the real property located at 11784 Castle Court, in Dublin. Hollyvale Rental Holdings, LLC, as the party that acquired the property at the Trustee's Sale, does not have any personal knowledge of the transactions and events that resulted in the property being sold. Plaintiff nevertheless insists on procee...

Excerpt: ...ference on January 29, 2019. Attorney Roseann Torres did not appear at the Case Management Conference and did not file a CMC Statement requesting an early trial date. Plaintiff's counsel then waited until May 16, 2019 to file this motion. Plaintiff's request for a trial date within 120 days of August 8, 2019 is denied. See CCP § 36(f). The Court is familiar with Plaintiff's advanced age and the circumstances resulting in her injury on August 10,...