Excerpt: ...s against Defendant barred by an exclusive workers compensation remedy under Privette v. Superior Court (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689 and Melendez v. Ameron International (2015) 240 Cal.App.4th 632. Further, the Court finds that Defendant has not met its initial burden to produce evidence showing that there are no disputed issues of material fact with respect to Defendant's Motion for Summary Adjudication of Plaintiffs' punitive damages claim. LEGAL STAND...

Excerpt: ...e et al (Plaintiffs') shall not attempt to introduce the 1990 Dore Letter, as defined hereinbelow, into evidence at trial, deposition or via Motion and is otherwise prohibited from using or referring to the 1990 Dore Letter in any manner or for any purpose during the course of this litigation. Plaintiffs do not dispute that the 1990 Dore Letter contains attorney-client and attorney work product privileged communications. Instead, Plaintiffs conte...

Excerpt: ...sition of the action in his absence may . . . leave any of the persons already parties subject to a substantial risk of incurring double, multiple, or otherwise inconsistent obligations by reason of his claimed interest." (CCP § 389(a).) "If he has not been so joined, the court shall order that he be made a party." (Id.) If the person "cannot be made a party, the court shall determine whether in equity and good conscience the action should proce...

Excerpt: ...settlement agreement states there will be attorneys' fees of up to $3,750,000 (30%), costs of up to $35,000, a service award of $25,000 for each class representative, and a net PAGA payment of $37,500, and settlement administration costs of $19,850. After these expenses, the class would get $8,607,650. The average payout per class members would be $5,738. The settlement was mediated with the assistance of Tripper Ortman. The court gives "consider...

Excerpt: ...fn. 2.) Therefore, Defendant's motion for summary adjudication of the punitive damage claims is GRANTED. Defendant's motion for summary judgment is DENIED for the reasons set forth below. Plaintiffs contend that plaintiff Robert G. Fenstermacher was exposed to respirable asbestos fibers from Defendant's asbestos-containing steam traps while serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the U.S.S. Bon Homme Richard from 1965 to 1967. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR MOTIONS...

Excerpt: ... for preference that is accompanied by clear and convincing medical documentation that concludes that one of the parties suffers from an illness or condition raising substantial medical doubt of survival of that party beyond six months, and that satisfies the court that the interests of justice will be served by granting the preference." (CCP § 36(d).) Further, "the court may in its discretion grant a motion for preference that is supported by a...

Excerpt: ...s she purchased audio equipment from Sonos "starting in 2015." (Complaint, para. 8.) Plaintiff alleges the equipment had a variety of defects and that "[o]ver the last four years Plaintiff has needed to call tech support likely in excess of 50 times." TIMELINESS OF DEMURRER The Complaint in this matter was served on Defendant on February 21, 2020. The deadline for Defendant to file a responsive pleading fell after the Court was closed as a result...

Excerpt: ...x Costs with respect to Defendant's Memorandum of Costs filed 6/9/2020, but not served on Plaintiffs until 6/22/2020. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR MOTIONS FOR RELIEF FROM DEFAULT Under Code of Civil Procedure section 473(b), "[t]he court may, upon any terms as may be just, relieve a party or his or her legal representative from a judgment, dismissal, order, or other proceeding taken against him or her through his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or...

Excerpt: ...fn. 2.) Therefore, Defendant's motion for summary adjudication of the punitive damage claims is GRANTED. Defendant's motion for summary judgment is DENIED for the reasons set forth below. Plaintiffs contend that plaintiff Robert G. Fenstermacher was exposed to respirable asbestos fibers from Defendant's asbestos-containing steam traps while serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the U.S.S. Bon Homme Richard from 1965 to 1967. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR MOTIONS...

Excerpt: ...id- to late-1970's, was exposed at construction sites on which he worked to respirable asbestos fibers from asbestos- containing stucco and fireproofing manufactured and/or furnished by Defendant to plastering and other contractors, including, inter alia, Joel McCray and Thomas F. Scollan. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND SUMMARY ADJUDICATION "A party may move for summary judgment in an action or proceeding if it is contended ...

Excerpt: ...produce responsive documents pursuant to that Request for Production of Documents. Plaintiff states that PPILP initially responded to this discovery on April 29, 2019 by objecting to every request on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction over PPILP and asserting that the requests are overly broad and burdensome and not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of relevant, admissible evidence. PPILP produced no documents. Plaintiff states that...

Excerpt: ...protective orders." (CCP § 1987.1(a).) "In addition, the court may make any other order as may be appropriate to protect the person from unreasonable or oppressive demands, including unreasonable violations of the right of privacy of the person." (Id.) "[D]iscovery statutes are to be construed broadly in favor of disclosure, so as to uphold the right to discovery whenever possible." (Puerto v. Superior Court (2008) 158 Cal. App. 4th 1242, 1249.)...

Excerpt: ...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) a demand for judgment requesting relief...

Excerpt: ...re not authorized by CCP § 1033.5(a). In all other respects, the Court DENIES the Motion. The Court ORDERS that Defendant shall have as costs of suit against Plaintiffs the total amount of $2,104. If any party wishes to contest the tentative ruling, NO LATER than 4:00 PM on Thursday, July 23, 2020, contesting party must email [email protected] and provide notice to all counsel via File&ServeXpress of the intent to contest the tentati...

Excerpt: ...nt Comerica Bank brings this Petition to Vacate Arbitration Award on the grounds that the arbitrator in this action (hereinafter "Arbitrator") made material omissions and misrepresentations in the initial disclosures and continuing disclosures he was required to provide to the parties as to any grounds for disqualification in violation of California's legal disclosure rules set forth in the California Arbitration Act, California's Ethics Standard...

Excerpt: ... opposing the motion to change venue, '[t]he plaintiff may bolster his or her choice of venue with counter affidavits consistent with the complaint's theory of the type of action but amplifying the allegations relied upon for venue.'" (Id.) "The presumption is, in the absence of an affirmative showing in that particular, that the county in which the title of the action shows that it is brought is, prima facie, the proper county[.]" (Quick v. Cors...

Excerpt: ...ff's counsel is admonished to file separate oppositions for each motion in all future filings. STANDARD OF LAW "The court may, upon a motion . . . or at any time in its discretion, and upon terms it deems proper: (a) [s]trike out any irrelevant, false, or improper matter inserted in 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 orde...

Excerpt: ...ED IN PART. The Motion of plaintiffs for discovery sanctions against BLG is GRANTED IN PART. BACKGROUND On 8/6/10, plaintiffs filed the complaint against Brachfeld and BLG (collectively, "BLG") as well as Midland Funding, LLC, Midland Credit Management, LLC and Midland Funding NCC-2 Corp. (collectively, "Midland "). Midland purchases defaulted debt and makes effort to collet that debt. BLG is a law firm, but it allegedly sent dunning letters and ...

Excerpt: ...ration with the required information. The court's pre-tentative decision is: The motion of plaintiffs for preliminary approval of class action settlement is [GRANTED]. The complaint alleges claims on behalf of hourly employees and asserts claims for Labor Code violations. There are approximately 3,215 members of the class. The case preliminarily settled for a total of $2,700,000. The settlement agreement states there will be attorneys' fees and c...

Excerpt: ... no prejudice to the other parties in a case. DEMURRER The Demurrer of Warrantech to the first amended complaint is OVERRULED. The first amended complaint filed 1/8/20 alleges that Plaintiff purchased a DJI Phantom 4 drone from a third party seller Beach Camera through the Amazon website and at the same time purchased a warranty for the drone from Warrantech through the Amazon website. Plaintiff asserts claims against Warrantech for (1) violation...

Excerpt: ... conducted on Tuesday, July 28, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. in Dept. 19. If any party wishes to contest the tentative ruling, NO LATER than 4:00 PM on Tuesday, July 21, 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 w...

Excerpt: ...California, and that Saks does not provide the warnings required by law. Saks filed a demurrer arguing that it is a "retail seller" and that the complaint does not allege facts that support a claim against a "retail seller" or clearly allege a permissible claim against a "retail seller." The demurrer presents legal issues of statutory construction and pleading standards that must be resolved and then applied to the complaint. GENERAL PLEADING STA...

Excerpt: ...the application of res judicata and injunctive relief claim. IT IS ORDERED THAT Plaintiff file and serve an amended complaint that complies with applicable court rules and rules of civil procedure no later than twenty-one (21) days from the date of this Order. As a threshold matter, Plaintiff's counsel improperly served a single opposition to all three motions set to be heard on July 22, 2020. Plaintiff's counsel is admonished to file separate op...

Excerpt: ...ant. The Court merely notes in the text of this ruling that Martensen owns property adjacent to property owned by Cross- Complainant Yu in the Oakland hills. Cross-Complainant Singh is Yu's business partner and the construction project manager at 80 Roble Road. The Yu property is located downhill from the Martensen property. Martensen commenced his action on December 3, 2019 to indicate his rights under a view easement granted by the former owner...

Excerpt: ...ons under numerous Labor Code provisions in its relationship with non-exempt employees. Plaintiff defines the term "aggrieved employees" as current or former hourly-paid or non-exempt employees who worked for Mattson during the period from November 12, 2018 to February 3, 2020. Plaintiff attached a copy of her November 12, 2019 notice of intent to file PAGA claim delivered to the Labor & Workplace Development Agency ("LWDA") to the Complaint. Def...