Excerpt: ...s complaints of the flooding of the whole block of Ocean Avenue, which he purports is due to the upward slanting of Vallejo Street. (FAC ¶ 1.) Plaintiff claims that as a result, the foundation of his home has been undermined and his property has been deemed unfit for habitation. (Id. ¶ 4.) Plaintiff asserts that Defendant has intentionally or negligently failed to relieve the flooding in the area by failing to install a dedicated storm drain. (...

Excerpt: ...Act of 2004 ("PAGA") (Lab. Code § 2698 et seq.). Plaintiff's attorney represented that a copy of this motion was transmitted to the LWDA on October 4, 2019. (Declaration of Justin F. Marquez ["Marquez Dec."] ¶ 8, Ex. B.) The LWDA has not appeared in this action to offer comments on, or objections to, the proposed settlement. In her First Amended Complaint, Plaintiff also purports to state individual claims for violations of various Labor Code s...

Excerpt: ...en." (Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 2.550(c).) "The court may order that a record be filed under seal only if it expressly finds facts that establish: (1) [t]here exists an overriding interest that overcomes the right of public access to the record; (2) [t]he overriding interest supports sealing the record; (3) [a] substantial probability exists that the overriding interest will be prejudiced if the record is not sealed; (4) [t]he proposed sealing is...

Excerpt: ...5, 2019, when it should have been served by October 25, 2019), and filed an untimely reply brief on October 19, 2019. (People v. $17,522.08 United States Currency (2006) 142 Cal. App. 4th 1076, 1084 ["Both civil litigants and criminal defendants who represent themselves in the trial court are held to the same standards as are parties who are represented by counsel."]; Gamet v. Blanchard (2001) 91 Cal. App. 4th 1276, 1284 ["[P]ro per litigants are...

Excerpt: ...tore's ("Plaintiff") February 13, 2019 FAC states that he is the leaseholder of a unit at a commercial property in Oakland (the "Property"), and brings this action against Bay Dev, owner of the Property, and Parker, the managing member and principal owner of Bay Dev. In January 2010, Plaintiff entered into a rental agreement with the original owner of the Property for five years, with an option to renew for an additional five years on like terms ...

Excerpt: ...the County of San Joaquin ("SJHA"). Plaintiff also seeks a protective order, and for expenses and sanctions in the sum of $4,110. STANDARD OF LAW "[T]he court, upon motion reasonably made by [a party] . . . may make an order quashing the subpoena entirely, modifying it, or directing compliance with it upon those terms or conditions as the court shall declare, including protective orders." (CCP § 1987.1(a).) "In addition, the court may make any o...

Excerpt: ...the ground that there is a another action pending is SUSTAINED. In the First Cause of Action, Plaintiff seeks to quiet title to a month-to-month tenancy at 7203A Holly Street, Oakland, and the Second Cause of Action seeks a declaration that Plaintiff owns has month-to-month tenancy. Plaintiff does not seek to establish an ownership in interest in the real property, but merely the right to reside there as a tenant. Defendant Dellesia Onifade's com...

Excerpt: ... amount of $1,000 for rental assistance for Plaintiff. (Declaration of Gia Austin-Carroll ("Austin Dec."), Ex. 1 at p. 6.) Plaintiff asserts that it is undisputed that the $1,000 was paid by the American Red Cross, and that Ms. Smith acknowledged receipt of the $1,000, and she later confirmed that the full $1,500 security deposit was paid. Plaintiff asserts that her tenancy terminated in October 4, 2016. Defendant Dellesia Onifade's ("Defendant")...

Excerpt: ... allegations are proposed to be deleted, if any, and where, by page, paragraph, and line number, the deleted allegations are located; and (3) state what allegations are proposed to be added to the previous pleading, if any, and where, by page, paragraph, and line number, the additional allegations are located. (CRC, Rule 3.1324(a).) In addition, the moving party on a motion to amend must include a separate declaration that specifies: (1) the effe...

Excerpt: ...fendant failed to provide discovery responses in violation of the Court's March 23, 2018 and June 21, 2018 Orders. DISCOVERY ORDERS On December 11, 2017, Plaintiff served three sets of form interrogatories and three sets of demands for production on: (1) Dellesia Onifade, individually; (2) Dellesia Onifade, as administrator of the estate of Jerlyn Smith; and (3) Dellesia Onifade, as trustee of the Jerlyn Smith Trust. When Defendant failed to resp...

Excerpt: ...§ 664.6.) The parties in this case reached a settlement on February 19, 2018, which required that Defendants pay Plaintiff $30,000.00, consisting of an initial installments to Plaintiff and Plaintiff's counsel, Parviz Darabi, totaling $7,500 on or before May 5, 2018, and then $2,500 total installments a month for the following nine (9) months beginning June 5, 2018. Untimely payments incurred a $150 late fee. If Defendants failed to make any of ...

Excerpt: ...such action or proceeding, stay the action or proceeding until an arbitration is had in accordance with the order to arbitrate[.]") Plaintiffs Greg Harper and Barbara Horsting's (collectively, "Plaintiffs") verified Complaint against Defendant for breach of contract was filed on February 6, 2019. Plaintiffs allege that Defendant failed to maintain its sewage drain system in violation of a 1994 lease to rent a studio at the cooperative. As a resul...

Excerpt: ... defendants as to whom the litigation was finally determined or (ii) the cause of action, claim, controversy, or any of the issues of fact or law, determined or concluded by the final determination against the same defendant or defendants as to whom the litigation was finally determined." C.C.P. § 391(b)(3) also defines a vexatious litigant as a person who in "propria persona, repeatedly files unmeritorious motions, pleadings, or other papers, c...

Excerpt: ...Smith; and (3) Dellesia Onifade, as trustee of the Jerlyn Smith Trust. Plaintiff previously stipulated to an extension for Defendant's response to January 31, 2018 and then February 19, 2018. When Defendant still failed to respond, the parties participated in an informal discovery conference on March 6, 2018, and the Court ordered Defendant to respond on or before March 31, 2018. Defendant provided some discovery responses on March 30, 2018. With...

Excerpt: ...es of action. Due to a continuance and judicial reassignment, this demurrer was not heard until April 2, 2019, and was taken under submission. On April 11, 2019, the Court issued an order sustaining without leave to amend the Demurrer as to the First through Fourth Causes of Action, and sustained with leave to amend the Demurrer as to the Fifth through Eighth Causes of Action. At issue here is the First Cause of Action for accounting. In the Apri...

Excerpt: ...vailing party" includes "the party with a net monetary recovery." (CCP § 1032(a).) "If any party recovers other than monetary relief and in situations other than as specified, the 'prevailing party' shall be as determined by the court, and under those circumstances, the court, in its discretion, may allow costs or not and, if allowed, may apportion costs between the parties . . ." (Id.) A plaintiff that prevails under the Song-Beverly Consumer W...

Excerpt: ...Cal. R. Ct., Rules 3.1110(a), 3.1112(a)-(b), 3.1113(b).) "The court may construe the absence of a memorandum as an admission that the motion . . . is not meritorious and cause for its denial[.]" (Cal. R. Ct., Rule 3.1113(a).) As a threshold issue, Defendant has failed to comply with the procedural requirements for the Motion and on that basis, the Court DENIES Defendant's Motion. STANDARD OF LAW Defendant's Motion is essentially a motion to remov...

Excerpt: ...aint on November 5, 2018, along with an Amendment to Complaint on November 21, 2018, and a Miscellaneous Addendum to First Amended Complaint on November 27, 2018. A Miscellaneous Second Addendum to First Amended Complaint was filed on December 31, 2018, in which Plaintiff attempted to add sixteen additional causes of action. As part of its ruling on Defendants' demurrer to the First Amended Complaint, the Court ordered the Miscellaneous Second Ad...

Excerpt: .... 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.) "As a general rule in testing a pleading against a demurrer the facts alleged in the pl...

Excerpt: ...pliance with Health & Safety Code section 25249.6; (C) the reimbursement of $16,000 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 $1,500 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 beginning on the date the Consent Judgment was signed by both parties, any Cov...

Excerpt: ... arises from a dispute between Plaintiff against his landlords, Defendants Khaled Saeed and Leitaled Saeed (collectively, "Defendants"), concerning a fire that occurred on the property where he resides, located in Oakland, California (the "Property") on January 26, 2017. (Compl. ¶¶ 1-2, 13.) Plaintiff seeks an order compelling Defendant Khaled Saeed and his insurance carrier, State Farm, to produce certain unredacted documents identified on the...

Excerpt: ...g 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 the respondent to arbitra...

Excerpt: ...e action." (CCP sec. 428.50(c); see also CCP sec. 428.10 [setting forth the types of causes of action that can be asserted in a cross-complain].) Here, the interests of justice do not support allowing Defendant to file a cross- complaint at this time. Defendant seeks to add third parties to the action as cross- defendants. (See Exh. A to Tong Dec.) "A greater showing of 'interest of justice' is required to obtain leave to file a cross-complaint a...

Excerpt: ...r the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act ("Song-Beverly Act"), "[a]ny buyer of consumer goods who is damaged by a failure to comply with any obligation under this chapter or under an implied or express warranty or service contract may bring an action for the recovery of damages and other legal and equitable relief." (Civ. Code sec. 1794(a).) "If the buyer prevails in an action under this section, the buyer shall be allowed by the court to recover...

Excerpt: ...rt, Case No. RG18933394, be consolidated with Golden State Lumber, Inc. v. Burns, et al., Alameda County Superior Court, Case No. RG18921206 for all purposes. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT all future filings shall be in this action, Golden State Lumber, Inc. v. Burns, et al., Alameda County Superior Court, Case No. RG18921206. "When actions involving a common question of law or fact are pending before the court, it may order a joint hearing or trial...