Excerpt: ...Complaints on identical grounds. It argues that both Plaintiffs lack standing, either personal or associational, to assert claims under the Unfair Competition Law ("UCL") (Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200, et seq.). It argues that the Court should abstain from adjudicating this case under the doctrine of primary jurisdiction. It also argues that the relief requested by Plaintiffs is improper under the UCL. For the reasons discussed below, the demurre...

Excerpt: ...o (the "UC Defendants") also move to strike language from the FAC seeking injunctive relief and an award of attorney's fees. Martin opposes both demurrers and the motion to strike. For the reasons discussed below, USA Cheer's demurrer is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND and USA Cheer is DISMISSED. UC Defendants' demurrer is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND as to the FAC's second and fourth counts and otherwise OVERRULED. UC Defendants' motion to ...

Excerpt: ... the trade name Cordarone, which allegedly has a high risk of serious side effects including pulmonary fibrosis, loss of vision, thyroid cancer, and death. (See 4AMAC ¶¶ 61, 63, 89.) It is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") as a treatment of last resort for recurrent life-threatening ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia that do not respond to other treatments. Plaintiffs allege that they were harm...

Excerpt: ...ds a cause of action to recover civil penalties under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 ("PAGA") (Lab. Code §§ 2698 et seq.), which NYSEB does not seek to compel to arbitration but instead seeks to stay. The motion is GRANTED IN PART. The request for a stay of proceedings is DENIED. LEGAL STANDARDS The Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") (9 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq.) embodies a "liberal federal policy favoring arbitration agreements,...

Excerpt: ...Code §§ 2698 et seq.). CAA offers evidence that another substantially identical case was commenced in Los Angeles County Superior Court ten months before this action: Stuart v. Coast Aluminum & Architectural, Inc. (L.A. Cty. Super. Ct. Case No. 19STCV16308). It seeks to abate or stay proceedings in this action in deference to Stuart. Plaintiff opposes. For the reasons discussed below, the motion is DENIED. LEGAL STANDARDS A defendant may demur ...

Excerpt: ...probably because they are not worth the cost when the same result can be achieved by serving requests for admission or standard form interrogatories seeking the bases for the affirmative defenses." (Weil & Brown, Cal. Prac. Guide Civ. Pro. Before Trial (The Rutter Grp. 2018) Ch. 7(I)-A, ¶ 7:35.1.) Perhaps as a result, there is also a shortage of modern authority on the standard against which to judge the sufficiency of an answer's allegations. N...

Excerpt: ...is accordingly GRANTED IN PART. As a preliminary matter, Goedde's report is signed under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States, not the State of California. (Decl. of R.A. Marron, Ex. 4 [Goedde Report] at p.11; Code of Civ. Proc. ["CCP"] § 2015.5.) Because it was executed at Los Angeles, however, the Court finds this sufficient. (See CCP § 2015.5 [allowing declaration "under penalty of perjury" without specifying California law wh...

Excerpt: ...he Superior Court of California, Alameda County for a coordination hearing. The Court received the order and commenced this proceeding July 1, 2020. Defendant West Coast Convenience, LLC opposes the petition. Using powers delegated to him as the Supervising Judge of Complex, Judge Seligman assigned himself to serve as coordination motion judge on July 1, 2020. Having considered all papers filed in support of the petition to coordinate, the Court ...

Excerpt: ...ract based on the C&R and a common count relying on the same allegation, common count #1 [false impersonation under California Penal Code section 529], common count #2 [California Civil Code section 1668 - Title 4 Unlawful Contracts], common count #3 [California Civil Code section 3294(a)], and common count #4 [Violation of Section 111 of the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (MMSEA)]. Defendants demur to the SAC on grounds that ...

Excerpt: ...d demurrers to the petitioner's class allegations. (See Order of Dec. 11, 2019; Order of March 17, 2020.) In sustaining UC's demurrer to the class allegations in the Second Amended Petition, the Court granted leave to file the TAP to address shortcomings with commonality and predominance problems in the prior petition's class allegations. As discussed below, petitioner has not remedied these defects, and the Court infers that further leave to ame...

Excerpt: ...oviding the written notices and documents required by the Ordinance and by failing to pay required annual interest on security deposits. In addition, they allege defendants breached the tenants' rental contracts by unlawfully raising rents in violation of a HUD Use Agreement, collected unlawful liquidated damages from excessive late fees, acted negligently, committed conversion of the tenants' personal property and engaged in unlawful business pr...

Excerpt: ...ligent hiring, training, supervision, or retention of its employees, resulting in the deadly electrical fire and thereby the Plaintiffs' injuries. PG&E argues that the facts alleged in the 4AMC are insufficient to state a cause of action. (Code of Civ. Proc. ["CCP"] § 430.10(e).) Plaintiffs oppose. For the reasons discussed below, the motion is GRANTED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND. LEGAL STANDARD A motion for judgment "performs the same function as a gen...

Excerpt: ...laintiffs in this action on January 10, 2020. The TAMAC was filed after the Court sustained the defendants' prior demurrer with leave to amend on November 14, 2019. Defendants jointly demur to the entire TAMAC and each of its causes of action. Defendants also jointly move to strike the TAMAC's allegations regarding exemplary damages. Plaintiffs oppose both the demurrer and motion to strike. For the reasons discussed below, the demurrer is SUSTAIN...

Excerpt: ...o the complaint ("CUSD Complaint") filed December 10, 2019 by Plaintiffs Compton Unified School District and Micah Ali in case number RG19046343, which is consolidated with this action for pretrial proceedings. (See Order of Feb. 7, 2020.) For the reasons discussed below, the demurrer is SUSTAINED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND as to the causes of action asserted by Plaintiffs Smith, Steven C., Ali, Chinese for Affirmative Action, College Access Plan, Colle...

Excerpt: ...pite requests during the meet and confer process on other motions, responses did not appear to Pena to be forthcoming, and he requested an informal discovery conference ("IDC") before the Court. The Court held an IDC on January 30, 2020. At the close of the IDC, the Court warned the parties that it would issue an order. On February 10, 2020, the Court ordered that KPS must serve discovery responses no later than February 20, 2020. (See Order of F...

Excerpt: ...04 ("PAGA") (Lab. Code §§ 2698 et seq.). KPS also separately moves to strike each of the individual allegations of Labor Code violations from the same cause of action. Pena opposes these motions. For the reasons discussed below, the demurrer is OVERRULED. The motion to strike is GRANTED IN PART WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND and otherwise DENIED. LEGAL STANDARDS The standard for construing a complaint on demurrer is long-settled: "We treat the demurrer...

Excerpt: ...does not allege a cause of action because their conduct was not "directed at" the plaintiffs. All plaintiffs except Samuel Maxwell oppose the motion directed to their claims. Maxwell does not oppose. For the reasons discussed below, the motions as to Samuel Maxwell is GRANTED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND, the motion as to Aaron Marin is GRANTED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND, and the remaining motions are DENIED. LEGAL STANDARDS A motion for judgment under Code o...

Excerpt: ...murrer and the motion. For the reasons discussed below, the demurrer is OVERRULED, and the motion to strike is GRANTED IN PART WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND and otherwise DENIED. LEGAL STANDARDS The standard for construing a complaint on demurrer is long-settled: "We treat the demurrer as admitting all material facts properly pleaded, but not contentions, deductions or conclusions of fact or law. [Citation.] We also consider matters which may be judicia...

Excerpt: ...of C.M. Ferrannini, Ex. A to Ex. A, at ¶ 4.b; id. Ex. B to Ex. A.) PBGC has initiated an arbitration proceeding seeking declaratory relief regarding whether it violated Black's substantive rights under the Labor Code. PBGC asks the Court to stay proceedings in this action so that the arbitrator may decide these questions in the first instance. The only cause of action alleged in the operative complaint in this action seeks civil penalties under ...

Excerpt: ...ocess. The SAP also alleges that Doe seeks to represent a class of "all University of California students found responsible for Sexual Harassment, Sexual Violence, Abuse, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, Stalking, and/or Other Prohibited Conduct under the [SVSHP and related policies] . . . from August 2, 2015 through July 31, 2019." UC demurs to the SAP on the grounds that it fails to allege a community of interest sufficient t...

Excerpt: ... 2018 (the "Protective Order"). Defendant now seeks an order from the Court: (1) affirming that Defendant properly designated the names of its third-party suppliers, vendors, and/or manufacturers, which are trade secrets, as confidential under the Protective Order; (2) limiting the use of trade secret information to the resolution of Plaintiff's claims against Defendant in this matter; and (3) confirming that Plaintiff may only use/disseminate th...

Excerpt: ...e medical restrictions. As defendants, the Complaint names Martin's coaches, Lisa Keys and Jessica Chatto, The Regents of the University of California ("UC"), and the USA Federation for Sport Cheering ("USA Cheer"). USA Cheer has moved to quash Martin's service of summons, arguing that this court lacks personal jurisdiction. USA Cheer also demurs to the Complaint and each of its causes of action on grounds that it is uncertain and fails to state ...

Excerpt: ...2020, the Judicial Council referred this petition to the Superior Court of California, Alameda County for a coordination hearing. The Court received the order and commenced this proceeding January 23, 2020. Plaintiffs Aimee Baca, Tracey Baldridge, James Barry, Tolga Bayik, John Borba, Toniarika Bridges, Carin Elliott, Ruben Gouveia, Aujihnae Harris, Charles Heinbockel, Brad Johnson, Marco Lindsey, David Lopez, Melissa Margolis, Gretchen Miles, Ke...

Excerpt: ...Plaintiffs for their reasonable expenses for purchasing a required uniforms. Plaintiffs have offered evidence that plaintiffs in two other cases have asserted a right to recover civil penalties on a similar theory. Defendant opposes, arguing that the first of those cases (Berry v. Ross) is pending before this department and has already settled on an individual basis. Defendant argues that the other case (Dennis v. Ross Stores, Inc.) is pending in...

Excerpt: ...reditors oppose this motion but concede that they will not inquire into any communications between Adams and either J&H or National Fire. Adams moves to join the motion. Because her motion seeks the same relief based on the same facts and law, her request for joinder is GRANTED. Depositions of opposing counsel are presumptively improper and require a showing of "extremely good cause." (Carehouse Convalescent Hosp. v. Superior Court (2007) 143 Cal...

Excerpt: ...ion began as an auto-accident personal injury case in Sacramento County Superior Court on November 13, 2018. On December 13, 2018, the plaintiff amended her complaint and named the Judicial Council as a defendant, asserting a right to declaratory relief regarding the validity of the nonrefundable jury demand fee set by CCP section 631, subdivision (b). Relief in this case also turns on the validity of that enactment. On May 16, 2019, the Dayoun p...

Excerpt: ...es ("ACC") requests to join in Respondents' demurrer. Neither Respondents nor the City has opposed ACC's request to join in the demurrer. For the reasons discussed below, ACC's request for joinder is GRANTED. The joint demurrer is SUSTAINED IN PART WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND as to the PC's second cause of action and OVERRULED as to its third cause of action. JOINDER Although a joinder to another party's motion is not provided for in the Code of Civil...

Excerpt: ...an Campus Communities, American Campus Communities Services, Inc., and American Campus Communities Operating Partnership, L.P. (together, "ACC"). CHF and ACC also demur on similar grounds. SBN opposes all demurrers. For the reasons discussed below, Respondents' demurrer is OVERRULED. CHF and ACC's demurrers are SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND. ELECTRONIC AND PERSONAL SERVICE CHF attempted to serve its moving papers by e mail and U.S. Mail. (See ...

Excerpt: ...umed to be open. (Cal. R. Ct. 2.550(c).) The Court may order records sealed only if it finds "(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 not sealed; (4) The proposed sealing is narrowly tailored; and (5) No less restrictive means exist t...

Excerpt: ...anting trial preference "if necessary." Defendant Westamerica Bank opposes. The motion is GRANTED IN PART. The Court determines that the deadline is September 10, 2020. The parties are ordered to APPEAR, after meeting and conferring regarding the trial date for the Reddish action. PROCEDURAL MATTERS - SERVICE Plaintiffs attempted to serve their motion papers by personal service. (See Proof of Service (filed December 20, 2019).) The filed proof at...

Excerpt: ...14, 2017. The plaintiff in the Dreambuilders Action is owned by Plaintiff Sophie Han, a defendant in the Kim action. No party in the Kim Action has filed papers opposing this motion. Plaintiff Pelorus Equity Group, Inc. opposes the motion. Pelorus argues that its original complaint in this action alleged only that BuildZig submitted draw requests on a loan for work that was not done, and to which BuildZig was not entitled, on a project that ended...

Excerpt: ...thly and keep accurate central payroll records, to recover any penalties at all under the Unfair Competition Law ("UCL") (Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200 et seq.), and to recover penalties on behalf of the Labor Workforce Development Agency ("LWDA") under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 ("PAGA") (Lab. Code §§ 2698 et seq.) Lancieri opposes both the demurrer and motion to strike. For the reasons discussed below, Performant's de...

Excerpt: ...has not made any of these payments. Since the judgment was entered, H5 was forced to sell two of its three restaurants, and the proceeds were used to pay more senior claimants. The class representatives now move for an Order approving a compromise of the previously approved and entered judgment. Under the terms of the compromise, H5 would only be liable for a single payment of $250,000, which it has already transmitted to the settlement administr...

Excerpt: ...nstitutionality of this statute. See Templo v. State (2018) 24 Cal.App. 5th 730, 736-737. Plaintiff seeks to amend the complaint to allege exhaustion of administrative remedies (amendments not challenged by defendant), and to allege a writ of mandate claim. Defendant opposes the writ claim on the ground of futility. In defendant's view, a writ cannot be alleged because the defendant must enforce a statute and cannot, under section 3.5 of Article ...

Excerpt: ...s that these attorneys violated the May 17, 2017 Stipulated Protective Order (the "Protective Order"), and Code of Civil Procedure sections 177 and 2023.010, et seq. (CCP § 177 ["Every judicial officer shall have power . . . [t]o compel obedience to his lawful orders[.]"]; CCP § 2023.010 [misuse of the discovery process is conduct subject to sanctions].) Specifically, Cordis asserts that these attorneys have used and relied upon documents produ...

Excerpt: ...h 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 arbitrate the controversy if it determines that an agreem...

Excerpt: ..., 2019. Trial is currently set for November 12, 2019. The court may grant leave to a party who has engaged in a timely exchange of expert witness information to "do either or both of the following: (1) Augment that party's expert witness list and declaration by adding the name and address of any expert witness whom that party has subsequently retained. (2) Amend that party's expert witness declaration with respect to the general substance of the ...

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: ...e are not described. 2. There is insufficient information to evaluate whether there were substantial common questions for class certification. The alleged non-compliant policies are not described (see above) nor is the manner of defendant's allegedly illegal conduct described. 3. The class release appears to be extremely broad, releasing claims that go beyond those alleged in this case. While the named plaintiff may freely release her own claims,...

Excerpt: ..., Inc., et al., Alameda County Superior Court, Case No. RG16843879 STANDARD OF LAW "[T]he power of a court to stay proceedings . . . was inherent at common law and is now vested in the superior courts of this state." (Bailey v. Fosca Oil Co. (1963) 216 Cal. App. 2d 813, 817.) "The case management tools available to trial courts, including the inherent authority to stay an action when appropriate . . . can overcome problems of simultaneous litigat...

Excerpt: ...te of the Complaint. MOTION TO COMPEL "[A] propounding party may move for an order compelling a further response [to interrogatories] if the propounding party deems that . . . [a]n answer to a particular interrogatory is evasive or incomplete . . . [and/or] [a]n objection to an interrogatory is without merit or too general." (CCP § 2030.300(a).) Plaintiff asserts that Defendant's response to Special Interrogatories Nos. 1 and 2- which seek the c...

Excerpt: ...LAW "A demurrer tests the legal sufficiency 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 w...

Excerpt: ...iel Covarrubias, Jeffrey Ellis, Frankie Flores, Marte Formico, David Gamble, Naji Garabet, Gregory Haupt, David Pinheiro, Kevin Scully, and Lisa Vermette's (collectively, "District Manager Defendants") Demurrer is SUSTAINED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND. IT IS ORDERED THAT Plaintiff shall file an amended complaint no later than August 27, 2019. Defendant Guadalupe Diaz's Request for Joinder in Farmers Defendants' Demurrer is GRANTED. District Manager Defen...

Excerpt: ...come the presumption that the plaintiff has selected the proper venue." (Fontaine v. Superior Court (2009) 175 Cal.App.4th 830, 836.) It is Defendant's "burden to demonstrate that the plaintiff's venue selection is not proper under any of the statutory grounds." (Id.) "In 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...

Excerpt: ...ty is such that a preference is necessary to prevent prejudicing the party's interest in the litigation." The standard of proof on a 36(a) motion is preponderance of the evidence. Fox v. Superior Court, (2018) 21 Cal.App.5th 529, 534. CCP § 36.5 further clarifies that, "an affidavit submitted in support of a motion for preference under subdivision (a) of Section 36 may be signed by the attorney for the party seeking preference based upon informa...

Excerpt: ...party's interest in the litigation." The standard of proof on a 36(a) motion is preponderance of the evidence. Fox v. Superior Court, (2018) 21 Cal.App.5th 529, 534. CCP § 36.5 further clarifies that, "an affidavit submitted in support of a motion for preference under subdivision (a) of Section 36 may be signed by the attorney for the party seeking preference based upon information and belief as to the medical diagnosis and prognosis of any part...

Excerpt: ...erriding 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 narrowly tailored; and (5) [n]o less restrictive means exist to achieve the overriding interest." (Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 2.550(d).) MOTION TO SEAL Records may be sealed when there are sufficient overriding interests to overcome the right of public acces...

Excerpt: ...intiff does not dispute defendant's claim that the court action should be stayed pending arbitration. 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 arbitrate the controversy if it determines that an agreement to arbitrate the contro...

Excerpt: ...because of the general principle that a party who seeks a court's action in his favor bears the burden of persuasion thereon." (Id.) Further, "the party moving for summary judgment bears an initial burden of production to make a prima facie showing of the nonexistence of any triable issue of material fact; if he carries his burden of production, he causes a shift, and the opposing party is then subjected to a burden of production of his own to ma...

Excerpt: ...cts and dangerous conditions at the Property. Amcal Defendants seek to strike the portions of the Fifth Amended Complaint ("FAC") that allege punitive damages and references to the written residential agreements and contractual attorney's fee allegations should their accompanying Demurrer be granted. The Court shall address the punitive damages issue in this ruling, and shall address the other allegations in the ruling on the Demurrer. The Court ...