Excerpt: ...in Tahoma, California, in July 2017. Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) asserts causes of action (“C/A”) for (1) breach of contract, (2) breach of fiduciary duty, (3) breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, (4) intentional misrepresentation, (5) fraud, (6) negligence, (7) negligence of notary public and sureties, (8) conspiracy, (9) personal injury, and (10) vicarious liability against Old Republic Title Holdin...

Excerpt: ...o quash or modify document request numbers 1–3 served on Broadstone Land, LLC (“Broadstone” or “landlord”), which is the landlord for FWB Palladio. On August 14, 2020, plaintiff served a business record subpoena on Broadstone. (Ibid.) Defendant's landlord is not a party in this action and has no connection to defendant FWB. (Id., ¶ 4.) The subpoena seeks FWB Palladio's application to lease property; any documents Broadstone reviewed in...

Excerpt: ...y's fees based on actual time expended pursuant to Civil Code § 1794(d) as stipulated by the parties or, if the parties cannot agree, upon motion to the court having jurisdiction over this action.” Civil Code § 1794 provides in part: “If the buyer prevails in an action under this section, the buyer shall be allowed by the court to recover as part of the judgment a sum equal to the aggregate amount of costs and expenses, including attorney's...

Excerpt: ...dure §§ 435– 437. The motion is made on the basis that the complaint is improper and violates the provisions of Civil Code § 47(b) regarding privileged publications or broadcast in a judicial proceeding. A motion to strike is generally used to address defects appearing on the face of a pleading that are not subject to demurrer. (Pierson v. Sharp Mem. Hosp. (1989) 216 Cal.App.3d 340, 342.) Relevant here, a complaint that alleges facts amounti...

Excerpt: ...e, shoulder, and hip. Physical therapy is ongoing for knee, hip, and back. PTSD may require additional/ongoing treatment.” (Decl. of David Streza in Support of Defendants' Motion, Ex. A, p. 2, item no. 6.7.) In addition, plaintiff is asserting a claim for loss of income and earning capacity in the amount of $480,000. (Id., item no. 8.8.) On June 10, 2020, defendants served plaintiff via electronic service with a Second Amended Notice of Taking ...

Excerpt: ... Special Interrogatories (Set One), and (3) Request for Production of Documents (Set One), on each plaintiff by U.S. Mail via their shared attorney. Their responses were due by December 19, 2019. None of the plaintiffs served verified responses on defendant. When no responses were received, defendant's counsel sent a meet and confer letter (dated Dec. 27, 2019) to plaintiffs' counsel. Thereafter, on February 14, 2020, defendant filed separate mot...

Excerpt: ...monetary sanctions in the amount of $8,990.00. In opposition, plaintiff asserts that because he has now provided further responses addressing the alleged defects set forth in defendants' motion and has provided verifications, defendants' motion is now moot. The court disagrees. Even if plaintiff has now served code‐compliant verified responses to defendants' discovery requests, such action does not preclude the court from considering defendants...

Excerpt: ...effect as a general demurrer. (Smiley v. Citibank (1995) 11 Cal.4th 138, 146.) If the moving party is a plaintiff, the motion raises the legal issue of whether “the complaint states facts sufficient to constitute a cause or causes of action against the defendant and the answer does not state facts sufficient to constitute a defense to the complaint.” (Code of Civ. Proc. § 438, subd. (c)(1)(A).) Here, defendant's answer does not state facts s...

Excerpt: ... cause, physical and emotional injury. Plaintiff complained about the bedbugs to defendants' managers and agents, but they failed to abate the infestation. Plaintiff's complaint asserts causes of action for (1) breach of implied warranty of habitability, (2) battery, (3) negligence—premises liability/failure to warn, (4) nuisance, (5) intentional infliction of emotional distress, (6) negligent infliction of emotional distress, (7) breach of con...

Excerpt: ...y Properties, LLC; and (2) plaintiff Brad Jacobson's motion to submit tardy expert witness information pursuant to CCP § 2034.710. By way of background, plaintiff commenced this action on April 22, 2018. The initial trial date was set for June 22, 2020. On April 13, 2020, plaintiff's counsel served a demand for expert witness disclosure. (Defs. Exhibits in Support of Motion, Ex. A.) Plaintiff's demand indicated the date of the exchange was May 1...

Excerpt: ...� 1983; (2) violation of the privileges and immunities clause (Cal. Const., art. I, § 7); (3) writ of mandate (Code of Civ. Proc. (“CCP” § 1085); (4) declaratory relief (Gov't Code § 11350(a), CCP § 1060); (5) injunctive relief; (6) conversion; (7) writ of administrative mandamus (CCP § 1094.5); (8) damages (CCP § 1095, 42 U.S.C. § 1983). Pending is the City's demurrer to the AXC and motion to strike portions of the AXC. 1. STANDARD OF...

Excerpt: ...evailing on the contract shall be the party who recovered a greater relief in the action on the contract.” (Civ. Code § 1717, subd. (b).) Where the judgment is a “simple, unqualified win” on the contract claim, a trial court has no discretion to deny an attorney fee award to that prevailing party under Civil Code § 1717. (Hsu v. Abbara (1995) 9 Cal.4th 863, 876.) While the fee awards should be fully compensatory, the trial court's role is...

Excerpt: ... like this case, “the superior court in the county where the defendants or some of them reside at the commencement of the action is the proper court for the trial of the action.” (Code of Civ. Proc. § 395 subd. (a); see also Cholakian & Assocs. v. Super. Ct. (2015) 236 Cal.App.4th 361, 367–368.) As all the defendants reside in Placer County, the proper court for this action is the Placer County Superior Court. Defendants also request sanct...

Excerpt: ...tion, [defendant] offers to pay reasonable costs, expenses and attorney's fees based on actual time expended pursuant to Civil Code § 1794(d) as stipulated by the parties or, if the parties cannot agree, upon motion to the court having jurisdiction over this action. [¶] Except as set forth herein, above, each party shall bear its own attorneys' fees and costs of suit. Plaintiff may accept the above offer by signing the following statement that ...

Excerpt: ... Request for Production of Documents (Set One) on both plaintiffs by certified mail. No responses were received by the deadline. Thereafter, defendants filed a motion to compel plaintiffs' responses to the discovery requests. Plaintiffs did not serve any responses prior to the hearing on the motion, they did not oppose the motion, and they did not appear at the hearing on March 20, 2020. The court granted defendants' motion to compel responses an...

Excerpt: ...atories (Set One), and (3) Request for Identification and Production of Documents, and ordered defendant's counsel to pay plaintiff $900 in monetary sanctions under the Discovery Act. That same day, defendant's counsel personally served on plaintiff's counsel defendant's discovery responses, along with a verification that was not attached to any set of responses. On July 9, 2019, plaintiff's counsel received a check for $900. On July 19, 2019, pl...

Excerpt: ..., forced plaintiff to perform work at an unauthorized private property location for the financial benefit of Chavez, which he contends constitutes slave labor and violated his civil rights. Plaintiff further alleges he was forced to buy meals for Chavez, he was left unsupervised, and he was exposed to unsafe working conditions which resulted in personal injuries. Plaintiff's complaint, filed November 27, 2019, alleges causes of action for (1) gen...

Excerpt: ...ner “can do more to emphasize noise limitations” to VHR occupants. 1. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Lake Tahoe Properties is a property management company specializing in vacation rental properties. They are the representative/agent for Ismael Pulido and the Pulido Rathwell Trust, the owner of real property located at 889 Rainbow Drive in South Lake Tahoe. (Pet. Opening Br., Ex. A to Ex. 1 (“AR”), AR pp. SC2019011816, SC2019011820.)1 Pulido and p...

Excerpt: ...ner “can do more to emphasize noise limitations” to VHR occupants. 1. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Lake Tahoe Properties is a property management company specializing in vacation rental properties. They are the representative/agent for Karen Lienert, the owner of real property located at 716 Clement Street in South Lake Tahoe. (Pet. Opening Br., Ex. A to Ex. 1 (“AR”), pp. AR SC20190117010– 11.)1 Lienert was issued VHR Permit No. 005410 (eff. M...

Excerpt: ...5, 2019, plaintiff's attorney requested a 30‐ day extension to respond because plaintiff had injured herself and needed time to recover. Defendant agreed to the 30‐day extension. Plaintiff did not serve any verified responses prior to the deadline. Rather, plaintiff served unverified responses on defendant on January 23, 2020, the same day defendant filed its motions to compel responses to discovery requests. Furthermore, plaintiff did not se...

Excerpt: .... 1. STANDARD OF REVIEW A demurrer is directed at the face of the complaint and to matters subject to judicial notice. (Code of Civ. Proc. § 430.30, subd. (a).) “It is not the ordinary function of a demurrer to test the truth of the plaintiff's allegations or the accuracy with which he describes the defendant's conduct. A demurrer tests only the legal sufficiency of the pleading.” (Comm. on Children's Television, Inc. v. Gen. Foods Corp. (19...

Excerpt: ...set a hearing for a default judgment prove‐up. On June 11, 2020, Liu filed an ex parte application to vacate entry of default and to vacate the hearings on plaintiff's motion for attorney fees and the default judgment prove‐up. The court then scheduled a hearing on Liu's application for July 10, 2020, on a regular Law and Motion calendar. The parties have fully briefed the pending application for relief from default. Liu's application is made...

Excerpt: ...igence per se, (3) violation of a non‐delegable duty, (4) failure to maintain a safe workplace, and (5) loss of consortium. Now pending is SMC's motion for summary judgment or, alternatively, summary adjudication on the basis that the complaint is subject to the workers' compensation exclusivity provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act, Labor Code §§ 3600, et seq., and the Privette doctrine, which bars contractor liability for injuries sus...

Excerpt: ...respond because plaintiff had injured herself and needed time to recover. Defendant agreed to the 30‐day extension. Plaintiff did not serve any verified responses prior to the deadline. Rather, plaintiff served unverified responses on defendant on January 23, 2020, the same day defendant filed its motions to compel responses to discovery requests. Furthermore, plaintiff did not serve verifications prior to the hearing on February 21, 2020, she ...

Excerpt: ... aside the Settlement Agreement referenced in the Stipulation, also dated as of March 4, 2020. The Set‐Aside Order also directed the court clerk to set an unlawful detainer trial date in accordance with the various emergency orders issues by the Judicial Council relating to the COVID‐19 health crisis. The orders memorialized in the Set‐Aside Order were made at a hearing held on April 1, 2020. That same day, the court scheduled the trial for...