Excerpt: ... appeal. The appellate court affirmed the award of attorney fees awarded in accordance with Civil Code §1717, CCP §1032 and CCP 685.040 at pages 40-41 of its opinion. This decision is the law of the case; it controls the award of attorney fees on appeal. (MBNA America Bank NA Gonnman (2006) 147 Cal.App.4 th Supp 1, 13-14 [Where a contract or a statute creates a right for the prevailing party to recover attorney fees, the prevailing party is als...

Excerpt: ...from plaintiff's medical care providers. There was no discussion of plaintiff's vaccination status or comorbidities. Plaintiff ‘s ex parte application for a protective order was also not supported by any relevant declarations and was recently denied. The defendant has assured plaintiff that the conference room will accommodate distance between the deponent and other persons. Masks will be worn when persons are not speaking. No good cause was sh...

Excerpt: ...ime period of 1/12/2019 through 6/9/21] and 17.1 [facts underlying response, identity and description of documents to all responses not an admission to request for admission] is granted in part. The reply contends that neither the original, nor supplemental responses were verified. The responses shall be verified within 15 days from service of the notice of ruling. (Responses contained objections and some fact specific answers. Case law has held ...

Excerpt: ...aintiff's vehicle was T-boned by a vehicle driven by defendant Lopez. The city asks this court to sustain its demurrer to the complaint without leave to amend and to dismiss this complaint against the city with prejudice on the grounds that on the face of the complaint, and existing state statutes, it can be found as a matter of law that the city of Hanford does not own, control or maintain Highway 198. (Goddard v Department of Fish and Wildlife ...

Excerpt: ...enter and it has within its ability the authority to determine the identity of any person who may have spoken with plaintiff about a refund or replacement under the Song Beverly Act. Further verified responses are due 20 days from service of notice of ruling. Plaintiff's motion to compel a further response to special interrogatories Plaintiff's motion to compel further verified responses to special interrogatories ##14, 26, 27, 40-45, 51-56, 57 i...

Excerpt: ...3 [disputed], #4-10.) The FAC at ¶20 and plaintiff's discovery responses alerted defendant to her claim that defendant's failure to inspect, maintain and replace the chairs it provided to visitors created the dangerous condition. This supports a claim under Government Code §835, subdivision (a), whereby a public entity will be liable for an injury caused by a dangerous condition due to a negligent or wrongful act or omission of an employee of t...

Excerpt: ...e only affirmative defense clearly summarized was the third. The defendant is ordered to provide a further verified response 20 days from service of notice of ruling specifying the facts behind the collective bargaining agreement affirmative defense, identifying the witnesses and documents relevant to this defense. Sanctions are not ordered. Plaintiff's motion to compel further responses to special interrogatories Plaintiff's motion to compel fur...

Excerpt: ...elt system (designed to remove hulls and trash from the product) was the sole cause of plaintiff's injury. (Campbell v Southern Pacific (1978) 22 Cal.3d 51, 56.) Opposition to the summary judgment motion was filed by both the plaintiff and cross-defendant Roman Electric (the entity that located and installed the emergency stop buttons on the conveyor belt system). It is undisputed that after McDowell designed, manufactured and installed the conve...

Excerpt: ...ervice representatives are trained to respond to consumer inquires for repurchase or replacement in California]. The burden objection is not specific to the document requests. Moreover, defendant failed to support its burden objection with facts as to the quantum of work required to produce the requested training materials, and why the requests are unduly burdensome in relation to the relevance of the requests. (West Pico Furniture Co v Super Ct ...

Excerpt: ...icance of the doctor visit until the hospital's medical records were received by his office on 7/19/21 and reviewed. The exparte application to augment the expert witness list was noticed on September 13, 2021. (Naphcare attempted to notice Dr Smith's deposition prior to the 30 day cut off, but plaintiff objected to the deposition.) The court does not find inexcusable mistake or neglect in counsel not recognizing the need to name Dr. Smith as a n...

Excerpt: ...elius is engaging in a legal analysis. The conclusions go beyond offering expert opinion on a subject embraced by the issues in the case, and they lack foundation (Downer v Bramet (1984) 152 Cal App.3d 837, 841[the general rule is that opinion evidence which is otherwise admissible is not made inadmissible simply because it embraces the ultimate issue to be decided by the trier of fact. ( Evid. Code, § 805.) The cited rule does not, however, aut...

Excerpt: ...fied under modern discovery procedures].) It is alleged that plaintiff was terminated from his employment after regularly complaining of having to work overtime, and after he gave his employer a doctor note which diagnosed plaintiff as being overworked, and suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. The doctor placed plaintiff on medical leave for several weeks. While still on medical leave, defendant fired plaintiff. These facts support the cause...

Excerpt: ...he boundary of an “of” division of a lot commences its measurements from the side of the roadway. The notes on the Laguna de Tache Grant provide that, apart from the grant boundary on the north, “ All other lots are figured to center of roads and all measurements are to road centers except where otherwise noted.” This contrasts with the Hillard Tract (discussed in the Earl decision) that did not have such instruction. (Earl v Dutour (1919...

Excerpt: ...two causes of action (for attorney fees against Grace's estate and to declare a violation of a no contest clause by litigation filed in San Mateo) and to add two causes of action for enforcement of an alleged agreement between the siblings as to how to distribute the assets of their mother's trust, and for an order to sell the real property held in trust. The court finds that the motion to amend is untimely asserted. (Record v Reason (1999) 73 Ca...

Excerpt: ...und to have probable validity, it would be defendants that would have to post an undertaking to have the lis pendens expunged].) In terms of the standing objection asserted by defendants, Cashera Plaza LLC is the only plaintiff named in the SAC with regard to the causes of action to set aside the foreclosure sale, cancel the note, deed of trust and trustee's sale deed, quiet title, and for breach of contract. Plaintiff Khodadad, is a principal an...

Excerpt: .... The plaintiff obtained a right to sue letter from the FEHD before the original complaint was filed on 8/26/2019. The second cause of action in the original complaint contained a cause of action under the FEHA for disability/ medical condition discrimination. A FAC was filed on 10/4/2019. The complaint did not contain any causes of action brought under the FEHA. The first cause of action for termination in violation of public policy does not ref...

Excerpt: ...pportunities. The hospital objected to the declaration of plaintiff at ¶2. Plaintiff stated that was notified she was a match with the hospital and this meant to her that she was being offered a one year paid internship as a Clinical Lab Scientist (CLS) trainee. Plaintiff's belief that she was being offered this position was not a legal conclusion. Her belief she was being offered a paid intern ship position was based on the email from Washingto...

Excerpt: ...f uncertainty is overruled. The court does not find these affirmative defense so unclear as to prevent plaintiff from responding to them. (A.J. Fistes Corp v GDL Best Contractors Inc. (2019) 38 Cal.App. 5th 677, 695 [demurrers for uncertainty are disfavored and are granted only if the pleading is so incomprehensible that a party cannot reasonably respond].) Plaintiff argues that affirmative defense #9 [defendant acted in reliance on applicable la...

Excerpt: ...ntradicts plaintiff's contention that an applicant was required to sign the arbitration agreement in order to be hired. The arbitration agreement provides for an award of attorney fees and costs to a prevailing employee in a wage and hour action. The agreement provides for discovery and the right to seek judicial review “when the arbitrator's decision … is inconsistent with the protection of a party's statutory rights.” The court does not f...

Excerpt: ...e court chose not to adopt the tentative ruling, The order after hearing, back in 2019, granted defendant's bifurcation motion. It did not contain any “without prejudice” language. Now two and a half years later, after considerable discovery has been undertaken, plaintiff seeks reconsideration of that order. Defendant objects to reconsideration on the grounds that plaintiff has failed to present new or different facts. (CCP §1008.) Plaintiff...

Excerpt: ...iff's expert found that the examination of decedent after he returned to the jail from court in a restraint chair ( after having been found guilty by the jury and acting out in court) was negligent. The expert found that NaphCare's employee's failure to review plaintiff's mental health records maintained by NaphCare in its computer system would have alerted the employee to the fact that decedent was not telling her the truth when he denied a past...

Excerpt: ...filed in this matter on 11/24/20) or the opposition ( filed late on 12/31/20). At the hearing on the motion on 1/6/21, the court was informed the parties “had come to an agreement.” At the hearing on 3/17/21 plaintiff counsel represented they were still awaiting signed documents from the defendant. No additional pleadings have been filed. The court assumes the reply was filed by mistake. It appears that the parties have resolved this motion. ...

Excerpt: ... given the fact that a summary judgment has already been filed and trial is set to commence on July 19, 2021. The undue delay in seeking to add causes of action under the FEHA are noted. The plaintiff's original complaint filed on 8/26/19 contained a cause of action for disability discrimination and harassment under the FEHA. The last date of employment was alleged therein as August 14, 2018. The First Amended Complaint filed on October 4, 2019, ...

Excerpt: ...ies' father that Mark would sell to Randy after the estate was finalized and distributed by order of the court in a probate case. The complaint sought to enforce the agreement through breach of contract, specific performance, and breach of implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing. Mark's answer contained 28 affirmative defenses (including breach of contract by Randy, fraud, mistake of fact, mutual mistake, unilateral mistake). Mark's cros...

Excerpt: ...ed. Plaintiff admitted at her deposition that before her purchase of the subject vehicle on May 29, 2017, she did not see or hear any marketing materials from GM, she did not ever communicate with GM concerning any transmission issues, and she did not believe that GM ever concealed any information from her, lied to her, or misrepresented anything to her. (UMF 10, 1, 15, 17). A cause of action for negligent misrepresentation requires a positive as...

Excerpt: ...12.4, subd. (c), the board has 45 days to act on the claim. If the board does not act on the claim, the claim is deemed rejected. Under Government Code § 945.6 (a)(2), if notice of rejection is not given, a plaintiff has two years from accrual of the cause of action to sue. The original complaint herein was filed on October 2, 2020, a date less than two years from accrual of the cause of action. Because facts were alleged in the FAC asserting th...

Excerpt: ...Cal.4th 1, 12.) Any fraud or perjury alleged to have taken place within a civil suit may be addressed through jury instructions, or by other measures. (Id. at 11-13.) Defendant's motion to compel plaintiff's deposition; Plaintiff's motion to quash or modify plaintiff's deposition The court intends to set the deposition of plaintiff. The parties shall be prepared to discuss dates and whether the deposition will be by zoom, or some other means nece...

Excerpt: ..., 61-64) Plaintiff was following GPS map information on his cell phone. (UMF 11, 12.) As plaintiff was driving, he was looking from his cell phone in his left hand to the road. (UMF 11) Plaintiff was driving too fast for conditions. (UMF 13) Plaintiff did not successfully navigate a 90 degree turn in the private road, left the roadway and hit the tank. (UMF 13.) Plaintiff has sued defendants for liability based on negligence and premises liabilit...

Excerpt: ... insignificant, risk of injury when the property is used with due care in the manner in which it is reasonably foreseeable it will be used. Government Code §830.2 states a condition is not dangerous if the court after review of all the evidence most favorable to plaintiff determines as a matter of law that the condition was of such a minor or insignificant nature that no reasonable person would conclude it created a substantial risk of injury. T...

Excerpt: ...urity for the loan. The court is unable to determine from the pleadings if defendant lender participated in this fraud. The court is of the opinion that the merits of this motion to expunge lis pendens cannot be resolved without oral testimony. It is apparent that plaintiff was kept in ignorance about the foreclosure action and was even induced to pay over $27,000 in property taxes after the property had been lost in foreclosure. The defendant le...

Excerpt: ...nd considers itself a third party beneficiary of the agreement between the plaintiff and the Franchisee. The fact that the complaint names Denny's Inc as a defendant, but the agreement is not signed by a representative of Denny's Inc, does not preclude court resolution of the franchisee's motion to compel arbitration. (Boucher v Alliance Title Co (2005) 127 Cal.App.4 th 262, 271-273 [a nonsignatory of an arbitration agreement may compel its terms...

Excerpt: ...e documents are to be identified by the last four numbers of the employee's social security number (or other mutually agreed “unique qualifier.”) The parties are also to enter into a protective order to provide further confidentiality to these records. The court does not find merit to defendant's objection that this precertification discovery is premature. Defendant argues that this discovery should not be permitted until the conclusion of th...

Excerpt: ...ivery (or downloaded on a thumb drive and physically delivered to plaintiff counsel) at least 24 hours before the deposition is scheduled to commence. The documents are to be identified as responding to the specific category of document requested in the notice of deposition (## 1-48.). The parties shall be prepared to designate potential deposition dates at the hearing on the motion. The court intends to specify a deposition date at the hearing. ...

Excerpt: ...ions of law and fact that are common to the class. (Beckstead v Superior Court (1971) 21 Cal.App.3d 780, 784.) If there is a reasonable possibility the plaintiffs can plead a prima facie community of interest among class members, the preferred course is to defer decision on the propriety of the class action until an evidentiary hearing has been held on the appropriateness of class litigation. (Tucker v Pacific Bell Mobile Services (2012) 208 Cal ...

Excerpt: ...ion for reconsideration was served by mail on petitioner on July 16, 2019 (Complaint ¶14.) The petition for writ of administrative mandamus was filed in this court on July 8, 2020. The demurrer is on the grounds that this writ petition is time barred under that part of Government Code section 19630 that provides, “Any petition for a writ challenging a decision of the board shall be filed within six months of the date of the final decision of t...

Excerpt: ...the privacy rights of its personnel and to deter any others from surreptitiously recording confidential conversations with personnel in the future. This purpose could have been achieved by handing over the prosecution of a potential violation of Penal Code §632 to the District Attorney. Attorney fees under CCP §12021.5 will only be awarded when private enforcement was necessary and public enforcement was not sufficiently available. (Collins v C...

Excerpt: ...mpanying plaintiff's government claim, or personal knowledge with respect to the mailing of the 8/6/2019 letter advising the claimant of the insufficiency of the claim and the requirement to submit a $25 filing fee. Defendant's motion for summary judgment is denied. A triable issue of fact exists if plaintiff sent the $25 filing fee with the government claim. (Plaintiff's additional fact ##1-5 and the declaration of the law firm's long-time paral...

Excerpt: ...jected to in the motion ( in part due to defendant's submission of the documentation supporting the costs requested). Both parties recognize that travel expenses to attend depositions are allowed under Code of Civil Procedure section 1033.5, subdivision (a)(3) (C). However, plaintiff objects to the hotel room expenses incurred before some of the depositions which were described as having been incurred for deposition prep. The parties are to meet ...

Excerpt: ...Jones. The severance for purposes of trial and discovery was discussed during the severance motion heard 2/24/20. The stay on Jones' case was due to the pending criminal prosecution. The order encompassed a stay on discovery directed to Jones. The defendant has failed to present persuasive evidence that Jones is a critical witness in the Weaver case, and that trial in the Weaver case cannot go forward without taking Jones' deposition. In terms of...

Excerpt: ...ication: Plaintiff's motion is denied on procedural grounds. 1) Plaintiff LLC lacks the requisite standing to initiate this case as it is currently plead, 2) The Declaration of Jerald Munn fails to comply with the necessary requirements for a declaration Page 5 of 5 executed in the State of California pursuant to CCP Section 2015.5. Based on the deficiency, any evidence supported by the declaration is inadmissible, 3) The Separate Statement of Un...

Excerpt: ...cussions improperly included in the cross-complaint in violation of Evidence Code §1152. These paragraphs also set forth Patino's legal assertions in support of their claim to the disputed strip of land, but these legal arguments are not “ultimate facts” that are required to be alleged to state the causes of action asserted by the cross-complaint. (Code Civ. Proc. §425.10, subd. (a)(1) [a complaint shall set forth a statement of facts const...

Excerpt: ... limit the scope of time from 2010 to the present. The court finds this offer reasonable, given that Form interrogatories ## 11.0 and 11.2 go back 10 years from the present. Moreover, as noted by defendant, one plaintiff had an MRI of his spine in 2013 due to complaints of back pain with radiating pain down his body. This is a physical condition at issue in this case. The request for medical records relating to plaintiffs' physical conditions at ...

Excerpt: ...not capable of judicial notice. (People v Jones (1997) 15 Cal.4th 119, 171 fn.17, disapproved on another ground in People v Hill (1998) 17 Cal.4th 800, 823 Fn1.) The traffic collision report was properly objected to on the basis of lack of relevance (Evid. Code §350), hearsay (Evid. § Code 1200) , lack of personal knowledge (Evid. Code §702), and lack of foundation (Evid. Code §702). Plaintiff's objection to the mental competency report from ...

Excerpt: ...ation and the correspondence between the parties is not supported by statutory or case law. Claimants set forth the amount of principal and interest in their timely claims to excess tax sale proceeds submitted pursuant to R&TC §4675. The County approved payment of the principal, but not the interest. Claimants are entitled to accumulated interest on the note; the interest did not become unsecured on the death of the trustor/obligor. (Huckell v M...

Excerpt: ...of negligence (duty, breach of duty, causation and damage) but also 1) actual or constructive knowledge of the peril to be apprehended 2) actual or constructive knowledge that injury is probably, as opposed to possible result of the danger and 3) conscious failure to act to avoid the peril. It is not just a mere absence of care, but a more positive intent to harm another or act with a positive, active and absolute disregard of its consequences. (...

Excerpt: ...ty on whose behalf the complaint was filed, nor does it specify facts to support plaintiff's standing to bring the complaint. The court sustains the demurrer for uncertainty and for lack of standing. (Cloud v Northrop Grumman Corp. (1998) 67 Cal. App. 4th 995, 1004.) The demurrer to the two- paragraph complaint is also sustained on the grounds that defendant has no obligation to produce documents under any of the legislation alleged i.e. the Publ...

Excerpt: ...mage to the real property may have been caused by the trespass and possibly also the market value cost of the water diverted from the Kings River. (Complaint at ¶9 alleged that the identified users of the Kings River included the District, but not Verboon or Van Groningen.) The court agrees with defendant that if the prayer in the complaint was to be amended, this would require responsive pleadings to the First Amended Complaint be filed, as wel...

Excerpt: ...k v Kirwan (1985) 39 Cal.3d 311, 318.) The court does not find that the underlying basis for the first three causes of action is a sham, or that the allegations set forth in ¶31 and ¶39 in the FAC are fatally inconsistent. Plaintiff alleged that his termination was substantially motivated by his perceived disability and/or engagement in protected activities. The emphasis in the FAC that the complaints about not receiving meal and/or rest breaks...

Excerpt: ...at only a writ of mandate may be brought to resolve this dispute are distinguishable. In the cases relied on by defendant, an administrative remedy existed which the court found had to be exhausted before the dispute could be brought before the court. Here, defendant conceded no such administrative remedy exists. The parties are in agreement that the standard of review of defendant's interpretation of the Vehicle Code §34501.2 is set forth in Ya...

Excerpt: ...dency of the litigation that party may recover only costs actually incurred by a party or in its behalf in prosecuting or defending the case.) The declaration of plaintiff counsel supports the finding that apart from the first appearance fee by Ceja, the remaining costs were the total costs incurred by all four defendants, three of whom remain in this litigation. The cost bill is reduced from $8,165.24 to $2,367.55. Plaintiff sought a reduction t...