Excerpt: ...attorney's fees are "allowable costs." (Code Civ. Proc., 51033.5, subds. (a)(10)(A), (8), & (C); Santisas v. Goodwin (1998) 14 Cal.4th 599, 606.) Page | 2 Costs statutes are to be strictly construed. (Sequoia Vacuum Systems v. Stransky (1964) 229 Cal.App.2d 281, 289.) If the items appearing on a costs bill appear to be proper charges, the party seeking to tax costs bears the burden of showing they are not reasonable or necessary. If the items are...

Excerpt: ...Center (Golden Home), which is owned and operated by defendant Letitia Isai (Isai; together, Defendants). Taylor alleges Defendants failed to account for her high risk of falls and she sustained falls resulting in a fractured humerus and an acute right femur fracture, and then failed to seek out medical care for her. Taylor's complaint alleges four causes of action: (1) Elder abuse under Welfare & Institutions Code 515600, et seq.; (2) negligence...

Excerpt: ...meliness; (6) final pay; (7) record maintenance; (8) wage statements; (9) improper calculation and provision of sick leave; (10) unfair competition law; as well as (11) civil penalties underthe Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). After commencing litigation, the parties informally exchanged policy and payroll documents and other information sufficient to allow early mediation. Thereafter, on January 5, 2023, the parties engaged in a full-day, a...

Excerpt: ...ity); San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, and K. Garc:ia Payton. On September 6, 2023, Plaintiff filed a combined opposition and on September 11, 2023, Defendants filed a combined reply. Analysis Gov. Code, S 815, Absence of Liability for injury except under statute; Liability as subject to statutory immunity and defenses, states: Except as otherwise provided by statute: (a) A public entity is not liable for an injury, whether such injury...

Excerpt: ... negligence and intentional tort. Within each cause Plaintiff asserts allegations of (1) failure to provide habitable dwelling; (2) breach of covenant of quiet enjoyment; (3) negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED); (4) violation of Los Angeles Municipal Code, section 151.00; (5) violation of Los Angeles Municipal Code, section 161.903.3.3.2; and (6) retaliatory eviction. Generally speaking, the Complaint asserts that Plaintiff leased a...

Excerpt: ... trustees of the Mark Crabtree and Anju Sharma Living Trust 2015 dated February 10, 2015, filed their complaint against Defendants Optimal Technology, LLC, Athanor Environmental Services, lnc„ National Environmental Services, LLC, and Golden Bank (Doe 1). Property in Boron was purportedly contaminated after a fuel pipeline was breached by drilling. The drilling occurred as the result of defendant Golden Bank's "Phase II Investigation" or due di...

Excerpt: ...t thirty (30) days leave to amend. Case Summary This is, essentially, a breach of contract and conversion case. On or about June 16, 2017, Plaintiffs' mother entered into a written agreement for three (3) storage units, owned and operated by 3855 IH 35 North, LLC (sued as "Phelan Self-storage"). The storage units were necessary to store "personal property," including various family heirlooms. The units were being paid by automatic withdrawal from...

Excerpt: ...ssume, to some extent, what evidence will presented and that issues are germane, which may not turn out to be the case. The Court reserves the right to exclude any such evidence upon proper objection during the trial depending upon what at trial. The denial or grant of these motions is without prejudice. Where either party has sought to limit argument of the other party, the motion is denied. Motons in limine are used to preclude evidence. Many o...

Excerpt: ... legal cause; and (4) damage to plaintiff. (George A. Hormel & Co. v. Maez (1979) 92 Cal.App.3d 963, 965; 4 Witkin Cal. Proc. Plead S 537.) Page | 2 In this case, the form-SAC contains the cursory elements of a negligence claim as the pleading indicates all defendants owed a duty, breached the duty, and that the breached caused negligence. (See SAC at pp. 23-26.) In the demurrer, the focal point is whether a duty of care was owed between Ferra an...

Excerpt: ...o enforce judgment is given in good faith before verdict or judgment to one or more of a number of tortfeasors claimed to be liable for the same tort, or to one or more other co-obligors mutually subject to contribution rights, it shall have the following effect: (a) It shall not discharge any other such party from liability unless its terms so provide, but it shall reduce the claims against the others in the amount stipulated by the release, the...

Excerpt: ...nt (FAC), adding a cause 4 of action for civil #naltes under PAGA. Per his complaint, Plaintiff soughtto represent all current and former non-exempt employees employed within California at any time within four years prior to the filing of the complaint. After commencing the litigation, the parties agreed to informal discovery in anticipation of early mediation. Defendant provided relevant payroll records, as well as the number of putative class m...

Excerpt: ...ed contractor. Further, Plaintiffs allege that Defendant failed to memorialize the parties' agreement for the work in writing. Subsequent to the work, Defendant recorded a mechanics lien against the property in the amount of $41,095.60. On May 13, 2021, Plaintiffs filed a verified Petition for Release of Property From Lien. On November 19, 2021, Defendant filed an unverified Answer in response. Now, Plaintiffs move for judgment on the pleadings o...

Excerpt: ...tal responses to each form of discovery on January 31, 2023. (Fields Decl., 98; Exh. 4.) Fields then initiated scheduling the IDC, which was heard on March 24, 2023. Directly following the IDC, Fields requested an extension of the motion deadline, which Abdeljawad declined. (Fields Decl., 910.) Abdeljawad declares in opposition he never agreed to extend the deadline. (Abdeljawad Decl., 914.) The motion was due to be filed within 45 days after the...

Excerpt: ... to the interrogatory. If she does not, she must state that in her interrogatory response. Defendant must respond based on the information she has at the time she responds to the interrogatory. To the extent Defendant's responses are based on vague, blanket assertions of privilege without production of a privilege log, they lack merit because "if an objection to a document request is based on a claim of privilege or work then the response to the ...

Excerpt: ... for the sale of one parcel to Kara Flietstra and Roberto Toste. Defendant Walter Leroy Dwyer, Jr. represented MAGIC and the buyers in connection with the deal. The agreement left negotiations on certain easement terms and the transferability of dock rights that MAGIC held in connection with its other property, parcel C. When MAGIC determined that the City would not permit the transfer of the dock rights, Dwyer allegedly pressured MAGIC into clos...

Excerpt: ... v. County of San Mateo (1996) 12 Cal.4th 913, 917.) Zhang alleges the negligently handled her request for landscape changes by: (1) failing to incorporate and u#ate the CC&Rs to comply with state and federal law; (2) misleading Zhang to change her lawn to sand without first obtaining approval; (3) failing to effectively communicate with Zhang; (4) failing to conduct a meeting in a safe and effective manner to resolve issues and failing to allow ...

Excerpt: ...at this time. Case Summary Plaintiffs filed their Complaint on September 28, 2021, alleging causes of action for (1) negligent trespass; (2) negligent destruction of real property; (3) intentional trespass; (4) intentional destruction of real property and trees; and (5) abatement of private nuisance. The controversy stems from Plaintiffs' allegations that their Defendant neighbors, Kief and Manilow, paid to construct a 12-foot wide pathway along ...

Excerpt: ...ome or all of the issues to the extent the Court later concludes that any issues lack commonality. Case Summary On March 3, 2022, Plaintiff filed a wage-and-hour class action against his former employer based on his employment from February 2021 to May 2021. (See CIVSB2203720 [the "Class Action" l.) The Class Action includes eight causes of action for (1) violation of the unfair competition law; as well as violations relating to (2) minimum wages...

Excerpt: ...ises liability. In the operative First Amended Complaint, Plaintiff alleged he stepped into a hole located in or about a grassy area of the premises while he was playing soccer with family and friends. (FAC, 13.) Plaintiff submitted a notice of claim to the City of Ontario. On January 28, 2021, the City filed an answer. Plaintiff filed an amendment to the complaint naming Merchant Landscape Services, Inc. as DOE 1. On April 1, 2022, a first amend...

Excerpt: ...trated to be relevant or helpful to the dispute where the published appellate decision of Randy's Trucking controls the issue. Motion for Reconsideration: On July 25, 2023, the Court issued a detailed ruling in which the Court granted Defendant's motion for a mental examination, subject to certain provisions and a Protective Order and continued the hearing on the motion for the parties to meet and confer over the date and time of the examination ...

Excerpt: ...of the services contrary to, or without the necessity for, expert testimony. PICM Group, Inc. v . Drexler (2000) 22 Cal. 4th 1084, 1095. The Court should consider the nature of the litigation, its difficulty, the amount involved, the skill required and the skill employed in handling the litgation, the attention given, and the success of the attorney's efforts and his or her experience in the particular type of work demanded. Contractors Labor Poo...

Excerpt: ...ssue is Defendants' Demurrer and their Motion for Sanctions. Meet and Confer: Defendants have filed their Declaration of Demurring Party In Support of Automatic Extension. Within their filing, Defendants represent that Plaintiff's counsel has not responded to their letters and phone calls, and that Defendants would make a final effort to meet and confer before filing their Demurrer. The Demurrer makes no mention of this requirement. However, Defe...

Excerpt: ...ledge, did not comply with this Order. Therefore, the Court sets an OSC Re Sanctons against Plaintiff Humberto Aranda and his attorneys, CONSUMER LAW EXPERTS, P.C. and Nancy Zhang, Attorney at Law, set for October 24, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. in Department S29. No appearance is required by Defendant at this hearing. The judicial assistant shall give notice of this OSC. Motion: The motion is granted. With respect to compelling compliance where the respo...

Excerpt: ...e followed before filing a motion for judgment on the pleadings under Code of Civil Procedure section 438. (Code Civ. Proc., S 439.) Thus, before filing a statutory motion for judgment on the pleadings, the moving party's counsel must meet and confer, in person or by telephone, with counsel for the party who filed the pleading subject to the judgment on the pleadings motion "for the purpose of determining if an agreement can be reached that resol...

Excerpt: ...indicates that on August 4, 2021, plaintiff served a deposition notice for a September 9, 2021 deposition. GM objected. (Sanaia Decl., 23-24, Exhs. 7, 8.) On May 3, 2023, Plaintiff served a first amended notice of deposition, with a document demand, noticed for May 18, 2023. GM objected on May 11th and confirmed it would not produce a witness at the scheduled time, but would produce a witness at an agreeable date and time. GM also detailed fts ob...