Excerpt: ... the ends of justice, or the economy and efficiency of handling the litigation would be promoted thereby, on motion of a party, after notice and hearing, make an order, no later than the close of pretrial conference in cases in which such pretrial conference is to be held, or, in other cases, no later than 30 days before the trial date, that the trial of any issue or any part thereof shall precede the trial of any other issue or any part thereof ...

Excerpt: ...nnot support his negligence cause of action; (ii) there is no admissible proof that Nguyen breached his duty of ordinary care and caused the subject vehicle collision; and (iii) based on the evidence, if Plaintiff was driving in a safe and reasonable manner, he would have had sufficient time to avoid the subject collision. Defendants further argue that however, due to Plaintiff's inattention and unsafe driving, he collided with the rear of Defend...

Excerpt: ... liberally construed so the Court will consider this and the remaining motions in limine brought by Defendant Esther Garcia (GARCIA). 2. The motion is granted. No evidence concerning the fact of the investigation of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) regarding GARCIA (including but not limited to, the complaint, investigation, investigative reports, findings, committee recommendations or administrative appeals) shall be ment...

Excerpt: ...ched to the Request for Judicial Notice filed September 13, 2021 but denies judicial notice of Exhibit I as irrelevant. 2 Demurrer to Second Amended Complaint: All demurrers are overruled. The elements of an infringement claim under California statutory and common law are plaintiff's earlier and continuous use of a trademark, defendant's subsequent use of a confusingly similar trademark, and likelihood of confusion in the minds of the public that...

Excerpt: ...e defendants knew there were intoxicated, aggressive, and dangerous patrons at the premises, but declined Mouton's request to call law enforcement. Defendants also failed to take any action to protect the safety of their patrons. Through the complaint filed on July 17, 2019, Mouton asserts causes of action for: (1) motor vehicle negligence against Does 90‐100, (2) general negligence, and (3) premises liability. Mouton also eventually name Leon ...

Excerpt: ...mplaint pleads ten causes of action: (1) negligence, (2) negligent supervision, (3) negligent hiring/retention, (4) negligence failure to warn, train, or educate, (5) negligence per se, (6) constructive fraud, (7) intentional infliction of emotional distress, (9) sexual harassment (Educ. Code, §220), (10) breach of fiduciary duties, and (11) failure to perform mandatory duties.4 Defendants answered. The Complaint alleges LD was a student at Bars...

Excerpt: ...f Contract; (2) Estoppel; and, (3) Declaratory Relief. On May 7, 2021 Plaintiffs filed an Amendment to Complaint adding Needles Public Utility Authority as Doe 1. Prior to a responsive pleading being filed, and as a matter of right pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure, section 472, on May 7, 2021 Plaintiffs filed the now operative First Amended Complaint (FAC) alleging the following three causes of action against the City and Needles Public Utilit...

Excerpt: ... in any pleading. (b) Strike out all or any part of any pleading not drawn or filed in conformity with the laws of this state, a court rule, or an order of the court.” (§ 436.) “The grounds for a motion to strike shall appear on the face of the challenged pleading or from any matter of which the court is required to take judicial notice. (§ 437, subd. (a).) Good Faith Meet and Confer Effort Code of Civil Procedure, section 435.5 provides in...

Excerpt: ... has been waived by the petitioner; or (b) Ground exists for the revocation of the agreement. (c) A party to the arbitration agreement is also a party to a pending court action or special proceeding with a third party, arising out of the same transaction or series of related transactions and there is a possibility of conflicting rulings on a common issue of law or fact. The moving party may also seek a stay of pending litigation either by itself ...

Excerpt: ...f witnesses, the ends of justice, or the economy and efficiency of handling the litigation would be promoted thereby, on motion of a party, after notice and hearing, make an order, no later than the close of pretrial conference in cases in which such pretrial conference is to be held, or, in other cases, no later than 30 days before the trial date, that the trial of any issue or any part thereof shall precede the trial of any other issue or any p...

Excerpt: ...arbitrate. Additionally, the arbitration section of the Employee Handbook contemplates a signature from the employee separate and apart from that required in the employee acknowledgment, suggesting a separate and severable agreement. Here, as in Romo v. Y‐3 Holdings, Inc. (2001) 87 Cal.App.4th 1153, there is no evidence that Plaintiff ever signed the arbitration section of the Handbook or the Acknowledgment of Receipt and Review. 2 In Mitri v. ...

Excerpt: ...ng a stipulation to strike the treble damage allegation and prayers. (Gillen Decl. at ¶3.) That is not a meet and confer. Nevertheless, the Court elects to exercise its discretion and consider the motion as the trial is a week away and a continuance for compliance is impossible. Additionally, it is unlikely a meet and confer will result in a consensus on the matter. 2. Plaintiff further asserts that the motion under Code of Civil Procedure §100...

Excerpt: ...CA Assoc.”], (2) Western Assoc. of Schools & Colleges [“Western Assoc.”], (3) Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team, CSIS Office [“Fiscal Team”], (4) Lindero Canyon Middle School [“Lindero”], (5) Los Angeles World Affairs Council [“LA Council”], (6) A.E. Wright Middle School [“AE Wright”], (7) Las Virgenes Unified School District [“Las Virgenes”], (8) Brandeis Hillel Day Schools (San Francisco) [“Brandies‐San Fran...

Excerpt: ... to be the case. The Court reserves the right to exclude any such evidence upon proper objection during the trial depending upon what occurs at trial. The denial or grant of these motions is without prejudice. As to any motion granted, the parties are ordered to refrain from conveying to the jury any of the evidence excluded without first obtaining permission of the Court outside the presence of the jury. Furthermore, it is the obligation of the ...

Excerpt: ...ched to the Request for Judicial Notice filed September 3, 2021. The Court denies judicial notice of Exhibits B‐D as irrelevant. Defendant's Evidentiary Objections: Declaration of Larry Peroni: 9. sustained 10. – 11. overruled 2 15. – 20. overruled 21. – 23. overruled1 24. – 31. overruled Plaintiffs' Evidentiary Objections: Declaration of Donald Zimring: 1. – 10. overruled 11. sustained 12. – 15. overruled 16. – 17. sustained 18. ...

Excerpt: ...the Court will consider the issuance of sanctions against the non‐complying party. 1 These sections require a meet and confer in person or by telephone. 2 Demurrer: The demurrer2 to the Fifth Cause of Action is sustained with thirty days leave to amend. The cases cited by each party demonstrate that to rise to the level of “willful” and “malicious” conduct, the conduct on the part of the defendant must be more than mere negligence, as u...

Excerpt: ... 2 of 11 complaint involves the property at 26787 Barton Road, Bryn Mawr, California 92373. Brennan Lynne alleges the following: Defendant Murphy owns the property. He is also the former owner/operator of a bar and restaurant known as Taylors Tavern, which is located on the property. On April 9, 2015, Murphy entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Brennan Lynn. Under the terms of the agreement, Murphy was to sell the assets of Taylors Tav...

Excerpt: ...'s Human Resources (HR) manager, Esther Magallanes, submitted a declaration authenticating the arbitration agreement. (Magallanes declaration ¶ 14.)3 She declares that plaintiff “became employed by Office Star on December 9, 2016 to work as a Shipping Clerk for Office Star's Elm warehouse in Fontana.” Magallanes worked in the office that day and was present during plaintiff's orientation. (Magallanes Decl. ¶¶ 7‐14.) Additionally, the pro...

Excerpt: ...that on September 8, 2016, Plaintiff purchased a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica vehicle (VIN 2C4RC1EG6HR537516 (the “Vehicle”) which was manufactured and distributed by Defendant FCA (Comp., ¶9). The sales price was $53,613.84 and the Subject Vehicle was primarily used for personal, family or household purposes from an entity engaged in the business of manufacturing, distributing, or selling consumer goods at retail (Comp., ¶9). The car has various...

Excerpt: ...rth; Amanda Hollingsworth; Brett Hollingsworth; HUC Corp.; Michael Robbins; Dieter & Irene Lange; Jacobs Landscape Services Inc. (JLC); Dale Jacobs; and Autumn Jacobs.1 Plaintiff asserts that several Defendants failed to respond to written discovery or served responses past the due date, and thereby waived objections. It argues that issues with discovery in which late responses or no responses were provided have no deadline to move to compel. As ...

Excerpt: ...deemed waived and/or abandoned (Boblitt v. Boblitt (2010) 190 Cal.App.4th 603, 609 [“[E]very brief should contain a legal argument with citation of authorities on the points made. If none is furnished on a particular point, the court may treat it as waived, and pass it without consideration. Contentions supported neither by argument nor by citation of authority are deemed to be without foundation, and to have been abandoned.”]) 2. Demurrer to...

Excerpt: ...r train, engine, transmission and electrical systems. Moss Bros, and the vehicle's manufacturer (defendant FCA US, LLC), were unable to conform the vehicle to the warranties. Furthermore, no relief in compliance with the Song‐Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (the Act) was provided by defendants. (Compl. at ¶¶ 4 and 9‐18.) As a result, the Thompsons commenced the underlying litigation on March 18, 2021 against Moss Bros and FCA for various viol...

Excerpt: ... declaration are overruled; 2 3. Defendant General Tool, Inc.'s evidentiary objections 9‐14 and 17‐23 to the Mortimer declaration are sustained as lacking foundation, but objections 15 and 16 are overruled; and 4. Defendant General Tool, Inc.'s evidentiary objections 1 and 2 to the Childs' Declaration are sustained. Requests for Judicial Notice: The Court grants General Tool's Request for Judicial Notice of Exhibits 1 and 2 and Duenna, Inc.'s...

Excerpt: ...er filed declaration, but includes two new declarations, a declaration of Kevin Mahoney and a Supplemental Declaration of Kevin Mahoney. The Supplemental Declaration addresses costs. It states that the costs “total seven thousand, one hundred eighty‐one dollars and seventy two dents ($2,440.21) [sic].” The verbal statement appears to be a typographical error; the figure as stated in Arabic numerals is correct. Nevertheless, the court will n...

Excerpt: ...comply with the particular demand for inspection, copying, testing, or sampling shall affirm that a diligent search and a reasonable inquiry has been made in an effort to comply with that demand. This statement shall also specify whether the inability to comply is because the particular item or category has never existed, has been destroyed, has been lost, misplaced, or stolen, or has never been, or is no longer, in the possession, custody, or co...

Excerpt: ...ace of a parent or legal guardian for student (Plaintiff) Jane LD Doe. Davis undertook an investigation of O'Neil and confirmed the existence of other alleged victims as early as November/December 2018. Page 2 of 10 On July 19, 2021, Plaintiff served a Deposition Subpoena Duces Tecum to Fraud Fighters, an investigative firm retained by Defendant to investigate Plaintiff's claims. Fraud Fighters was identified in a supplemental response to Form In...

Excerpt: ...ed the work at Cross‐ Defendants' store. Page | 2 Business and Professions Code section 7031 provides, in pertinent part, “Except as provided in subdivision (e), no person engaged in the business or acting in the capacity of a contractor, may bring or maintain any action, or recover in law or equity in any action, in any court of this state for the collection of compensation for the performance of any act or contract where a license is requir...

Excerpt: ... presented evidence of the onboarding process, Defendants failed to submit evidence Plaintiff actually executed the Applicant Agreement, and Plaintiff maintained it was easy for other Appleone employees to sign an employee's Page 2 of 12 documents for him or her. In their Reply, Defendants presented additional evidence to further authenticate Plaintiff's electronic signature. The matter came before the Court on June 24, 2021, at which point the C...

Excerpt: ...ainst Smith. The operative Second Amended Cross‐Complaint (“Marini's SACC”) pled four crossclaims: (1) abandonment of express easement, (2) nuisance, (3) prescriptive easement, and (4) declaratory relief. Cross‐Defendants Smith answered. And by intervention. MM & CC, Inc. (“MM”) answered. On July 9, 2021, the Court granted Smith and MM's Motion for Summary Judgment. MM also filed a Complaint‐in‐Intervention against Marini alleging...

Excerpt: ...ided physical possession of Plaintiff's boat (and Plaintiff had physical possession of the jet skis), the consummation of this agreement was subject to all vehicles passing mechanical inspection. (¶ 8.) On or about September 20 or 21 of 2019, Defendant advised Plaintiff the boat had been stolen from Defendant's shop, and Plaintiff learned Defendant failed to secure the boat and trailer; instead, Defendant left it parked in a lot behind and adjac...

Excerpt: ...ght and the pleading added Jane Weng as a defendant. As for the underlying allegations, the Trust contends that on October 20, 2020, it offered to purchase the property through its agent, Maryam Golbakhsh, and from the Chiens, through their broker/agent, Weng. The Chiens counter‐offered and the Trust accepted the counter‐offer (FAC at ¶¶ 10, 14, 16, and 20‐21). Under the terms of the agreement, the Chiens were to provide disclosures withi...

Excerpt: ...ant was an abusive husband, who intentionally and/or recklessly abused Plaintiff emotionally, verbally, physically, and sexually. Plaintiff became emotionally distressed and depressed as a result of the consistent abuse she suffered at Defendant's hands, and she sought treatment with psychologists and therapists. (¶¶ 6‐7.) Plaintiff's treating psychologists opine that her symptoms are consistent with someone who has been traumatized, with the...

Excerpt: ...ms appear barred by the three year statute of limitations. Plaintiffs attempt to plead delayed discovery as applied to the applicable statute of limitations. However, Plaintiff have not plead sufficient facts to invoke the delayed discovery rule. In order to rely on the discovery rule for delayed accrual of a cause of action, ‘[a] plaintiff whose complaint shows on its face that his claim would be barred without the benefit of the discovery rul...

Excerpt: ...ed by either a coordination motion judge or a coordination trial judge. If a stay has been imposed, this court cannot proceed further unless and until the stay is lifted. The motion for fees and costs. June 21, 2021, the court issued a written tentative ruling on plaintiff's motion for attorney fees and costs incurred in the arbitration proceeding that plaintiff alleges defendant abandoned. The court has not ruled on the motion, but continued the...

Excerpt: ...s, but they Page 2 of 15 declined Plaintiff's request to call law enforcement, and they otherwise failed to take any action to protect the safety of their patrons. Because of defendants' failures, Plaintiff was the victim of a vehicular assault and battery while she was a pedestrian in defendants' parking lot. Plaintiff filed her Complaint July 17, 2019, asserting causes of action for: (1) Motor Vehicle Negligence [Does 90‐100], (2) General Neg...

Excerpt: ... the fees or costs required to continue the arbitration proceeding are not paid within 30 days after the due date, the drafting party is in material breach of the arbitration agreement, is in default of the arbitration, and waives its right to compel the employee . . . to proceed with that arbitration as a result of the material breach. Page 6 of 9 (b) If the drafting party material breaches the arbitration agreement and is in default under subdi...

Excerpt: ...s the accident occurred on July 20, 2019. The County of San Bernardino (“County”) was served with a claim for damages on January 13, 2020 and rejected on February 10, 2020. The Complaint asserted the following: Defendants negligently, recklessly and/or wantonly owned, maintained, managed operated, controlled and safe guarded the premises and or roadway at or near 17800 Glen Helen Rd., San Bernardino, CA 92407, such that an exposed hole and/or...

Excerpt: ...span to 10 years from the date of incident to the present. (Vine Dec., ¶¶ 2‐3; Exhibits 2‐ Page 2 of 30 3 to Vine Dec.) On June 14, 2021, Plaintiff clarified she did not object to the production of any medical records from Foothill, but she objected to the records from St. Mary's because none of those records pertain to the injuries claimed in the present lawsuit. (Vine Dec., ¶ 4; Exhibit 4.) On June 15, 2021, Defendant re‐issued subpoen...

Excerpt: ..., (5) Broadspire Services, Inc., and (6) Harco National Insurance Company. However, after the filing of the Motion, Defendant withdrew the subpoenas to Disney (No. 3), San Bernardino (No. 4), and Broadspire (No. 5). Further, Defendant has agreed to modify the subpoena as to Ace (No. 1). Therefore, the only subpoenas in dispute are Employers (No. 2) and Harco (No. 6). The motion to quash appears moot by virtue of the fact that the records of Emplo...

Excerpt: ...gn and return a copy of this letter to me soon as possible. Also attached is an employment agreement. Please sign and scan/e‐mail a copy to…” (Sporer Decl., Ex. 1, p. 2, underlining added.) Plaintiff signed the letter electronically below the statement: “I accept the position offered by the Andersen Logistics under the terms described in this letter.” Essentially, the parties' arguments boil down to the following. Defendant argues that ...

Excerpt: ...lt and time‐consuming for the court to analyze costs by failing to summarize the costs in a single location, but across four separate declarations. While lawyers from different law firms must individually document their costs, they should also be grouped together in a single location for the court's convenience. Page 3 of 4 CVS26073021 2. Confirmation that the administrator's fee is not to exceed $25,000.00. 3. Confirmation that employer‐side...

Excerpt: ... only that there 2,059 participating members, without separately listing the number of class members and the number of PAGA aggrieved employees. Class members whose employment terminated before commencement of the PAGA period do not participate in the PAGA settlement, and putative class members who opted out of the class settlement still participate in the PAGA settlement if their employment fell within that time period. The settlement administra...

Excerpt: ...onable attorneys' fees. The Court has carefully scrutinized the motion, the supporting Declarations and the billing invoices and reviewed the Court's file and the pleadings. In determining what constitutes reasonable compensation for an attorney who has rendered services in connection with a legal proceeding, the trial court has broad discretion and wide latitude, and the court may make its own determination of the value of the services contrary ...

Excerpt: ...erson described in subdivision (b), or upon the court's own motion after giving counsel notice and an opportunity to be heard, 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. In addition, the court may make any other order as may be appropriate to Page 2 of 13 protect the person from unreasonable or oppressive de...

Excerpt: ...s. Defendant asserts the FAA applies without pointing to any particular supporting evidence. The agreements themselves (Starr Decl., Exhs. 1‐2) do not reference the FAA. The moving papers provide, without support, that Defendant is a California‐based nonprofit organization that works with school districts and local communities to offer extended learning programs for underprivileged and low‐income children. (Motion, 1:23‐24.) The moving pa...

Excerpt: ...of the party aggrieved, be set aside and vacated by the same court, and another and different judgment entered, for either of the following causes, materially affecting the substantial rights of the party and entitling the party to a different judgment: 1. Incorrect or erroneous legal basis for the decision, not consistent with or not supported by the facts; and in such case when the judgment is set aside, the statement of decision shall be amend...

Excerpt: ...n, Cal. Prac. Guide (TRG 2013), Civil Procedure Before Trial, §8:1180‐8:1181.) “[P]arties may conduct discovery “regarding any matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action … if the matter either is itself admissible in evidence or appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.” (Perlan Therapeutics, Inc. v. Superior Court (2009)178 Cal.App.4th 1333, 1351, ...

Excerpt: ...s no jurisdiction to enforce any settlement among non‐parties. These entities, if they are included in the settlement, will need to be made parties and make general appearances (including payment of first appearance fees in the complex litigation department). The hearing can be continued to a later date to accomplish this. The motion is unclear as to the amount of fees and costs sought. Nevertheless, the settlement agreement clearly provides th...

Excerpt: ...95, 999.) The grounds for a motion for judgment on the pleadings must appear on the face of the challenged pleading or be based on facts which the court may judicially notice, in which case the judicially noticed content must be specified in the opening papers. (Code Civ. Proc., § 438, subd. (d); compare Saltarelli & Steponovich v. Douglas (1995) 40 Cal.App.4th 1, 5 [on “nonstatutory” motion for judgment on the pleadings, court took judicial...

Excerpt: ...rrect. The matter is continued and in addition a Motion for Contempt Sanctions against American General Life Insurance and its attorneys will be set on the same day. Notwithstanding, the Court offers the following comments: Judicial Notice1 Defendant American General requests judicial notice of the Court of Appeal decision in Williams v. National Western Life Insurance Company (2021) 65 Cal.App.4th 436. DENY as unnecessary in that it is a binding...