Excerpt: ...ions In The Amount Of $5,800.75 (Part 1 of 2). Pro Tem Judge Chuck Geerhart, a member of the California State Bar who meets all the requirements set forth in CRC 2.812 to serve as a temporary judge, has been assigned to hear this motion. Prior to the hearing all parties to the motion will be asked to sign a stipulation agreeing that the motion may be heard by the Pro Tem Judge. If all parties to the motion sign the stipulation, the hearing will p...

Excerpt: ...rminating sanctions for discovery misuse is granted. As the report recites, over a period of more than 9 months, plaintiffs Robert Stang and Luigi Di Ruocco failed to respond to discovery requests properly served on them, ignored defendants' repeated communications requesting that they comply, failed to oppose six motions to compel, and then disregarded orders of the court granting those motions and requiring them to serve discovery responses...

Excerpt: ...ns Advancing Justice ‐ Asian Law Caucus, Council on American‐ Islamic Relations, California, and American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California's motion for peremptory writ of mandate is denied. Petitioners seek to compel disclosure of a white paper authored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) which "provides clarification and understanding" of the Joint Terrorism Task Force‐San Francisco Police Department Memora...

Excerpt: ...5 days after service of written notice of entry judgment]; Kabran v. Sharp Memorial Hospital (2017) 2 Cal.5th 330, 337 ["the trial court loses jurisdiction to hear a new trial motion if no notice of intent is filed within 15 days of the mailing or service of notice of entry of judgment"].) Judgment was entered on June 12, 2019 and notice of entry of judgment was served on plaintiff by electronic mail on June 19, 2019, but the motion was n...

Excerpt: ...o amend. Cross‐complainant has leave to add Michael Callahan, Greener Future, LLC, NAPA PAL, and ST5 Holdings, LLC as indispensable parties and to plead derivative claims on behalf of those entities. "Where the plaintiff seeks some type of affirmative relief which, if granted, would injure or affect the interest of a third party not joined, that party is in indispensable party." (Sierra Club, Inc. v. California Coastal Comm'n (1979)...

Excerpt: ...#39;s injuries. (See Code Civ. Proc. § 379(c) ["Where the plaintiff is in doubt as to the person from whom he or she is entitled to redress, he or she may join two or more defendants, with the intent that the question as to which, if any, of the defendants is liable, and to what extent, may be determined between the parties."].) The first amended complaint pleads with sufficient particularity the injury, the negligence by successive tort...

Excerpt: ...entry of tentative ruling only). (Continued from Part 1 of 2) "It is settled that this ['arising out of'] language does not import any particular standard of causation or theory of liability into an insurance policy. Rather, it broadly links a factual situation with the event creating liability, and connotes only a minimal causal connection or incidental relationship." (Acceptance Ins. Co. v. Syufy Enterprises (1999) 69 Cal.App.4t...

Excerpt: ...il Procedure section 1048, the Court has broad discretion to consolidate actions with common questions of law or fact. (National Elec. Supply Co. v. Mt. Diablo Unified School Dist. (1960) 187 Cal.App.2d 418, 421.) Although Defendant JLIS Inc.'s connection to the bad faith case (No. CGC‐19‐ 572725) is tenuous given the conclusory conspiracy allegations, the legal issue of whether the policy issued by defendants Liberty Mutual Insurance Com...

Excerpt: ... summary judgment is denied. ZNE fails to maintain its burden of production. ZNE largely relies on the Gu and Sheng declarations to assert that there is no unity of interest between ZNE and Talesun Solar USA Ltd. Their deposition testimonies show that they lack a foundation to testify regarding those issues however, and the court sustains plaintiff's objections to those declarations. Sheng declared that Talesun and ZNE have different ownershi...

Excerpt: ...ecome due" to defendant/debtor Meca Builders Inc. is denied. Plaintiff broadly seeks assignment of "the interest, if any of" Meca "in its rights to payment of money due or to become due, whether styled accounts receivable, general intangibles, payment intangibles, accounts, deposit accounts, royalties, fees, commissions, and other rights to money, from its activities as a building contractor." Notwithstanding CCP Sec. 708.510&...

Excerpt: ...d complaint after defendants filed these motions. The court would normally take these motions off calendar as moot because the motions attack a superseded pleading. (See State Compensation Insurance Fund v. Superior Court (2010) 184 CalApp.4th 1124, 1131.) Under the particular circumstances of this case, however, the court will address the merits of these motions because defendants renewed their motions after the amended complaint was filed and p...

Excerpt: ...on Of Documents. (part 1 of 2) Pro Tem Judge Scott Borrowman, a member of the California State Bar who meets all the requirements set forth in CRC 2.812 to serve as a temporary judge, has been assigned to hear this motion. Prior to the hearing all parties to the motion will be asked to sign a stipulation agreeing that the motion may be heard by the Pro Tem Judge. If all parties to the motion sign the stipulation, the hearing will proceed before t...

Excerpt: ...tive Ruling Only.) (Continued from Part 1 of 2) Defendant does not present a satisfactory excuse for not defending this action. Defendant incorrectly believed that he did not need to file a response because he is a British citizen with no connections to California. (Taaki Dec., Para. 3.) In Stiles v. Wallis (1983) <004c004800470003004800 000300550048004f004c[ef in similar circumstances. There, the court held that an Australian citizen who was ign...

Excerpt: ... is that non‐parties to an arbitration agreement may not be compelled to arbitrate disputes under the agreement. (See Suh v. Superior Court (2010) 181 Cal.App.4th 1504, 1512 ["Even the strong public policy in favor of arbitration does not extend to those who are not parties to an arbitration agreement or who have not authorized anyone to act for them in executing such an agreement."].) While there are a number of theories that serve as ...

Excerpt: ...is motion. Prior to the hearing all parties to the motion will be asked to sign a stipulation agreeing that the motion may be heard by the Pro Tem Judge. If all parties to the motion sign the stipulation, the hearing will proceed before the Judge Pro Tem who will decide the motion with the same authority as a Superior Court Judge. If a party appears by telephone, the stipulation may be signed via fax or consent to sign given by email. If not all ...

Excerpt: ...s Systems & Solutions, Inc. Scaffold Inspection and Testing Co. USA Scaffold's ("SITCO") motion for determination of good faith settlement per Code of Civil Procedure Sec. 877.6 is granted. SITCO has submitted evidence that it did not complete its scope of work to design and install a window washing system on the 6 Mint Building as a result of the general contractor's failure to pay; that it would have cost an estimated $25,000 fo...

Excerpt: ...plaintiff alleges sufficient facts to impose successor liability on movant. Plaintiff alleges facts showing that movant was a mere continuation of the prior entity. (First Amended Complaint, Paras. 31‐34; McClellan v. Northridge Park Townhome Owners Ass'n, Inc. (2001) 89 Cal.App.4th 746, 753 [successor corporation can be liable where "the transaction amounts to a consolidation or merger of the two corporations" or "the purchasin...

Excerpt: ... Of Tentative Ruling Only). (Continued from Part 1 of 2) There was no evident miscalculation in the award. "The miscalculation, to be evident, must appear on the face of the award [citation] or be so readily apparent from the documentation in the case that explanation by proofs is not necessary." (Svertson v. Williams Construction Co. (1985) 173 Cal.App.3d 86, 94; see also Lopes v. Millsap <0049005100110003001a00 004400550045004c0057[rato...

Excerpt: ...to amend as to the third cause of action. The court rejects Costco's res judicata argument. Plaintiff has filed two prior lawsuits in the small claims division of this Court arising out of the same incident. Although such conduct is not to be encouraged, the court follows the more recent authority holding that small claims judgments do not have a preclusive effect on subsequent actions as a matter of law, although it recognizes there is a spl...

Excerpt: ...ses its discretion and will hear the motion even though it was filed late. The court denies Lian Tong's request to strike the claims for $400,000, $61,600, and $20,500. The claimed damages relate to the misrepresentation claims and a factual issue remains regarding what can be recovered. (See Civ. Code Sec. 3333 ["For the breach of an obligation not arising from contract, the measure of damages, except where otherwise expressly provided b...

Excerpt: ...reliminary approval of class settlement is denied without prejudice to a further evidentiary showing, as follows: 1. Plaintiffs shall provide evidence regarding the experience of KCC Class Action Services sufficient for the Court to conclude that it is qualified to serve as settlement administrator. 2. Plaintiffs shall provide additional information to support the proposed service awards to the Plaintiff class representatives ($15,000 to Plaintif...

Excerpt: ...ed. The User Agreement between the parties provides, "The prevailing party in any action or proceeding to enforce this Agreement shall be entitled to costs and attorneys' fees." Although plaintiff Darrell Archer's claims included a claim for breach of contract, he did not allege that Coinbase breached the User Agreement, but instead alleged that a contract was established when he opened his account with Coinbase "based on the ...

Excerpt: ..., AND WT HOLDINGS, INC.'S Motion For Reconsideration Of This Courts May 16, 2019 Order. Movants' motion for reconsideration of the Court's May 16, 2019 order is denied. Movants have not shown any "new or different facts, circumstances, or law" warranting reconsideration of the Court's order. (Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 1008(a).) Nor is the Court inclined to grant reconsideration of the order on its own motion. (See Le Francois v...

Excerpt: ...e sufficient notice in accordance with Code of Civ. Proc., Sec. 1005. This demurer was originally filed in December 2018 and was fully briefed before the court took it off calendar in May 2019. Since all of the parties have already addressed the merits of the demurrer, there is no point in taking it off calendar again. (See Carlton v. Quint (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 690, 697 ["It is well settled that the appearance of a party at the hearing of a ...

Excerpt: ... California and Community Venture Partners, Inc.'s petition for writ of mandate and complaint for injunctive and declaratory relief is sustained without leave to amend. Government Code section 54953 requires that teleconferenced meetings such as the one at issue in this case have all votes taken by roll call, but Petitioners admit that the Amended CASA Motion challenged in their Petition was adopted by a valid, roll-call vote on January 18, 2...

Excerpt: ...laintiff must obtain a court order before seeking that relief from defendant. Code of Civ. Proc., Sec. 425.14 provides that a plaintiff must obtain a court order before seeking punitive damages against a "religious corporation." The court takes judicial notice of defendant's Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. Those documents, which plaintiff agrees the court can take judicial notice of, indisputably show that defendant is a religio...

Excerpt: ...s motion. Prior to the hearing all parties to the motion will be asked to sign a stipulation agreeing that the motion may be heard by the Pro Tem Judge. If all parties to the motion sign the stipulation, the hearing will proceed before the Judge Pro Tem who will decide the motion with the same authority as a Superior Court Judge. If a party appears by telephone, the stipulation may be signed via fax or consent to sign given by email. If not all p...

Excerpt: ...rg, and Sasha Plotitsa's motion to strike the fourth amended complaint, joined by defendant Jeffrey Linden, is denied. Although Plaintiff's fourth amended complaint technically was late-filed, the Court's April 23, 2019 order did not specify a deadline for plaintiff to file a further amended complaint, and defendants have not shown they were prejudiced by the 15-day delay. Here, as in Harlan v. Department of Transportation (2005) 132 ...

Excerpt: ...e Default and Default Judgment Against Defendant Associated Insulation of California is denied. U.S. Fire lacks standing to bring this motion or appear in the action at this time. (W. Heritage Ins. Co. v. Superior Court (2011) 199 Cal. App. 4th 1196, 1205 n. 12 ["Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 387, the trial court has discretion to permit a nonparty to intervene where?the nonparty has a direct and immediate interest in the action...

Excerpt: ...s‐complainants David McMahon and Law Offices of David J. McMahon's motion to consolidate for trial only cases Nos. CGC‐18‐569759, CGC‐18‐571704, and CGC‐19‐575298 is granted. The three actions involve common questions of law and fact: most of the legal claims stated by the three plaintiffs in their respective complaints are identical, and arise out of defendants' alleged oral promises to plaintiffs and defendants' allege...

Excerpt: ...mary judgment and supports his motion with expert declarations that his conduct fell within the community standard of care, he is entitled to summary judgment unless the plaintiff comes forward with conflicting expert evidence.'" (Munro v. Regents of University of California (1989) 215 Cal.App.3d 977, 985.) In this case, the declaration of Dr. McGuire shows that The Regents' doctors were acting in a consultative fashion and complied w...

Excerpt: ..., age, and sex discrimination and the sixth cause of action for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing are sustained without leave to amend. To plead a prima facie case of discrimination, the plaintiff must allege that "(1) he was a member of a protected class, (2) he was qualified for the position he sought or was performing competently in the position he held, (3) he suffered an adverse employment action, such as term...

Excerpt: ...akes into account a rough approximation of plaintiff's total recovery and defendant's proportionate liability, the amount paid in settlement, and recognizes that a settlor should pay less in settlement than if he were found liable after trial. The court also considers the financial condition of the settlor, the existence of insurance, and any evidence of collusion. (See Tech-Bilt, Inc. v. Woodward-Clyde & Assoc. (1985) 38 Cal.3d 488, 499....

Excerpt: ...s granted. The motion must be granted if two conditions are satisfied: (1) the case is incorrectly classified and (b) the moving party shows good cause for not seeking reclassification earlier. (Code Civ. Proc., § 403.040, subd. (b).) Plaintiff meets both conditions. The trial court is required to determine whether, based on the record before the court, a judgment in excess of $25,000 is obtainable. (Ytuarte v. Superior Court (2005) 129 Cal.App....

Excerpt: ...Set Two. Pro Tem Judge Roger Mead, a member of the California State Bar who meets all the requirements set forth in CRC 2.812 to serve as a temporary judge, has been assigned to hear this motion. Prior to the hearing all parties to the motion will be asked to sign a stipulation agreeing that the motion may be heard by the Pro Tem Judge. If all parties to the motion sign the stipulation, the hearing will proceed before the Judge Pro Tem who will d...

Excerpt: ...er. Because negligent entrustment is a negligence claim, there can be no finding of "malice" to support punitive damages without allegations showing intent to perform an act known to have a high probability of harm. (See Flores v. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co. (2010) 188 Cal.App.4th 1055, 1063 [reversing denial of summary adjudication of negligent entrustment claim and punitive damages request where there was no evidence the defendant was imp...

Excerpt: ...Bancorp Bank's motion to reconsider the order granting cross‐complainant Stan Schuldiner's motion to tax costs is granted. The ITC parties are awarded costs of $6,590.17. The ITC parties have shown that the court should exercise its discretion under both CCP 1008 and the court's inherent authority to reconsider the prior order and, upon such reconsideration, the evidence on this motion shows that the ITC parties are entitled to an a...

Excerpt: ...urt's June 12, 2019 Judgment contained a typographical error that referred to the filing date of the City's memorandum of costs as May 4, 2018 rather than May 6, 2019. Pursuant to the Court's inherent power to correct clerical errors in a judgment at any time, the judgment is amended to reflect the correct filing date. Plaintiff's motion is otherwise denied. Although the Court denied the City's motion for an award of attorneys...

Excerpt: ...ment is sustained without leave to amend. The economic loss rule bars the claim. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants concealed certain defects in the electrical architecture of their vehicles, but does not allege that their vehicle was affected by any of the problems allegedly caused by those electrical defects, nor do they plead that they suffered any damages other than the alleged economic damage related to the purchase of the vehicle itself. The...

Excerpt: ...ed without leave to amend as to Ms. Phukab and overruled as to Prasomsuk LLC and Siam Orchid. On demurrer, the Court accepts as true properly pled allegations of fact in the complaint as well as facts which may be inferred from those expressly alleged. (Mez Industries, Inc. v. Pacific Nat. Ins. Co. (1999) 76 Cal.App.4th 856.) Defendants improperly allege facts that are not found in the FAC and therefore those facts may not be considered. A demurr...

Excerpt: ...ion is granted as to the third cause of action for wrongful death and negligence, and is denied as to the first and second causes of action arising under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. Plaintiff Janet M. Planells has conceded that the City is entitled to summary adjudication of the third cause of action on the grounds of statutory immunity. (Gov. Code §§ 844.6(a)(2), 845.6.) **The Court's full tentative ruling h...

Excerpt: ...dge Roger Mead, a member of the California State Bar who meets all the requirements set forth in CRC 2.812 to serve as a temporary judge, has been assigned to hear this motion. Prior to the hearing all parties to the motion will be asked to sign a stipulation agreeing that the motion may be heard by the Pro Tem Judge. If all parties to the motion sign the stipulation, the hearing will proceed before the Judge Pro Tem who will decide the motion wi...

Excerpt: ...425.16 is granted. It is undisputed that the requirements of prong one are met because the challenged single cause of action arises out of defendants' protected activity - the filing of a lawsuit. (See Daniels v. Robbins (2010) 182 Cal.App.4th 204, 214-215 ["The plain language of the anti- SLAPP statute dictates that every claim of malicious prosecution is a cause of action arising from protected activity because every such claim necessar...

Excerpt: .... Plaintiffs and Cross‐Defendants Alice Bottino, as trustee of the Alice Bottino Trust, and Echco Sales Company's motion to specifically enforce the parties' settlement agreement and to turn over funds is granted. The Settlement Agreement and Release provides that the full amount of the funds in the Blocked Account, with interest, shall be released to the Trust if, among other things, Site Closure is not obtained by April 13, 2014, a de...

Excerpt: ...tential risk of immersing oneself in a dumpster is obvious as a matter of law. (See Christoff v. Union Pacific Railroad Co. (2005) 134 Cal.App.4th 118, 126 [holding that railroad tracks provide a self-evident warning to an adult of ordinary intelligence "that it is not safe to walk upon it, or near enough to it to be struck by a passing train"]; Huffman v. City of Poway <0057004b00480003005200 00560056000300520049[ a condition is not a qu...

Excerpt: ...s Of Requests For Production. (Part 1 of 2) Pro Tem Judge Bruce Highman, a member of the California State Bar who meets all the requirements set forth in CRC 2.812 to serve as a temporary judge, has been assigned to hear this motion. Prior to the hearing all parties to the motion will be asked to sign a stipulation agreeing that the motion may be heard by the Pro Tem Judge. If all parties to the motion sign the stipulation, the hearing will proce...

Excerpt: ...39;S Fees. Pro Tem Judge Bruce Highman, a member of the California State Bar who meets all the requirements set forth in CRC 2.812 to serve as a temporary judge, has been assigned to hear this motion. Prior to the hearing all parties to the motion will be asked to sign a stipulation agreeing that the motion may be heard by the Pro Tem Judge. If all parties to the motion sign the stipulation, the hearing will proceed before the Judge Pro Tem who w...

Excerpt: ...ted, the Second Amended Complaint is ordered stricken, and Plaintiff is ordered to pay Defendants $4,085.43 for the reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, incurred by Defendants as a result of her conduct. (Code Civ. Proc. §§ 2023.030(d), 2025.450(h).) Plaintiff Kristen Eckert failed to appear at her properly noticed deposition or to serve responses to Defendants' interrogatories. Despite attempts by Defendants' counsel to ...

Excerpt: ... the conservatorship matter (Case No. PCN‐15‐299338). Therefore, the representations Plaintiff Romula Villanueva made that she was not a creditor of the estate in the Petitions for conservatorship filed prior to Decedent's death are consistent with Plaintiff's current position as a creditor. (SUMF Nos. 2‐3.) As such, there is no basis for judicial or collateral estoppel. Moreover, the Probate Code requires a claim to be filed with t...

Excerpt: ...taining products or materials attributable to Defendant. (Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (2001) 25 Cal.4th 826.) For instance, Patricia Glavin's deposition testimony indicates that she identified a photograph of a metal can of Georgia Pacific Joint Compound as the product she saw her father‐in‐law use. (Declaration of Deborah Smith, Ex. G at 76‐77; Errata to Declaration of Jason Rose, Ex. V at Ex. A.) Evidence that UCC was not the on...