Excerpt: ...y judgment or alternatively summary adjudication on the claims alleged against it in the third amended complaint is denied in its entirety. LHJS fails to maintain its burden because it does not address the alter ego allegations against it. There is also a triable issue whether LHJS negligently converted the premises per Orange Grove Terrace Owners Ass'n v. <0003001400150014001a00 00500052005100560048[ declares that LHJS performed no contracto...

Excerpt: ...ation agreement do not necessarily show that any or all of Mr. Soriano's claims are barred by the release language in the separation agreement. Liberally construed, Mr. Soriano's allegations are sufficient to support economic duress as grounds for rescission of the separation agreement. "The question of duress. . .is a factual question; the existence of duress always depends upon the circumstances" and it requires an examination o...

Excerpt: ...case, defendant Ally Financial, Inc. and all persons and entities working in concert with them are restrained and enjoined from refusing to accept any payments on‐line from any persons who have previously signed up and been approved to make on‐line payments due to any disputes with those persons or Ally having been contacted by any attorneys on behalf of those persons without providing 30 days advance notice directly to those persons and stat...

Excerpt: ...ller Financial Llc, And Rockefeller & Co. Llc'S Motion For Preliminary Injunction Plaintiffs Rockefeller Capital Management L.P., Rockefeller & Co. LLC, Rockefeller Financial LLC, and Christopher Dupuy's motion for preliminary injunction is granted in substantial part. Until there is a final determination on plaintiffs' request for injunctive relief or an order of this court to the contrary, defendant Focus Financial Partners LLC and ...

Excerpt: ...gs as to all three causes of action alleged in the complaint filed by plaintiff California Business Interiors, Inc. is granted without leave to amend as to all three causes of action. California law requires that CBI allege that defendants committed independently wrongful conduct in allegedly requiring CBI to sell Hogue to KBM. CBI has not done so nor does it appear that it can do so. CBI improperly relies on Lowell v. Mother's Cake & Cookie ...

Excerpt: ...Due Process Principals, And Is The Result Of Extrinsic Fraud And Mistake Defendants Geet and Mahendra Prasad's motion to vacate the August 15, 2017 judgment is granted based on CCP 473(d) and extrinsic mistake. The judgment is set aside and this case is restored to the civil active list. The record discloses that the Prasads had no notice that plaintiff Bosco Credit, LLC was attempting to enter judgment against them. In addition, the judgment...

Excerpt: ... to provide security services at the 2016 HSBF; 2) Lloyd Brown acted negligently in hiring and retaining defendants Jose Beltran and William Douglass; and 3) Mr. Brown's asserted negligence in hiring and retaining Mr. Beltran and Mr. Douglass was a substantial factor in causing plaintiff Shane Stevens' injuries. Liberally construing the evidence in favor of Mr. Stevens and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of Mr. Stevens, a reaso...

Excerpt: ...rity to rule on this demurrer due to a possible bankruptcy stay. If plaintiff Tony Fu's bankruptcy case is still pending and if Mr. Fu fraudulently transferred assets, wouldn't those assets be part of his bankruptcy estate? Counsel should be prepared to address that question at the hearing. Counsel should also address whether the fraudulent transfer claims need to be prosecuted in CGC-16-553702 or whether Mr. Liu should dismiss his cross-...

Excerpt: ... CCP 128.7(c)(2) issues an order for Synergy's counsel to show cause in writing no later than November 27, 2018 why they have not violated CCP 128.7(b) by filing and continuing to prosecute Synergy's cross‐complaint. The conduct of Synergy's counsel that appears to violate CCP 128.7(b) is the filing and continued prosecution of a cross‐complaint that is barred by well‐established law. CSS has no obligation to indemnify Synergy a...

Excerpt: ...erference with contractual relations in the first amended complaint is granted without prejudice to plaintiff Regional Protection Agency, Inc. filing a motion to amend to seek punitive damages as to the interference claim if and when it obtains facts allowing it to do so. An implied covenant claim is a contract claim for which punitive damages are not available. RPA has not alleged sufficient ultimate facts supporting corporate liability for puni...

Excerpt: ...ar accident that caused physical injury on her first cause of action for motor vehicle negligence. The second cause of action appears to seek emotional distress damages based on Wiley's negligent use of a police code that caused numerous officers to respond to the scene. (Amended Complaint, par. 19.) Wiley's post‐accident conduct did not cause further physical injury and the law limits the recovery of emotional distress damages in the a...

Excerpt: ...intiff'S Deposition Subpoena To Ucsf Health Information Management And To Grant A Protective Order And Sanctions (For Tentative Ruling Purposes Only Part 2 Of 2) The subpoena is directed to a side issue of the side issue: speculation about whether defendant McGarry, who works as a research scientist at UCSF, might have accessed plaintiff's medical records to come to the conclusion that the claimed disability involved defendant's knee ...

Excerpt: ...hnology Inc.'s Motion For Assignment Of Rights, Restraining Order And Turnover Order is DENIED. With regard to the motion for assignment of rights, C.C.P. section 708.510(d) provides that a right to payment may be assigned "only to the extent necessary to satisfy the money judgment." Judgment creditor has provided no evidence that its broad proposed assignment is only to the extent necessary to satisfy the money judgment. Moreover sec...

Excerpt: ...dge Van Aken will hear this motion in department 506 at 10:30 a.m. Plaintiff Anton Andryeyev's Notice Of Motion And Motion To Compel Supplemental Responses To Requests For Admissions And Form Interrogatories, And For Sanctions is GRANTED. Andryeyev's Requests for Admissions (Set 1) and Form Interrogatories (Set 2) were proper. Defendants objected to the RFAs on the grounds that the RFAs were premature and not fully complete in themselves....

Excerpt: ... petition to compel arbitration of the claims alleged by plaintiff Kenly Gaffke is granted. Moving defendants have shown that the parties entered in a valid enforceable arbitration agreement covering Mr. Gaffke's claims. Although the agreement was not signed by the moving defendants, their conduct showed they considered themselves bound by the agreement. (Serafin v. Balco Properties Ltd., LLC (2015) 235 Cal.App.4th 165, 177.) The identity of ...

Excerpt: ...l seven affirmative defenses. RJR's pleading of its affirmative defenses comports with the longstanding practice for pleading affirmative defenses in Bay Area state courts based on the well-understood premise that at the outset of a case a defendant may know the reasonable range of possible affirmative defenses but may not yet have had the opportunity to determine whether there is factual support for them. If, after a reasonable opportunity f...

Excerpt: ... is denied. While California has a liberal policy favoring allowing amendments to pleadings, that policy is insufficient to warrant the granting of this motion due to the undue prejudice that would be suffered by plaintiff Merrilee Harris if the motion is granted. Permitting the filing of the second amended cross‐complaint would inevitably result in a lengthy continuance of the trial and would require Ms. Harris to participate in greatly increa...

Excerpt: ...complaint seeking an order that cross‐defendant R.I. and 17th LLC has a duty to defend Lambert against the claims alleged by cross‐complainant Whole Foods Market California, Inc. is denied in its entirety. Whether there is a contractual duty to defend and what circumstances a duty to defend is triggered is determined based on the language of the parties' agreement. The rules of interpretation in Civil Code 2778 are "default rules"...

Excerpt: ...laintiffs Second Amended Complaint The motion will be heard by Judge Fleming at 9:00 a.m. Defendant Balaji Srinivasan's demurrer to the first and fourth causes of action for specific performance and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in plaintiffs Leerink Revelation Healthcare Fund I, L.P and Leerink Revelation Healthcare Fund II, L.P.'s second amended complaint is sustained without leave to amend. Plaintiffs ha...

Excerpt: ... Damage Claim. 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 ...

Excerpt: ...the deposition of Lisa Fulton is granted and its request for monetary sanctions is denied. Ms. Fulton's deposition must occur on or before October 26, 2018. The primary ground asserted to oppose this motion is that all information known by Ms. Fulton relating to this case is covered by the work product privilege of plaintiff State Farm General Insurance Company. However, State Farm has not submitted any evidence showing that Ms. Fulton was re...

Excerpt: ...and the demurrer OVERRULED. CCP §418.10(a)(1). Plaintiff's declaration evidences that California was the site of "[a]ll of the design and engineering work" for the Atari project that is at the litigation's core. Further, plaintiff declares he "spent considerable time living in California and directing the project." This suffices to confer California jurisdiction. In contrast, defendant's motion papers proffer no evide...

Excerpt: ...418.10(a)(1). Plaintiff's declaration evidences that California was the site of "[a]ll of the design and engineering work" for the Atari project that is at the litigation's core. Further, plaintiff declares he "spent considerable time living in California and directing the project." This suffices to confer California jurisdiction. In contrast, defendant's motion papers proffer no evidence, just attorney argument. CCP �...

Excerpt: ...39; counsel surveilled plaintiff, who is said to have lost his sight in a motor vehicle accident. Plaintiff seeks to compel a deposition of the investigator as well as surveillance photos, videos and/or reports and interrogatory answers regarding the surveillance. The attorney-client privilege and attorney work product doctrine are at issue. Plaintiff says the investigator is "an employee of defense counsel" - an assertion not helpful to ...

Excerpt: ...oncealment). No plaintiff‐defendant relationship is required. Rather, (1) intentionally failing to disclose facts known to defendant that plaintiff could not have discovered and/or (2) disclosing some facts to plaintiff but intentionally failing to disclose other facts making the disclosures deceptive are both long‐established other bases for this kind of fraud. (See CACI 1901 and cases cited in its use notes.) The Fourth District opinion Big...

Excerpt: ...D. Defendant satisfies the first prong of §425.16; her filing of a complaint with the San Francisco Department of Police Accountability (SFDPA) is protected by the statute. (See, e.g., Walker v. Kiousis (2001) 93 Cal.App.4th 1432, 1439; Lee v. Fick (2005) 135 Cal.App.4th 89, 97.) Plaintiff argues that the first prong is not met because defendant's activity was a crime ‐ filing "an allegation of misconduct against a police officer knowi...

Excerpt: ...denied. In light of the court's ruling on the demurrer, the request for punitive damages is based on sufficient factual allegations supporting a cause of action in fraud. Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to [email protected] with a copy to all other parties by 4pm stating, without argument, the portion(s) of the tentative ruling that the party contests. The subject line of the email shall include the line n...

Excerpt: ...Klein And Production Of Documents; Request For Sanctions Against Defendant Klein And His Counsel In The Amount Of $6,260.00 Pro Tem Judge Melinda Derish, 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...

Excerpt: ...s its discretion per Penal Code 502(e)(1) not to award any fees to FusionStorm. FusionStorm never provided any persuasive evidence that Ms. Tenorio misused any of FusionStorm's information in a way that caused any harm. Moreover, the injunctive relief it sought and obtained was more prophylactic than remedial. Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to [email protected] with a copy to all other parties by 4pm stat...

Excerpt: ...4;[W]here a government agent's actions have induced noncompliance with procedural requirements, the government could be estopped from asserting those procedural bars against a citizen's recovery." (J.H. McKnight Ranch, Inc. v. Franchise Tax Bd. (2003) 110 Cal.App.4th 978, 979.) Respondent Assessment Appeals Board affirmatively advised KHP by the language in its "Information and Instructions for Assessment Appeal Application" t...

Excerpt: ...s motion to transfer case is denied. Venue is proper per CCP 395(a) because this action was filed in the county where one of the defendants resides. The complaint does not show that defendant Robert Morrison, a San Francisco resident, was improperly joined or joined in bad faith. Joinder statutes are liberally construed and where a plaintiff is uncertain as to the extent each tortfeasor is responsible for his injuries, joinder of the all alleged ...

Excerpt: ...tive economic relations and breach of the implied covenant of good fair and fair dealing in the first amended complaint filed by plaintiffs Vatche Cabayan and V. Cabayan Med. Corp. is denied as to both causes of action. Plaintiffs' allegations concerning State Fund's disparaging statements are so factually deficient that they preclude a determination whether they arise from State Fund's exercise of activity protected by the anti‐SLA...

Excerpt: ...Of Patientpop, Inc. For Business Records And Request For Monetary Sanctions Plaintiffs' motion for an order compelling compliance with their deposition subpoena to non‐ party PatientPop, Inc. is granted in part. No later than October 31, 2018 PatientPop is required to produce all documents in its possession, custody and control regarding the reputation and competence of defendant Rachel Shu including all reviews of Dr. Shu by persons for wh...

Excerpt: ...tion Agency, Inc.'s first, eighth and ninth causes of action for breach of contract, quantum meruit and promissory estoppel are stricken. All other monetary and non‐monetary sanctions sought by Uber are denied. RPA's request for monetary sanctions is also denied. This motion should never have been brought and is arguably an abuse of the 128.7 procedure notwithstanding that Uber is correct that RPA should have dismissed its claims seekin...

Excerpt: ...hat a dangerous condition of public property caused plaintiff's injury as a matter of law. Plaintiff must demonstrate the following to maintain his cause of action for dangerous condition of public property: (1) that CCSF owned or maintained the property; (2) that the property was in a dangerous condition on the date of accident; (3) causation; (4) the dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the kind of injury incurred; a...

Excerpt: ...cial notice of the 2009 separation agreement is denied because the parties dispute the validity and binding nature of that document. Mr. Ratias contends that the 2010 release superseded all prior contracts and Radius implicitly asserts that the 2009 separation agreement is binding. "[W]e hold the existence of a contract between private parties cannot be established by judicial notice under Evidence Code section 452, subdivision (h). Judicial ...

Excerpt: ...st per S.F. Campaign and Government Conduct Code 1.142(b) to obtain the campaign financing funds. Ms. Bassan's attempted filing was timely as the deadline had not yet expired. The record further discloses that by the deadline, respondents City and County of San Francisco and San Francisco Ethics Commission (collectively CCSF) had received Ms. Bassan's campaign contribution supporting materials. (Petition, Ex. 1, pgs. 21‐22.). Those mate...

Excerpt: ... Lyft, Inc.'s motion for summary judgment as to plaintiff Sabrina Marez's complaint is granted. Le Elder v. Rice (1994) 21 Cal.App.4th 1604, which has been cited approvingly numerous times and most recently in 2013 and has never been criticized or overruled, remains good law and is on-point authority requiring the granting of this motion. The "coming and going" rule does not apply because defendant Jonathan Gaurano was returning h...

Excerpt: ...‐ on six grounds. The motion is DENIED.Waiver by Conduct. Cybernet concedes "that no performer could participate in filming" of its "straight shoots" "without having first tested negative for STIs [sexually transmitted infections] and HIV," while the same was not true for its "gay shoots." Cybernet says "Plaintiff voluntarily chose to forego his right" to mandate HIV testing, but plaintiff says Cybernet n...

Excerpt: ...on largely contends that the arbitrator made legal and factual errors, yet California law does not allow for the vacating or correcting of an arbitration award based on errors of law or fact committed by an arbitrator. (Moncharsh v. Heily & Blase (1992) 3 Cal. 4th 1.) The court has assumed that the amendment to Mr. Khan's petition to vacate is timely and relates back to his original petition and addresses the merits of his arguments. The Inde...

Excerpt: ...rty Jon Luini to comply with subpoena for production of business records is granted subject to a protective order covering the information produced by Mr. Luini and Mr. Stevens' request for monetary sanctions is denied. The parties appear to agree that the video that is sought by the subpoena is discoverable. The sole dispute pertains to whether the video should be produced subject to restrictions. Because the video may be subject to contract...

Excerpt: ...ternate motion for summary adjudication is denied as to the first and second causes of action for premises liability and negligence and granted as to the third cause of action for products liability. Plaintiff Sussan Pourjavid-Granfors' objections to the declaration of Jorge Contreras are sustained. Mr. Contreras' statement that TKE did not control the premises is based on information and belief, which is insufficient to show either perso...

Excerpt: ...icing, LLC, Anh Pham and Skygroup Realty, Inc.'s motion to set aside the default entered against them on August 10, 2018 is granted. The August 10, 2018 default is set aside as to all moving defendants per the discretionary relief provisions of CCP section 473(b). Because moving defendants' demurrer to the complaint was not taken off calendar until July 13, 2018, it was reasonable for defendants to believe that they did not need to respon...

Excerpt: ...equirements 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 with the same authority as a Superior Court Judge. If a party appears by t...

Excerpt: ...statements are conclusory. The allegation that the defamatory statements refer to Mr. Bonnici's "conduct as a buyer and seller of jewelry and other items of value, with the intent of leading other sellers to believe false that" Mr. Bonnici and his associates "conduct their business in deceptive, illegal false and fraudulent manner" provides very little information about the content of the alleged defamatory statements and none...

Excerpt: ...lleged fraud with more particularity. Paragraphs 8-9 and 31 indicate that the defects manifested within a year of the purchase. Mr. Vasquez was arguably on inquiry notice at that time and the claim appears time barred per CCP section 338. "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 rule...

Excerpt: ...o file a first amended answer to the third amended complaint is granted. Granting the motion comports with California's policy of liberally allowing amendments to pleadings at any time in a case, which is especially applicable to answers. Defendants have shown that the amended answer is consistent with their understanding of the parties' contractual relationship. Plaintiff Anthony Lee has not shown that the changes that defendants wish to...

Excerpt: ...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 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 giv...

Excerpt: ...tion burden of showing that there was a claim against it for which a duty to defend applied. After the hearing on August 28, 2018 which continued the hearing on Alten's motion to allow the parties to submit further briefing, the court contacted the parties and requested that their briefing also address the issue of whether the San Francisco Unified School District made a claim asserted against Alten for which a duty to defend applied. Alten&#...

Excerpt: ...on Of Documents, Set No. Two Pro Tem Judge James Fleming, 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 J...