demurrer of defendant garza

8/3/2019 Demurrer of Defendant Garza

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DEMURRER

1 LLP, a Limited Liability Partnership [hereafter cumulatively "Garza"] shall demurrer to Plaintiffs'2 First Amended Complaint on the following grounds:

(1) The First Purported Cause of Action for Fraud fails to state facts sufficient to4 constitute a cause of action against Garza.5 Said demurrer will be made and based upon this Notice of Demurrer, the attached6 Memorandum of Points and Authorities, the pleadings and records on file herein and such other7 matter oral or documentary, as may be considered by the court prior to the time it issues its ruling.89 DATED: January 2, 2007

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MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIESA PLEADING WIDCH FAILS TO STATE FACTS SUFFICffiNT TO CONSTITUTEA CAUSE OF ACTION IS SUBJECT TO DEMURRER

C .C .P. Sectio n 430 .1 0 (e)A CAUSE OF ACTION FOR FRAUD IS DISFAVORED AND MUST BE PLEDWITH SPECIFICITY; EVERY ELEMENT OF THE CAUSE OF ACTION FORFRAUD MUST BE ALLEGED IN THE PROPER MANNER [I.E. FACTUALLY ANDSPECIFICALLY]Scafidi v Western Loan &Building Co. (1 956) 72 C al.A pp.2d 550 , 558; Allen v , . Ramsay

1 0 (1 960 ) 1 79 C al.A pp.2d 843,848IT IS IMPROPER TO PLEAD ON INFORMATION AND BELffiF WHEN THE

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11 ill.1 2 PLEADER HAS ACTUAL OR PRESUMED KNOWLEDGE OF THE FACT. A

COM;PLAINT RELYING UPON IMPROPER ALLEGATIONS OF INFORMATIONAND BELIEF IS SUBJECT TO DEMURRERHall v. James (1 926) 79 C al.A pp. 433, 436.In th e a lleg atio ns o f P la in tiffs S eco nd Pu rpo rted C ause o f A ctio n fo r F ra ud th ey e xpla in th at

1 7 G arz as' a lleged fraud ulent statem ents and m isrepresentatio ns can b e fo und in the al legatio ns o f1 8 paragraphs 1 - 85 o f their First A mended C om plaint, a ll o f w hich are inco rpo rated by reference1 9 therein.20 However, a review o f paragraphs 1 - 85 o f Plaintiffs' F irst Amended Complaint d isclo ses21 th at pla intiffs a llege al l o f th e claim ed fraudulent sta tem ents and m isrepresentatio ns, as w el l so me o f22 their al legatio ns o f claim ed reliance thereo n, o nly upo n their info rm atio n and belief See, fo r23 example, paragraphs 28,29,30 ,31 ,35,36,37.38 and ~9.24 The essentia l e lements o f a cause o f actio n fo r damages fo r fraud are (1 ) representatio n (2)25 falsity (3) kno wled ge o f fa lsity (4) intent to deceit; and (5) rel iance and resulting dam ages [Barron26 Estate Co: v Woodruff Co (1 91 2) 1 63 C al.561 ]. Fraud actio ns are view ed as disfavo red and27 th erefo re sub ject to strict requirem ents o f particularity in pleading. A s a co nsequence, genera l28 pleading o f the legal co nclusio n o f 'fraud ' is insufficieat; the facts co nstituting the fraud m ust be

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1 alleged as well each element in 'proper' manner [i.e. factually and specifically]. Scafidi, supra, @ p.2 558.3 Garza recognizes that Plaintiffs' counsel h a s elected to verify h is clients' First Amended4 Complaint and that,assuming certain factual predicates are met inthe first instance, he may do so5 upon information and belief. However, such verification ofa clients' factual allegations by an6 attorney does not relieve either the plaintiff, nor their counsel, of otherwise pleading requirements7 imposed by California law.8 IV.9

CONCLUSIONBased upon the premises, it is r~p~requested that Garzas' demurrer be sustained.

10Il DATED: January 2, 2007

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LEWIS BRI r ? S SG- ~ jXI>:: 1 / "(- I ~/ \ '~ey L. Becker-, / A tto rneys for Defendants JOE B. GARZA, GARZA &.'..... HARRIS, LLP and GARZA & STAPLES, LLP""~

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DEMURRER

PROO F OF SERVICELAINE V. TURNER - FileNo. 50012-675STATE OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

I am employed in the County of Los Angeles, State of California. I am over the age of 184 and not a party to the within action. My business address is 221 North Figueroa Street, Suite 1200,Los Angeles, California 90012.5 On January 2, 2007, I served the following document described as NOTICE OF6 DEMURRER; DEMURRER; MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORTTHEREOF on all interested parties in this action by placing [X] a true copy [ ] the original7 thereof enclosed in sealed envelopes addressed as follows:8 SEE ATTACHED SERVICE LIST9 []

10(BY FACSIMILE) The facsimile machine Ised complied with Rule 2003(3) and no errorwas reported by the machine. Pursuant to Rille 2008(e)( 4), I caused the machine to print arecord of the transmission.

11 [X] (BY MAIL, 1013a, 2015.5 C.C.P.)12 [] I deposited such envelope in the mail at Los Angeles, California. The envelope wasmailed with postage thereon fully prepaid.

[X] I am readily familiar with the firm's practice for collection and processingcorrespondence for mailing. Under that practice, this document will be deposited with the U.S.Postal Service on this date with postage thereon fully prepaid at Los Angeles, California in theordinary course of business. I am aware that on motion of the party served, service is presumedinvalid ifpostal cancellation date or postage meter date is more than one day after date of depositfor mailing in affidavit.(STATE) I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that theabove is true and correct.17 [X]18

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(FEDERAL) I declare that I am employed in the office of a member of the bar of this Courtat whose direction the service was made.Executed on January 2, 2007, at Los Angeles, California.

Angela owell

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SERVICE LISTWilliam M Iadarola, Esq.LAW OFFICES OF WILLIAM M. IADAROLA P.C.23046 Avenida de Ia Carlota, Suite 600Laguna Hills, California 92694Tel: 949-282 -5076 IFax: 949-282 -5078E-mail [email protected] for PlaintiffsJohn J. Waller, Esq.FINESTONE & RICHTER a professional corporation11601 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1900Los Angeles, California 90025Tel: 310-575-0800IFax :Attorneys for Defendants Edward L. Turner; John L. Stone; Todd Estes; and Turner, Stone &Company, L.L.P.

4843-4677-9905.1DEMURRER
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

demurrer of defendant garza

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