Preview
1 HARMEET K. DHILLON (SBN: 207873)
harmeet@dhillonlaw.com
2 JOHN-PAUL S. DEOL (SBN: 284893)
3 jpdeol@dhillonlaw.com
MICHAEL R. FLEMING (SBN: 322356)
4 mfleming@dhillonlaw.com
DHILLON LAW GROUP INC. 7/1/2022
5
177 Post Street, Suite 700
6 San Francisco, California 94108
Telephone: (415) 433-1700
7 Facsimile: (415) 520-6593
8
Attorneys for Defendants LEE’S GARDENING
9 SERVICE, INC., a California corporation; and
LIBRADO FERNANDEZ, an individual
10
11 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
12
COUNTY OF SAN MATEO– UNLIMITED JURISDICTION
13
14 EDGAR MONTUFAR, an individual,
15 Case Number: 20-CIV-05537
Plaintiff,
16 Case Management and Trial Setting
vs. Conference Statement
17
18 LEE'S GARDENING SERVICE, INC., a Assigned to Dept. 21 for All Purposes
California corporation; LIBRADO
19 FERNANDEZ, an individual; and DOES I Complaint filed: December 9, 2020
through 35; inclusive,
20
21 Defendants.
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Case Management and Trial Setting Conference Case No.: 20-CIV-05537
1 Defendants’ Lee’s Gardening Service, Inc. (“Lee’s Gardening), and Librado Fernandez
2 (“Fernandez”) (collectively, the “Defendants”), by and through their counsel, respectfully submits this
3 Case Management and Trial Setting Conference Statement pursuant to this Court’s July 18, 2022,
4 Notice of Case Management and Trial Setting Conference.
5 1. Related Cases
6 There are no related cases currently pending in any of the California courts to Defendants’
7 knowledge.
8 2. Service of Complaint Upon Parties
9 The Defendants have been served with the Complaint.
10 3. Additional Parties
11 At this time, the Defendants do not believe that any additional parties need to be added, or that
12 the pleadings need to be amended.
13 4. Limited Civil Case
14 This is an unlimited case.
15 5. Other Matters that May Affect the Court’s Jurisdiction or Processing of the Case
16 Defendants are not aware of any matters that may affect the Court’s jurisdiction or processing
17 of the case.
18 6. Judicial Arbitration or Alternative Dispute Resolution
19 The Parties have not stipulated to judicial arbitration. The parties completed mediation on June
20 4, 2021, through a private mediator, but were not able to come to a resolution.
21 7. Early Settlement Conference
22 Defendants believe that an early settlement conference may be warranted after they have had
23 the opportunity to propound another round of discovery and take the deposition of Plaintiff. Discovery
24 and the related workers compensation case has revealed that Plaintiff’s eye injury was not caused by a
25 work injury as Plaintiff alleges.
26 8. State of Discovery
27 Discovery has not been completed. Plaintiff has served a large amount of written discovery on
28 Defendants, comprising of a full set of Form Interrogatories (General and Employment), a total of one
Case Management and Trial Setting Conference Case No.: 20-CIV-05537
1 hundred and eighty-two (182) Requests for Admissions, one hundred and thirty-four (134) Requests
2 for Production of Documents, and two hundred and twenty-eight (228) Requests for Special
3 Interrogatories. Defendants have propounded a single set of discovery and needs to meet and confer
4 with Plaintiff regarding his responses. Defendants will need to propound a second round of discovery
5 after the meet and confer process concludes, and will need to take the deposition of Mr. Montufar.
6 Defendants estimate that they will be able to complete written discovery and the depositions
7 by January 2023. No depositions have been taken thus far by either Party. Mr. Montufar’s deposition
8 is scheduled for July 7, 2022.
9 9. Discovery Issues Anticipated
10 Defendants do not anticipate any discovery issues at this time.
11 10. Bifurcation
12 Defendants do not believe a bifurcation motion is necessary in this Action.
13 11. Cross-Complaints
14 There are no cross-complaints in this Action.
15 12. Statutory Preference
16 This case is not entitled to statutory preference.
17 13. Jury Trial
18 A jury trial is demanded by both parties.
19 14. Date of Trial
20 A trial date has not been previously set. Defendants’ would request a trial date in the summer
21 of 2023 (June 2023 onwards). This would allow Defendants’ to propound another set of discovery,
22 conduct the deposition of Plaintiff, complete a mediation, and file a Motion for Summary Judgment.
23 15. Estimated Length of Trial
24 Defendants’ estimate that a jury trial will last approximately seven days due to the need for
25 translators.
26 16. Nature of the Injuries
27 Plaintiff alleges that he was discriminated against, harassed, and retaliated against. Plaintiff
28 also alleges that he did not receive meal and rest breaks, did not receive the minimum wage, did not
Case Management and Trial Setting Conference Case No.: 20-CIV-05537
1 receive overtime pay, and suffered emotional distress. Defendants deny these claims. Defendant does
2 admit that Plaintiff did not receive itemized wage statements as Plaintiff requested to be paid in cash.
3 17. Amount of Damages
4 Defendants are uncertain as to the amount Plaintiff is claiming in damages.
5 18. Additional Relief Sought
6 Defendants are unaware of any additional relief sought by Plaintiff.
7 19. Insurance Coverage Issues
8 There are no insurance coverage issues at this time.
9 20. Other Matters
10 Defendants intend to submit a Motion for Summary Judgment.
11
12 Date: July 1, 2022 DHILLON LAW GROUP INC.
13
14 By:
________________________________
15
Harmeet K. Dhillon
16 John-Paul S. Deol
Michael R. Fleming
17
Attorneys for Defendants
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Case Management and Trial Setting Conference Case No.: 20-CIV-05537
PROOF OF SERVICE
1
2 I declare the following: I am employed in the City and County of San Francisco, California.
I am over the age of eighteen years and not a party to the within entitled cause; my business address
3 is 177 Post Street, Suite 700, San Francisco, California 94108. On July 1, 2022, I served the
following document(s):
4
5 CASE MANAGEMENT AND TRIAL SETTING CONFERENCE STATEMENT
6 On the party(ies) listed below:
7 Joshua Bordin-Wosk, Esq.
8 Benjamin A. Sampson, Esq.
Bordin Semmer LLP
9 6100 Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90045
10 jbordinwosk@bordinsemmer.com
11 bsampson@bordinsemmer.com
mcusumano@bordinsemmer.com
12
Attorneys for Plaintiff Edgar Montufar
13
14
15 X BY E-MAIL OR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION – Based on a court order or an agreement of
the parties to accept service by e-mail or electronic transmission, I caused the documents to be sent to the
16 persons at the e-mail addresses listed above. I did not receive, within a reasonable time after the
17 transmission, any electronic message or other indication that the transmission was unsuccessful. I am
readily familiar with my firm’s business practice of processing and transmitting documents via e-mail or
18 electronic transmission(s) and any such documents would be transmitted in the ordinary course of
business.
19
I declare under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the State of California, that the
20
foregoing is true and correct and that this declaration was executed on July 1, 2022, at San
21 Francisco, California.
22
23
24
_____________________
25 Sada Kaita
26
27
28
Case Management and Trial Setting Conference Case No.: 20-CIV-05537
Preview
1 HARMEET K. DHILLON (SBN: 207873) harmeet@dhillonlaw.com 2 JOHN-PAUL S. DEOL (SBN: 284893) 3 jpdeol@dhillonlaw.com MICHAEL R. FLEMING (SBN: 322356) 4 mfleming@dhillonlaw.com DHILLON LAW GROUP INC. 7/1/2022 5 177 Post Street, Suite 700 6 San Francisco, California 94108 Telephone: (415) 433-1700 7 Facsimile: (415) 520-6593 8 Attorneys for Defendants LEE’S GARDENING 9 SERVICE, INC., a California corporation; and LIBRADO FERNANDEZ, an individual 10 11 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 12 COUNTY OF SAN MATEO– UNLIMITED JURISDICTION 13 14 EDGAR MONTUFAR, an individual, 15 Case Number: 20-CIV-05537 Plaintiff, 16 Case Management and Trial Setting vs. Conference Statement 17 18 LEE'S GARDENING SERVICE, INC., a Assigned to Dept. 21 for All Purposes California corporation; LIBRADO 19 FERNANDEZ, an individual; and DOES I Complaint filed: December 9, 2020 through 35; inclusive, 20 21 Defendants. 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Case Management and Trial Setting Conference Case No.: 20-CIV-05537 1 Defendants’ Lee’s Gardening Service, Inc. (“Lee’s Gardening), and Librado Fernandez 2 (“Fernandez”) (collectively, the “Defendants”), by and through their counsel, respectfully submits this 3 Case Management and Trial Setting Conference Statement pursuant to this Court’s July 18, 2022, 4 Notice of Case Management and Trial Setting Conference. 5 1. Related Cases 6 There are no related cases currently pending in any of the California courts to Defendants’ 7 knowledge. 8 2. Service of Complaint Upon Parties 9 The Defendants have been served with the Complaint. 10 3. Additional Parties 11 At this time, the Defendants do not believe that any additional parties need to be added, or that 12 the pleadings need to be amended. 13 4. Limited Civil Case 14 This is an unlimited case. 15 5. Other Matters that May Affect the Court’s Jurisdiction or Processing of the Case 16 Defendants are not aware of any matters that may affect the Court’s jurisdiction or processing 17 of the case. 18 6. Judicial Arbitration or Alternative Dispute Resolution 19 The Parties have not stipulated to judicial arbitration. The parties completed mediation on June 20 4, 2021, through a private mediator, but were not able to come to a resolution. 21 7. Early Settlement Conference 22 Defendants believe that an early settlement conference may be warranted after they have had 23 the opportunity to propound another round of discovery and take the deposition of Plaintiff. Discovery 24 and the related workers compensation case has revealed that Plaintiff’s eye injury was not caused by a 25 work injury as Plaintiff alleges. 26 8. State of Discovery 27 Discovery has not been completed. Plaintiff has served a large amount of written discovery on 28 Defendants, comprising of a full set of Form Interrogatories (General and Employment), a total of one Case Management and Trial Setting Conference Case No.: 20-CIV-05537 1 hundred and eighty-two (182) Requests for Admissions, one hundred and thirty-four (134) Requests 2 for Production of Documents, and two hundred and twenty-eight (228) Requests for Special 3 Interrogatories. Defendants have propounded a single set of discovery and needs to meet and confer 4 with Plaintiff regarding his responses. Defendants will need to propound a second round of discovery 5 after the meet and confer process concludes, and will need to take the deposition of Mr. Montufar. 6 Defendants estimate that they will be able to complete written discovery and the depositions 7 by January 2023. No depositions have been taken thus far by either Party. Mr. Montufar’s deposition 8 is scheduled for July 7, 2022. 9 9. Discovery Issues Anticipated 10 Defendants do not anticipate any discovery issues at this time. 11 10. Bifurcation 12 Defendants do not believe a bifurcation motion is necessary in this Action. 13 11. Cross-Complaints 14 There are no cross-complaints in this Action. 15 12. Statutory Preference 16 This case is not entitled to statutory preference. 17 13. Jury Trial 18 A jury trial is demanded by both parties. 19 14. Date of Trial 20 A trial date has not been previously set. Defendants’ would request a trial date in the summer 21 of 2023 (June 2023 onwards). This would allow Defendants’ to propound another set of discovery, 22 conduct the deposition of Plaintiff, complete a mediation, and file a Motion for Summary Judgment. 23 15. Estimated Length of Trial 24 Defendants’ estimate that a jury trial will last approximately seven days due to the need for 25 translators. 26 16. Nature of the Injuries 27 Plaintiff alleges that he was discriminated against, harassed, and retaliated against. Plaintiff 28 also alleges that he did not receive meal and rest breaks, did not receive the minimum wage, did not Case Management and Trial Setting Conference Case No.: 20-CIV-05537 1 receive overtime pay, and suffered emotional distress. Defendants deny these claims. Defendant does 2 admit that Plaintiff did not receive itemized wage statements as Plaintiff requested to be paid in cash. 3 17. Amount of Damages 4 Defendants are uncertain as to the amount Plaintiff is claiming in damages. 5 18. Additional Relief Sought 6 Defendants are unaware of any additional relief sought by Plaintiff. 7 19. Insurance Coverage Issues 8 There are no insurance coverage issues at this time. 9 20. Other Matters 10 Defendants intend to submit a Motion for Summary Judgment. 11 12 Date: July 1, 2022 DHILLON LAW GROUP INC. 13 14 By: ________________________________ 15 Harmeet K. Dhillon 16 John-Paul S. Deol Michael R. Fleming 17 Attorneys for Defendants 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Case Management and Trial Setting Conference Case No.: 20-CIV-05537 PROOF OF SERVICE 1 2 I declare the following: I am employed in the City and County of San Francisco, California. I am over the age of eighteen years and not a party to the within entitled cause; my business address 3 is 177 Post Street, Suite 700, San Francisco, California 94108. On July 1, 2022, I served the following document(s): 4 5 CASE MANAGEMENT AND TRIAL SETTING CONFERENCE STATEMENT 6 On the party(ies) listed below: 7 Joshua Bordin-Wosk, Esq. 8 Benjamin A. Sampson, Esq. Bordin Semmer LLP 9 6100 Center Drive, Suite 1100 Los Angeles, CA 90045 10 jbordinwosk@bordinsemmer.com 11 bsampson@bordinsemmer.com mcusumano@bordinsemmer.com 12 Attorneys for Plaintiff Edgar Montufar 13 14 15 X BY E-MAIL OR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION – Based on a court order or an agreement of the parties to accept service by e-mail or electronic transmission, I caused the documents to be sent to the 16 persons at the e-mail addresses listed above. I did not receive, within a reasonable time after the 17 transmission, any electronic message or other indication that the transmission was unsuccessful. I am readily familiar with my firm’s business practice of processing and transmitting documents via e-mail or 18 electronic transmission(s) and any such documents would be transmitted in the ordinary course of business. 19 I declare under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the State of California, that the 20 foregoing is true and correct and that this declaration was executed on July 1, 2022, at San 21 Francisco, California. 22 23 24 _____________________ 25 Sada Kaita 26 27 28 Case Management and Trial Setting Conference Case No.: 20-CIV-05537