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1 LAW OFFICES OF SANTA CRUZ, BROWNWOOD & CANNON
Rebecca Rickett, Esq. – SBN: 308012
2 1615 Murray Canyon Road, Suite 300
San Diego, CA 92108-4314
ELECTRONICALLY
3 Mailing: P.O. Box 85462
San Diego, CA 92186-5462 FILED
Tel: 619-744-6800; Fax: 603-334-7071 Superior Court of California,
4 County of San Francisco
5 Attorney for Defendant, MARIA SELJAK 05/07/2020
Clerk of the Court
BY: MADONNA CARANTO
6 Deputy Clerk
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8 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
9 COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
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11 KAILASH BHATT, Case No.: CGC-20-582658
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Plaintiff, Complaint Filed: February 3, 2020
13 Assigned To: Honorable Garrett L. Wong
v. Dept.: 610
14 Trial Date: Not yet assigned
MARIA SELJAK, and DOES 1 to 10,
15 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT
16 Defendant.
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Defendant, MARIA SELJAK, in answer to the unverified Complaint, on file herein, and by
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virtue of the provisions of California Code of Civil Procedure section 431.30, now file their general
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denial to said unverified Complaint and to each cause of action thereof and answering all of the
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allegations thereof, Defendants deny each and all of them. Defendants further specifically deny that
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Plaintiffs have been damaged in any sum or sums whatsoever, or at all.
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Defendants state the following separate affirmative defenses to this action:
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AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES
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1. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are
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informed and believe and thereon allege that any and all alleged events, happenings, injuries and
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damages, if any, were proximately caused or contributed to by the failure of Plaintiffs to exercise
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ordinary care at the time and place alleged.
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ANSWER TO COMPLAINT
1 2. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are
2 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs fail to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause
3 of action.
4 3. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are
5 informed and believe and thereon allege that the injuries and damages complained of by Plaintiffs, if
6 any there were, were either wholly, or in part, directly and proximately caused by the conduct of
7 persons or entities other than these answering Defendants.
8 4. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are
9 informed and believe and thereon allege that the injuries and damages complained of by Plaintiffs if
10 any there were, were either wholly, or in part, directly and proximately caused by the conduct of
11 persons or entities other than these answering Defendants, and said conduct is either imputed to
12 Plaintiffs by reason of the relationship between Plaintiffs and said persons or entities, or comparatively
13 reduces the proportion of liability of these answering Defendants.
14 5. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are
15 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs have failed to mitigate Plaintiffs’ damages, if
16 any.
17 6. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are
18 informed and believe and thereon allege that any and all alleged events, happenings, injuries and
19 damages, if any, were proximately caused or contributed to by Plaintiffs, who assumed all risks and
20 hazards incident to the conduct alleged in the charging allegations.
21 7. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are
22 informed and believe and thereon allege that any injuries and damages which Plaintiffs may have
23 suffered were proximately caused by the several negligence of named parties or the fictitiously named
24 parties, or any of them, or others and accordingly, liability for non-economic damages, if any, must be
25 apportioned, reduced, or allocated in direct proportion to that party’s percentage of fault. (C.C. §
26 1431.1 et seq.)
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ANSWER TO COMPLAINT
1 8. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are
2 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs have failed to act reasonably to minimize any
3 loss or harm that they suffered and could have avoided such harm by making reasonable efforts or
4 expenditures.
5 9. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are
6 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs caused in total or in part the subject motor
7 vehicle accident by stopping/braking/slowing suddenly or inadvertently without any adequate, legal
8 and/or reasonable justification or explanation.
9 10. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are
10 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs were not wearing a seatbelt in violation of
11 California Vehicle Code section 27315, thereby contributing to and causing their own injuries.
12 11. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are
13 informed and believe and thereon allege that the Complaint is barred by the applicable statutes of
14 limitations, including, but not limited to, any and/or all of the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure
15 Sections 335.1, 337, 337.1, 337.15, 338(a), 338(b), 338(c), 338(d), 339, 340 and/or 343.
16 12. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are
17 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs have failed to comply with Vehicle Code
18 Sections 23152 and 23153 and/or pursuant to Civil Code Section 3333.4, the Plaintiffs are barred
19 from recovering non-economic damages.
20 13. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are
21 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs’ right of recovery is limited based upon
22 California Civil Code Section 3333.4(a)(2) because Plaintiff was the owner of the involved vehicle
23 and did not have insurance as required by the law of the State of California as of the date of the
24 alleged accident.
25 14. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are
26 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs’ right of recovery is limited based upon
27 California Civil Code Section 3333.4(a)(3) because Plaintiff was the uninsured operator of the vehicle
28 she/he was operating at the time of the alleged accident.
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ANSWER TO COMPLAINT
1 WHEREFORE, these answering Defendants pray that Plaintiffs take nothing by reason of
2 their Complaint and that these answering Defendants be given judgment for their costs of suit
3 incurred herein, to be incurred, and for such other and further relief as the Court deems just and
4 proper.
5 Dated: April 24, 2020 SANTA CRUZ, BROWNWOOD &
CANNON
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9 REBECCA RICKETT, ESQ.
10 Attorney for Defendant, MARIA SELJAK
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ANSWER TO COMPLAINT
Kailash Bhatt v. Maria Seljak
SAN FRANCISCO County Superior Court Case No. CGC-20-582658
DECLARATION OF SERVICE [C.C.P. § 1013A, C.R.C. §§ 2003, 2008]
At the time of service I was over 18 years of age and not a party to this action. I am an employee of Santa Cruz,
Cannon & Kothary. My business address is 1615 Murray Canyon Road, Ste 300, San Diego, CA 92108-4314.
On this date I served the following document(s) by the following means:
1. GENERAL DENIAL TO COMPLAINT
2. NOTICE OF POSTING JURY FEES
3. CASE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
4. NOTICE OF CHANGE OF FIRM NAME
5. SUMMONS CROSS-COMPLAINT AND CROSS-COMPLAINT ON JODY TOGONON
XX ONLY BY ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION. Only by e-mailing the document(s) to the persons at the e-mail
address(es) listed based on notice provided on May 7, 2020 that, during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this
office will be working remotely, not able to send physical mail as usual, and is therefore using only electronic mail. No
electronic message or other indication that the transmission was unsuccessful was received within a reasonable time
after the transmission.
Brian L. Larsen, Esq. Attorneys for Plaintiff,
Law Offices of Brian L. Larsen KAILASH BHATT
530 Jackson Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94133 Tel: (415) 398-5000
blarsen5000@gmail.com Fax: (415) 398-5080
april.catigan@gmail.com
State: I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true
and correct.
EXECUTED on May 7, 2020, at San Diego, California.
_____________________________
Jennifer Jarrold
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DECLARATION OF SERVICE
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1 LAW OFFICES OF SANTA CRUZ, BROWNWOOD & CANNON Rebecca Rickett, Esq. – SBN: 308012 2 1615 Murray Canyon Road, Suite 300 San Diego, CA 92108-4314 ELECTRONICALLY 3 Mailing: P.O. Box 85462 San Diego, CA 92186-5462 FILED Tel: 619-744-6800; Fax: 603-334-7071 Superior Court of California, 4 County of San Francisco 5 Attorney for Defendant, MARIA SELJAK 05/07/2020 Clerk of the Court BY: MADONNA CARANTO 6 Deputy Clerk 7 8 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 9 COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO 10 11 KAILASH BHATT, Case No.: CGC-20-582658 12 Plaintiff, Complaint Filed: February 3, 2020 13 Assigned To: Honorable Garrett L. Wong v. Dept.: 610 14 Trial Date: Not yet assigned MARIA SELJAK, and DOES 1 to 10, 15 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 16 Defendant. 17 Defendant, MARIA SELJAK, in answer to the unverified Complaint, on file herein, and by 18 virtue of the provisions of California Code of Civil Procedure section 431.30, now file their general 19 denial to said unverified Complaint and to each cause of action thereof and answering all of the 20 allegations thereof, Defendants deny each and all of them. Defendants further specifically deny that 21 Plaintiffs have been damaged in any sum or sums whatsoever, or at all. 22 Defendants state the following separate affirmative defenses to this action: 23 AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES 24 1. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are 25 informed and believe and thereon allege that any and all alleged events, happenings, injuries and 26 damages, if any, were proximately caused or contributed to by the failure of Plaintiffs to exercise 27 ordinary care at the time and place alleged. 28 -1- ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 1 2. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are 2 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs fail to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause 3 of action. 4 3. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are 5 informed and believe and thereon allege that the injuries and damages complained of by Plaintiffs, if 6 any there were, were either wholly, or in part, directly and proximately caused by the conduct of 7 persons or entities other than these answering Defendants. 8 4. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are 9 informed and believe and thereon allege that the injuries and damages complained of by Plaintiffs if 10 any there were, were either wholly, or in part, directly and proximately caused by the conduct of 11 persons or entities other than these answering Defendants, and said conduct is either imputed to 12 Plaintiffs by reason of the relationship between Plaintiffs and said persons or entities, or comparatively 13 reduces the proportion of liability of these answering Defendants. 14 5. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are 15 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs have failed to mitigate Plaintiffs’ damages, if 16 any. 17 6. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are 18 informed and believe and thereon allege that any and all alleged events, happenings, injuries and 19 damages, if any, were proximately caused or contributed to by Plaintiffs, who assumed all risks and 20 hazards incident to the conduct alleged in the charging allegations. 21 7. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are 22 informed and believe and thereon allege that any injuries and damages which Plaintiffs may have 23 suffered were proximately caused by the several negligence of named parties or the fictitiously named 24 parties, or any of them, or others and accordingly, liability for non-economic damages, if any, must be 25 apportioned, reduced, or allocated in direct proportion to that party’s percentage of fault. (C.C. § 26 1431.1 et seq.) 27 /// 28 /// -2- ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 1 8. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are 2 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs have failed to act reasonably to minimize any 3 loss or harm that they suffered and could have avoided such harm by making reasonable efforts or 4 expenditures. 5 9. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are 6 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs caused in total or in part the subject motor 7 vehicle accident by stopping/braking/slowing suddenly or inadvertently without any adequate, legal 8 and/or reasonable justification or explanation. 9 10. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are 10 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs were not wearing a seatbelt in violation of 11 California Vehicle Code section 27315, thereby contributing to and causing their own injuries. 12 11. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are 13 informed and believe and thereon allege that the Complaint is barred by the applicable statutes of 14 limitations, including, but not limited to, any and/or all of the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure 15 Sections 335.1, 337, 337.1, 337.15, 338(a), 338(b), 338(c), 338(d), 339, 340 and/or 343. 16 12. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are 17 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs have failed to comply with Vehicle Code 18 Sections 23152 and 23153 and/or pursuant to Civil Code Section 3333.4, the Plaintiffs are barred 19 from recovering non-economic damages. 20 13. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are 21 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs’ right of recovery is limited based upon 22 California Civil Code Section 3333.4(a)(2) because Plaintiff was the owner of the involved vehicle 23 and did not have insurance as required by the law of the State of California as of the date of the 24 alleged accident. 25 14. As to each and every cause of action alleged in the Complaint herein, Defendants are 26 informed and believe and thereon allege that Plaintiffs’ right of recovery is limited based upon 27 California Civil Code Section 3333.4(a)(3) because Plaintiff was the uninsured operator of the vehicle 28 she/he was operating at the time of the alleged accident. -3- ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 1 WHEREFORE, these answering Defendants pray that Plaintiffs take nothing by reason of 2 their Complaint and that these answering Defendants be given judgment for their costs of suit 3 incurred herein, to be incurred, and for such other and further relief as the Court deems just and 4 proper. 5 Dated: April 24, 2020 SANTA CRUZ, BROWNWOOD & CANNON 6 7 8 9 REBECCA RICKETT, ESQ. 10 Attorney for Defendant, MARIA SELJAK 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -4- ANSWER TO COMPLAINT Kailash Bhatt v. Maria Seljak SAN FRANCISCO County Superior Court Case No. CGC-20-582658 DECLARATION OF SERVICE [C.C.P. § 1013A, C.R.C. §§ 2003, 2008] At the time of service I was over 18 years of age and not a party to this action. I am an employee of Santa Cruz, Cannon & Kothary. My business address is 1615 Murray Canyon Road, Ste 300, San Diego, CA 92108-4314. On this date I served the following document(s) by the following means: 1. GENERAL DENIAL TO COMPLAINT 2. NOTICE OF POSTING JURY FEES 3. CASE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT 4. NOTICE OF CHANGE OF FIRM NAME 5. SUMMONS CROSS-COMPLAINT AND CROSS-COMPLAINT ON JODY TOGONON XX ONLY BY ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION. Only by e-mailing the document(s) to the persons at the e-mail address(es) listed based on notice provided on May 7, 2020 that, during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this office will be working remotely, not able to send physical mail as usual, and is therefore using only electronic mail. No electronic message or other indication that the transmission was unsuccessful was received within a reasonable time after the transmission. Brian L. Larsen, Esq. Attorneys for Plaintiff, Law Offices of Brian L. Larsen KAILASH BHATT 530 Jackson Street, 2nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94133 Tel: (415) 398-5000 blarsen5000@gmail.com Fax: (415) 398-5080 april.catigan@gmail.com State: I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct. EXECUTED on May 7, 2020, at San Diego, California. _____________________________ Jennifer Jarrold -1- DECLARATION OF SERVICE