Judge Tana L. Coates: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

On May 20, 2020, Plaintiff Crown Asset Management, LLC filed this limited civil collections action Defendant Kevin Boland, alleging causes of action for open book account and money lent. Plaintiff alleges it owns the debt loaned to Defendant by Prosper Funding, LLC, and that Defendant has an outstanding ba...

Plaintiff Loretta Fontecchio1 filed this employment class action complaint against Defendant Family Care Network on April 25, 2019. Plaintiff’s first amended complaint alleges causes of action for (1) violation of Labor Code section 226(a), and (2) violation of Labor Code section 2698, et seq., the Private...

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (“Plaintiff”) filed this subrogation action on March 18, 2014, against Erin Cameron (“Defendant”). The action sought to recover payments totaling $14,860.29, which Plaintiff had made to its insured (Edward Lee Seidel) in connection with an automobile accident ...

Plaintiff Jaime Nateras, as the representative plaintiff, filed this class action employment lawsuit against Defendants Castaneda & Sons, Inc. (Castaneda) and Jackson Family Wines, Inc. Plaintiff was employed with Castaneda from March 2017 until November 6, 2018. Plaintiff’s first amended complaint (FAC) a...

Thomas Whitney (“Plaintiff”) filed this action against Union Pacific Railroad Co. (“Union Pacific”) on May 2, 2017. Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint was filed on October 5, 2018 (“FAC”).
Plaintiff’s FAC alleges that on April 21, 2016, Plaintiff was riding his KTM 250 SXF bike (the “Dirt Bike”) along ...

Background.
On February 19, 2020, Plaintiffs Stephanie Jenkins and Maria Gutierrez Guerrero filed an employment lawsuit against Defendants Hamlet Karapetian Dental Corp., Family Smiles Dental Group, Hamlet Karapetian, DDS, and Cynthia Segovia. Plaintiffs’ complaint alleges causes of action for (1) sexua...

This dispute concerns the construction of Hotel Cerro and other improvements in downtown San Luis Obispo (the “Project”). The Project’s owner, Garden Street Partners SLO, L.P. (“Garden Street”), hired Specialty Construction, Inc. (“Specialty”) to serve as the general contractor for the Project. In furthera...

BC Tatum Ventures, Inc. dba Tatum Asphalt (“Plaintiff”) brings this action against Nancy Brown (“Brown”) and Holly Hefele (“Hefele”) (collectively “Defendants”). Defendants allegedly hired Plaintiff to do repair and repaving work at Defendants’ property and Plaintiff alleges that Defendants failed to pay t...

Barry VanderKelen (“VanderKelen”), Administrator of the Estate of Debra Lynne Jones (“Decedent”), moves for a court order consolidating Case No. 20PR-0059, In Re: Jones Family Trust of 1977 (the “Trust Action”), with 19PR-0059, the Estate of Debra Lynne Jones (the “Probate”). Tom Jones (“Jones”), Trustee o...

On August 24, 2020, Carl J. Goedinghaus (“Petitioner”) filed an Amended Petition for Instructions for Orders to (1) Determine Forgiven/Alleged Debt Not Subject to Res Judicata; (2) Correct Trust Accountings to Correct for Overstatement of Gifts and Overstatement of Trust Assets; (3) To Amend IRS Filings to...

On November 8, 2019, Plaintiff Juan Hernandez filed a lawsuit against Defendant All Ways Clean. Plaintiff is a former janitorial employee of Defendant who worked in San Luis Obispo from August 2018 through January 2019. Plaintiff’s first amended complaint (FAC) alleges one cause of action seeking penalties...

On September 11, 2019, Plaintiff Keith Garl filed a lawsuit against Defendants Epifanio Rivera Cepeda, Aaron Cepeda Sr., Aaron Cepeda Jr., Tristian R., and Luke B., alleging causes of action for (l) private nuisance (against the Cepeda Defendants1), (2) trespass (as to all Defendants), and (3) conspiracy t...

This lawsuit involves efforts by John C. Wright, dba Medi-Dental Adjustment Bureau (Wright), to collect on a default judgment for which Wright is the assignee from the original Plaintiff, the Donald M. Johnson Living Trust dated 1/27/2000 (the Trust). The default judgment was entered by this Court on Octob...

I. BACKGROUND
A. The Trust Litigation
On June 23, 2010, spouses Jerry McKibben (“Decedent”) and Karen Tallent (“Respondent”) created the Jerry W. McKibben and Karen V. Tallent Revocable Living Trust (the “Trust”). Decedent passed away on October 13, 2014, leaving Respondent as the sole trustee and cu...

Matthew Kobliska (“Kobliska”) and Peter Riegelhuth (“Riegelhuth”) (collectively “Plaintiffs”) filed this class action on behalf of themselves, and all others similarly situated, against UHC of California, aka United Healthcare of California (“UHC”), on November 4, 2020. Plaintiffs allege that they were den...

On January 29, 2020, Plaintiff Marcella Anderson filed a lawsuit against Defendants Kenneth Goldberg, D.M.D.; Kenneth Goldberg, D.M.D., Inc. dba Coastal Oral Surgery & Dental Implant Center; and Keystone Dental, Inc. The dispute concerns a defective dental implant.
Now before the Court is Plaintiff’s mo...

The demurrer and motion to strike filed by Specialty Construction, Inc. will be moved to May 5, 2021, to be heard with the demurrer and motion to strike filed by Sahara Construction Co., Inc.

On November 3, 2020, the Housing Authority of the City of San Luis Obispo (“Plaintiff”) filed this unlawful detainer action against Brandi Burchell (“Burchell”) and Carson Leedom. The complaint sought possession of premises located on Broad Street (the “Premises”). The proofs of service on file state the D...

Patrick O’Sullivan (“Plaintiff”) filed this action against April Botts (“Defendant”) on December 2, 2019. The case arises out of a motor vehicle accident wherein Defendant struck Plaintiff, who was riding a bicycle, with her car, causing serious injuries to Plaintiff. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant was d...

On June 4, 2020, Michalle McCoy petitioned for appointment of her daughter, Heidi McCoy, as temporary and general conservator of Michalle’s mother and Heidi’s grandmother, Diane McCoy.1 Letters of temporary conservatorship of the estate were issued to Heidi on July 1, 2020. On September 17, 2020, Diane fil...

(1) Form interrogatories
(2) Special interrogatories
(3) Requests for production
Background.
On December 12, 2019, Petitioner William Braaten, beneficiary of the Lester Family Trust. including the Howard W. Lester Survivor’s Trust and the Lester Disclaimer Trust (the Trust) filed a verified Pet...

Varoujan Kurkeyerian (“Kurkeyerian”), and SLO Cal Investors, LLC (“SCI”) filed this action on May 14, 2019. On August 30, 2019, Kurkeyerian, SCI and Harvcal, Inc. (“Harvcal”) (collectively “Plaintiffs”) filed their First Amended Complaint against Erik Benham (“Benham”), Trincon, Inc., Bening Company, LLC (...

Motion for Protective Order
The parties and the Court are familiar with the background of this estate proceeding and its relation to the Estate of Carl Treise (PR04-0209) and JP Morgan Chase Bank v. Kim Mathis (CV11-8193). Thus, the Court recites only that background related to the current dispute.
O...

Discover Bank (“Plaintiff”) filed this collection action on February 21, 2019, against Katherine McCarthy (“Defendant”). The proof of service on file indicates that Defendant was personally served with the summons and complaint on March 15, 2019. Defendant did not file an answer.
On April 30, 2019, Plai...