CA Unpub Decisions

APPEALS from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Nicole C. Bershon, Judge. Affirmed.
Jennifer A. Mannix, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Jorge Antonio Espinoza.
Kelly C. Martin, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Antonio Silva.
Law Office of Stein and Markus, Andrew M. Stein, Joseph A. Markus and Brentford Ferreira for Defendant and Appellant Alfredo Sanchez Espinoza.
Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Amanda V. Lopez and Steven E. Mercer, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
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In 1992, Jorge Antonio Espinoza, Alfredo Sanchez Espinoza, and Antonio Silva (collectively, defendants) committed an armed home-invasion robbery and then fled the police in a car driven by a coparticipant in the crime. The car ran a stop sign and crashed into another vehicle, killing two

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Mark C. Kim, Judge. Affirmed.
Tredway, Lumsdaine & Doyle, Roy J. Jimenez and Brandon L. Fieldsted for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Andrade Gonzalez, Sean A. Andrade and Henry H. Gonzalez for Defendant and Respondent Derek T. Dee, M.D., a Professional Corporation.
Diem Law and Robin L. Diem for Defendant and Respondent Edward Green III, a Medical Corporation.
INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff and appellant Raymond A. Klug, M.D., a Corporation (Klug Corporation) appeals from a judgment following a jury trial on breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty claims. The defendants and respondents are Derek T. Dee, M.D., a Professional Corporation (Dee Corporation) and Edward Green III, a Medical Corporation (Green Corporation) (together, defendants).

Alejandro Salas appeals from a postjudgment order granting in part and denying in part his motion for resentencing under Penal Code section 1172.6 (former § 1170.95) . In 2010, a jury convicted Salas of second degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a)) and three counts of attempted murder (§§ 187, 664). The jury also found true gang and firearm enhancement allegations as to all four counts. (§§ 186.22, subd. (b)(1), 12022.53, subds. (d), (e)(1)). Salas was sentenced to an aggregate term of 128 years and 8 months to life in state prison.
In January 2019, Salas filed a petition for resentencing under section 1172.6. Following an evidentiary hearing, the court found Salas was entitled to relief on his conviction of second degree murder, vacated the true findings on the gang and firearm use allegations as to that count, and redesignated the conviction as a conviction for conspiracy to commit a battery (§ 182, subd. (a)(1)). The court then resentenced Salas to an aggregate term of 75 years to l

In 2020, defendant Tameka McFarland pled no contest to second degree robbery (Pen. Code, § 212.5, subd. (c)) and admitted a prior felony strike conviction (§§ 667, subd. (d), 1170.12) and a prior serious felony (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)). On appeal, defendant argues the trial court abused its discretion in denying her motion to strike her prior strike conviction for sentencing purposes. She also challenges the imposition of a $300 restitution fine, a $40 court operations assessment fee, a $30 criminal assessment fee, and a $30 administrative fee without a hearing on her ability to pay them. We vacate the balance of the $30 administrative fee, but in all other respects affirm the judgment.

THE COURT
Defendant Lionel Tate, Sr., appeals from two orders denying motions he filed in the trial court to vacate convictions in two cases pursuant to Penal Code section 1473.7. For the reasons set forth below, we dismiss the appeals.
I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
A. Case No. H049768 (Superior Court Case No. 89625)
In 1987, Tate pleaded no contest to rape (§ 261, subd. (2); count 1) and penetration by a foreign object (§ 289, subd. (a); count 3) with the agreement that he would be sentenced to five years in state prison, and with the condition that he would waive all appellate rights. At sentencing, the court imposed a term of three years on count 1and a consecutive term of two years on count 3, consistent with the plea agreement.

A jury found defendant Julius Denzell Ford guilty on multiple counts of possession of controlled substances; possession of controlled substances while armed with a loaded firearm; procuring an adult for prostitution (pandering); false personation; and possession of a firearm by a felon. Two of the counts concerned offenses committed in Santa Barbara County, which had been joined with the remaining offenses committed in Santa Clara County. The jury further found true an arming enhancement, and Ford admitted allegations of prior strikes; a prior prison term; and that he was out of custody on bail when he committed several of the offenses. The trial court imposed a total term of 13 years four months in prison.
Ford raises multiple claims on appeal. First, he contends the trial court erred by denying his post-verdict motion in arrest of judgment challenging the trial court’s jurisdiction over the offenses committed in Santa Barbara County. Second, he contends the court erred by failing t

Appeal from a postjudgment order of the Superior Court of Orange County, Cheri T. Pham, Judge. Affirmed.
Donna L. Harris, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Alan L. Amann and Stephanie A. Mitchell, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Appellant Jose Carlos Delrio contends the trial court erred in denying his petition for resentencing without appointing him counsel. Although the court was remiss for not affording appellant an attorney, the error was harmless because the record of conviction shows appellant is ineligible for resentencing as a matter of law. We therefore affirm the court’s order.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
In 2005, appellant and Alberto Barba confronted rival gang member Francisco Hernandez at a bus stop in Garden Grove. During the confrontation, appellant pulled out a gun and fire

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Robert J. Moss, Judge. Affirmed in part and reversed in part. Request for Judicial Notice. Denied.
The Bailey Law Firm and Jonas Bailey for Plaintiffs and Appellants.
Law Offices of Peter F. Musielski and Peter F. Musielski for Defendants and Respondents.
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INTRODUCTION
Chris Goldie, Steven Goldie, and Shasta Tekaat (collectively Plaintiffs) purchased, from third parties, memberships in a recreational vehicle camping resort in Avila Beach, California. They all enjoyed camping and bought the memberships with the hope and expectation of using the resort throughout their retirements. Their hopes and expectations were frustrated when nonmembers were allowed to use the resort in increasing numbers, which made it difficult to reserve space at the resort, and ultimately were dashed when their memberships were terminated.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Jonathan S. Fish, Judge. Affirmed as modified with directions.
Ava R. Stralla, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Daniel B. Rogers, Assistant Attorney General, Melissa A. Mandel and Joseph C. Anagnos, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
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INTRODUCTION
On October 8, 2020, at approximately 1:00 a.m., the victims, D.M. and T.M., while preparing for their paper route, were approached by defendant Carlos Alfredo Pineda. D.M. is disabled and was sitting in the driver seat. His wife, T.M. exited the car on the passenger side, to prepare to transfer newspapers from one vehicle to the one D.M. occupied. Pineda approached the victims and accused them of stealing the car. Pineda, who was behaving strangely, stated he was going to take the car from them, attempted to open the driver’s side door,

Appeal from a postjudgment order of the Superior Court of San Bernardino County, Michael R. Libutti, Judge. Reversed and remanded with directions.
Ronda G. Norris, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant, Appellant and Petitioner.
Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Daniel Rogers, Lynne McGinnis and Christopher P. Beesley, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
Kent Craig appeals from the trial court’s postjudgment order denying his petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.95 based on his 2010 first degree murder conviction. Craig argues the following: the trial court failed to issue an order to show cause and conduct a hearing; the court erred by relying on the “record of conviction” and in making factual findings to summarily deny his petition; and the court applied the wrong standard. We agree with his first contention and reverse the postj

ORIGINAL PROCEEDINGS; petition for extraordinary writ review. John P. Bianco, Judge.
Steven P., in pro. per., for Petitioner.
No appearance for Respondent.
No appearance for Real Party in Interest.
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Steven P. (father), in propria persona, seeks an extraordinary writ (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.452) from the juvenile court’s orders issued at a 12-month review hearing (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 366.21, subd. (f)) on May 11, 2022, terminating reunification services and setting a section 366.26 hearing for August 31, 2022, as to his now seven year-old son, S.P., and five-year-old son, D.P. In his writ petition signed on May 23, 2022, father advised that he was incarcerated in Wisconsin and expected to be released on July 5, 2022, at which time he would like custody of his children. We conclude father’s writ petition fails to comply with the content requirements of rule 8.452 and dismiss it as facially inadequate for review.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kern County. Stephen D. Schuett, Judge.
Mahoney & Soll, Paul M. Mahoney and Richard A. Soll for Plaintiff and Appellant.
McCartney Dallmann and N. Thomas McCartney for Defendants and Respondents.
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Plaintiff and appellant Ayala Boring, Inc. (Ayala) appeals from an August 18, 2020 judgment of the Kern County Superior Court granting summary judgment in favor of defendants and respondents HPS Mechanical, Inc. (HPS) and American Contractors Indemnity Company (American Contractors). The court found that Ayala’s various causes of action were barred by relevant statutes of limitations as well as the doctrine of res judicata.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kings County. Kathy Ciuffini, Judge.
Robert Snyder, in pro. per., for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Matthew Rodriquez, Acting Attorney General, Phillip J. Lindsay, Assistant Attorney General, Maria G. Chan and Janine W. Boomer, Deputy Attorneys General, for Defendants and Respondents.
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Appellant Robert Snyder (Snyder) is an inmate held by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (respondent). Faced with what Snyder alleges is a repetitive pattern of issues concerning the care of his personal property when he is transferred from one prison to another, Snyder filed a first amended petition for writ of mandamus (the petition) seeking to ensure his property arrived in a timely manner after his next transfer. The trial court sustained respondent’s demurrer to the petition without leave to amend and entered judgment. The court determined the setting of specific deadlines for the return of property was not a ministerial duty subject

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Fresno County. Timothy A. Kams, Judge.
Jake Stebner, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Julie A. Hokans and Clara M. Levers, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
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Defendant Jorge Fidel Fernandez was found guilty of failure to register as a sex offender upon release from incarceration and failure to register as a sex offender upon change of address. He was sentenced to the upper term of three years’ imprisonment on both counts (the sentence on count 2 was stayed). On appeal, defendant contends that (1) the trial court erred in failing to sua sponte instruct the jury regarding consideration of circumstantial evidence and (2) his sentence must be vacated, and his case remanded for resentencing in light of Senate Bill No. 567’s (2021–2022 Reg. Sess.)