CA Unpub Decisions

Angel Kashfian Tavakoli (Mother) and Shahrock Tavakoli (Father) are the parents of three sons—only one of whom is still a minor. The children initially lived with Mother after the divorce but later resided with Father. Mother argues the trial court erred by reducing the sum Father owed in child support arrears. Mother also challenges the trial court’s order requiring her to pay child support for her youngest son. We find the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it calculated child support arrears but conclude that it made a calculation error in totaling the arrearages. We therefore affirm the child support arrearage order, as modified. We also conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it ordered Mother to pay child support based on imputed income.

Appellant Edwin Alexander Perez appeals from his convictions for two counts of carjacking (counts 3 & 4). (Pen. Code, § 215.) The jury found true the allegations that appellant committed the crimes for the benefit of a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd. (b)(4)), that a principal personally used a firearm in the commission of the offenses (§ 12022.53, subds. (b) & (e)(1)), and that appellant personally used a handgun in the commission of the offenses (§ 12022.53, subd. (a)). Appellant was sentenced to a total state prison term of 40 years to life: on count 3, 15 years to life, plus 10 years for the firearm use enhancement; on count 4, a consecutive 15 years to life.

Christopher O’Brien, representing himself as he did in the trial court, appeals the judgment of dismissal entered after the court ruled his Pro Se Petition Alleging Age Discrimination, which named as defendant California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), was barred by res judicata (claim preclusion) and granted its own motion for judgment on the pleadings. O’Brien argues the court erred in denying his motion for default judgment, filed three days after the date he contends an answer or other pleading was due, and in permitting counsel for the Board of Trustees of the California State University to appear at hearings by telephone. We affirm.

Defendant and appellant Ricky Anthony Lujan appeals his conviction of driving while under the influence of alcohol (DUI) with a prior DUI conviction, causing great bodily injury. He contends that prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument deprived him of a fair trial. Finding no merit to defendant’s contention, we affirm the judgment.

Plaintiff and respondent 8121 Van Nuys Associates, Inc. (respondent) owned commercial property at 8121 Van Nuys Boulevard in Panorama City. Respondent leased space in the property to defendants and appellants Advanced Professional Imaging Medical Group and Sim Hoffman (collectively appellants). When appellants vacated the premises, respondent sued for past rent due and other damages, and appellants counter-sued for recovery of their security deposit. The court awarded each party damages and subsequently awarded respondent attorney fees. Appellants contend the trial court erroneously relied on Code of Civil Procedure section 1032 (section 1032) instead of Civil Code section 1717 (section 1717) in awarding fees in this breach of contract action. We agree with appellants and therefore reverse and remand for the trial court to exercise its discretion under section 1717.

Appellants Matthew Squire (Squire) and Ernesto Masson (Masson) (collectively appellants) appeal from the judgment denying their petition for writ of mandate. They contend the written reprimands they received from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (Department) in September 2014, should be rescinded because they did not receive notice of proposed discipline within the one-year statute of limitations period in the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBRA) (Gov. Code, § 3300 et seq.). We disagree and affirm.

Terrance Marsh, representing himself as he did in the trial court, appeals the order of dismissal entered after the court sustained without leave to amend the unopposed demurrer of Garfield Beach CVS, L.L.C. (incorrectly sued as CVS Pharmacy, Inc.) to his first amended complaint, which alleged he had been unlawfully detained and falsely accused of attempted theft at a CVS retail store in South Los Angeles based on CVS’s racially discriminatory corporate policies. With a sparse record and no specificity, Marsh argues the trial court erred (and violated his right to due process) by ruling his first amended complaint failed to state any causes of action and abused its discretion in denying him leave to file a second amended complaint. We affirm.

Minor R.P. appeals a judgment of the juvenile court declaring him a ward of the court, removing him from the custody of his mother, and ordering him suitably placed. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 602.) We remand for the court to set the maximum period of confinement and to calculate R.P.'s predisposition custody credit, but otherwise affirm. (In re Edward B. (2017) 10 Cal.App.5th 1228, 1238.)

The local branch of an international social club voted to suspend several of its members and to recommend their expulsion from the international organization. The members sought a writ of mandate to overturn their suspension. The trial court denied the writ, in part because the members did not exhaust the club’s internal appeal procedures prior to filing the lawsuit. The members appeal. We conclude the trial court got it right, and affirm.

Plaintiff Intercol Collections & Investigations, Inc. (Intercol) appeals from the trial court’s denial with prejudice of its second motion to amend a 20-year-old judgment against Michael Verde to allow it to collect the debt from objector and respondent Vahe Malek Allahverdi (Allahverdi). Because Intercol, after 20 years, twice failed to prove that Verde and Allahverdi are the same person, we hold the court did not abuse its discretion in denying the second motion with prejudice. We therefore affirm the post-judgment order.

Karen Fagundes appealed the award of attorney fees in her litigation with her brother, respondent Timothy Silva, over the 1994 sale of a family home. In this memorandum opinion, we affirm.

G.I. (Minor) appeals an order entered after the juvenile court found he committed residential robbery, carjacking, and residential burglary. He contends the evidence does not support the carjacking finding. We shall affirm the order.

A.M. (Mother) appeals from an order terminating her parental rights to four children (Minors), who ranged in age from 2 to 8 at the time they were detained. The sole basis for her appeal is her argument that the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (Department) did not comply with the notice requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) (25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.). Separately, J.K. (Father) appeals from an order terminating his parental rights to B.K., the youngest of the Minors. Like Mother, he argues that the Department did not comply with ICWA. In addition he argues that the juvenile court violated his due process rights by treating him as B.K.’s alleged, rather than presumed, father, and by not appointing counsel for him throughout the entire proceeding. We conclude that only the ICWA claim has merit. Therefore, we will conditionally reverse and remand the matter for the limited purpose of compliance with ICWA.

In October of 2010, Larry Belle and Gary Ferguson were shot multiple times by two gunmen as they stood talking outside of a barbershop in Berkeley. Appellant Brandon Wallace (Wallace) and his codefendant Coleon Carroll (Carroll) were ultimately charged with murder and attempted murder in connection with the shooting. Carroll pled no contest to voluntary manslaughter, but Wallace went to trial and a jury found him guilty as charged. Wallace then moved for a new trial on the grounds of newly discovered evidence in the form of Carroll’s testimony that it was Carroll’s cousin Jermaine Davis (Davis), and not Wallace, who was with him on the day of the shooting. The trial court denied the motion, finding Carroll’s testimony not credible. appeal, Wallace contends that the trial court erred.