Notice Of Motion And Motion For Sanctions Pursuant To C.C.P. Section 128.7 In The Form Of Terminating And Monetary Sanctions In The Amount Of $22,470.00 Against Plaintiff Keep America Safe And Beautiful, And Plaintiff?S Counsel
SF Superior Court - Law & Motion / Discovery Dept 301 - CGC24620069 - June 12, 2026 Hearing date: June 12, 2026 Case number: CGC24620069 Case title: KEEP AMERICA SAFE AND BEAUTIFUL VS. BALLISLIFE, INC. ET AL Case Number: | | CGC24620069 | Case Title: | | KEEP AMERICA SAFE AND BEAUTIFUL VS. BALLISLIFE, INC. ET AL | Court Date: | | 2026-06-12 09:00 AM | Calendar Matter: | | Notice Of Motion And Motion For Sanctions Pursuant To C.C.P. Section 128.7 In The Form Of Terminating And Monetary Sanctions In The Amount Of $22,470.00 Against Plaintiff Keep America Safe And Beautiful, And Plaintiff?S Counsel | Rulings: | | Law & Motion / Discovery calendar for Jun-12-2026, line 4. DEFENDANT'S Motion For Sanctions Pursuant To CCP 128.7 In The Form Of Terminating And Monetary Sanctions of $22,470.00 Against Plaintiff and Plaintiff's Counsel.
Defendant Ballislife, Inc.'s sanctions motion is denied. Ballislife seeks monetary and terminating sanctions pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure, sec. 128.7. Terminating sanctions are not available under this statute: they are not expressly provided in the statute, and ordinarily the vehicle for dismissal of an action for lack of factual support is through a summary judgment motion. What remains is a request for monetary sanctions to deter frivolous litigation.
Ballislife contends that (1) it has sold only seven backpacks in California; (2) it began placing warnings on the backpacks after the litigation; (3) its lab test shows a level of exposure within the safe harbor; and (4) plaintiff's lab report is faulty. Ballislife's motion is supported by an attorney declaration rather than by a declaration of any percipient or expert witness. Ballislife developed its evidence about the faultiness of plaintiff's lab report after sending its safe harbor notice.
"A claim is factually frivolous if it is not well grounded in fact and is legally frivolous if it is not warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law. In either case, to obtain sanctions, the moving party must show the party's conduct in asserting the claim was objectively unreasonable. A claim is objectively unreasonable if any reasonable attorney would agree that it is totally and completely without merit." (Bucur v. Ahmad (2016) 244 Cal.App.4th 175, 189 [citation simplified].)
At most, Ballislife's evidence shows that there is a question of fact about whether exposure from the backpack is below safe harbor limits, and plaintiff may be able to show only a few violations of Prop 65 at most. This is not a claim that is totally and completely without merit; sec. 128.7 does not look at the proportionality of the possible recovery or public benefits against the expense of trial. Other litigation tools allow the parties to raise those proportionality questions, such as by serving a sec. 998 offer. Ballislife's motion is therefore denied, and the court denies plaintiff's counter-request for sanctions as well.
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