24STCV06764

Tom of Finland Foundation, Inc., et al. vs. Cultereedit, LLC

Plaintiff The Tom of Finland Foundation, Inc. is a foundation that promotes the work of Tom of Finland, and the other seven plaintiffs are clothing wholesalers (collectively, “Plaintiffs”). Plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) against cultureEDIT, LLC (“Defendant”) for alleged breach of contract and other claims. 

Defendant filed a demurrer to the FAC based on alleged misjoinder of Plaintiffs and other arguments. Plaintiffs oppose the demurrer. The demurrer was initially set to be heard on July 23, 2024, but the Court could not access the case file to prepare for the July 23 hearing due to a ransomware attack on the entire LASC computer system. At the July 23 hearing, the Court could still not access any court documents for this case. The parties and the Court agreed to move the demurrer by a week, to July 29, 2024. 

When the court file for this case came back online, the Court discovered that Defendant has also filed a motion to compel arbitration that is set for hearing on September 9, 2024. Counsel did not tell the Court about this hearing when appearing on July 23, and of course the Court had no idea about the arbitration motion because it could not see the docket for this case. Depending on the outcome of the motion to compel arbitration, the demurrer could become moot. Therefore, to preserve judicial resources, the Court is moving the demurrer hearing to September 9, 2024. In the meantime, the parties must file a Notice of Related Case in both this case and the low-numbered case between Plaintiff The Tom of Finland Foundation and Defendant, 23STCV25666.