Judge: Armen Tamzarian, Case: 21STCV19358, Date: 2023-06-29 Tentative Ruling

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Case Number: 21STCV19358    Hearing Date: June 29, 2023    Dept: 52

Defendants 8155 Heights, LLC and Shyon Keoppel’s Notice of Related Case

Defendants/cross-complainants 8155 Heights, LLC and Shyon Keoppel filed  notice of related case for this case and Iron Hammer Properties, L.P., et al. v. 8155 Heights, LLC, No. 23STCV03731.  This action is a dispute over commercial property at 8151-8155 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles.  The latter action is an unlawful detainer action concerning the same property between many of the same parties.

Relating and reassigning cases is discretionary.  CRC 3.300(h)(1) provides, “In a court in which cases are assigned to a single judge or department, cases may be ordered related.”  In the unlawful detainer case, the primary issue is possession of the premises.  (Harris v. Bissell (1921) 54 Cal.App. 307, 313.)  This civil action does not involve the issue of possession.  In it, plaintiffs seek damages from defendants for allegedly failing to improve the commercial property as required in the lease.  Defendants/cross-complainants seek damages from plaintiffs/cross-defendants for allegedly misrepresenting that the property was suitable for use as a restaurant.  The cases have only limited overlapping issues of fact and law.  And given the summary nature of unlawful detainer actions, the cases would be tried separately even if assigned to the same department.  Ordering them related would therefore not increase efficiency. 

The court finds the cases are not related.