Judge: Audra Mori, Case: 21STCV21874, Date: 2022-08-01 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21STCV21874    Hearing Date: August 1, 2022    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Plaintiffs Luna Kurdy (“Petitioner”), Abigail Bostadjian (“Claimant”), by and through her Guardian ad Litem, Petitioner, filed this action against Defendants Tanner John Haynes and Alan Douglas Haynes (collectively, “Defendants”) for damages arising from a motor vehicle accident.  Claimant was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Petitioner when it was struck by Defendants’ vehicles.  Claimant suffered neck pain, bruises from her seatbelt, and occasional nightmares.  Plaintiff has not recovered completely from her injuries, as she often experiences neck pain and nightmares.  These injuries are temporary. 

The parties have agreed to settle all claims for the total amount of $360,000.00, with $350,000 being apportioned to Petitioner and $10,000 to Claimant.  Pertaining to Claimant, if the settlement is approved, the entire balance of $10,000.00 will be deposited into a blocked account. 

The petition is denied without prejudice for the following reasons:

·       Petitioner did not submit Attachment 12, which pertains to the apportionment of the settlement for each Claimant and Petitioner.  The court cannot approve a $350,000 settlement apportioning only $10,000 to minor Claimant without specific information concerning the reasons for doing so, including information about each Plaintiff’s special damages.

·       Petitioner submitted the proposed order to approve settlement (Judicial Council Form MC-351).  However, the court cannot locate a proposed order to place funds in a blocked account (Judicial Council Form MC-355).  Petitioner is ordered to provide both proposed orders in connection with a new petition.

·       Petitioner filed the instant petition on an outdated version of Judicial Council Form MC-350, Rev. January 1, 2011.  The court asks Counsel who assisted in preparing the petition to use the updated version of Judicial Council Form MC-350, Rev. January 1, 2021, in connection with this and other actions.

Pursuant to CRC 7.952, Claimant and Petitioner must appear at the hearing on this matter unless the court finds good cause to excuse their appearance.  Plaintiff herein is only eight years old and was only five when the incident occurred.  The court finds Claimant’s age constitutes good cause to excuse her appearance; Claimant will not be required to appear.  Only Petitioner will be required to appear in connection with the hearing on a new petition.

Petitioner is ordered to give notice. 

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE:

• Parties are encouraged to meet and confer after reading this tentative ruling to see if they can reach an agreement.
• If a party intends to submit on this tentative ruling, the party must send an email to the court at sscdept31@lacourt.org with the Subject line “SUBMIT” followed by the case number.  The body of the email must include the hearing date and time, counsel’s contact information, and the identity of the party submitting.  
• Unless all parties submit by email to this tentative ruling, the parties should arrange to appear remotely (encouraged) or in person for oral argument.  You should assume that others may appear at the hearing to argue.  
• If the parties neither submit nor appear at hearing, the Court may take the motion off calendar or adopt the tentative ruling as the order of the Court.  After the Court has issued a tentative ruling, the Court may prohibit the withdrawal of the subject motion without leave. 

Dated this 1^st day of August 2022