Judge: Bruce G. Iwasaki, Case: 20STCV13579, Date: 2022-09-20 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV13579    Hearing Date: September 20, 2022    Dept: 58

Judge Bruce G. Iwasaki

Department 58

Hearing Date:             September 20, 2022

Case Name:                Curtis Jones v. Brown Automotive Inc., et al.

Case No.:                    20STCV13579

Matter:                        Motion to Substitute Successor in Interest

Moving Party:             Plaintiff Curtis Jones

Responding Party:      Unopposed

Tentative Ruling:      The Motion to Substitute Successor in Interest is granted. 

            This is an elder abuse case.  Curtis Jones (Plaintiff) alleged that Brown Automotive, Inc. dba Puente Hills Nissan and Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation (Defendants) sold him a vehicle that he had no intention of purchasing.  The Complaint asserts claims for elder abuse, and violations of the Unruh Civil Rights Act, Reese-Levering Automobile Sales Finance Act, Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act. 

            On November 24, 2020, this Court granted Defendant’s motion to compel arbitration.  On July 15, 2021, the case was dismissed without prejudice “pursuant to a reservation of jurisdiction by the Court to proceed if and as necessary with any appropriate enforcement or other proceedings herein.”[1] 

            On March 11, 2022, Curtis Jones passed away.  His widow, Somjai Reedy-Jones, now files a motion to be substituted in as successor in interest under Civil Procedure section 377.31.  No opposition was filed.

            Ms. Reedy-Jones provided a declaration in compliance with Code of Civil Procedure section 337.32, setting forth the information in subdivisions (a)(1) through (a)(7).  There is no pending administration of the decedent’s estate, and a certified copy of the death certificate is attached.

            “On motion after the death of a person who commenced an action or proceeding, the court shall allow a pending action or proceeding that does not abate to be continued by the decedent’s personal representative or, if none, by the decedent’s successor in interest.”  (Code Civ. Proc., § 337.31.) 

            The Court grants the motion to substitute Ms. Reedy-Jones as Plaintiff’s successor in interest.  (See Code Civ. Proc., § 337.20, subd. (a) [“a cause of action for or against a person is not lost by reason of the person’s death, but survives subject to the applicable limitations period”].)