Judge: Cherol J. Nellon, Case: 23STCV07270, Date: 2023-10-11 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23STCV07270    Hearing Date: January 16, 2024    Dept: 14

Guiterrez v. Los Angeles Community College District et al


Case Background

Plaintiff served as Defendant’s Interim Vice Chancellor of Human Resources. She alleges that Defendant gave her an inappropriate, entry-level salary, then undertook to financially punish her when she resisted.

On October 30, 2023, Plaintiff filed her First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) for (1) Gender Discrimination, (2) National Origin Discrimination, (3) Failure to Prevent, (4) FEHA Retaliation, (5) Violation of Labor Code § 1197.5(a), and (6) Violation of Labor Code § 1197.5(b) against Defendants Los Angeles Community College District (“District”) and DOES 1-100.

            No trial date has yet been set.

Instant Pleading

            Defendant District now demurs to the entire FAC on the grounds that it is uncertain.

Decision

            Defendant’s Request for Judicial Notice (“RJN”) is GRANTED.

The demurrer is OVERRULED. Defendant District is to Answer within 10 days.

Discussion

The only listed ground in the Notice of Demurrer is uncertainty. Demurrers for uncertainty are disfavored and should only be sustained if the complaint is pled in such a manner as to prevent the defendant from responding. See Morris v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (2022) 78 Cal.App.5^th 279, 292.

The court sustained a prior demurrer on uncertainty grounds, because Plaintiff had improperly combined multiple separate theories into single causes of action. The court ordered counsel to separate these theories out so that Defendant could respond to them individually. Plaintiff has now done as this court instructed.

The remaining ambiguities do not prevent Defendant from responding. They represent details which the parties can and should clear up by way of discovery, not further pleading practice.

Conclusion