Judge: Christopher K. Lui, Case: 20STCV16798, Date: 2022-09-29 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV16798    Hearing Date: September 29, 2022    Dept: 76

            Plaintiff alleges that after he returned from medical leave after an industrial injury, Defendant stripped his peace officer status and demoted Plaintiff to a low-level Intermediate Clerk position with lower pay and reduced benefits. Plaintiff remains employed to date with Defendant, in the demoted position.

Plaintiff moves for leave to file a Fourth Amended Complaint.

TENTATIVE RULING

Plaintiff Kim Pham’s motion for leave to file a Fourth Amended Complaint is DENIED. 

ANALYSIS

Motion For Leave To Amend

Request for Judicial Notice 

            Defendant’s request that the Court take judicial notice of the November 4, 2021 minute order in this case is GRANTED per Evid. Code, § 452(d)(court records).

Discussion

Plaintiff moves for leave to file a Fourth Amended Complaint.

CRC Rule 3.1324 provides:

(a) Contents of motion A motion to amend a pleading before trial must:

 (1) Include a copy of the proposed amendment or amended pleading, which must be serially numbered to differentiate it from previous pleadings or amendments;

 (2) State what allegations in the previous pleading are proposed to be deleted, if any, and where, by page, paragraph, and line number, the deleted allegations are located; and

 (3) State what allegations are proposed to be added to the previous pleading, if any, and where, by page, paragraph, and line number, the additional allegations are located.

(b) Supporting declaration A separate declaration must accompany the motion and must specify:

 (1) The effect of the amendment;

 (2) Why the amendment is necessary and proper;

 (3) When the facts giving rise to the amended allegations were discovered; and

 (4) The reasons why the request for amendment was not made earlier.

(Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 3.1324.) 

            Here, although the motion indicates the additional allegations to be included at Pages 4 – 26 of the Summary of Proposed Additions to the Complaint, as Defendants point out in the Opposition, the motion does not indicate the deletions. Nor does the Declaration of Kristen B. Brown sufficiently explain the effect of the amendments, why the amendment is necessary and proper, when the facts giving rise to the amended allegations were discovered, and the reasons why the request for amendment was not made earlier, as required by CRC Rule 3.1324(b).

            In this regard, the Brown Declaration indicates that the basis for this amendment is a Right to Sue letter obtained on January 29, 2022 from the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Plaintiff does not explain why the request for amendment was only brought nearly 8 months later in August 2022. Moreover, to the extent the facts occurred after the original complaint was filed on July 14, 2017, either a supplemental complaint[1], or a separate action is the appropriate course of action.

As such, the motion for leave to file a Fourth Amended Complaint is DENIED.