Judge Daniel M. Crowley, Case Number: 22STCV367787, Date: 2025-03-06 Tentative Ruling

All parties are urged to meet and confer with all parties concerning this tentative ruling to see if they can reach an agreed-upon resolution of their matter.  If you are able to reach an agreement, please notify the courtroom staff in advance of the hearing if you wish to submit on the tentative ruling rather than argue the motion by notifying the court by e-mailing the court at: SMCDEPT71@lacourt.org. Do not click on the email address, either copy and paste it or type it into your email. Include the word "SUBMITS" in all caps and the Case Number in the Subject line. In the body of the email, please provide the date and time of the hearing, your name, your contact information, the party you represent, and whether that party is a plaintiff, defendant, cross-complainant, cross-defendant, claimant, intervenor, or non-party, etc.

            Please be advised that if you submit on the tentative and elect not to appear at the hearing, the opposing party may still appear at the hearing and argue the matter, and the court could change its tentative based upon the argument.  Unless you receive a submission from all other parties in the matter, you should assume that others might appear at the hearing to argue. If you submit, but still intend to appear, include the words "SUBMITS, BUT WILL APPEAR" in the Subject line.

            If you elect to argue your matter, you are urged to do so remotely, via Court-Connect. If the moving party fails to appear and/or submit to the Court’s tentative ruling, the Court will take the matter off calendar.

            Note that once the Court has issued a tentative, the Court has the inherent authority not to allow the withdrawal of a motion and to adopt the tentative ruling as the order of the court.

If you submitted a courtesy copy of your papers containing media (such as a DVD or thumb drive), unless you request the return of the media in your papers, the court will destroy it following the hearing of your matter.

The Court sets a hearing on an order to show cause why the complaint should not be dismissed and/or Plaintiff’s counsel sanctioned $250 for failing to enter default judgment (California Rule of Court, rule 3.110(h)) on May 2, 2025, at 8:30 AM in Department 71 at Stanley Mosk Courthouse for the following reasons:

1. No Request for Court Judgment, mandatory Judicial Council form CIV-100. No memorandum of costs or Declaration of Non-military status completed on the back of the CIV-100.

2. The request for court judgment does not properly seek an amount that is equal to or less than the amount sought in the complaint or C.C.P. §425.11 statement of damages. (See, e.g., Falahati v. Kondo (2005) 127 Cal.App.4th 823, 830-831[stating court acts in excess of its jurisdiction and the resulting default judgment is void if the court awards default judgment in an amount greater than that demanded in the complaint, including if the complaint does not specify the amount demanded].)

3. The submitted evidence does not properly support the amount of damages claimed. All references to exhibits or declarations in supporting or opposing papers must reference the number or letter of the exhibit, the specific page, and, if applicable, the paragraph or line number. (CRC, Rule 3.1110(k).)

4. Some exhibits are in Spanish and a certified translation of the documents is not provided to this Court. (CRC, Rule 3.1110(g) [“Exhibits written in a foreign language must be accompanied by an English translation, certified under oath by a qualified interpreter.”].)

5. Plaintiffs’ declaration in support of the request for default judgment is made jointly and is not dated.

6. Plaintiffs’ declaration fails to provide adequate, authenticated foundation of exhibits.

7. The value for the interest calculation in Plaintiffs’ declaration of interest ($11.953.80) is a different value than the amount provided on the JUD-100 ($11,953,800.00).