Judge: Deborah C. Servino, Case: 30-2022-01248118, Date: 2022-12-02 Tentative Ruling

Plaintiff Eagle Community Credit Union’s motion for judgment on the pleadings is denied.

Request for Judicial Notice

Plaintiff’s request for judicial notice is denied.  The request for judicial notice of the complaint and answer is unnecessary.  It is not necessary to ask the court to take judicial notice of materials previously filed in the case.  All that is necessary is to call the court's attention to such papers.  (Weil & Brown, Cal. Practice Guide: Civil Procedure Before Trial (The Rutter Group 2021) ¶ 9.53.1a.)

The request for judicial notice of Plaintiff’s motion to deem requests admitted and July 29, 2022 minute order granting Plaintiff’s motion to deem admissions admitted, is denied. (Evid. Code, § 452.) The presentation of extrinsic evidence is improper on a motion for judgment on the pleadings. (Cloud v. Northrop Grumman Corp. (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 995, 999.)

Applicable Law

A motion for judgment on the pleadings has the same function as a general demurrer. (Southern California Edison Co. v. City of Victorville (2013) 217 Cal.App.4th 218, 227; People v. $20,000 U.S. Currency (1991) 235 Cal.App.3d 682, 691.)  Where, as here, the plaintiff is moving for judgment on its own pleading, the motion shall be made on the grounds “that the complaint states facts sufficient to constitute a cause or causes of action against the defendant and the answer does not state facts sufficient to constitute a defense to the complaint.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 438, subd. (c)(1)(A).) The motion may be made “only after” the defendant “has already filed his or her answer to the complaint and the time for the plaintiff to demur to the answer has expired.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 438, subd. (f)(1).)

Merits

Here, the Complaint alleges three causes of action against Defendant Carol S. Anzalone erroneously sued as Carol Sellwood Anzalone.  On April 11, 2022, Defendant filed an Answer generally denying each and every allegation of the Complaint.  The Answer set forth 16 affirmative defenses  (ROA 16.) 

Plaintiff’s motion is based solely on having the court judicially notice the matters that were deemed admitted when the court granted Plaintiff’s motion to deem requests admitted against Defendant.  Plaintiff is relying upon extrinsic evidence.  The court is unaware of any published case in which a court took judicial notice of deemed admissions in granting a motion for judgment on the pleadings.  In Columbia Casualty Co. v. Northwestern National. Ins. Co. (1991) 231 Cal.App.3d 457, the court explained that a motion for judgment on the pleading is different from a motion for summary judgment because it does not give notice that facts in rebuttal must be presented in opposition to the motion.  (Id. at p. 469.)  Plaintiff’s cases do not assist it.  Accordingly, the motion is denied.

Plaintiff shall give notice of the ruling.