Judge: Elaine Lu, Case: 25STCV01752, Date: 2025-05-02 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 25STCV01752    Hearing Date: May 2, 2025    Dept: 9

Plaintiff’s Initial Status Report filed 4/25/25 indicates that the Complaint incorrectly identifies the Defendant as Harvest Host OPCO, LLC. Once the stay is lifted, Plaintiff will seek to Amend the Complaint dismissing Harvest Host OPCO, LLC, and adding Mavuno, LLC, which Plaintiff believes is the correct Defendant for this action. 

As stated above, Plaintiff anticipates filing an amended complaint dismissing Harvest Host OPCO, LLC and naming Mavuno LLC as Defendant.  Plaintiff’s request for the Court to allow the filing of a First Amended Complaint is GRANTED.  The stay is hereby lifted to allow Plaintiff to file a First Amended Complaint dismissing Harvest Host OPCO, LLC and naming Mavuno LLC as Defendant.  Plaintiff must file and serve the anticipated First Amended Complaint by no later than June 2, 2025. 

Defendant is ordered to file and serve a Notice of Appearance within 30 days of service of the First Amended Complaint.

The Court reminds the parties that ultimately, the Court may not enter default judgment in an amount exceeding the amount demanded in the Complaint.  (CCP 585(b).)  The Court may not grant relief not demanded in the complaint by default judgment even though that relief otherwise would have been proper. (CCP § 580(a); Airs Aromatics, LLC v. CBL Data Recovery Technologies, Inc. (2018) 23 Cal.App.5th 1013, 1018 (default judgment for sum in excess of that demanded in complaint is void).  “It is fundamental to the concept of due process that a defendant be given notice of the existence of a lawsuit and notice of the specific relief which is sought in the complaint served upon him.” (Marriage of Lippel (1990) 51 Cal.3d 1160, 1166 [emphasis added].)  Thus, for example, where the complaint does not request attorney fees, the court cannot award fees against a defaulting defendant. It makes no difference that the fees are awardable by statute. (Feminist Women's Health Ctr. v. Blythe (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 1641, 1675).  Accordingly, prior to seeking any Defendant’s default, Plaintiff may wish to review the operative Complaint for whether the operative Complaint gives notice of the amount of damages that Plaintiff seeks to recover; if the operative Complaint fails to do so, it may be futile for Plaintiff to seek entry of Defendant’s default without first amending the Complaint to clearly state and give notice of the amount of damages that Plaintiff is seeking to recover.  In the event that Plaintiff wishes to amend the Complaint for this purpose as well, the Court hereby lifts the stay to grant leave to amend the operative complaint. 

The previously imposed stay on discovery remains in effect.

The Initial Status Conference is continued to July 25, 2025 at 10:00 am.  If Defendant appears before then, the parties are to file a Joint Initial Status Conference Report by no later than July 18, 2025 in compliance with the Court’s Initial Status Conference order.

The Court Clerk shall give notice of this order to Plaintiff.  Plaintiff is ordered to give notice of this minute order as well as the Initial Status Conference order to all other parties and file proof of service of such.