Judge: Gary I. Micon, Case: 23CHCV02873, Date: 2024-05-22 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23CHCV02873    Hearing Date: May 22, 2024    Dept: F43

Dept. F43

Date: 5-22-24

Case #23CHCV02873 , Protective Insurance Company vs. Angel On My Shoulder, Inc.

Trial Date: N/A

MOTION FOR LEAVE TO AMEND DEFENDANT’S NAME IN JUDGMENT

MOVING PARTY: Plaintiffs Plaintiff Protective Insurance Company

RESPONDING PARTY: No response has been filed.

RELIEF REQUESTED

Plaintiff requests leave to amend the judgment to add another name for Defendant.

RULING: Motion is continued.

SUMMARY OF ACTION

Judgment was entered against Defendant Angel On My Shoulder, Inc. (Defendant) on December 5, 2023. Plaintiff Protective Insurance Company (Plaintiff) filed this motion to amend Defendant’s name in the judgment after Plaintiff’s counsel discovered, through a search of Defendant’s business records, that Defendant also goes by Angeles On My Shoulder, Inc. The evidence that Plaintiff’s counsel has submitted in support of this motion is his own declaration that he discovered this information and that he is informed that Defendant uses both names interchangeably. (Booska Decl., ¶ 2.)

Plaintiff seeks to amend Defendant’s name on the judgment so that it reads “ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION aka ANGELES ON MY SHOULDER, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION.”

No opposition has been filed.

ANALYSIS

Courts have held that CCP § 187 gives trial courts jurisdiction to add additional judgment debtors. (See McClellan v. Northridge Park Townhome Owners Ass’n, Inc. (2001) 89 Cal.App.4th 746, 752.) Judgments can be “‘amended to add additional judgment debtors on the grounds that a person or entity is the alter ego of the original judgment debtor. [Citations.] This is an equitable procedure based on the theory that the court is not amending the judgment to add a new defendant but is merely inserting the correct name of the real defendant. [Citations.] “Such a procedure is an appropriate and complete method by which to bind new individual defendants where it can be demonstrated that in their capacity as alter ego of the corporation they in fact had control of the previous litigation, and thus were virtually represented in the lawsuit.”’” (Id.) Successor corporations may also be added to a judgment in a similar manner. (Id. at 753.)

Plaintiff contends in its motion that what it is not attempting to go so far as to add an additional judgment debtor or an alter ego entity or a successor corporation. Instead, Plaintiff is simply trying to add an additional name for the judgment debtor.

The Court is concerned that Plaintiff has not provided sufficient evidence that Angeles On My Shoulder is simply an “aka” of Angel On My Shoulder. The declaration of Plaintiff’s attorney states that he discovered this through Defendant’s business records, but does not specify which business records or whether he found the information on the Secretary of State’s website or someplace else.

On the off chance that Angeles On My Shoulder is a totally separate and unrelated entity, the Court will request more information on how Plaintiff’s attorney came by this information. The Court will continue the hearing and request supplemental information, with dates for both to be set at the hearing on this motion.

Moving party to give notice.