Judge: H. Jay Ford, III, Case: 22STCV27109, Date: 2023-08-22 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22STCV27109    Hearing Date: August 22, 2023    Dept: O

Case Name:  Doe v. Men’s Health Foundation, et al.

Case No.:                    22STCV27109

Complaint Filed:                   8-19-23

Hearing Date:            8-22-23

Discovery C/O:                      6-17-24

Calendar No.:            10

Discover Motion C/O:           7-1-24

POS:                           OK

Trial Date:                             7-15-24

SUBJECT:                (1) DEMURRER TO SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT

                                    (2) MOTION TO STRIKE PORTIONS OF SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT

MOVING PARTY:  Defendant Men’s Health Foundation 

RESP. PARTY:        Plaintiff John Doe

 

TENTATIVE RULING

            Defendant Men’s Health Foundation’s Motion to Strike Portions of the SAC is GRANTED.  Defendant Men’s Health Foundation’s Demurrer is MOOT considering the ruling on the MTS. 

 

            Defendant moves to strike the 3rd and 8th causes of action from the SAC is GRANTED.  Plaintiff concedes that the Court previously sustained demurrer to the the 3rd and 8th causes of action without leave to amend.  Plaintiff does not oppose the demurrer to these causes of action on grounds that they were previously dismissed by the Court.  However, the proper procedural vehicle to eliminate them from the SAC is a motion to strike based on failure to draft the SAC in conformity with an order of the Court.  CCP §436(b).

 

            Defendant also moves to strike punitive damages allegations from the complaint.  Defendant successfully struck these allegations from the FAC in a prior motion to strike.  Defendant argues the only new allegations in the SAC pertain to Dr. Mills’ alleged statements to Plaintiff during an exam regarding his teeth and penis size. 

 

            The prior motion to strike punitive damages was based on Plaintiff’s failure to allege either authorization, ratification or prior knowledge of Dos Santos’ unfitness by an officer, director or managing agent.  Plaintiff’s new allegations regarding Mills’s own sexual statements do not cure this defect.  Plaintiff did not file an opposition to the motion to strike.  The motion to strike the punitive damages allegations as to Men’s Health is therefore GRANTED.