Judge: James A. Mangione, Case: 37-2019-00011626-CU-OE-CTL, Date: 2024-06-07 Tentative Ruling

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA,

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HALL OF JUSTICE

TENTATIVE RULINGS - June 06, 2024

06/07/2024  09:00:00 AM  C-75 COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO

JUDICIAL OFFICER:James A Mangione

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Civil - Unlimited  Other employment Motion Hearing (Civil) 37-2019-00011626-CU-OE-CTL GUZMAN VS ALLAN COMPANY INC [EFILE] CAUSAL DOCUMENT/DATE FILED:

Plaintiff's Motion to Extend the Five-Year Rule and Set Trial is granted in part.

'In computing the time within which an action must be brought to trial pursuant to this article, there shall be excluded the time during which . . . [b]ringing the action to trial, for any other reason, was impossible, impracticable, or futile.' (CCP § 583.340(c).) 'When applying the tolling exceptions in section 583.340(c), a trial court must consider all the circumstances in the individual case, including the acts and conduct of the parties and the nature of the proceedings themselves. The critical factor in applying these exceptions to a given factual situation is whether the plaintiff exercised reasonable diligence in prosecuting his or her case.' (Seto v. Szeto (2022) 86 Cal.App.5th 76, 86 (quotation marks omitted).) Here, the Court finds that the alleged delay caused by Plaintiffs' initial failure to name CYC as a Defendant, CYC's extensions related to the class certification motion and the protracted negotiations between the parties as to the Belaire-West notice are not an appropriate basis to toll the five-year deadline. However, throughout the Belaire-West process, the parties have failed to meet deadlines set by the Court. Delays resulting from failure to follow Court deadlines provide a basis for tolling (if committed by Defendant) or evidence a lack of diligence (if committed by Plaintiffs). Upon review of the relevant Court orders, as well as the evidence presented by both parties, the Court finds that Plaintiffs unnecessarily caused a 52-day delay and Defendant unnecessarily caused a 152-day delay. Therefore, the Court finds it appropriate to toll the five-year rule by 100 days.

The Court reserves its ruling on the merits of Plaintiffs' Motion for Monetary Sanctions and the amount requested until the conclusion of the litigation.

Trial call is set for December 6, 2024, at 8:50a.m.

Trial Readiness Conference is set for November 22, 2024, at 8:55a.m.

Defendant's Motion to Dismiss and Plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to Amend are ordered off-calendar because no moving papers were filed with the Court.

The minute order is the order of the Court.

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