Judge: James A. Mangione, Case: 37-2023-00026413-CU-PA-CTL, Date: 2023-09-15 Tentative Ruling

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA,

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HALL OF JUSTICE

TENTATIVE RULINGS - September 14, 2023

09/15/2023  09:00:00 AM  C-75 COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO

JUDICIAL OFFICER:James A Mangione

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Civil - Unlimited  PI/PD/WD - Auto Demurrer / Motion to Strike 37-2023-00026413-CU-PA-CTL JOHNSON VS SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT [IMAGED] CAUSAL DOCUMENT/DATE FILED:

Defendants City of San Diego and San Diego Police Department's Demurrer is sustained without leave to amend in part and overruled in part.

San Diego Police Department Defendant City of San Diego ('City') is the real party in interest in this case. Any judgment against the San Diego Police Department ('SDPD') is akin to a judgment against the City. Suing the City and SDPS is essentially the same as naming the City twice. Therefore, Defendants' demurrer is sustained without leave to amend as to Defendant SDPD, and SDPD is dismissed with prejudice. However, this dismissal is not a determination as to whether SDPD is a public entity (as defined in Government Code § 811.2) or public agency for purposes of Plaintiff's claim under Government Code § 815.6.

Negligence Causes of Action The Court finds that Plaintiff's first cause of action for general negligence is duplicative of her second cause of action for motor vehicle negligence. Therefore, Defendants' demurrer is sustained without leave to amend as to the first cause of action. To the extent Defendants are demurring on the second cause of action, the demurrer is overruled.

Breach of Mandatory Duty 'Government Code section 815.6 makes a public entity liable for its failure to discharge a mandatory duty imposed by an enactment that is designed to protect against the risk of a particular kind of injury, unless the entity establishes that it exercised reasonable diligence to discharge the duty.' (Trewin v. State of California (1984) 150 Cal.App.3d 975, 979 (quotation marks omitted) (citing Gov. Code, §§ 810.6, 811.6).) The Complaint identifies sections 21055 and 21056 of the Vehicle Code and the Peace Officer Standards and Training ('POST') standards promulgated by the San Diego Police Department pursuant to Penal Code § 13519.8 to support this claim.

A determination of whether an enactment imposes a mandatory duty is a question of law depending on a number of factors including the language of the enactment, whether discretion exists in performing imposed obligations and the authority under which it has been promulgated. (San Mateo Union High School Dist. v. County of San Mateo (2013) 213 Cal.App.4th 418, 428-29; Colvin v. City of Gardena (1992) 11 Cal.App.4th 1270, 1278-80.) Although ultimately a question of law, whether an enactment 'creates a mandatory duty' depends in part upon factual considerations not properly within the scope of a demurrer. Therefore, the demurrer is overruled on this cause of action.

All requests for judicial notice are granted.

Calendar No.: Event ID:  TENTATIVE RULINGS

3006786  15 CASE NUMBER: CASE TITLE:  JOHNSON VS SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT [IMAGED]  37-2023-00026413-CU-PA-CTL The minute order is the order of the Court.

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3006786  15