Judge Jill Feeney, Case 19STCV16426 2023-01-19 Tentative Ruling

The parties are encouraged to meet and confer concerning this tentative ruling to determine if there is an agreement to submit.

Regardless of whether there is any such agreement, each party who wishes to submit must send an email to the Court at SSCdept30@LACourt.org indicating the party's intention to submit.

Include the word "SUBMITS" in all caps and the case number in the subject line of the email and in the body provide the date and time of the hearing, your name, your contact information, the party you represent, whether that party is a plaintiff, defendant, cross-complainant, cross-defendant, claimant, or non-party.

If a party submits but still intends to appear at the hearing, include the words "SUBMITS BUT WILL APPEAR" in the subject line of the email.

If the Court does not receive emails from the parties indicating submission on this tentative ruling and there are no appearances at the hearing, the Court may, at its discretion, adopt the tentative as the final order or place the motion off calendar.

Unless all the parties have submitted, the Court will hear argument from any party that appears at the hearing and wishes to argue. The Court may change its tentative as a result of the argument and adopt the changed tentative as the final order at the end of that hearing, even if all the parties are not present.

Be advised that after the Court has posted/issued a tentative ruling, the Court has the inherent authority to prohibit the withdrawal of said motion and may adopt the tentative ruling as the order of the Court.

Petition to Approve Compromise of Pending Action of Jacob Lopez Verduzco (Age 4)

The parties are to appear on the date of the hearing to set a continued hearing date.

Amended documents must be filed at least five court days in advance of the continued hearing date.

Item 12: There is a discrepancy in the amount to be paid to Medi-Cal as explained below.

Item 17(f): Counsel also represents the two other Plaintiffs in this action. If Counsel expects to receive attorney’s fees from them, he must state so here.

Petitioner failed to include attachment 18(b)(2) with the name, branch, and address of the financial institution where the remaining settlement funds will be deposited.

Injuries: Claimant was a passenger in his mother’s vehicle when it was struck by a dump truck driven by Defendant Zavala. Claimant visited the emergency room but suffered no injuries.

There is a discrepancy regarding the amount to be paid to reimburse medical providers in item number 12 of the MC-350. It appears Medi-Cal covered the remaining $33 owed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center referenced in item 12(b). Thus, Cedars-Sinai no longer has a lien. Thus, the correct amount owed to Medi-Cal is $24.60, as stated in the lien letter attached to MC-350.

“A petition requesting court approval and allowance of an attorney's fee under (a) must include a declaration from the attorney that addresses the factors listed in (b) that are applicable to the matter before the court.” Cal Rules of Court, Rule 7.955(c).

Counsel seeks attorney’s fees in the amount of $2,500, or 25% of gross settlement. Counsel testifies that he and his office have been working on this matter since 2017 and spent approximately 150 hours on the case. (Kim Decl.) Counsel corresponded with the insurance carriers involved, prepared settlement demands, negotiated settlement, and negotiated medical liens. (Id.) These fees are reasonable.

Petitioner intends to disburse fees as described above and deposit the remaining balance in a blocked account. Petitioners properly filed form MC-355. However, Petitioner failed to include the name, branch, and address of the financial institution where the funds will be deposited as attachment 18b(2).

The hearing on this matter is CONTINUED to allow Petitioner to correct the deficiencies described above.