Judge: Jon R. Takasugi, Case: 19STCV08232, Date: 2024-07-22 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 19STCV08232    Hearing Date: July 22, 2024    Dept: 17

Superior Court of California

County of Los Angeles

DEPARTMENT 17

TENTATIVE RULING

Plaintiff’s motion for request for judicial notice is DENIED.

On March 11, 2019, Plaintiff Issa Al-Bayati (Plaintiff) filed suit against Defendants Los Angeles Unified School Districts (LAUSD), Ana Velasco, and Nelson Velasco (collectively, Defendants). On April 15, 2019, Plaintiff filed a first amended complaint (FAC) alleging: (1) general negligence; (2) premises liability; (3) negligent hiring and retention; and (4) negligent training and supervision.

Now, Plaintiff moves for the Court to grant her Request for Judicial Notice (RJN).

Discussion

            Plaintiff requests the Court take judicial notice of the: (1) the Judgment from The Court Of Appeal of The State of California Second Appellate District, Division Eight (Case Number B313331) in the matter Issa Al-Bayati V. Los Angeles Unified School District, et al, LASC Case No. 19STCV08232, dated May 10, 2023; and (2) Audio and Transcript of Oral Arguments in The Court Of Appeal of The State of California Second Appellate District, Division Eight (Case Number B313331) in the matter Issa Al-Bayati V. Los Angeles Unified School District, et al, LASC Case No. 19STCV08232, dated March 30, 2023.

Judicial notice may be taken of the following matters to the extent that they are not embraced within Section 451: (d) Records of any court of this state or any court of record of the United States or of any state of the United States; or (h) Facts and propositions that are not reasonably subject to dispute and are capable of immediate and accurate determination by resort to sources of reasonably indisputable accuracy. (Cal. Evid. Code §452(d); and §452(h).)

Here, Plaintiffs contend that the documents are a matter of public record, and are not reasonably subject to dispute. However, as noted by Defendant, the opinion is unpublished, and per California Rules of Court, Rule 8.1115(a), it is prohibited for the courts and parties to cite or rely on this Unpublished Opinion. The case cited by Plaintiff in support, Kilroy v. State of California (2004) 119 Cal.App.4th 140, 148, actually indicates that factual findings in a prior judicial opinion were not a proper subject of judicial notice. Moreover, “An appellate opinion is not a judgment of the appellate court, such as is the remittitur. An appellate opinion's recitation of facts is nothing more than the hearsay assertions of the judges who issued the opinion. An appellate opinion—insofar as it recites pertinent facts—is not to be classified in the same vein as orders, findings of fact and conclusions of law, and judgments.” (Kilroy, 119 Cal.App.4th at 146.).” (Opp., 4: 20-24.)

Plaintiff has also failed to show that the Unofficial Transcript falls under Evidence Code Sections 451(d) or 451(h). The arguments of counsel are not evidence or an official record, and it does not appear that the transcriptions were performed by a court reporter. The arguments of counsel are not “facts and propositions that are not reasonably subject to dispute and are capable of immediate and accurate determination by resort to sources of reasonably indisputable accuracy,” and thus are not the appropriate subject of judicial notice.

Based on the foregoing, Plaintiff’s motion for request for judicial notice is denied. 

It is so ordered.

Dated:  July    , 2024

   Hon. Jon R. Takasugi
   Judge of the Superior Court

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the court at smcdept17@lacourt.org by 4 p.m. the day prior as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org.  If a party submits on the tentative, the party’s email must include the case number and must identify the party submitting on the tentative.  If all parties to a motion submit, the court will adopt this tentative as the final order.  If the department does not receive an email indicating the parties are submitting on the tentative and there are no appearances at the hearing, the motion may be placed off calendar.  For more information, please contact the court clerk at (213) 633-0517.