Judge: Jon R. Takasugi, Case: 19STCV33111, Date: 2022-10-31 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 19STCV33111    Hearing Date: October 31, 2022    Dept: 17

Superior Court of California

County of Los Angeles

TENTATIVE RULING

DEPARTMENT 17

Plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration is DENIED.

            On September 17, 2019, Plaintiff Princess Obienu (Plaintiff) filed suit against the County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services (Defendant), alleging: (1) race/national origin discrimination; (2) disability discrimination; (3) failure to accommodate disability; (4) failure to engage in the interactive process; (5) violation of the California Family Rights Act (CFRA); (6) violation of the CFRA – Interference with Family Leave Rights; (7) violation of CFRA – retaliation; (8) failure to prevent/correct discrimination; and (9) retaliation.

            Now, Plaintiff moves for reconsideration of this Court’s ruling granting Attorney Andrew M. Wyatt’s motion to be relieved as counsel.

Discussion

As a preliminary matter, Plaintiff’s motion is untimely. Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1008, subdivision (a), a motion for reconsideration must be brought “within 10 days after service upon the party of written notice of entry of the order and based upon new or different facts, circumstances, or law, make application to the same judge or court that made the order, to reconsider the matter and modify, amend, or revoke the prior order.”  (New York Times Co. v. Superior Court (2005) 135 Cal.App.4th 206, 212.)  

Here, the court granted the motion to be relieved as counsel on 8/18/2022. Plaintiff filed an ex parte application for reconsideration on 9/27/2022—over a month later—and filed this motion on 10/7/2022. As such, Plaintiff’s motion must be denied.

However, Plaintiff’s motion also fails on the merits. In her motion, Plaintiff argues that Mr. Wyatt’s motion was frivolous and lacked good cause, and then lists in detail examples of what she believes to be Mr. Wyatt’s incompetence. However, this is not an action against Mr. Wyatt, and thus any such arguments of negligence or malpractice are not properly presented here. Plaintiff has not presented any new relevant facts or law that were not known at the time of the initial hearing that could lead the Court to revisit its conclusion.

Based on the foregoing, Plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration is denied.

It is so ordered.

Dated:  October    , 2022

   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. 

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