Judge: Jon R. Takasugi, Case: 21STCV12443, Date: 2023-02-24 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21STCV12443    Hearing Date: February 24, 2023    Dept: 17

Superior Court of California

County of Los Angeles

DEPARTMENT 17

TENTATIVE RULING

Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file an amended complaint is GRANTED.

On 4/1/2021, Plaintiffs Caruso Affiliated Holdings, LLC, Caruso Management Company, Ltd., Americana Housing L.P., Americana Homes, LLC, Americana Homes II, LLC, and the Americana at Brand, LLC (collectively, Plaintiffs), filed suit against Allied World Assurance Company (U.S.) Inc., (AWAC) Endurance American Specialty Insurance Company, Endurance Assurance Corporation, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Insurance Brokers of California (Gallagher). On 1/10/2023, Plaintiffs filed a first amended complaint (FAC) alleging: (1) declaratory relief; (2) reformation; (3) negligence; (4) negligent misrepresentation; and (5) breach of fiduciary duty.

Now, Plaintiffs move for leave to file an amended complaint.

Discussion

            Plaintiffs seek leave to amend to file an amended complaint. Plaintiffs argue that leave is appropriate because they do not seek to add any substantive allegations, parties, or causes of action, but rather seek to substantially narrow the scope of the case to the named insured issues arising from the operations policies issued by AWAC and Sompo.

“This statutory provision giving the courts the power to permit amendments in furtherance of justice has received a very liberal interpretation by the courts of this state.” (Klopstock v. Superior Court (1941) Cal.2d 13, 19. The policy favoring leave to amend is so strong that it is an abuse of discretion to deny an amendment unless the adverse party can show meaningful prejudice, such as the running of the statute of limitations, trial delay, the loss of critical evidence, or added preparation costs.  (Atkinson v. Elk Corp. (2003) 109 Cal.App.4th 739, 761.)

            Here, the Court agrees that it is in the interests of justice and judicial economy to   allow Plaintiffs to file an updated complaint which removes allegations no longer relevant to Plaintiffs’ narrowed claims. Importantly, there is no indication that this will result in prejudice to any party.

            Based on the foregoing, Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file an amended complaint is granted.

It is so ordered.

Dated:  February    , 2023

   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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