Judge: Jon R. Takasugi, Case: BC683153, Date: 2022-08-11 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: BC683153    Hearing Date: August 11, 2022    Dept: 17

Superior Court of California

County of Los Angeles

DEPARTMENT 17

TENTATIVE RULING

            Plaintiff’s motion for sanctions is DENIED.

On November 13, 2017, Plaintiff Winnetka Vaden (Plaintiff) initiated this action against Joseph Collins (Collins) and Punch TV Studios, Inc. (Punch). On August 21, 2019, Plaintiff filed a second amended complaint (SAC) for breach of contract.

            Plaintiff, representing herself in pro per, now moves for sanctions.

Discussion

As a preliminary matter, Plaintiff’s motion is accompanied by an incomplete proof of service. It indicates electronic service on Joseph Collins, but does not provide the email address to which service was made. As a result, the Court is unable to determine whether or not proper service of the motion was made.

Second, CCP section 128.5, subdivision (f)(1)(B) mandates a 21-day waiting period between notice of a motion for sanctions and the motion being filed with the Court. Here, Plaintiff does not provide any indication that she complied with the 21-day safe harbor provision.

Because of these procedural deficiencies, the Court cannot reach the merits of Plaintiff’s motion.

It is so ordered.

Dated:  August    , 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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