Judge: Lawrence Cho, Case: 23STUD12556, Date: 2025-05-23 Tentative Ruling

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Case Number: 23STUD12556    Hearing Date: May 23, 2025    Dept: K

CASE NAME:           SYLVIA GALVAN v. KENNEDY MIRANDA       

CASE NO.:                23STUD12556                       

HEARING:                5/23/25                                              

TRIAL DATES:        3/25/25-3/28/25

CALENDAR #:         Dept. K                                                                      

TENTATIVE RULING

DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL                                HELD:  DENIED                       

                                                                BACKGROUND

This was an unlawful detainer action brought by Plaintiff/Landlord (“LL”) for Defendant/Tenant’s (“T”) failure to pay rent.  Initially, LL served T a Notice to Quit both for failure to pay rent and also for breach of covenants of the lease.  However, on the day before trial on 3/24/25, LL announced that she was dismissing on the breach of covenant cause of action and electing to proceed to trial only on the failure to pay rent cause of action.  T objected to the dismissal but was overruled.

Jury trial began on 3/25/25 on the failure to pay rent cause of action and T raised several procedural defenses as well as breach of warranty of habitability.  On 3/28/25 the jury returned a verdict in favor of LL and awarded back rent of $6,680.  Parties stipulated to holdover damages which resulted in a net award of $35,000 plus $330 in costs.

                                                                    ANALYSIS

A.    Motion for New Trial

 T argues that it was error for this Court to grant LL’s dismissal of the breach of covenant

cause of action because the remaining Notice to Pay Rent or Quit referenced that another Notice to Perform Covenant or Quit (“Covenant Notice”).  However, T concedes that the Covenant Notice referred to was redacted from the Notice to Pay Rent or Quit and was itself never admitted into evidence.  Moreover, neither counsel made any reference to the Covenant Notice thereto in testimony or argument. 

            T apparently does not argue that the jury was improperly prejudiced by the Covenant Notice, but instead argues that LL’s dismissal of that cause of action deprived T of the ability to present allegedly viable defenses against that dismissed cause of action.  T requests a new trial in which this Court would force LL to proceed with both causes of action.

            T’s argument is rejected as both unfounded in law and non-sensical.  As a matter of law,  LL has the right to proceed or not proceed to trial with any cause of action brought in the complaint.  Conversely, T has no right to force LL to proceed with any dismissed cause of action.  Moreover, as a practical matter, when LL dismissed the Covenant Notice cause of action before trial, T was therefore relieved of the risk of being evicted on that cause of action as well as relieved of the burden of having to present a defense to that cause of action.  No matter how desirous T was in contesting to the jury the dismissed Covenant cause of action, there is simply no authority giving T the right to force LL to proceed with that dismissed cause of action.   For these reasons, T’s motion for a new trial is DENIED.