Judge: Lee S. Arian, Case: 22STCV07480, Date: 2025-01-10 Tentative Ruling


Case Number: 22STCV07480    Hearing Date: January 10, 2025    Dept: 27

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

 

LITA ABELLA,

                Plaintiff,

        vs.

 

STADCO LA, LLC, et al.,

 

                Defendants.

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    CASE NO.: 22STCV07480

 

[TENATIVE ORDER] DENYING MOTION FOR SECOND SITE INSPECTION

 

Dept. 27 

1:30 p.m. 

January 10, 2024

 

 

 

 

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Plaintiff seeks to compel a second site inspection at SoFi Stadium based on her contention that the first inspection was obstructed by in-house counsel of a defendant.  The parties have strikingly different versions of what occurred at the first inspection, but the following appears to be undisputed: (1) an inspection of the seating section at which the incident occurred took place; and (2) a defendant stopped Plaintiff’s expert from taking video.

Plaintiff seeks to compel the second site inspection based on a notice served on December 10, 2024, for a site inspection to be conducted on December 19, 2024.  That notice period is insufficient.  See CCP 2031,030 (c)(2) (requiring 30 days notice unless court has granted leave for an earlier date).  The Court denies the motion on this basis. 

Both parties have requested sanctions.  The Court denies the request against Plaintiff because she has been unsuccessful in her motion and thus sanctions against Defendants are unwarranted.  Sanctions against Plaintiff are warranted only because Plaintiff should have recognized that, as brought, based upon a clearly deficient notice of site inspection, the motion was without substantial justification.  The Court awards reasonable sanctions of $1000 against Plaintiff.

With regard to the substance of the issue, the Court is willing to attempt to assist the parties in reaching an informal agreement.

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the Court at SSCDEPT27@lacourt.org indicating intention to submit on the tentative as directed by the instructions provided on the court’s website at www.lacourt.org. Please be advised that if you submit on the tentative and elect not to appear at the hearing, the opposing party may nevertheless appear at the hearing and argue the matter. Unless you receive a submission from all other parties in the matter, you should assume that others might appear at the hearing to argue. If the Court does not receive emails from the parties indicating submission on this tentative ruling and there are no appearances at the hearing, the Court may, at its discretion, adopt the tentative as the final order or place the motion off calendar. 

 

__________________________ 

Hon. Lee S. Arian  

Judge of the Superior Court