Judge: Lee S. Arian, Case: 22STCV10743, Date: 2024-10-23 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22STCV10743    Hearing Date: October 23, 2024    Dept: 27

Hon. Lee S. Arian, Dept 27

MOTION TO CONTINUE TRIAL

Hearing Date: 10/23/24 

CASE NO./NAME: 22STCV10743 KARINA BAUTISTA, et al. vs RALPH'S FOOD 4 LESS 

Moving Party: Both Parties

Responding Party: Unopposed

Notice: Sufficient 

Ruling: MOTION TO CONTINUE TRIAL IS DENIED

On March 29, 2022, Plaintiff filed the present slip-and-fall case. Trial is currently set for November 21, 2024. The parties stipulate to a trial continuance and move the court to continue the trial date based on the following reasons: the parties have scheduled a mediation with Mitch Green, Esq. for January 23, 2025; Plaintiff still needs to depose Defendant’s employee, Ryan Gomez; and, though not entirely clear from the Motion, it appears that Defendant still seeks to perform an Independent Medical Examination (IME) on Plaintiff.

This case was filed on March 29, 2022, Discovery should have been completed by now in this straightforward slip-and-fall case. The Court acknowledges the outstanding discovery matters cited by the parties, but, except for the delayed deposition of Mr. Gomez, no reason is provided why other discovery has not been completed or cannot be completed prior to trial.  With regard to mediation, the parties have known about the current trial date since they last requested a continuance.  The parties should have scheduled mediation consistent with that trial date. 

The Court is supposed to ensure that civil cases conclude in 2 years (see CRC 2.2). This case appears to be an uncomplicated slip and fall case that has been at issue for more than 2 years; minimal fact discovery remains to be completed and expert discovery can be completed in the time remaining.  The Court will re-open fact discovery for the deposition of Mr. Gomez and for Defendant to conduct an IME.  The Court will not, however, continue the trial date.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: 

If a party intends to submit on this tentative ruling,¿the party must send an email to the court at¿sscdept27@lacourt.org¿with the Subject line “SUBMIT” followed by the case number.¿The body of the email must include the hearing date and time, counsel’s contact information, and the identity of the party submitting.

Unless¿all¿parties submit by email to this tentative ruling, the parties should arrange to appear remotely (encouraged) or in person for oral argument.¿You should assume that others may appear at the hearing to argue.

If the parties neither submit nor appear at hearing, the Court may take the motion off calendar or adopt the tentative ruling as the order of the Court.¿ After the Court has issued a tentative ruling, the Court may prohibit the withdrawal of the subject motion.