Judge: Lee S. Arian, Case: 22STCV18301, Date: 2024-10-15 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22STCV18301    Hearing Date: October 15, 2024    Dept: 27

Hon. Lee S. Arian, Dept 27

MOTION TO CONTINUE TRIAL 

Hearing Date: 10/15/24 

CASE NO./NAME: 22STCV18301 ALEXANDER KANAKIS vs ANSCHUTZ ENTERTAINMENT GROUP et al.

Moving Party: Defendant SSA Enterprises, LLC

Responding Party: Plaintiff

Notice: Sufficient 

Ruling: MOTION TO CONTINUE TRIAL IS GRANTED

On June 3, 2022, Plaintiff filed this premises liability action arising from an incident at the Coachella Music Festival. Plaintiff alleges that on April 18, 2022, while working as a sound engineer, a large light fixture rolled off the stage and onto his lower back, causing him to suffer three fractured vertebrae. Plaintiff claims that the wheels on the light fixture were not properly locked. Trial is currently set for December 9, 2024.

There are 18 defendants named in the case, and so far 8 defendants have responded. Defendant SSA Enterprises, LLC, the moving party, only appeared in the case recently on July 24, 2024. As the case progresses, more defendants are expected to appear.

Defendant SSA now moves to continue the trial date to December 2025, citing the need for additional time to conduct discovery, including written discovery, depositions of Plaintiff, defendants, cross-defendants, and expert discovery. Additionally, SSA indicates that new parties are still being added, which will require more time to address discovery with respect to those parties. SSA also requests the continuance to accommodate a mediation that is scheduled to take place in July or August 2025.

Plaintiff opposes only the length of the requested continuance, suggesting that a trial continuance to June 2025 would provide sufficient time for discovery, mediation, and trial preparation. Plaintiff argues that much of the discovery is already underway, and additional discovery involving newly added parties can be completed by the end of the year.

While Plaintiff’s position is understandable, the Court must account for several additional factors. Defendant SSA only appeared in this case in July 2024, and discovery is still in its early stages for SSA. Moreover, new defendants are being added, and these newly added parties must be given adequate time to prepare their defenses, participate in discovery, and conduct their own investigations into the claims. The scope of this case, involving numerous defendants, justifies a more extended continuance than Plaintiff suggests.

Given the number of defendants and the expected addition of more new parties, the Court finds good cause to continue the trial for about one year, to October 2025. The new trial date is set for October ____, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. The Final Status Conference is continued to October ____, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. All case-related deadlines will follow the ed new 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.