Judge: Lee S. Arian, Case: 22STCV22638, Date: 2025-06-12 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22STCV22638    Hearing Date: June 12, 2025    Dept: 27

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

This action was filed on July 13, 2022. Trial is currently set for July 9, 2025. Plaintiff now moves the court for a four-month continuance. Plaintiff cites several reasons in support of the request, including:

·        Plaintiff’s counsel’s unavailability due to paternity leave from September 2024 through January 2025;

·        Complications from his wife’s medical condition in April 2025 requiring ongoing care;

·        Disruption caused by the Palisades fire affecting both counsel’s home and office;

·        Defense counsel’s displacement from her home since January 2025, due to the Altadena wildfires;

·        An incomplete second deposition of a co-Plaintiff;

·        Pending supplemental written discovery due June 16, 2025; Mediation scheduled for June 10, 2025;

·       A purportedly conflicting trial in Brown, et al. v. USA, et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-09841, is scheduled to commence on July 21, 2025; and

·        All parties have stipulated to a continuance.

The confluence of these factors appears to warrant a short continuance.  While the Court is willing to accommodate the parties to an extent, it will discuss the continuance with the parties and specifically notes the following in relation to that discussion:

·       California Rules of Court, rule 3.714, directs that civil cases such as this are to be resolved within two years. This matter has already exceeded that timeframe by approximately one year.  (Plaintiff’s argument regarding the five-year rule is essentially irrelevant; that is not the guidepost the Court is required to use in relation to case management.)