Judge: Lee S. Arian, Case: 23STCV23043, Date: 2025-05-28 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23STCV23043    Hearing Date: May 28, 2025    Dept: 27

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Background

On September 21, 2023, Plaintiff Damaris Miner filed this elder abuse and wrongful death action in Los Angeles County arising from the care provided to her father, Robert Charles Peterson, at the Villa Maria Post Acute facility located in Santa Maria, California. The Complaint alleges that between September 2021 and December 2022, Defendants Santa Maria Healthcare, Inc. and Genesis Healthcare, LLC provided substandard care that resulted in Decedent suffering multiple pressure wounds, contracting MRSA, developing osteomyelitis, and ultimately passing away in April 2023.

Plaintiff resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Complaint initially included defendants affiliated with “Trinity Health,” which had a business office in Los Angeles County, but those parties have since been dismissed. Defendants now seek to transfer venue to Santa Barbara County pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 397, subdivision (c), on the grounds that the relevant witnesses, medical providers, and subject facility are all located in Santa Barbara County, and that trial in Los Angeles County would unduly inconvenience third-party witnesses and serve no legitimate forum interest. Plaintiff did not file an opposition.

Legal Standard

Code of Civil Procedure section 397(c) provides that a court may order a change of venue when the convenience of witnesses and the ends of justice would be promoted. The statute is construed broadly in favor of transferring an action when the forum has no logical connection to the underlying events and the alternative venue is more convenient for the majority of third-party witnesses. In deciding such a motion, the Court is not required to consider the convenience of the parties unless exceptional hardship is shown. The ends of justice are promoted if, “by moving the trial closer to the residence of the witnesses, delay and expense in court proceedings and savings in the witnesses’ time and expenses are effected.” (Richfield Hotel Mgmt., Inc. v. Superior Court (1994) 22 Cal.App.4th 222, 227.)

The moving party must show (1) the identity of the non-party witnesses, (2) the substance of their expected testimony, (3) why attendance in the original forum would be inconvenient, and (4) that the proposed venue is more convenient. (Flanagan v. Flanagan (2002) 100 Cal.App.4th 1320, 1326.)

Discussion

Defendants have met their burden under section 397(c). The moving papers and attached declaration identify 53 individuals with relevant knowledge of the facts alleged in the Complaint. Forty of these witnesses reside or work in Santa Barbara County, and the remaining thirteen are located in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Tropp Decl. ¶¶ 3–4, Exs. B–C.) None of the identified witnesses reside in Los Angeles County. The alleged acts of neglect all occurred at the Villa Maria facility in Santa Maria, and Decedent resided there for more than six years prior to his transfer. The medical records, treatment providers, staff members, and internal documentation are all located in Santa Barbara County.

The only alleged connection to Los Angeles County was the location of the former Trinity defendants’ business office, but those entities are no longer parties to this action.

Because this action bears no connection to Los Angeles County, and nearly every relevant witness and factual allegation is tied to Santa Barbara County, the motion is granted.

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.