Judge Lee S. Arian, Case Number: 23STCV25948, Date: 2024-03-25 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Lee S. Arian, Case: 23STCV25948, Date: 2024-03-25 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23STCV25948 Hearing Date: March 25, 2024 Dept: 27

Hon. Lee S. Arian¿¿¿

Department 27¿¿¿

Tentative Ruling¿¿¿

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Hearing Date: 3/25/2024 at 1:30 p.m.¿¿¿

Case No./Name: 23STCV25948 JANE DOE, AN INDIVIDUAL vs SOOTHE, INC

Motion: Motion to Strike Punitive Damage

Moving Party: Defendant Jhonatan Aleman

Responding Party: Plaintiff¿

Notice: Sufficient¿¿¿

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Ruling: DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO STRIKE PUNITIVE DAMAGES IS GRANTED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND.

Background

On October 24, 2023, Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging sexual assault during a sports massage therapy session. Plaintiff sued Defendant Jhonatan Aleman for assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) and requested punitive damages for each cause of action. Defendant moved the Court to strike allegations relating to punitive damages, arguing Plaintiff pled only conclusory allegations or the facts alleged do not rise to the level required for a request for punitive damages. Specifically, Defendant seeks to strike paragraphs 16, 22, and 28 of the complaint, all three of which state: “Defendant JOHNATHAN ALEMAN’s outrageous, malicious, oppressive, and despicable conduct as set forth above was intended to cause injury to Plaintiff and subjected Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship with a willful and conscious disregard for Plaintiff’s rights and safety such that Defendant is subject to punitive damages as set forth in California Civil Code § 3294.”

Legal Standard

The court may, upon a motion, or at any time in its discretion, and upon terms it deems proper, strike any irrelevant, false, or improper matter inserted in any pleading. (Code Civ. Proc., § 436(a).) The court may also strike all or any part of any pleading not drawn or filed in conformity with the laws of this state, a court rule, or an order of the court. (Id., § 436(b).) The grounds for a motion to strike are that the pleading has irrelevant, false or improper matter, or has not been drawn or filed in conformity with laws. (Id. § 436.) The grounds for moving to strike must appear on the face of the pleading or by way of judicial notice. (Id. § 437.)

Punitive damages may be imposed where it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud, or malice. (Civ. Code § 3294, subd. (a).)¿ “Malice’ means conduct which is intended by the defendant to cause injury to the plaintiff or despicable conduct which is carried on by the defendant with a willful and conscious disregard of the rights or safety of others.” (Civil Code section 3294 (c)(1).) Under the statute, malice does not require actual intent to harm. Conscious disregard for the safety of another may be sufficient where the defendant is aware of the probable dangerous consequences of his or her conduct and he or she willfully fails to avoid such consequences. (Pfeifer v.John Crane, Inc. (2013) 220 Cal.App.4th 1270, 1299.) ‘Despicable’ is a powerful term that refers to circumstances that are ‘base,’ ‘vile,’ or ‘contemptible.’ (College Hospital, Inc. v. Superior Court (1994) 8 Cal.4th 704, 725.)¿

A plaintiff must assert facts with specificity to support a conclusion that a defendant acted with oppression, fraud, or malice.¿ To wit, there is a heightened pleading requirement regarding a claim for punitive damages.¿ (Smith v. Superior Court (1992) 10 Cal.App.4th 1033, 1041-1042.)¿ “When nondeliberate injury is charged, allegations that the defendant’s conduct was wrongful, willful, wanton, reckless or unlawful do not support a claim for exemplary damages; such allegations do not charge malice. (G. D. Searle & Co. v. Superior Court (1975) 49 Cal.App.3d 22, 29.)

Analysis and Conclusion

The Court examined the complaint and finds that most allegations related to punitive damages are conclusory and lack specificity. For instance, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant JHONATAN ALEMAN “intentionally acted with the intent to cause harmful contact, sexually assaulted Plaintiff JANE DOE. (Complaint ¶ 10). “Defendant JHONATAN ALEMAN’s malicious and oppressive despicable conduct set forth above was intended to cause injury to the Plaintiff.” (Complaint ¶¶16, 22 & 28.) Defendant JHONATAN ALEMAN sexually assaulted Plaintiff as he massaged her. (Complaint ¶12.) These statements are legal conclusions not facts pled with specificity.

The only somewhat detailed factual allegation to support the requested punitive damages is still not sufficiently specific. The Complaint states that “During the massage, Defendant JHONATAN ALEMAN asked Plaintiff if she wanted her chest area worked on and she agreed. However, as Defendant JHONATAN ALEMAN proceeded with the massage, he began to rub her exposed breast hard and inappropriately making her feel very uncomfortable. Defendant JHONATAN ALEMAN commented on her nipple piercing stating that he found them sexy.” (Complaint at ¶ 7.) The complaint lacks sufficient facts to differentiate between a “hard” chest massage and sexual assault. The term “inappropriately” is vague and conclusory. Defendant’s comment regarding the piercing does not suffice to establish malice. The complaint lacks allegations such as whether Defendant persisted despite, for instance, Plaintiff's requesting Defendant to stop or other specific facts regarding the alleged sexual assault that could be sufficient to establish malice.

The Court finds a reasonable probability that specific facts demonstrating malice can be alleged. Consequently, Defendant's motion to strike is GRANTED with leave to amend.

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 without leave.