Judge Lee W. Tsao, Case Number: 22NWCV00827, Date: 2024-01-24 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Lee W. Tsao, Case: 22NWCV00827, Date: 2024-01-24 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22NWCV00827 Hearing Date: January 24, 2024 Dept: C

kaizou group v. pan, et al.

CASE NO.: 22NWCV00827

HEARING: 1/24/24 @ 9:30 AM

Defendants’ Motion for Leave to File their Cross-Complaint is GRANTED.

Moving Party to give NOTICE.

Defendants Sang “Tony” Pan and Julie Pan (collectively Defendants) move for leave to file a cross-complaint.

Background

On September 13, 2022, Plaintiff Kaizou Group, Inc. (Plaintiff) filed a Complaint against Defendants alleging Breach of Contract and Common Counts related to allegedly unpaid invoices in the amount of $703,484.00 for goods provided to Defendants by Plaintiff. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants failed to make payments from November 24, 2021 to June 2, 2022. Plaintiff attached the invoices to its Complaint.

Legal Standard

A party shall file a cross-complaint against any of the parties who filed the complaint or cross-complaint against him or her before or at the same time as the answer to the complaint or cross-complaint. (CCP § 428.50(a).) Any other cross-complaint may be filed at any time before the court has set a date for trial. (CCP § 428.50(b).) A party shall obtain leave of court to file any cross-complaint except one filed within the time specified in subdivision (a) or (b). Leave may be granted in the interest of justice at any time during the course of the action. (CCP § 428.50(c).) Where the proposed cross-complaint arises out of the same transaction as plaintiff’s claim, the court must grant leave to file the cross-complaint so long as defendant is acting in good faith. (CCP § 426.50.)

Discussion

Defendants seek leave to file a cross-complaint against Plaintiff and Shang Yang Zhao for:

1. Common Counts – Money Had and Received

2. Common Counts – Open Book Account

3. Conversion

4. Accounting

5. Unjust Enrichment

6. Declaratory Relief

Defendants allege in their Cross-Complaint that they overpaid for the goods they received from Plaintiff. Defendants’ claims arise from the same transaction as Plaintiff’s Complaint and leave to file the Cross-Complaint must be granted if Defendants acted in good faith. The court finds that Defendants acted in good faith because they discovered the evidence for their claims while responding to discovery propounded by Plaintiff in this action. (Pan Decl., ¶¶ 3-4.) Thus, Defendants must be granted leave to file their Cross-Complaint.

Accordingly, Defendants’ Motion for Leave to File their Cross-Complaint is GRANTED. Defendants are to file the attached Cross-Complaint within 5 days of this Order.