Judge Lee W. Tsao, Case Number: 22NWCV01091, Date: 2023-11-09 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Lee W. Tsao, Case: 22NWCV01091, Date: 2023-11-09 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22NWCV01091 Hearing Date: November 9, 2023 Dept: C

SIMMONS v. COLIMA PROFESSIONAL BUILDING

CASE NO.: 22NWCV01091

HEARING: 11/09/23

Defendants COLIMA PROFESSIONAL BUILDING, LLC and VICTOR FAHMY KHALIL’s Demurrer to Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint is SUSTAINED with 20 days leave to amend.

Moving Party to give notice.

This breach of lease action was filed by Plaintiffs ELAINE M. SIMMONS and JANET K. CUNNINGHAM (“Plaintiffs”) on October 24, 2022. On May 16, 2023, the operative First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) was filed.

The FAC alleges the following relevant facts: “Plaintiffs… are individuals each owning and [sic] undivided 50% interest in certain real property located at 9209 Colima Road, Whittier, California.” (FAC ¶1.) “On or about August 31, 1962, William L. Simmons, as owner, entered into a written long-term lease with William G. Greschner Co. with respect to the real property…. [¶] The property and the Lease were subsequently transferred to the Simmons Family Trust. Plaintiffs herein, Elaine M. Simmons and Janet K. Cunningham, each acquired a one-half interest in the property and the Lease as beneficiaries of the Simmons Family Trust….” (FAC ¶¶7-8.) “Defendant Khalil acquired lessee’s interest in the Lease in or about November 1996. Mr. Khalil conveyed the leasehold to his company, defendant Colima Professional Building, LLC, on or about June 24, 2019.” (FAC ¶9.) “Defendants are currently paying monthly rent of $4,679.16. However, plaintiffs are informed and believe that the actual value of the property (excluding improvements) is actually $6,000,000.00, and monthly rental, commencing January 1, 2023, should be about $30,000.00.” (FAC ¶11.)

The FAC asserts the following causes of action: (1) Specific Performance; (2) Breach of Contract; and (3) Declaratory Relief.

Defendants demur to the FAC arguing: (1) Plaintiffs lack standing to sue as beneficiaries of the Simmons Family Trust; (2) The FAC fails to establish the first through third claims against Defendant VICTOR KHALIL because the FAC alleges on its face that COLIMA PROFESSIONAL BUILDING, LLC, and not Victor Khalil as an individual, is a party to the lease; and (3) Specific Performance is not a separate cause of action; and (4) Declaratory Relief is not sufficiently alleged and is duplicative of the first and second causes of action.

Standing is a threshold element required to state a cause of action. To have standing to sue, a person must “have a real interest in the ultimate adjudication because he ha suffered or is about to suffer any injury of sufficient magnitude reasonably to assure that all of the relevant facts and issues will be adequately presented.” (Martin v. Bridgeport Community Assn., Inc. (2009) 173 Cal.App.4th 1024. 1031.)

Plaintiffs do not allege facts to show that they have standing to bring claims for damage to the Trust’s property in their individual capacities. Although ¶1 alleges that Plaintiffs undivided 50% interests in the real property at issue, ¶8 alleges that they acquired this interest as beneficiaries of the Simmins Family Trust. The general rule is that the trustee of a trust is the only person who has standing to bring actions for harm to trust property and that a beneficiary lacks standing to bring such an action. (See King v. Johnston (2009) 178 Cal.App.4th 1488, 1500.)

As beneficiaries, Plaintiffs lack standing to bring claims as individuals for harm to the Trust. The demurrer is SUSTAINED with 20 days leave to amend. Since standing is a threshold issue, the Court declines to address the additional arguments raised in the Demurrer.