Judge Lee W. Tsao, Case Number: 22NWCV01519, Date: 2024-02-16 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Lee W. Tsao, Case: 22NWCV01519, Date: 2024-02-16 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22NWCV01519 Hearing Date: February 16, 2024 Dept: C

Jane D.B. Doe v. City of Whittier et al., 22NWCV01519

Plaintiff’s Ex Parte Application for Order to Name and Serve Defendant Doe Police Corporal is DENIED without prejudice. Plaintiff’s Certificate of Corroborative Fact does not meet the requirements of CCP 340.1(m), which states:

“The application [to amend the complaint to substitute the name of the defendant or defendants for the fictitious designation] shall be accompanied by a certificate of corroborative fact executed by the attorney for the plaintiff. The certificate shall declare that the attorney has discovered one or more facts corroborative of one or more of the charging allegations against a defendant or defendants, and shall set forth in clear and concise terms the nature and substance of the corroborative fact. If the corroborative fact is evidenced by the statement of a witness or the contents of a document, the certificate shall declare that the attorney has personal knowledge of the statement of the witness or of the contents of the document, and the identity and location of the witness or document shall be included in the certificate. For purposes of this section, a fact is corroborative of an allegation if it confirms or supports the allegation. The opinion of any mental health practitioner concerning the plaintiff shall not constitute a corroborative fact for purposes of this section.”

Plaintiff supplements the Certificate of Corroborative Fact she previously filed which the court determined was insufficient. (Minute Order, October 20, 2023.) This Certificate of Corroborative Fact also fails, as a matter of law, to “confirm or support the allegation.” Plaintiff offers no facts which corroborate unlawful activity. Accordingly, the Application for Order to Name and Serve Defendant Doe Police Corporal is DENIED without prejudice. The Certificate of Corroborative Fact shall be kept under seal pursuant to CCP340.1(o).