Judge Lee W. Tsao, Case Number: 23NWCV02313, Date: 2024-09-10 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Lee W. Tsao, Case: 23NWCV02313, Date: 2024-09-10 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23NWCV02313 Hearing Date: September 10, 2024 Dept: C

National Commercial Recovery, Inc. vs Bachi Yaki, Inc., et al.

Case No.: 23NWCV02313

Hearing Date: September 10, 2024 @ 10:30 a.m.

Tentative Ruling

Plaintiff National Commercial Recovery, Inc.’s unopposed Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint is GRANTED. Plaintiff is ORDERED to file and serve the Second Amended Complaint within 10 days.

Plaintiff to give notice.

Background

Plaintiff National Commercial Recovery, Inc. (“Plaintiff”) filed a Complaint on July 25, 2023 against Defendants seeking collection of $25,707.90 in unpaid invoices for wholesale meats sold by Plaintiff's assignor, EG Meat & Provisions, Inc., to defendant between May 21, 2021, and June 11, 2021.

On September 5, 2023, Plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint which added a cause of action for Fraudulent Transfer of Real Property against Defendant SYLVIA CANTU.

Legal Standard

CRC, rule 3.1324(a) provides:

(a) Contents of motion

A motion to amend a pleading before trial must:

(1) Include a copy of the proposed amendment or amended pleading, which must be serially numbered to differentiate it from previous pleadings or amendments;

(2) State what allegations in the previous pleading are proposed to be deleted, if any, and where, by page, paragraph, and line number, the deleted allegations are located; and

(3) State what allegations are proposed to be added to the previous pleading, if any, and where, by page, paragraph, and line number,

the additional allegations are located.

(b) Supporting declaration

A separate declaration must accompany the motion and must specify:

(1) The effect of the amendment;

(2) Why the amendment is necessary and proper;

(3) When the facts giving rise to the amended allegations were discovered; and

(4) The reasons why the request for amendment was not made earlier.

“While a motion to permit an amendment to a pleading to be filed is one addressed to the discretion of the court, the exercise of this discretion must be sound and reasonable and not arbitrary or capricious. (Citation.) And it is a rare case in which ‘a court will be justified in refusing a party leave to amend his pleadings so that he may properly present his case.’ (Citation.) If the motion to amend is timely made and the granting of the motion will not prejudice the opposing party, it is error to refuse permission to amend and where the refusal also results in a party being deprived of the right to assert a meritorious cause of action or a meritorious defense, it is not only error but an abuse of discretion.” (Morgan v. Superior Court of Cal. In and For Los Angeles County (1959) 172 Cal.App.2d 527, 530.)

Discussion

Here, Plaintiff seeks leave to amend her Complaint to include a separate fraud claim against "Sylvia Cantu as Trustee of "The 20446 Willoughby Lane Trust Dated September 21, 2022". Plaintiff contends Defendant Slyvia Cantu fraudulently transferred another real property she owned into a trust "The 20446 Willoughby Lane Trust Dated September 21, 2022" without any consideration paid in exchange. The alleged fraudulent transfer involved real property located at 20446 Willoughby Lane, Northridge, CA 91326.

Further, Plaintiff seeks to amend the name of Defendant SYLVIA CANTU to add the additional aliases with the spelling of her first name as "Silvia" because that is the way it is spelled in the deeds that she recorded.

Plaintiff has fulfilled the procedural requirements of CRC, Rule 3.1324. Plaintiff’s counsel’s declaration addresses the effects of the amendments (Besnyl Decl., ¶¶ 4-6), why the amendment is necessary and proper (Besnyl Decl., ¶¶ 4 and 6), when the facts giving rise to the amended allegations were discovered (Besnyl Decl., ¶ 4), and the reasons the amendments were not made earlier (Besnyl Decl., ¶ 4).

The Court determines that Plaintiff’s motion is timely made and denying the motion would deprive Plaintiff of her right to assert a potentially meritorious cause of action.

Defendant must show that she is prejudiced by the amendment. As of September 5, 2024, Defendant has not filed an opposition.

Accordingly, Plaintiff National Commercial Recovery, Inc.’s motion for leave to file second amended complaint is GRANTED. Plaintiff is ORDERED to file and serve the Second Amended Complaint within 10 days.