Currently pending before the Court are Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Appleton Way LLC and Cross-Defendants Jill Latiano, Glenn Howerton, Jennifer Sutter, and Eric Brandon Gomez (“Cross-Defendants”)’s Demurrer to Cross-Complainant’s Second Amended [Cross-] Complaint and Motion to Strike. Notably, Cross-Defendants memorandum in support of the demurrer is 18 pages in length, exceeding the 15-page limit set forth in rule 3.1113(d) of the California Rules of Court. Cross-Defendants made no application to file a longer memorandum, such that their memorandum for the demurrer is considered in the same manner as a late-filed paper. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1113(g).) Further, neither the demurrer nor the motion to strike are accompanied by a meet-and-confer declaration as required by Code of Civil Procedure section 430.41, subdivision (a)(3), and section 435.5, subdivision (a)(3). The need to meet and confer is of particular importance here where Defendant/Cross-Complainant Amy Goldman (“Cross-Complainant”) has filed an excessively lengthy 86-page pleading with fifteen causes of action, and it is the Court’s position that the parties could likely resolve some of the issues raised in the demurrer and motion to strike if they met and conferred as required by statute. The parties are reminded that “[b]revity is not only the soul of wit,” it is the most effective means by which a party can present his claims to the trier of fact. (See Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch v. Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (2004) 123 Cal.App.4th 1331, 1338-1339.) Narratives, facts, and arguments can become lost among repetitive and unnecessarily lengthy accounts of events and disputes.

For these reasons, Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Appleton Way LLC and Cross-Defendants Jill Latiano, Glenn Howerton, Jennifer Sutter, and Eric Brandon Gomez’s Demurrer to Cross-Complainant’s Second Amended [Cross-] Complaint is taken off calendar, and Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Appleton Way LLC and Cross-Defendants Jill Latiano, Glenn Howerton, Jennifer Sutter, and Eric Brandon Gomez’s Motion to Strike is taken off calendar. The parties shall meet and confer in a meaningful attempt to resolve the issues presented in the demurrer and motion to strike, and Cross-Defendants may refile their demurrer and motion to strike with the required meet-and-confer declarations and within the page limit set forth in rule 3.1113(d) of the California Rules of Court.

The Court further orders that Cross-complainant file a clean copy of the 2nd Amended Cross-complaint  which inexplicably appears to be a draft of what is supposed to be a final copy.  No other changes are authorized by the Court.  

Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Appleton Way LLC and Cross-Defendants Jill Latiano, Glenn Howerton, Jennifer Sutter, and Eric Brandon Gomez to give notice.