Judge: Marcella O. Mclaughlin, Case: 37-2018-00064199-CU-WT-CTL, Date: 2024-05-10 Tentative Ruling

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA,

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TENTATIVE RULINGS - May 09, 2024

05/10/2024  09:00:00 AM  C-72 COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO

JUDICIAL OFFICER:Marcella O McLaughlin

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Civil - Unlimited  Wrongful Termination Motion Hearing (Civil) 37-2018-00064199-CU-WT-CTL ROMERO VS AL KOURAINY MD [IMAGED] CAUSAL DOCUMENT/DATE FILED: Motion to Dismiss, 04/16/2024

Defendant's unopposed motion to dismiss for lack of prosecution is DENIED without prejudice.

Code of Civil Procedure section 583.310 requires an action to 'be brought to trial within five years after the action is commenced against the defendant.' Emergency rule 10(a), adopted by the Judicial Council of California during the COVID-19 pandemic, extends the five-year period by six months for cases filed on or before April 6, 2020.

Here, plaintiff filed her complaint on December 19, 2018. The five-year period therefore ended on December 19, 2023. Adding the six-month extension under Emergency rule 10(a) brings the deadline to June 19, 2024. Thus, the five-year and six-month statute of limitations period under section 583.310 and Emergency rule 10(a) has not yet expired.

Defendant's reliance on Ables v. A. Ghazale Brothers, Inc. (2022) 74 Cal.App.5th 823 is misplaced.

Ables dealt with a different statute – i.e., Code of Civil Procedure section 583.340 – and did not make any determination regarding the validity of Emergency rule 10(a). See Barron v. Santa Clara County Valley Transportation Authority (2023) 97 Cal.App.5th 1115, 1125-26 (finding Ables 'inapplicable' to section 583.310).

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