Judge: Marcella O. Mclaughlin, Case: 37-2022-00032285-CU-OR-CTL, Date: 2024-01-12 Tentative Ruling

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA,

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HALL OF JUSTICE

TENTATIVE RULINGS - January 11, 2024

01/12/2024  01:30:00 PM  C-72 COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO

JUDICIAL OFFICER:Marcella O McLaughlin

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Civil - Unlimited  Other Real Property Motion Hearing (Civil) 37-2022-00032285-CU-OR-CTL VASCONEZ VS U STORE IT [IMAGED] CAUSAL DOCUMENT/DATE FILED: Motion to Reclassify, 10/26/2023

A. The unopposed motion to reclassify plaintiff's limited civil case to small claims is DENIED.

As an initial matter, the court notes that the case is currently classified as an unlimited case, rather than a limited case.

Turning to the merits, the court is unable to grant the requested relief pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 403.040. The 'jurisdictional classification' of a case means its classification as a limited civil case or an unlimited civil case. Code Civ. Proc. § 32.5. A limited civil case is defined to include a small claims case. Code Civ. Proc. § 87(a). Defendants have not cited any authority holding that a case may be reclassified as a small claims action.

The court likewise cannot transfer this case – which was filed nearly 18 months ago – to the small claims division. '[T]he purpose of small claims court is to quickly and inexpensively resolve small civil disputes[.]' Rosenberg v Superior Court (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 860, 863. 'Speedy and low-cost resolution of small claims is only possible when the claim is initially filed in small claims court and immediately subject to the abbreviated small claims procedures.' Id. at 868 (emphasis added).

Accordingly, 'if a claimant chooses to file a limited civil case, the action cannot be transferred to the small claims division.' Weil & Brown, Cal. Practice Guide: Civil Procedure Before Trial (The Rutter Group) at ¶ 3:122.55.

B. The court, on its own motion, orders that the action be reclassified as a limited case. Code Civ. Proc.

§§ 403.020(a), 403.040(a). The parties should attend the hearing prepared to assist the court in resetting the case for trial.

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