Judge: Marcella O. Mclaughlin, Case: 37-2023-00015027-CU-BC-CTL, Date: 2023-11-30 Tentative Ruling

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA,

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HALL OF JUSTICE

TENTATIVE RULINGS - November 29, 2023

11/30/2023  01:30:00 PM  C-72 COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO

JUDICIAL OFFICER:Marcella O McLaughlin

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Civil - Unlimited  Breach of Contract/Warranty Demurrer / Motion to Strike 37-2023-00015027-CU-BC-CTL ROBLES-ALCARAZ VS GENERAL MOTORS LLC [IMAGED] CAUSAL DOCUMENT/DATE FILED: Demurrer, 08/09/2023

A. The demurrer to the FAC is OVERRULED.

The demurrer based on the statute of limitations is overruled. The statute of limitations for a claim of fraud is three years from accrual. Code Civ. Proc. § 338(d). 'A tolling provision suspends the running of a limitations period.' Shalabi v. City of Fontana (2021) 11 Cal.5th 842, 845. One such provision is Emergency rule 9, which tolled 'the statutes of limitations and repose for civil causes of action' from April 6, 2020, until October 1, 2020.

In this case, plaintiff alleges that he purchased the vehicle on February 28, 2020. (FAC at ¶ 4.) Thus, the three-year statute of limitations ordinarily would have run on February 28, 2023. However, the 178-day tolling period provided by Emergency rule 9 extended the deadline for plaintiff to file his complaint to August 25, 2023. Accordingly, the fraud claim is not untimely.

The demurrer based on the failure to sufficiently plead the fraud claim is likewise overruled.

'Suppression of a material fact is actionable when there is a duty of disclosure, which may arise from a relationship between the parties, such as a buyer-seller relationship.' Dhital v. Nissan North America, Inc. (2022) 84 Cal.App.5th 828, 843. Fraud, including concealment, must be pleaded with specificity. Id. at 843-44.

Here, plaintiff alleges that he bought the car from a GM authorized dealership; that GM backed the car with an express warranty; and that GM's authorized dealerships are its agents for purposes of the sale of GM vehicles to consumers. (See FAC at ¶¶ 4-5, 9-10.) Plaintiff further alleges that the 8L45and 8L90 transmissions installed in numerous GM vehicles (including the vehicle plaintiff purchased) were defective; GM knew of the defects and the hazards they posed; GM had exclusive knowledge of the defects but intentionally concealed and failed to disclose that information; GM intended to deceive plaintiff by concealing known transmission problems; plaintiff would not have purchased the car if he had known of the defects; and plaintiff suffered damages in the form of money paid to purchase the car.

(See id. at ¶¶ 20, 31-67, 127-147.) These facts have been pled with the required particularity to state a claim for fraudulent concealment. See Dhital, supra, 84 Cal.App.5th at 844; see also Alfaro v. Community Housing Improvement System & Planning Assn., Inc. (2009) 171 Cal.App.4th 1356, 1384.

GM argues that plaintiff has not pled that GM had a duty to disclose known defects because plaintiff purchased the vehicle from a GM dealership rather than GM itself. However, GM fails to cite any authority holding as a matter of law that an automobile manufacturer owes no duty to disclose known defects to a purchaser. Moreover, a similar argument was rejected at the pleading stage in Dhital. See Calendar No.: Event ID:  TENTATIVE RULINGS

3038271  50 CASE NUMBER: CASE TITLE:  ROBLES-ALCARAZ VS GENERAL MOTORS LLC [IMAGED]  37-2023-00015027-CU-BC-CTL Dhital, 84 Cal.App.5th at 844 ('[W]e decline to hold plaintiffs' claim is barred on the ground there was no relationship requiring Nissan to disclose known defects.').

B. The motion to strike the FAC is DENIED.

For the reasons discussed above in the ruling on GM's companion demurrer, plaintiff has sufficiently alleged 'fraud' within the meaning of Civil Code section 3294(c)(3). See Nissan Motor Acceptance Cases (2021) 63 Cal.App.5th 793, 829 ('[F]raudulent concealment is an intentional tort that may support a punitive damage award.').

C. GM must file and serve an answer to the FAC by December 11, 2023.

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