Judge: Mark A. Young, Case: 21SMCV00101, Date: 2023-02-21 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 21SMCV00101 Hearing Date: February 21, 2023 Dept: M
CASE NAME: Springlife LLC, et al., v. Mobbil Inc., et al.
CASE NO.: 21SMCV00101
MOTION: Motion to Continue Trial
HEARING DATE: 2/21/2023
Legal Standard
Pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 3.1332(a), “To ensure the prompt disposition of civil cases, the dates assigned for a trial are firm. All parties and their counsel must regard the date set for trial as certain.” Under Rule 3.1332(b), “A party seeking a continuance of the date set for trial, whether contested or uncontested or stipulated to by the parties, must make the request for a continuance by a noticed motion or an ex parte application under the rules in chapter 4 of this division, with supporting declarations. The party must make the motion or application as soon as reasonably practical once the necessity for the continuance is discovered.”
Under Rule 3.1332(c), “[a]lthough continuances of trials are disfavored, each request for a continuance must be considered on its own merits. The court may grant a continuance only on an affirmative showing of good cause requiring the continuance. Circumstances that may include good cause include:
(1) The unavailability of an essential lay or expert witness because of death, illness, or other excusable circumstances;
(2) The unavailability of a party because of death, illness, or other excusable circumstances;
(3) The unavailability of trial counsel because of death, illness, or other excusable circumstances;
(4) The substitution of trial counsel, but only where there is an affirmative showing that the substitution is required in the interests of justice;
(5) The addition of a new party if:
(A) The new party has not had a reasonable opportunity to conduct discovery and prepare for trial; or
(B) The other parties have not had a reasonable opportunity to conduct discovery and prepare for trial in regard to the new party's involvement in the case;
(6) A party's excused inability to obtain essential testimony, documents, or other material evidence despite diligent efforts; or
(7) A significant, unanticipated change in the status of the case as a result of which the case is not ready for trial.”
Finally, Rule 3.1332(d) sets forth other factors that are relevant in determining whether to grant a continuance.
Analysis
Defendants seek to continue trial on this matter to complete discovery and properly prepare for trial. The Court concurs that good cause exists to grant the requested continuance. Defendants indicate that discovery has been ongoing, but due to change in Plaintiffs' counsel, responses to written discovery were delayed by approximately 8 months as Plaintiffs' counsel required time to get up to speed to respond to discovery and produce the requested records, which were voluminous in nature. Moreover, Plaintiffs' responses were deficient and required motions to compel. Following the motions heard in December 2022, Plaintiffs provided code-compliant responses.
According to the motion, the parties are working on scheduling party and non-party depositions for some time in February or March 2023. Plaintiffs have noticed the depositions of the Person Most Knowledgeable for Mobbil, Inc., Behrouz Bozorgnia, and non-parties, Stefan Duma and Sarah Havener. Defendants have noticed the deposition of David Javdan and anticipate that additional depositions will be needed in order to properly prepare for trial and defend against Plaintiffs' claims. (Custurea Decl. ¶ 4.) It is anticipated that multiple experts will be designated by each side, requiring significant time and effort to coordinate and complete expert discovery. (Custurea Decl. ¶ 6.)
The parties anticipate attending mediation in June or July 2023 after completion of the aforementioned depositions in order to attempt to resolve this matter without incurring the expense of designation of experts and extensive expert discovery. (Custurea Decl. ¶ 10.) Finally, the Court notes that this is the initial trial date in this case and no prior requests for a continuance have been made.
Based upon good cause shown, Defendants’ motion is GRANTED. The trial is continued from April 3, 2023, to October 3, 2023. All related dates are continued per code.