Judge: Mark A. Young, Case: 22SMCV00385, Date: 2023-05-11 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 22SMCV00385 Hearing Date: May 11, 2023 Dept: M
CASE NAME: Secured Investments and Holdings Co.
Inc. v.Azzurra Homeowners’ Association, et al.
CASE NO.: 22SMCV00385
MOTION: Motion
for Summary Adjudication
HEARING DATE: 5/11/2023
Legal
Standard
A party may move for summary
judgment in any action or proceeding if it is contended the action has no merit
or that there is no defense to the action or proceeding. (CCP, § 437c(a).) “The
purpose of the law of summary judgment is to provide courts with a mechanism to
cut through the parties' pleadings in order to determine whether, despite their
allegations, trial is in fact necessary to resolve their dispute.” (Aguilar
v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (2001) 25 Cal.4th 826, 843.)
“A party may move for summary adjudication as
to one or more causes of action within an action, one or more affirmative
defenses, one or more claims for damages, or one or more issues of duty, if the
party contends that the cause of action has no merit, that there is no
affirmative defense to the cause of action, that there is no merit to an
affirmative defense as to any cause of action, that there is no merit to a
claim for damages, as specified in Section 3294 of the Civil Code, or that
one or more defendants either owed or did not owe a duty to the plaintiff or
plaintiffs.” (CCP, § 437c(f)(1).) If a party seeks summary
adjudication as an alternative to a request for summary judgment, the request
must be clearly made in the notice of the motion. (Gonzales v. Superior
Court (1987) 189 Cal.App.3d 1542, 1544.) “[A] party may move for
summary adjudication of a legal issue or a claim for damages other than
punitive damages that does not completely dispose of a cause of action,
affirmative defense, or issue of duty pursuant to” subdivision (t).
(CCP, § 437c(t).)
To
prevail, the evidence submitted must show there is no triable issue as to any
material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of
law. (CCP, § 437c(c).) The motion cannot succeed unless the
evidence leaves no room for conflicting inferences as to material facts; the
court has no power to weigh one inference against another or against other
evidence. (Murillo v. Rite Stuff Food Inc. (1998) 65 Cal.App.4th
833, 841.) In determining whether the facts give rise to a triable issue of
material fact, “[a]ll doubts as to whether any material, triable, issues of
fact exist are to be resolved in favor of the party opposing summary judgment…”
(Gold v. Weissman (2004) 114 Cal.App.4th 1195, 1198-99.) “In other
words, the facts alleged in the evidence of the party opposing summary judgment
and the reasonable inferences there from must be accepted as true.” (Jackson
v. County of Los Angeles (1997) 60 Cal.App.4th 171, 179.) However, if
adjudication is otherwise proper the motion “may not be denied on grounds of
credibility,” except when a material fact is the witness’s state of
mind and “that fact is sought to be established solely by the [witness’s]
affirmation thereof.” (CCP, § 437c(e).)
Once
the moving party has met their burden, the burden shifts to the opposing party
“to show that a triable issue of one or more material facts exists as to that
cause of action or a defense thereto.” (CCP § 437c(p)(1).) “[T]here is no obligation on the opposing party... to establish
anything by affidavit unless and until the moving party has by affidavit stated
facts establishing every element... necessary to sustain a judgment in his
favor.” (Consumer Cause, Inc. v. SmileCare (2001) 91
Cal.App.4th 454, 468.)
“The pleadings play a key role in a summary
judgment motion. The function of the pleadings in a motion for summary judgment
is to delimit the scope of the issues and to frame the outer measure
of materiality in a summary judgment proceeding.” (Hutton v. Fidelity
National Title Co. (2013) 213 Cal.App.4th 486, 493, quotations
and citations omitted.) “Accordingly, the burden of a defendant moving for
summary judgment only requires that he or she negate plaintiff's theories of
liability as alleged in the complaint; that is, a moving party need
not refute liability on some theoretical possibility not included in the
pleadings.” (Ibid.)
Analysis
The motion does not comply with the
strict requirements of Code of Civil Procedure section 437c(a). This subsection
requires that the “[n]otice of the motion and supporting papers shall be
served on all other parties to the action at least 75 days before the time
appointed for hearing.” (Emphasis Added.) Here, the supporting papers, i.e., the exhibits,
were not timely served upon Defendants.
The motion is premised entirely
upon counsel Blanchard’s declaration and its exhibits. It is undisputed that when
Plaintiff served the motion, they failed to attach a single exhibit referenced
therein. Plaintiff eventually served the exhibits on April 19, 2023, much less
than the required 75 days. This service did not comply with the 75-day rule
noted above. As such, the Court will not consider the late-served evidence. As demonstrated
by the separate statement, Plaintiff’s arguments are fundamentally premised on such
exhibits. (See e.g., Issue No. 1, UMF nos. 1-10 [based on Exhibits A, C, D, E,
F, H, & I.) Blanchard’s declaration
is likewise fundamentally premised on these same exhibits. Without considering
the supporting exhibits, Plaintiff cannot meet its initial burden of proof
demonstrating that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the third
cause of action. Accordingly, the motion is DENIED.