Judge: Mark C. Kim, Case: 20STCV36807, Date: 2023-03-02 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV36807    Hearing Date: March 2, 2023    Dept: S27

1.     Background Facts

This is a professional negligence action brought by Plaintiff Victoria Castillo (“Plaintiff”) against Defendants Mohammad Massoudian, M.D., Cynthia Chao, M.D., and Universal Medical Imaging of Downey for alleged negligent medical care and treatment of Plaintiff. On January 31, 2022, Plaintiff made amendments to her complaint to add a products liability cause of action against Johnson & Johnson Defendants, specifically naming Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., and LTL Management LLC.

On July 8, 2022, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, LTL Management LLC filed a Notice of Bankruptcy Proceedings as to Johnson & Johnson and its corporate affiliates. (Exhibit “B”). Despite such notice, to date, there has been no automatic stay entered in this case under Bankruptcy Code section 362.

Defendant Massoudian moves to stay the case.

2.     Motion to Stay

“Upon the filing of a bankruptcy proceeding, federal bankruptcy law imposes an automatic stay on all state and federal proceedings outside the bankruptcy court against the debtor and the debtor's property.” (11 U.S.C. § 362(a)).

Here, a Notice of Bankruptcy Filing and Stay of Proceedings was filed on July 8, 2022 as to the Johnson & Johnson Defendants. Thus, they are the debtors that the stay is in place for. Accordingly, there is no automatic stay of the case as to Defendant Massoudian.

Nonetheless, the parties entered into a stipulation to continue the trial “in order for there be sufficient time to bring in the J and J defendant and conduct necessary discovery to ready this case for trial,” which was signed by the Court on August 2, 2022.

On October 11, 2022, the Court held a case management conference in which the Minute Order states, “[c]ounsel indicate that defendant Johnson and Johnson remain in bankruptcy but that case should proceed.”

While counsel may have represented to the Court in October that the case should proceed, there is no opposition to the instant motion. Further, Defendant Massoudian asserts that he is entitled to the opportunity to file a potential cross-complaint against codefendants or evaluate the damages of this action in the context of joint and several liability, which he cannot do while Johnson & Johnson is occupied in Bankruptcy court. Based on thereon, and the parties’ previous position that to wait for Johnson & Johnson Defendants to proceed to trial, the Court finds good cause to stay the case until the bankruptcy action has been resolved. The parties may move to lift the stay at any time.

The motion is granted.

Moving Defendant is ordered to give notice.