Judge Mark E. Windham, Case 19STCV43553 2022-12-08 Tentative Ruling

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Defendant Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Demurrer to the Second Amended Complaint is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND.

Plaintiff Allen Dailes, IV (“Plaintiff”) brings the instant action against Defendant Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (“Defendant”) based on a motor vehicle collision prior to the death of Allen Harris aka Allen Dailes, III (“Decedent”). On July 19, 2022, the Court sustained Defendant’s Demurrer to the First Amended Complaint with leave to amend. (Minute Order, 07/19/22.) Plaintiff filed the Second Amended Complaint on August 8, 2022. On August 9, 2022, the case was transferred to the Limited Jurisdiction Court.

Defendant filed the instant Demurrer to the Second Amended Complaint on October 3, 2022. No opposition has been filed to date.

The Second Amended Complaint asserts a single cause of action for Negligent Operation Of Motor Vehicle Under Gov. Code §¿815.2(a), Civil Code §¿2100, and Vehicle Code §§¿17001, 17150, 21801 (Survival Action). Defendant demurs to the entire Second Amended Complaint and the first cause of action for failure to allege sufficient facts to state a cause of action and uncertainty. (Code Civ. Proc., § 430.10, subds. (e), (f).) The Demurrer is accompanied by a meet and confer declaration as required by Code of Civil Procedure section 430.41. (Demurrer, Liu Decl., ¶2.)

Plaintiff alleges he is entitled to bring certain causes of action as Decedent’s lawful heir. (SAC, ¶2.) It is also alleged that Flame Harris, Misty Harris and Aisha Harris are Decedent’s legal heirs but that Plaintiff has not been able to obtain their consent to join as plaintiffs in this action. (Id. at ¶¶4-6.) Flame Harris, Misty Harris and Aisha Harris, therefore, are named as nominal defendants in this action. (Ibid.) Does 41-50 are named in this action to allow any other, currently unknown, heirs of Decedent to the action in the future by doe amendment. (Id. at ¶7.)

Plaintiff alleges that Decedent sustained injuries while riding as a passenger on a bus owned and operated by Defendant that collided into another motor vehicle. Specifically, on May 10, 2019, Defendant improperly owned and/or operated Bus No. 862, on which Decedent was a passenger. (SAC, ¶¶13-14.) As a common carrier, Defendant owes passengers a duty to operate buses with the highest care, and in a safe and reasonable manner. (Id. at ¶¶15-16.) Defendant breached this duty by operating Bus No. 862 in violation of Vehicle Code section 21801, thereby causing the bus to collide with another vehicle. (Id. at ¶17.) Vehicle Code section 21801 requires drivers intending to turn left or make a U-turn to yield to approaching vehicles from the opposite direction that are close enough to constitute a hazard. (Veh. Code, § 21801, subd. (a).) As a result of Defendant’s negligence, Decedent allegedly suffered personal injuries. (SAC, ¶18.)

Statutory causes of action, including those against public entities, must be alleged with specificity. (Lopez v. Southern Cal. Rapid Transit Dist. (1985) 40 Cal.3d 780, 795.) Here, the complaint only includes conclusory allegations that Defendant improperly owned and/or operated Bus No. 862 and that the operation of the bus was in violation of Vehicle Code section 21801. These are legal conclusions, not supporting facts that show what Defendant did to improperly own or operate the bus or violate Vehicle Code section 21801. Nor are there facts alleged to show how Defendant’s conduct resulted in the injuries allegedly suffered by Decedent. The Second Amended Complaint, therefore, fails to allege sufficient facts to support the first cause of action for negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

Plaintiff has not filed an opposition to the instant Demurrer, nor otherwise demonstrated that the pleading can be amended to allege the necessary facts, as is their burden. (See Goodman v. Kennedy (1976) 18 Cal.3d 335, 348.) Therefore, the Demurrer is sustained without leave to amend.

Defendant Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Demurrer to the Second Amended Complaint is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND.