Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 20SMCV00201, Date: 2023-04-24 Tentative Ruling
The Court generally uploads tentative rulings the morning of the hearing. Because of that, the parties cannot submit on the tentative the night before and not appear. However, if after reviewing the tentative ruling ALL COUNSEL submit, they should tell the Court's judicial assistant when checking in and the Court will endeavor to either not hear the case in light of the submission or, if the Court believes that a hearing is still needed for some other reason, then the Court will be inclined to give priority.
In some cases, tentative rulings may be given by email the morning of the hearing rather than on the tentative ruling site. Please check your email if you have not seen the tentative. The email is generally sent to the persons who have signed up for a remote hearing.
For those appearing in the courtroom, the Court will provide a hard copy of the tentative ruling.
Case Number: 20SMCV00201 Hearing Date: April 24, 2023 Dept: R
The matter is here for a final status conference. The court issued its FSC order on October 1,
2020. No FSC materials have been
received. The court is in receipt of
defendant’s request to continue the FSC.
Defendant states that there are two grounds. The first is that an unexpected and
unavoidable occurrence required that a scheduled mediation be delayed. The mediation is being rescheduled. While no one has guaranteed that the
mediation will be successful, there is at least cause to hope. The second reason is that defendant’s ability
to do business in California has been suspended by the Secretary of State. Defendant suggests that this would be cause
for a continuance. Defense counsel
states that plaintiff’s counsel has no objection.
The court is persuaded that good cause exists and the FSC will therefore be CONTINUED. The court will discuss an appropriate date. That said, the court is unclear whether defendant’s counsel can actually appear in this case for an entity that cannot do business in California. That said, the court will find some way to discuss when the FSC should be held. The court also notes that defendant will need to move quickly to get reinstated in California. The alternative is to have the answer stricken and a default taken.
The trial date of May 1, 2023 is VACATED. At this time, the discovery cut off will remain in place, but the court will discuss that at today’s hearing.