Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 21SMCV00857, Date: 2024-01-18 Tentative Ruling

If the parties wish to submit on the tentative ruling and avoid a court appearance on the matter, the moving party must contact the opposing party and all other parties who have appeared in the action and confirm that each will submit on the tentative ruling. Please call the court no later than 4:30 p.m. on the court day before the hearing, leave a message with the court clerk at (310) 260-3629 advising her that all parties will submit on the tentative ruling and waive hearing, and finally, serve notice of the Court's ruling on all parties entitled to receive service. If any party declines to submit on the tentative ruling, then no telephone call is necessary, and all parties should appear at the hearing.

Case Number: 21SMCV00857    Hearing Date: April 10, 2024    Dept: I

The motion to strike is DENIED.  The court agrees that the case is odd.  UMRO’s cross complaint against the former tenant was served very late, and the former tenant’s cross complaint later still.  But having said that, given that the case has been severed (and the remainder of the case has settled), the court is hard pressed to see the prejudice.  Cross-defendants are correct that leave of court was required to file the cross-complaint, and technically the court would be within its rights to grant the motion to strike on that basis.  But all that accomplishes is that cross-complainant will bring a motion for leave to file the cross-complaint, which would likely be granted.  Accordingly, the court believes that the better practice is to allow the cross-complaint to proceed.  The court notes that the motion was far stronger when filed.  At that time, trial was imminent in the remainder of the case and this part of the case had not been severed.  Thus, if this motion were denied, the trial would have been continued for many months.  But that is no longer the case.

Cross-defendants are to answer or otherwise respond to the cross-complaint within 30 days.  As that order implies, cross-defendants are at liberty to file a demurrer on any ground that they believe has merit, and they may also file a cross-complaint against the cross-complainant.  The court wonders whether the right answer is for all parties to stand down at this time, but of course the court is not so ordering.