Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 21SMCV01794, Date: 2022-12-06 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: 21SMCV01794    Hearing Date: December 6, 2022    Dept: R

The motion to be relieved as counsel is GRANTED.   The court will sign the order.  The court notes that the matter is set for trial in July 2023.  Defendants should be sure to obtain new counsel quickly so that they will be ready for trial.  Further, defendants other than humans can only appear through counsel—even their owners cannot represent them.  Accordingly, absent counsel, they will ultimately be in default.