Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 23SMCV00126, Date: 2023-09-27 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23SMCV00126    Hearing Date: September 28, 2023    Dept: I

The unopposed demurrer is SUSTAINED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND.

Plaintiff sues for an alleged breach of some kind by the HOA.  However, plaintiff does not attach the CC&R’s at issue, nor does plaintiff quote the appropriate part.  Plaintiff must do so.  Further, defendant contends that plaintiff never attempted alternative dispute resolution as required by the CC&R’s before suing.  Plaintiff will need to address that.  The court understands that plaintiff contends that the HOA (or the trustees) know exactly what the problems are, and that may well be true.  But the complaint needs to specify it properly so that the court knows as well in a binding and proper way.  That is a problem that can be cured; plaintiff’s case is not being thrown out of court.  But plaintiff must do it correctly.

Plaintiff must also adhere to the normal formatting rules. 

Plaintiff has 30 days’ leave to amend.  The new complaint should conform to all formatting rules.  While the court understands that plaintiff claims he cannot afford counsel, there are some free or very low-cost resources that are available to self-represented litigants and plaintiff ought to avail himself of them.  The court does not advise or recommend particular organizations, but they can be found on the web.

The court also notes that the Civil Code section 5950 requires that certain things be filed with the complaint.  The court is not sure that they have yet been filed.  Plaintiff should be sure to file them with the amended pleading.  The failure to do so could cause defendant to demur again and seek to have the case dismissed without the chance to amend again. On the other hand, it is not clear to the court that this requirement applies to a suit against the trustees.