Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 23SMCV00555, Date: 2025-01-06 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: 23SMCV00555    Hearing Date: January 6, 2025    Dept: I

The matter is here for an FSC.  The court gave its FSC order on September 7, 2023.  However, no FSC materials were timely filed.  That could be because the case settled and the parties forgot to file a notice of settlement.  The court hopes that is the reason, because it would be an excellent reason.  However, if the case did not settle, the court will need to discuss the reasons why both parties seemed to ignore the court’s order.  In either case, the matter is NOT READY FOR TRIAL.  The trial date is therefore VACATED.

The court will either set an OSC re: Dismissal (Settlement) or an OSC re: sanctions against each party and each counsel not to exceed $5000 (each) for the failure to follow the court’s orders.