Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 23SMCV01559, Date: 2025-01-22 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23SMCV01559    Hearing Date: January 22, 2025    Dept: I

The court will discuss this with the parties.  The court does not see good cause to continue here.  Defendant’s deposition does need to occur, but it is set for a date before the trial (although not much).  The court will accept that the deposition was postponed due to an illness, although the trial was set on October 9, 2023—over a year ago—and it would seem that there has been enough time to complete discovery.  Therefore, the court would normally deny the ex parte on its merits.  However, the court will hear from the parties, however, whether there is some other reason to continue the trial and will also consider whether the court is likely to be otherwise engaged on February 10, 2025.  The parties should expect, though, that the request will most likely be denied.

The court notes that it has over 1200 matters on its docket, and it is currently setting 7 trials per week.  If a trial is continued, it means that another trial will need to get bumped, which is unfair to other litigants.  If the court had more room on its schedule, it would continue the matter given that both parties agree.