Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 24SMCV00596, Date: 2024-05-13 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 24SMCV00596    Hearing Date: May 13, 2024    Dept: I

The parties need to step up their game.

Defendant demurred to this UD action.  The demurrer was filed on March 4, 2024 but was set for 7/3/24.  (Or maybe 7/2/24.)  Demurrers must be set within 30 days of filing.  While many courts, and sometimes this one, do not have a slot within 30 days, defendant reserved a date four months in the future.  That was not calendar congestion, it was defendant gaming the system.  Plaintiff filed an early opposition.  But the opposition came out of the form book.  It does not even address the issue raised.  The demurrer suggests that the notice is defective because it does not say that (among other choices) the back rent could be paid in cash.  The opposition is based on the notion that what the notice says is a question of fact that cannot be decided on demurrer.

The court is inclined to tell the parties to try harder.  Games by the defendant will not be tolerated by the court.  And on the other side, if the case is worth prosecuting, it is worth prosecuting right.

The court will GRANT the order shortening time.  At the next hearing, the court expects that the parties will have resolved the case or have decided to approach it in a professional manner.