Judge: Melvin D. Sandvig, Case: PC058560, Date: 2023-04-13 Tentative Ruling

Counsel wishing to submit on a tentative ruling may inform the clerk or courtroom assisant in North Valley Department F47, 9425 Penfield Ave., Chatsworth, CA 91311, at (818) 407-2247.  Please be aware that unless all parties submit, the matter will still be called for hearing and may be argued by any appearing/non-submitting parties. If the matter is submitted on the court's tentative ruling by all parties, counsel for moving party shall give notice of ruling. This may be done by incorporating verbatim the court's tentative ruling. The tentative ruling may be extracted verbatim by copying and specially pasting, as unformatted text, from the Los Angeles Superior Court’s website, http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org. All hearings on law and motion and other calendar matters are generally NOT transcribed by a court reporter unless one is provided by the party(ies).

Case Number: PC058560    Hearing Date: April 13, 2023    Dept: F47

Dept. F-47

Date: 4/13/23

Case #PC058560

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE RE CONTEMPT

MOVING PARTY: Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor Irene Morcos

RESPONDING PARTY: Defendant/Judgment Debtor Mary Morcos

NOTICE: ok

RELIEF REQUESTED: An order holding Defendant/Judgment Debtor Mary Marcos in contempt for failing and/or refusing to follow the Court’s orders contained in the Third Amended Judgment entered on 12/21/21.  Additionally, Plaintiff requests that the Court award Plaintiff the reasonable attorney’s fees and costs that Plaintiff has incurred, and will incur, in relation to this Order to Show Cause Re Contempt hearing.     

RULING: The matter will be continued.      

On 1/30/23, this Court granted Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor Irene Morcos’ motion for an order to show cause re contempt and set the Order to Show Cause Re Contempt hearing for 3/7/23.  (See 1/30/23 Minute Order; 1/31/23 Order to Show Cause). 

An Order to Show Cause acts as a summons to appear in court on a certain day and show cause why a certain thing should not be done.  Cedars-Sinai Imaging Medical Group (2000) 83 CA4th 1281, 1286.  Unless the citee (here, Defendant) has concealed herself from the Court, she must be personally served with the affidavit and the order to show cause regardless of the fact that her lawyer was present at the hearing which set the order to show cause; otherwise, the Court lacks jurisdiction to proceed.  Id. at 1286-1287.

With regard to the 3/7/23 hearing date, there was no evidence that Defendant was served with the Order to Show Cause signed by the Court on 1/31/23.  (See 3/7/23 Minute Order).  Therefore, Plaintiff was ordered to submit a new proposed Order to Show Cause Re Contempt by 3/8/23 at 4:00 p.m.  Id.  The Order to Show Cause Re Contempt hearing was scheduled for 4/13/23.

Thereafter, on 3/8/23, Plaintiff submitted two “Orders on Motion” and on 3/28/23, Plaintiff submitted another “Order on Motion….”  Because these documents were not titled as Order to Show Cause, they were not presented to the Court for signing before the hearing.  As such, no Order to Show Cause Re Contempt was issued by the Court for the 4/13/23 hearing date and none was served on Defendant. 

Based on the foregoing, the Order to Show Cause Re Contempt will be rescheduled.  At the hearing, Plaintiff’s counsel is to explain why three separate proposed orders have been submitted and if there are any differences in them.  The Court will then insert the new hearing date in the Order to Show Cause and sign the order which must then be properly and timely served on Defendant before the newly scheduled date.