Judge: Michael Shultz, Case: 21STCV14261, Date: 2023-09-12 Tentative Ruling

INSTRUCTIONS: If the parties wish to submit on the tentative ruling and avoid a court appearance on the matter, the moving party must:

1. Contact the opposing party and all other parties who have appeared in the action and confirm that each will submit on the tentative ruling.

2. No later than 4:00 p.m. on the court day before the hearing, call the Courtroom (310-761-4302) advising that all parties will submit on the tentative ruling and waive hearing; and

3. Serve notice of the Court's ruling on all parties entitled to receive service.

If this procedure is followed, when the case is called the Court will enter its ruling on the motion in accordance with its tentative ruling. If any party declines to submit on the tentative ruling, then no telephone call is necessary, and all parties should appear at the hearing. If there is neither a telephone call nor an appearance, then the matter may either be taken off calendar or ruled on. 

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Case Number: 21STCV14261    Hearing Date: September 28, 2023    Dept: A

21STCV14261 Jessica Figueroa, et al v. David Ahdoot

Thursday, September 28, 2023, 8:30 a.m.

[TENTATIVE] ORDER CONDITIONALLY GRANTING PETITIONS FOR APPROVAL OF MINORS’ COMPROMISE OF CLAIMS

      This action involves injuries sustained by two adults and three minor claimants, allegedly caused by uninhabitable conditions in residential real property owned by Defendant. Plaintiff’s counsel corrected the allocation of the global settlement to reflect that Erica’s gross settlement is $10,000.

      A minor’s settlement is valid if approved by the court after a hearing.  (Prob. Code, §§3505, 3500.) Petitioner has allocated a larger portion of the settlement to the adult Plaintiffs who suffered economic damages arising from the conditions. Petitioner also allocated a larger portion of the settlement among the claimants to Erica because she suffered more substantial injuries.

      The Court previously continued the hearing to permit Petitioner to submit medical reports documenting each claimant’s current condition. (Petition, Item 8.) Instead of medical reports, Plaintiff’s counsel submitted the verified interrogatory responses to substantiate a larger allocation of the funds to Erica. Erica states her residual injuries included an occasional migraine and mild depression for which she underwent psychological treatment. (Decl. of Dorenfeld filed 9/21/23, Ex. A .pdf page 1-3.)

      Counsel contends that attorney’s fees and costs will be deducted from the adult Plaintiffs’ settlement resulting in deposits of each Claimant’s gross settlement into separate blocked accounts of $5,000 each for Evelyn and Jeselle and $10,000 for Erica.

      Given the relatively minor injuries sustained by Claimants and their assertion that they have fully recovered from their injuries, the Court will hear from the Guardian ad Litem regarding the Claimants’ current medical condition.