Judge: Michelle Williams Court, Case: 23GDCV01493, Date: 2023-11-29 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23GDCV01493    Hearing Date: November 29, 2023    Dept: 1

23GDCV01493          RK APPAREL, INC. vs KNITOPIA, INC

Motion of Defendants, Pursuant to Stipulation Between All Parties, for Change of Venue

TENTATIVE RULING:  Motion of Defendants, Pursuant to Stipulation Between All Parties, for Change of Venue is GRANTED and 23GDCV01493 is ordered reassigned to the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in the Central District of the Los Angeles Superior Court.  Notice of case reassignment shall issue shortly.  Clerk to give notice.

Defendants seek to transfer this action to the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in the Central District. The case is currently assigned to Department E of the Glendale Courthouse, which sits in the North Central District of the Los Angeles Superior Court. (LASC Local Rules, rule 2.2(b).)

Defendants contend Plaintiff filed the action in an improper district by using an incorrect address on the civil case cover sheet addendum. (Mot. at 4:10-5:5.)

In “Step 4” of the civil case cover sheet addendum where the filing party is asked to “[c]heck the appropriate boxes for the numbers shown under Column C for the type of action that you have selected. Enter the address, which is the basis for the filing location including zip code,” Plaintiff selected Reasons 3, 5, and 9 and listed the relevant address as “2247 Miravista Ave., Suite C, Montrose, CA 91020. Reason 3 corresponds to the “[l]ocation where the cause of action arose,” Reason 5 corresponds to the “[l]ocation where performance is required, or defendant resides,” and Reason 9 corresponds to the [l]ocation where one of more of the parties’ reside.”

Plaintiff’s counsel did not complete Steps 2, 3, or 5 of the civil case cover sheet addendum,  where the filing party is asked to identify the type of action, the “applicable reasons,” and certify the proper filing location. The Court notes that no case type listed in the civil case cover sheet addendum includes all three reasons listed by Plaintiff in Step 4.

In section 1 of the civil case cover sheet, Plaintiff’s counsel checked the box describing the case type as “breach of contract/warranty (06).” In the civil case cover sheet addendum, the applicable location reasons for a case type designated as a “breach of contract/warranty (06)” are Reasons 1 (class actions), Reason 2 (permissive filing in Central District), and Reason 5.

The breach of contract action in the First Amended Complaint is only asserted against Defendant Knitopia. Defendants provide evidence that Knitopia does not reside in Montrose, but rather at 3408 E 15th Street Los Angeles, CA 90023. (Tabibi Decl. Ex. 2.) Pursuant to Local Rule 2.3(a)(1)(A), “[t]he filing court locator on the Los Angeles Superior Court website (www.lacourt.org) should be used to determine the appropriate filing location.” The Court’s court filing locator indicates unlimited civil cases arising out of the 15th Street address should be filed in the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. Additionally, an unlimited civil case for breach of contract may be permissively filed in the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. Accordingly, the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in the Central District is the appropriate filing location for this action. (LASC Local Rule 2.3(a)(1)(B).)

The parties also agree “the underlying transactions transpired and took place in Downtown Los Angeles[,] most, if not all, witnesses work or reside at or near Downtown Los Angeles,” and stipulated to transfer the case to the Central District. (Tabibi Decl. Ex. 1.)

Based upon the information provided and the stipulation of the parties, the motion is GRANTED.