Judge: Monica Bachner, Case: BS172538, Date: 2023-03-07 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: BS172538    Hearing Date: March 7, 2023    Dept: 71

Superior Court of California

County of Los Angeles

DEPARTMENT 71

TENTATIVE RULING

Specially Appearing Non-Party Los Angeles Apparel, Inc.’s motion to strike new evidence and argument in Judgment Creditors’ reply in support of motion to amend is denied as moot.

          Specially Appearing Non-Party Los Angeles Apparel, Inc. (“LAA”) (“Non-Party”) moves to strike new evidence and argument in Judgment Creditors P Standard General Ltd.’s (“P Standard”) and Standard General Master Fund, L.P.’s (“Standard General”) (collectively, “Judgment Creditors”) reply in support of their motion to amend.  (Notice of Motion, pg. 2.) 

          LAA filed the instant motion on August 24, 2022.  On March 2, 2023, LAA filed a notice of Judgment Creditors’ non-opposition.  On March 3, 2023, Judgment Creditors filed a response to LAA’s notice of non-opposition.

          LAA filed the instant motion to strike new arguments and evidence that Judgment Creditors had submitted in support of their reply to LAA’s substantive opposition to Judgment Creditors’ motion to amend the judgment to add LAA; Morris Charney, as sole trustee of the Montreal Family Trust (“MFT”); and Schmatta LA, Inc. (“Schmatta”) as judgment debtors.  The purported new arguments and evidence LAA sought to strike included: (i) arguments regarding LAA’s purported control of the Delaware Action; (ii) arguments regarding LAA’s Preliminary Offering Circular (the “POC”) dated September 2016; (iii) arguments based on Charney’s bankruptcy filing; (iv) arguments regarding LAA’s status as a purported shell or conduit for Charney; and (v) arguments regarding commingling and diversion of assets from LAA to Schmatta.  (Motion to Amend, pg. 2.)

          On August 30, 2022, this Court denied in part Judgment Creditors’ Motion to Amend, adding Schmatta as a judgment debtor, but declining to add LAA and MFT as judgment debtors.  (8/30/22 Ruling.)  This Court explicitly stated that it considered the evidentiary objections that form the basis of LAA’s instant motion and denied them: “LA Apparel’s 8/24/22 objections to evidence submitted in reply are overruled. The Court finds Judgment Creditors’ evidence submitted in reply responds to new arguments and evidence first introduced in the opposition and/or involves evidence already part of the Court’s record.”  (8/30/22 Ruling at pg. 3.)

          Accordingly, LAA’s motion to strike is denied as moot.

Dated:  March _______, 2023

Hon. Monica Bachner

Judge of the Superior Court