Judge Ralph C. Hofer, Case 22BBCP00450 2023-04-21 Tentative Ruling

The petition seeks approval of a transfer of certain structured settlement payment rights held by transferor/payee William Manriquez pursuant to a structured settlement entered into on behalf of Manriquez by his then guardian ad litem, intended as compensation for a personal injury claim, arising from an incident which occurred in 2012, when plaintiff was a minor, in which plaintiff sustained personal injuries. [See Ex. D, Release and Settlement Agreement, para 1 A].

The matter was previously heard on March 24, 2023. The court issued a tentative ruling via posting on LACourt.org website, which was to continue the matter to April 21, 2023, with petitioner being ordered to file and serve the Notice of Related Case filed in this matter on December 27, 2022 in the cases identified in that Notice, in accordance with CRC Rule 3.300(d). The minute order states, “Petitioner is further ORDERED to take all steps necessary to obtain a related case determination in this matter by no later than April 7, 2023.”

Since that hearing, petitioner on March 28, 2023 filed in this case a Notice of Related Case and a Notice of Continuance, indicating the hearing was continued to April 21, 2023. No other papers have been filed in this matter indicating that related case determinations have been obtained in the other three cases by April 7, 2023, or that such determinations have been pursued.

Notice of Related Case erroneously states at paragraph 2(f) that related case No. STCP04171 was filed on 11/23/23, when the case was filed on 11/23/2022.

Petitioner had failed to comply with this court’s previous order to file and serve Notice of Related Case in all of the listed cases, as no Notice has been filed in LASC Case No. 22 STCP04171, one of the three listed cases. Petitioner has also failed to comply with the court’s order to take all steps necessary to obtain related case determinations by no later than April 7, 2023.

The court had previously noted that the First Amended Verified Petition includes an order in one of the previous cases, LASC Case No. 22 BBCP00089. The order is dated April 15, 2022, and is signed by John J. Kralik, Judge of the Superior Court, and may impact the current petition. [First Amended Verified Petition, Ex. F, Order Approving Transfer of Payment Rights Pursuant to California Insurance Code section 10134, et seq., para. 6].

This court recognizes that under Insurance Code section 10139.5, setting forth the factors to be considered by the court in determining whether to approve the transfer of a structured settlement, those factors include, “The transfer does not contravene any applicable statute or the order of any court or other government authority.” Insurance Code section 10139.5 (a)(4).

The court has previously made clear that it will not hear the petition until related case determinations have been obtained in the other cases.

Under CRC Rule 3.300 (d) “The Notice of Related Case must be filed in all pending cases listed in the notice and must be served on all parties in those cases.” Under subdivision (e), the filing and service must be “as soon as possible, but no later than 15 days after the facts concerning the existence of related cases become known.”

Subdivision (h)(1)(A) provides, “Where all the cases listed in the notice are unlimited civil cases,…the judge who has the earliest filed case must determine whether the cases must be ordered related and assigned to his or her department.”

Here, since the three listed cases were filed prior to the current petition, filed on December 22, 2023, the related case determination or determinations should be made by the judge or judges in the other cases. This court will not consider the current petition on its merits until the related case determinations have been made. It is not clear why petitioner has failed to comply with the court’s March 24, 2023 order, and the court will hear from petitioner at the hearing concerning whether petitioner intends to withdraw the First Amended Petition, or seek a further continuance.

If petitioner intends to pursue the current petition, petitioner is again ordered to file and serve the Notice of Related Case filed in this matter in accordance with CRC Rule 3.300 (d) in LASC Case No. 22 STCP04171. Petitioner is ordered to file and serve Amended Notices of Related Case in LASC Case Nos. 21 BBCP00046 and 22 BBCP00089, which correctly state at paragraphs 2 (f) that LASC Case No. 22 STCP04171 was filed on 11/23/2022.

The matter will be continued to June 9, 2023. Petitioner is again ordered to seek a related case determination in the other cases by no later than April 28, 2023. The court notes from the file that the first listed case was pending in Department A, and that on February 21, 2023, the court in Department A, the Honorable Frank M. Tavelman presiding, recused itself on this case pursuant to CCP section 170.1. Petitioner may accordingly be required to pursue a related case determination in connection with the second or third cases designated in the Notice of Related Case.

This matter will be heard only if by the above deadline, a related case determination determining the matters are not related is obtained by petitioner.

First Amended Verified Petition for Approval for Transfer of Payment Rights is CONTINUED to June 9, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.

Petitioner is ORDERED to file and serve Notice of Related Case in LASC Case No. 22 STCP04171. Petitioner is ORDERED to file and serve Amended Notices of Related Case in LASC Case Nos. 21 BBCP00046 and 22 BBCP00089, which correctly state at paragraphs 2 (f) that LASC Case No. 22 STCP04171 was filed on 11/23/2022.

Petitioner is further ORDERED to take all steps necessary to obtain a related case determination from the Departments in which the other matters were filed by no later than April 28, 2023, and to report the steps taken and outcomes obtained in a Notice filed and served in this matter by no later than the same date.

If the court does not have a ruling on the related case determination by the hearing on June 9, 2023, the court will dismiss this petition without prejudice.

Please make arrangement in advance if you wish to appear via LACourtConnect/Microsoft Teams by visiting www.lacourt.org to schedule a remote appearance. Please note that LACourtConnect/Microsoft Teams offers free audio and video appearances. However, ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.

If no appearance is set up through LACourtConnect/Microsoft Teams, or no appearance is otherwise made, then the Court will assume the parties are submitting on the tentative.