Judge Randolph M. Hammock, Case 20STCV29743 2023-01-30 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Randolph M. Hammock, Case: 20STCV29743, Date: 2023-01-30 Tentative Ruling

Plaintiff Showroom Interiors, LLC, brings this action against Defendants Hercules Development, LLC, and Ezequiel Serebrisky. Plaintiff alleges the parties had a written agreement for Plaintiff to provide furniture and other items to stage the property at 2284 Hercules Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90046. The agreement required that the furniture be used for staging purposes only. Plaintiff alleges Defendants used the property and staging furniture as a rental, in violation of the Staging Agreement. Plaintiff brings causes of action for (1) breach of the Staging Agreement and (2) breach of written guaranty.

“A ‘supplemental’ pleading is used to allege facts occurring after the original pleading was filed. [Citation.] In contrast, the additional allegations in an ‘amended’ pleading address matters that had occurred before the original pleading was filed.” (Foster v. Sexton (2021) 61 Cal.App.5th 998, 1032.) Code of Civil Procedure section 464, subdivision (a) provides: “The plaintiff and defendant, respectively, may be allowed, on motion, to make a supplemental complaint or answer, alleging facts material to the case occurring after the former complaint or answer.”

As with amended pleadings, a motion to file supplemental pleadings is addressed to the sound discretion of the court and the same policy favoring liberality in amending pleadings applies. (Louie Queriolo Trucking, Inc. v. Sup.Ct. (1967) 252 Cal.App.2d 194, 197.)

A motion for leave to amend must state with particularity what allegations are to be amended. Namely, it must state what allegations in the previous pleading are proposed to be deleted and/or added, if any, and where, by page, paragraph, and line number. (CRC, Rule 3.1324(a)(2)-(3).) The motion must be accompanied by a declaration specifying: (1) the effect of the amendment; (2) why the amendment is necessary and proper; (3) when the facts giving rise to the amended allegations were discovered; and (4) the reasons why the request for amendment was not made earlier. (CRC, Rule 3.1324(b).) The motion must also be accompanied by the proposed amended pleading, numbered to differentiate it from the prior pleadings or amendments. (CRC, Rule 3.1324(a)(1).) It is within the court’s discretion to require compliance with Rule 3.1324 before granting leave to amend. (Hataishi v. First American Home Buyers Protection Corp.¿(2014) 223 Cal.App.4th 1454, 1469.)

Plaintiff contends that it recently learned that Defendant Hercules had filed an “Election to Terminate” and dissolved on October 14, 2021. In addition, Plaintiff discovered that one of Defendant Hercules’ members, Maybrook Homes, LLC, was also suspended. Plaintiff alleges Defendant Hercules sold the subject real property and distributed the proceeds to its members.

Thus, Plaintiff seeks leave to file its [Proposed] First Supplemental Complaint to add the members of Defendant Hercules as defendants. (See Corp. Code 17707.07 [allowing for cause of action against dissolved company and its members].) The Supplemental Complaint would also add a third cause of action for common counts against the new Defendants. Aside from the addition of the new Defendants, the underlying facts are largely unchanged.

The motion is unopposed. Here, Plaintiff has shown good cause for the amendment. This conclusion is consistent with the “policy of great liberality in allowing amendments at any stage of the proceeding so as to dispose of cases upon their substantial merits.” (Bd. of Trustees v. Superior Ct. (2007) 149 Cal. App. 4th 1154, 1163.) The court makes no conclusion on the merits as to the proposed new defendants. Rather, the “better course of action” is to permit the amendment, “and then let the parties test its legal sufficiency in other appropriate proceedings.” (Atkinson v. Elk Corp. (2003) 109 Cal. App. 4th 739, 760.)

There is also no apparent prejudice to Defendants here. The trial date was recently vacated (See Minute Order 12/29/2022), and the Supplemental Complaint does not substantially modify the facts of this case.

Any party may submit on the tentative ruling by contacting the courtroom via email at Smcdept49@lacourt.org by no later than 4:00 p.m. the day before the hearing. All interested parties must be copied on the email. It should be noted that if you submit on a tentative ruling the court will still conduct a hearing if any party appears. By submitting on the tentative you have, in essence, waived your right to be present at the hearing, and you should be aware that the court may not adopt the tentative, and may issue an order which modifies the tentative ruling in whole or in part.