Judge: Robert C. Longstreth, Case: 37-2022-00038100-CU-PO-CTL, Date: 2023-11-09 Tentative Ruling

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA,

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TENTATIVE RULINGS - November 08, 2023

11/09/2023  08:30:00 AM  C-65 COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO

JUDICIAL OFFICER:Robert Longstreth

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Civil - Unlimited  PI/PD/WD - Other Demurrer / Motion to Strike 37-2022-00038100-CU-PO-CTL KOCH II VS METROPOLITAN TRANSIT SYSTEM [IMAGED] CAUSAL DOCUMENT/DATE FILED: Demurrer, 05/22/2023

Defendants' Demurrer to Plaintiff's Complaint is SUSTAINED with leave to amend. (ROA 31.) As the court understands it, the factual basis of Plaintiff's claims against Defendants is that Plaintiff fell because he was required to stop and validate his trolley pass before boarding the trolley. All of Plaintiff's causes of action appear to be duplicative claims for negligence. (See Compl. at ¶ 33-37.) Public entities are generally immune from suit, except as otherwise provided by statute. (Govt. Code § 815(a).) As against Defendant San Diego Metropolitan Transit System ('MTS'), a public entity, 'every fact essential to the existence of statutory liability must be pleaded with particularity, including the existence of a statutory duty.' (Searcy v. Hemet Unified School District (1986) 177 Cal.App.3d 792, 802.) Plaintiff has not identified any statute that authorizes his lawsuit against MTS; those he does cite are inapplicable given his factual allegations. Nor has he pled facts of MTS' alleged liability with the required level of particularity. Accordingly, as to MTS, the demurrer is sustained on the grounds it fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action and is uncertain. (Code Civ. Proc. § 430.10(e), (f).) As against the sixteen individual persons Plaintiff names as Defendants, Plaintiff has not pled any facts at all. Plaintiff's Complaint does not reveal why any of these individuals were included in Plaintiff's lawsuit. Accordingly, the demurrer is sustained on the grounds it fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action and is uncertain as to these individuals as well. (Code Civ. Proc. § 430.10(e), (f).) In view of the judicial policy of liberality of amendment and given that this is the first challenge to Plaintiff's pleading, the court will grant leave to amend. Plaintiff is to file a First Amended Complaint on or before December 1, 2023.

Defendant's Motion to Strike Plaintiff's Complaint is GRANTED without leave to amend. (ROA 32.) Defendant seeks to strike Plaintiff's claim for exemplary damages.

As against MTS, the motion is granted without leave to amend. Public entities are not liable for punitive damages. (Govt. Code § 818.) As against the individual Defendants, the motion is granted without leave to amend. Plaintiff has not pled any facts of malice, fraud, or oppression against these Defendants. (Civ. Code § 3294.) Plaintiff's Calendar No.: Event ID:  TENTATIVE RULINGS

3041465  7 CASE NUMBER: CASE TITLE:  KOCH II VS METROPOLITAN TRANSIT SYSTEM [IMAGED]  37-2022-00038100-CU-PO-CTL conclusory references to fraud do not suffice. (Small v. Fritz Companies, Inc. (2003) 30 Cal.4th 167, 184.) Moreover, there does not appear to be any plausible basis upon which Plaintiff could allege punitive damages against any individual defendant in this case.

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