Judge: Robert S. Draper, Case: 21STCV15323, Date: 2023-04-03 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21STCV15323    Hearing Date: April 3, 2023    Dept: 78

The parties should note that Department 26 (Judge Elaine Lu) will be hearing this motion on April 3, 2023 in Judge Robert Draper’s absence.

The parties' joint request to be ordered to a mandatory settlement conference is granted.  The Court hereby orders all parties in this action to a mandatory settlement conference through the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Judicial Mandatory Settlement Conference (MSC) Program.  No later than 12 noon on April 4, 2023, all parties are ordered to meet and confer to provide the information requested in the Settlement Conference Intake Form (Revised 10/04/2018) available on the Court’s website (at http://www.lacourt.org/division/civil/CI0109.aspx#programs), and Plaintiff must email the completed form to SSCMSC@lacourt.org no later than April 4, 2023.

Defendants' ex parte application to continue trial is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Provided that the parties timely submit their Settlement Conference Intake Form to the Spring Street MSC coordinator, it is possible that the MSC coordinator can schedule an MSC to occur prior to the current trial date.  Alternatively, it is possible that the MSC coordinator cannot schedule and MSC for this action until more than 60 or 90 days out.  Thus, it is premature to continue the trial because it is unclear that a continuance is necessary at all.  It is also premature to guess what length of a continuance is necessary because the MSC has not yet been scheduled, and the soonest available MSC date may fall beyond the 30-day continuance of the trial that Defendant requests.

Accordingly, Defendants' ex parte application to continue trial is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Provided that the parties have submitted their Settlement Conference Intake Form to the Spring Street MSC coordinator by 12 noon on April 4, 2023, the parties may renew their request for a continuance of the trial after the MSC coordinator schedules an MSC in this action.  The proposed continued trial date should not be more than 45 days after the MSC date.

The Court reminds the parties that unless and until the Court enters an order continuing the trial, the trial remains firmly set for May 2, 2023.

Defendant is ordered to download this order, give electronic notice of this order to all other parties, and file proof of service of such within two court days.