Judge: Salvatore Sirna, Case: 24PSCV02374, Date: 2025-02-06 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 24PSCV02374    Hearing Date: February 6, 2025    Dept: G

Defendant El Monte Union High School District’s Demurrer to Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint

Respondent: Plaintiffs Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 3, Jane Doe 4, Jane Doe 5, Jane Doe 6, Jane Doe 7, Jane Doe 8, and Jane Doe 9

Defendant El Monte Union High School District’s Motion to Strike Portions of Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint

Respondent: Plaintiffs Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 3, Jane Doe 4, Jane Doe 5, Jane Doe 6, Jane Doe 7, Jane Doe 8, and Jane Doe 9

TENTATIVE RULING

Defendant El Monte Union High School District’s Demurrer to Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint and Motion to Strike Portions of Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint are CONTINUED to a date to be determined at the hearing in Department G (Pomona).

Defendant El Monte Union High School District’s Counsel is also ordered to meet and confer with Plaintiffs Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 3, Jane Doe 4, Jane Doe 5, Jane Doe 6, Jane Doe 7, Jane Doe 8, and Jane Doe 9’s Counsel regarding the Demurrer and Motion to Strike and to file a supplemental declaration describing such meet and confer efforts, including whether the attempts were made by telephone, video conference, or in person, at least nine (9) court days before the next scheduled hearing on the Demurrer and Motion to Strike.

BACKGROUND

This is an action for child sexual abuse. On July 23, 2024, Plaintiffs Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 3, Jane Doe 4, Jane Doe 5, Jane Doe 6, Jane Doe 7, Jane Doe 8, and Jane Doe 9 filed a complaint against Defendant El Monte Union High School District (EMUHSD) and Does 1-100, alleging a cause of action for negligence.

On November 14, 2024, Plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint (FAC) against the same defendants alleging the same cause of action.

On January 2, 2025, EMUHSD filed the present demurrer and motion to strike. A hearing on the present motions is set for February 6, 2025, along with a CMC on February 11, 2025.

ANALYSIS

EMUHSD demurs to Plaintiffs’ FAC on the grounds that it is time-barred and improperly joins claims. For the following reasons, the court finds parties did not adequately meet and confer.

Legal Standard

Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 430.41, subdivision (a), prior to filing a demurrer, “the demurring party shall meet and confer in person or by telephone with the party who filed the pleading that is subject to demurrer for the purpose of determining whether an agreement can be reached that would resolve the objections to be raised in the demurrer.” This section further provides that “the demurring party shall identify all of the specific causes of action that it believes are subject to demurrer and identify with legal support the basis of the deficiencies.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 430.41, subd. (a)(1).)

While Code of Civil Procedure section 430.41, subdivision (a)(4) makes clear failing to meet and confer is not grounds to overrule a demurrer, courts “are not required to ignore defects in the meet and confer process” and if the court determines “no meet and confer has taken place, or concludes further conferences between counsel would likely be productive, it retains discretion to order counsel to meaningfully discuss the pleadings with an eye toward reducing the number of issues or eliminating the need for a demurrer, and to continue the hearing date to facilitate that effort.” (Dumas v. Los Angeles County Bd. of Supervisors (2020) 45 Cal.App.5th 348, 355 & fn. 3.)

Discussion

In this case, EMUHSD’s counsel filed a declaration stating counsel met and conferred through an exchange of emails with Plaintiffs’ counsel. (Gibbs Decl., ¶ 6-7.) Because email correspondence is not a code-compliant means of meeting and conferring, a continuance of the hearing on the demurrer and motion to strike is appropriate.

CONCLUSION

Based on the foregoing, EMUHSD’s demurrer and motion to strike are CONTINUED to a date to be determined at the hearing in Department G (Pomona).

EMUHSD’s counsel is also ordered to meet and confer with Plaintiffs’ counsel regarding the demurrer and motion to strike and to file a supplemental declaration describing such meet and confer efforts, including whether the attempts were made by telephone, video conference, or in person, at least nine (9) court days before the next scheduled hearing on the demurrer and motion to strike.