Judge Serena R. Murillo, Case 18STCV04817 2022-12-07 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Serena R. Murillo, Case: 18STCV04817, Date: 2022-12-07 Tentative Ruling

DEPARTMENT 29 - LAW AND MOTION RULINGS IMPORTANT (PLEASE SEND YOUR E-MAIL TO DEPT. 29 NOT DEPT. 2)

Communicating with the Court Staff re the Tentative Ruling 1. Please notify the courtroom staff by email not later than 9:30 a.m. on the day of the hearing if you wish to submit on the tentative ruling rather than argue the motion. The email address is SSCDEPT29@lacourt.org. Please do not use any other email address. 2. You must include the other parties on the email by "cc." 3. Include the word "SUBMISSION" in all caps in the Subject line and include your name, contact information, the case number, and the party you represent in the body of the email. If you submit on the tentative and elect not to appear at the hearing, the opposing party may nevertheless appear at the hearing and argue the motions. THE COURT WILL HEAR ARGUMENT UNLESS BOTH SIDES SUBMIT ON THE TENTATIVE. 4. Include the words "SUBMISSION BUT WILL APPEAR" if you submit, but one or both parties will nevertheless appear. 5. For other communications with Court Staff a. OFF-CALENDAR should appear in all caps in the Subject line where all parties have agreed to have a matter placed off-calendar. All counsel should be cc'ed (and where appropriate parties not represented by counsel) and the body of the email should state: (a) name and case number; (b) date of proceeding. b. CASE SETTLED should appear in all caps in the Subject line where all parties have agreed that the case has settled for all purposes. All counsel should be cc'ed (and where appropriate parties not represented by counsel) and the body of the email should state: (a) name and case number; (b) whether notice of settlement/dismissal documents have been filed; (c) if (b) has not been done, a date one year from the date of your email which will be a date set by the court for an OSC for dismissal of the case. c. STIPULATION should appear in all caps in the Subject line where all parties have stipulated that a matter before the court can be postponed. All counsel should be cc'ed (and where appropriate parties not represented by counsel) and the body of the email should state: (a) name and case number; (b) what proceeding is agreed to be postponed e.g. Trial, FSC; (c) the agreed-upon future date; (d) whether all parties waive notice if the Court informs all counsel/parties that the agreed-upon date is satisfactory. This communication should be used only for matters that are agreed to be postponed and not for orders shortening time. 6. PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT ALL COMMUNICATIONS WITH COURT STAFF DEAL ONLY WITH SCHEDULING AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS AND DO NOT DISCUSS THE MERITS OF ANY CASE. (UPDATED 6/17/2020)

IMPORTANT: In light of the COVID-19 emergency, the Court encourages all parties to appear remotely. The capacity in the courtroom is extremely limited. The Court appreciates the cooperation of counsel and the litigants.

ALSO NOTE: If the moving party does not contact the court to submit on the tentative and does not appear (either remotely or in person), the motion will be taken off calendar. THE TENTATIVE RULING WILL NOT BE THE ORDER OF THE COURT.

Case Number: 18STCV04817 Hearing Date: December 7, 2022 Dept: 29

TENTATIVE

Plaintiff’s motion is DENIED. Plaintiff should appear at the OSC and explain to the Court why the OSC should be vacated and request that trial be rescheduled.

Discussion

Plaintiff moves to vacate the OSC re: Dismissal after Settlement and reschedule the case for trial. Plaintiff argues that he agreed to settle before he learned that he would require future surgery. Plaintiff argues that because the parties did not sign the settlement agreement, there is no enforceable settlement agreement.

Defendant argues in opposition that On September 29, 2022, nearly 100 days after the parties reached a settlement in this matter, Plaintiffs’ counsel finally made contact with Defense counsel indicating that as a result of a “change of circumstances,” Plaintiffs had authorized their attorney to settle the matter for 50% more than originally agreed upon. Defendant argues that California Rules of Court, rule 3.385 provides that if an entire case is settled, each party seeking affirmative relief must immediately file written notice of the settlement. Each plaintiff or other party seeking affirmative relief must also immediately give oral notice to all parties if a hearing, conference, or trial is scheduled to take place within 10 days. Each plaintiff or other party seeking affirmative relief must serve and file a request for dismissal of the entire case within 45 days after the date of settlement of the case. If they do not do so, the court must dismiss the entire case 45-days after it receives a notice of settlement unless good cause is shown why the case should not be dismissed. (Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 3.385, subsections (b) and (c)(2).) Defendant argues that at no point during the 45-day period after Plaintiffs filed their Notice of Settlement did they show good cause to the Court as to why the subject action should not be dismissed. Should the Court be inclined to vacate Plaintiffs’ notice of settlement and re-set the case for trial, Dr. Saleh requests that a trial setting conference be scheduled by the Court and for all discovery to be re-opened.

Plaintiff argues that the good cause is the change in circumstances arising from new facts – that Plaintiff now needs additional surgery that was not previously anticipated. Plaintiff does not oppose reopening discovery.

The Court notes that Plaintiff does not need to file a motion to vacate the OSC. Plaintiff should appear at the OSC and explain to the Court why the OSC should be vacated and request that trial be rescheduled.

Conclusion

Accordingly, Plaintiff’s motion is DENIED.

Moving party is ordered to give notice.