Judge: Serena R. Murillo, Case: 22STCV29233, Date: 2023-05-17 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 22STCV29233 Hearing Date: May 17, 2023 Dept: 31
TENTATIVE
After considering the evidence and arguments presented in the record, the
Court grants Plaintiff Seed Textile, Inc.’s Unopposed Motion For Leave to File First
Amended Complaint. (Code Civ. Proc., § 473(a).
Legal Standard
Code Civ. Proc., section 473(a)(1), provides, in part:
The court may, in furtherance of
justice, and on any terms as may be proper, allow a party to amend any pleading
or proceeding by adding or striking out the name of any party, or by correcting
a mistake in the name of a party, or a mistake in any other respect; and may,
upon like terms, enlarge the time for answer or demurrer. The court may
likewise, in its discretion, after notice to the adverse party, allow, upon any
terms as may be just, an amendment to any pleading or proceeding in other
particulars; and may upon like terms allow an answer to be made after the time
limited by this code.
Permission to file a permissive cross-complaint is solely within the
trial court’s discretion.” (Crocker
Nat. Bank v. Emerald (1990) 221 Cal.App.3d 852, 864.) Cross-claims against
complainants arising from the same transaction or series thereof, existing at
the time of filing an answer, are compulsory. (See, e.g., Code
Civ. Proc., § 426.30(a); Al Holding Co. v. O’Brien & Hicks, Inc.
(1999) 75 Cal.App.4th 1310, 1313-14.) Leave to file compulsory cross-complaints
must be granted where moving parties acted in good faith. (Code Civ. Proc., §
426.50; Silver Organizations, Ltd. v. Frank (1990) 217 Cal.App.3d 94,
98-99.)
Under California Rules of Court Rule (“Cal. Rules of Court”), Rule
3.1324(a), a motion to amend a pleading shall:
(1) include a copy of
the proposed amendment or amended pleading, which must be serially numbered to
differentiate it from previous pleadings or amendments;
(2) state what
allegations in the previous pleading are proposed to be deleted, if any, and
where, by page, paragraph and line number, the deleted allegations are located;
and
(3) state what
allegations are proposed to be added to the previous pleading, if any, and where,
by page, paragraph, and line number, the additional allegations are
located.
Further, under Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 3.1324(b), a separate
declaration must accompany the motion and must specify:
(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.
Discussion
The Motion is Granted
Here, Plaintiff moves the Court for an order granting leave to amend the
Complaint and to file the proposed FAC. (Code Civ. Proc., § 473(a)(l).)
Plaintiff’s motion complies with Cal. Rules
of Court, Rule 3.1324(a). Plaintiff has attached a copy of the proposed FAC
(Lee Decl., Ex. 1) and his identified the locations of the proposed additional
allegations in the notice for the motion. The motion also complies with Cal.
Rules of Court, Rule 3.1324(b) and provides a declaration setting forth the
effect of the proposed amended pleading, which is to add causes of action for
fraudulent conveyance and conspiracy. The declaration also shows why the
amendment is necessary and proper, in that the bank records from Bank of
America purportedly show Defendants Huh and Dong as having improperly
transferred money out of J & Dong Fashion, Inc. for their own benefit. The
declaration further shows that the facts giving rise to the amended allegations
were only discovered a couple months after the filing of this action and that
Plaintiff otherwise moved in a timely manner to make this amendment. The Court
further finds that no prejudice will result in permitting this amended
pleading, as no trial has been set in this action which has only been pending
since September of last year.
Conclusion
Therefore,
the Court GRANTS Plaintiff Seed Textile, Inc.’s Motion For Leave to File
First Amended Complaint. (Code Civ. Proc., § 473(a).
The Court
orders Plaintiff to file and serve the proposed FAC within 5 days of the date
of this order, and to also file proof of service of the same.
Plaintiff to
give notice.