Judge: Steven J. Kleifield, Case: 21STCV20483, Date: 2023-03-29 Tentative Ruling

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Case Number: 21STCV20483    Hearing Date: March 29, 2023    Dept: 57

Southern California Conference v. Hardin, 21STCV20483

Tentative Ruling on Demurrer of Evergreen Advantage, LLC

Southern California Conference v. Hardin, 21STCV20483

Tentative Ruling on Demurrer of Evergreen Advantage, LLC

The Court's tentative ruling is to sustain the demurrer of The Evergreen Advantage, LLC ("Evergreen") as to the Plaintiff's seventh cause of action for declaratory relief and ninth cause of action for quiet title in Plaintiff's Third Amended Complaint ("TAC"), albeit with leave to amend.  

The TAC and its attachments reveal that Evergreen is a bona fide encumbrancer of value of the real property that is the subject of the quite title claim.  Evergreen's status as a bona fide encumbrancer provides it with a complete defense to the quiet title claim.  It is incumbent on Plaintiffs to plead around the defense by alleging that Evergreen had actual or constructive knowledge of the defects in the property's title when it effectuated the encumbrance.  The Court is overruling Evergreen's demurrer to the extent it argues that the TAC fails to plead the elements of a quiet title claim.  The Court's ruling speaks only to the failure of the TAC to overcome at the pleading stage Evergreen's defense that it is a bona encumbrancer. 

The cause of action against Evergreen for declaratory relief stands for falls with the quiet title claim.  Accordingly, the demurrer to the declaratory relief cause of action is stained as well, with leave to amend.