TENTATIVE RULING ON DEFENDANT'S DEMURRER AND MOTION TO STRIKE
The Court issued a tentative ruling in advance of the March 2, 2023 hearing on Defendant's demurrer to Plaintiff's amended complaint for breach of contract and Defendant's related motion to strike. The tentative ruling was to sustain the demurrer with leave to amend and to deny the motion to strike as moot. The March 2, 2023 hearing was continued at the request of the Plaintiff, who informed counsel for Defendant that he was ill and could not attend the hearing. The hearing thus was continued to March 14, 2023. In advance of the March 14, 2023 hearing, the Court is reissuing the tentative ruling, and addressing a document Plaintiff filed and the Court received after the March 2, 2023 hearing.
Plaintiff's amended complaint for breach of contract suffers from the same defects as the initial complaint, which was the subject of a previous, successful demurrer filed by the Defendant. Specifically, for one, the amended complaint fails to state sufficient facts to constitute a cause of action for breach of contract. The problem is that the amended complaint does not identify the contractual terms that Defendant purportedly breached. Second, the amended complaint is ambiguous and unintelligible, thus rendering the pleading so uncertain that Defendant cannot reasonably respond to it. As the Court did in connection with the demurrer to the initial complaint, the Court is again giving Plaintiff leave to amend the complaint because it appears reasonably possible that the Plaintiff could cure the defects identified herein. The second amended complaint must be filed within 21 days of service of this ruling.
Defendant's motion to strike is denied as moot in light of the Court's ruling on the demurrer.
The Court instructs Defendant's counsel to give notice of the ruling.
Plaintiff filed a document on March 2, 2023, which the Court received after the hearing that day. The document is captioned "Brief for Defendant Motion to Strike, Demurrer and CMC." The Court has reviewed the document in advance of the March 14, 2023 hearing. The Court cannot, however, consider the document for purposes of the hearing on Defendant's demurrer and motion to strike. That is because the nonmoving party is entitled to file an opposition to a demurrer and motion to strike. Plaintiff filed his opposition to Defendant's demurrer and motion to strike on January 18, 2023. Plaintiff's additional March 2, 2023 filing would appear to be an unauthorized supplemental opposition. To the extent that Plaintiff is seeking in the March 2, 2023 filing to relate this case to a small claims case, Plaintiff must file a notice of related case on Form CM=015.
