Judge: Theresa M. Traber, Case: 20STCV25996, Date: 2022-09-07 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV25996    Hearing Date: September 7, 2022    Dept: 47

JORDAN PUGH-WEIR vs EQUINOX HOLDINGS – Case No. 20STCV25996 

TENATIVE RULINGS ON MOTIONS IN LIMINE – Final Status Conference – 9/7/22

Defendant’s MIL #1 – to bifurcate the trial into two phases with the first addressing liability and the second, the amount of any punitive damages, and to exclude all evidence of Defendant’s profits, net worth and financial condition during the first phase of the trial, pursuant to Civil Code §§ 3294 and 3295.

RULING:  GRANTED, without opposition.

Defendant’s MIL #2 – to exclude evidence and testimony related to declarations of former employees of Defendant, which declarations were obtained by Plaintiff before filing suit, as well as direct testimony of these employees about the matters included in their declarations.

RULING:  GRANTED.  Declarations offered for the truth of the matters stated are hearsay and not admissible at trial.  (Perry v. Bakewell Hawthorne, LLC (2017) 2 Cal. 5th 536, 541.)  If Plaintiff were to offer the substance of each declaration through the direct testimony of each declarant, the testimony itself would be admissible as non-hearsay because it would be offered by the declarant at trial.  The Court cannot assess the admissibility of the statements that would be made by each declarant in trial testimony because neither side has submitted the declarations themselves for the Court’s review.

Defendant’s MIL #3 – to exclude evidence and testimony that Plaintiff’s alleged homelessness was caused by, attributed to or the fault of Defendant or that Defendant knew Plaintiff was allegedly homeless during his employment with Defendant. 

RULING:  GRANTED, without opposition.