Judge: Theresa M. Traber, Case: 24STCV16185, Date: 2024-10-31 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 24STCV16185    Hearing Date: October 31, 2024    Dept: 47

Tentative Ruling

Judge Theresa M. Traber, Department 47

HEARING DATE:     October 31, 2024                   TRIAL DATE: NOT SET

CASE:                         James Camper v. Scorpion Services, Inc., et al.

CASE NO.:                 24STCV16185           

MOTION TO SET ASIDE DEFAULT

MOVING PARTY:               Defendants Scorpion Services, Inc. and GHP Management Corp.

RESPONDING PARTY(S): Plaintiff James Camper, in pro per

STATEMENT OF MATERIAL FACTS AND/OR PROCEEDINGS:

            This is an action for employment discrimination that was filed on June 28, 2024. Plaintiff alleges that he was terminated in retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment and discriminatory policies and for requesting religious accommodations.

Defendants Scorpion Services, Inc. and GHP Management Corp. request relief from the default entered against them on August 27, 2024.

TENTATIVE RULING:

            Defendants’ Motion to Set Aside Default is GRANTED.

            The Answer filed on September 5, 2024 is deemed the operative Answer for the moving Defendants.

DISCUSSION:

Defendants Scorpion Services, Inc. and GHP Management Corp. request relief from the default entered against them on August 27, 2024.

Procedural Posture

            On August 27, 2024, Plaintiff requested entry of default against the moving Defendants. (August 27, 2024 Request for Entry of Default.) That request was granted later that same day. (Id.) However, on September 5, 2024, all Defendants in this action, including the defaulted Defendants, jointly filed an Answer to the Complaint, which was accepted by the Court as to the non-defaulted parties. (See Answer.) Thus, rather than providing a proposed pleading, Defendants request that the September 5, 2024 Answer be considered their proposed pleading for the purposes of this motion.

Mandatory Relief

            Defendants seek relief under the mandatory relief provision of Code of Civil Procedure section 473(b). This section provides:

“Notwithstanding any other requirements of this section, the court shall, whenever an application for relief is made no more than six months after entry of judgment, is in proper form, and is accompanied by an attorney's sworn affidavit attesting to his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or neglect, vacate any (1) resulting default entered by the clerk against his or her client, and which will result in entry of a default judgment, or (2) resulting default judgment or dismissal entered against his or her client, unless the court finds that the default or dismissal was not in fact caused by the attorney's mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or neglect.”

(Code Civ. Proc. § 473(b).) As default judgment has not yet been entered, the motion is timely under this provision.

            Defendants contend that their failure to respond to the Complaint was caused by their counsel’s failure to timely follow up with all Defendants regarding conflict-of-interest waivers. (Declaration of Sahar Shiralian ISO Mot. ¶¶ 3-4.) The Court notes that Defendants and their counsel characterize the error as failure to timely communicate with Plaintiff regarding the delay. (See Shiralian Decl. ¶ 4.) Defendants’ communication—or lack thereof—with Plaintiff has no bearing on whether Defendants could timely respond to the Complaint. The Declaration also states, however, that the delay occurred, in part, because Defendants’ counsel was waiting to receive signed conflict waivers, despite the looming deadline to respond. (Id. ¶ 3.) Defendants’ counsel’s affidavit thus discloses a separate failure by defense counsel in that Defendants’ attorney did not diligently pursue resolution of the conflicts issue by following up with the various clients. In consideration of the strong presumption in favor of resolution of cases on their merits, the Court finds that Defendants have adequately demonstrated mistake of counsel such that relief from the default is mandatory.

CONCLUSION:

            Accordingly, Defendants’ Motion to Set Aside Default is GRANTED.

            The Answer filed on September 5, 2024 is deemed the operative Answer for the moving Defendants.

            Moving Parties to give notice.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated:  October 31, 2024                                ___________________________________

                                                                                    Theresa M. Traber

                                                                                    Judge of the Superior Court

            Any party may submit on the tentative ruling by contacting the courtroom via email at Smcdept47@lacourt.org by no later than 4:00 p.m. the day before the hearing. All interested parties must be copied on the email. It should be noted that if you submit on a tentative ruling the court will still conduct a hearing if any party appears. By submitting on the tentative you have, in essence, waived your right to be present at the hearing, and you should be aware that the court may not adopt the tentative, and may issue an order which modifies the tentative ruling in whole or in part.