Judge: William A. Crowfoot, Case: 22AHCV00366, Date: 2023-04-07 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22AHCV00366    Hearing Date: April 7, 2023    Dept: 3

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - NORTHEAST DISTRICT

This is an unlawful detainer action.  Plaintiff Alhambra Holdings LLC dba 88 At Alhambra Place (“Plaintiff”) seeks a default judgment against defendant Xuanhua Liu (“Defendant”) in the amount of $39,841.68, consisting of $18,720 in past due rent, $18,791.34 in holdover damages, $1,515.34 in attorney fees, and $815 in costs.  On March 7, 2021, Plaintiff and Defendant entered into a lease for the premises located at 88 S. Garfield #319 in Alhambra, California.  Monthly rent was originally $3120 but later changed to $3428, effective as of April 7, 2022.  (Yen Decl., Exs. 1-2.) 

A three-day notice to pay rent or quit was served on April 23, 2022, and demanded $18,720 for past-due rent for the 6-month period beginning October 1, 2021 and ending March 31, 2022.  (Yen Decl., ¶ 7.)  No rent was received.  (Yen Decl., ¶ 8.)  Defendant vacated the premises on September 13, 2022.  (Yen Decl., ¶ 9.) 

Angela Yen, Plaintiff’s property manager, states that the fair market rental value of the premises is $112.21 per day “based on the monthly rent divided by 30.”  This rate is also stated in the Complaint.  However, Yen calculates Plaintiff’s holdover damages beginning from April 1, 2022, to April 6, 2022 at a rate of $104 a day and damages from April 7, 2022 to September 13, 2022 are calculated based on a rate of $114.26 per day.  (Compare Yen Decl., ¶ 10 with ¶ 11.)  This means that the requested amount for holdover damages ($18,791.34) exceeds the amount requested in the complaint, because the holdover damages based on a daily rental value of $112.21 from April 1, 2022, to September 13, 2022 (as stated in the complaint) would equal $18,514.65.  Also, although Plaintiff’s property manager states that Defendant’s $500 security deposit has already been credited, the requested judgment, which consists only of past due rent and holdover damages, does not seem to reflect this.  (Yen Decl., ¶ 14.) 

Based on the evidence submitted, the Court calculates that Plaintiff’s damages should not exceed $36,734.65.  After adding in $1,500.34 for attorney fees as calculated by LR 3.214 (instead of $1,515.34 as requested) and $815 for costs, the Court is willing to award a total judgment of $39,049.99 instead of $39,841.68.  If Plaintiff is satisfied with this amount, Plaintiff is ordered to submit a revised proposed judgment.  If Plaintiff believes that a greater amount is warranted, Plaintiff should re-submit a declaration including any calculation, documentation, or explanation accounting for a greater award. 

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the Court at ALHDEPT3@lacourt.org indicating intention to submit on the tentative as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org.  Please be advised that if you submit on the tentative and elect not to appear at the hearing, the opposing party may nevertheless appear at the hearing and argue the matter.  Unless you receive a submission from all other parties in the matter, you should assume that others might appear at the hearing to argue.  If the Court does not receive emails from the parties indicating submission on this tentative ruling and there are no appearances at the hearing, the Court may, at its discretion, adopt the tentative as the final order or place the motion off calendar.

Dated this 7th day of April, 2023