Judge William A. Crowfoot, Case Number: 23AHCV00659, Date: 2024-12-19 Tentative Ruling

Judge: William A. Crowfoot, Case: 23AHCV00659, Date: 2024-12-19 Tentative Ruling

On October 31, 2024, defendant/cross-complainant Onni Paseo LLC (“Landlord”) filed this motion for leave to file a First Amended Cross-Complaint (“FAXC”) and for an order continuing trial, which is currently set for March 17, 2025. The motion is unopposed.

The court may, in its discretion and after notice to the adverse party, allow, upon any terms as may be just, an amendment to any pleading, including adding or striking out the 223name of any party, or correcting a mistake in the name of a party, or a mistake in any other respect. (Code Civ. Proc., § 473, subd. (a)(1).) “Public policy dictates that leave to amend be liberally granted.” (Centex Homes v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. (2015) 237 Cal.App.4th 23, 32.) A motion to amend a pleading must include a copy of the proposed amendment or amended pleading which must be serially numbered to differentiate it from previous pleadings or amendments and must state what allegations in the previous pleading are proposed to be deleted or added, if any, and where, by page, paragraph, and line number, the allegations are located. (Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 3.1324(a).) The motion shall also be accompanied by a declaration attesting to the effect of the amendment, why the amendment is necessary and proper, when the facts giving rise to the amended allegations were discovered, and why the request for amendment was not made earlier. (Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 1.324(b).)

Landlord’s proposed FAXC adds the City of Pasadena (“City”) as a cross-defendant and asserts a claim for declaratory relief. This action arises from a dispute between Landlord and Paseo Pasadena Hotel Investment, LLC (“Tenant”) over the responsibility of paying parking fees to the City for the exclusive use of certain parking spaces within a parking garage owned by City. Landlord argues that City must be added as a party due to its recent involvement in this parking fee dispute, namely that in June of 2023, City and Tenant entered into a parking license agreement that purportedly grants Tenant the exclusive right to use the same parking stalls that Landlord already designated for Tenant’s exclusive use in the lease. The FAXC seeks a determination that Landlord has the sole right to designate the exclusive use of those parking spaces in the Parking Garage under an agreement entered into between the City and Landlord’s predecessor-in-interest in 2000. Landlord received a copy of the Tenant’s parking license agreement with the City on July 23, 2024, and subsequently determined that a cross-claim against the City for declaratory relief was necessary.

Landlord’s motion is unopposed and the motion complies with CRC rule 3.1324. Accordingly, the unopposed motion is GRANTED and Landlord is ordered to file the proposed FAXC within 10 days of the date of this Order.

Landlord requests a continuance of the trial date in order to conduct additional discovery. Trial continuances may be granted upon an affirmative showing of good cause. (CRC 1.332.) Circumstances which indicate good cause include the addition of a new party and providing an opportunity for that new party to conduct discovery and prepare for trial. (Id., subd. (c)(5).)

Here, Landlord states it will need to propound written discovery and depose the City about its agreement with Tenant. Tenant and City may also need to conduct discovery in order to defend against Landlord’s claims. The Court additionally notes that this case was filed on March 24, 2023, Tenant’s parking agreement with the City was entered into on July 23, 2024, and Tenant’s parking agreement with the City was only recently produced on July 23, 2024. Accordingly, the Court finds good cause to continue the trial date from March 17, 2025, to _________________. The final status conference is continued from March 6, 2025, to __________. Discovery and motion cut-off deadlines are to be based on the new trial date.

William A. Crowfoot

Judge of the Superior Court

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.