2017-00220058-CU-NP

Gloria Single vs. Congregational Church Retirement Community

Nature of Proceeding: Hearing on Demurrer

Filed By: Westhoff, Michele

This matter is continued to 6/22/2018 at 09:00AM in this department. If the new date is inconvenient, then counsel shall meet and confer and, no later than 4:00PM today, inform the Department 54 Clerk of their request for a subsequent date.

In successive demurrers, the parties have disputed whether Plaintiffs’ allegations could be construed to establish CLTCOA’s associational standing. In its prior rulings, the court concluded the allegations could not be so construed given language in Brotherhood of Teamsters & Auto. Truck Drivers v. Unemployment Ins. Appeals Board (1987) 190 Cal.App.3d 1515. The Court of Appeal in that case recited the rule that “an association has standing to bring suit on behalf of its members when: (a) its members would otherwise have standing to sue in their own right; (b) the interests it seeks to protect are germane to the organization’s purpose; and (c) neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested requires the participation of individual members in the lawsuit.” (190 Cal.App.3d at 1522, emphasis added.) Because Single’s participation in the lawsuit is required, this court determined the allegations in the complaint and first amended complaint could not establish CLTCOA’s associational standing. But that determination was based on the assumption–perhaps wrongly–that Single is or was one of CLTCOA’s members. In fact, the allegations describe CLTCOA’s members as “Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs, their staff, certified volunteers and program supporters.” (SAC, ¶ 11; accord FAC, ¶ 11; Compl., ¶ 11.) Hence, the issue of CLTCOA’s associational standing appears to depend on whether these members would otherwise have standing to sue, whether the interests CLTCOA seeks to protect are germane to its mission, and whether the claims asserted or relief requested require these members’ participation in the lawsuit.

No later than 6/07/18, counsel shall meet and confer, either personally or by telephone, to discuss the issues above and the extent to which these issues affect the pending demurrer. To the extent counsel reach any stipulation narrowing the issues on demurrer, defense counsel shall inform the court of the same in writing by 6/8/18.

No later than 6/13/18, each side may file, and serve by means calculated to arrive the following business day, a supplemental legal brief no greater than six (6) pages in length focused solely on the question whether the SAC can be construed to establish CLTCOA’s associational standing to advance any cause of action.

No later than 6/18/18, each side may file, and serve by means calculated to arrive the following business day, a responsive legal brief no greater than four (4) pages in length.