Katelyn Geary v. Carpinteria Community Church
Case No: 1487084
Hearing Date: Mon Oct 01, 2018 9:30

Nature of Proceedings: Motion Set Aside Summary Judgment

Katelyn Geary v. Carpinteria Community Church, et al., #1487084, Judge Sterne

Hearing Date: October 1, 2018

Matter: Motion for Order Setting Aside Summary Judgment against Presbytery of Santa Barbara and Synod of Southern California and Hawaii on Cross-Complaint of Presbytery of Santa Barbara and Synod of Southern California and Hawaii

Attorneys:

For Cross-Claimant/Cross-Defendant HMBL: Paul C. Kwong (Mavredakis Cranert – Pasadena)

For Cross-Defendant/Cross-Claimant Presbytery and Synod: Robert W. Brockman, Jr. (Daley & Heft – Solana Beach)

Tentative Ruling: The court grants the motion of cross-defendant HMBL, LLC, dba Holiday Inn Express (erroneously sued as HMBL, a corporation doing business as Holiday Inn Express) for an order setting aside summary judgment entered on July 17, 2018, on the cross-complaint of cross-complainants Presbytery of Santa Barbara and Synod of Southern California and Hawaii.

Background: At a hearing on July 9, 2018, the court granted the motion of cross-defendant HMBL, LLC, dba Holiday Inn Express Carpinteria (erroneously sued as HMBL, a corporation doing business as Holiday Inn Express) (hereinafter “HMBL”) for summary judgment on the cross-complaint of cross-complainants Presbytery of Santa Barbara and Synod of Southern California and Hawaii (collectively “Presbytery”). On July 17, 2018, the court entered judgment in HMBL’s favor.

Motion to Set Aside the Summary Judgment: HMBL moves to set aside the summary judgment pursuant to CCP § 473(b). Presbytery joins in the motion. The parties have entered into a stipulation to set aside the summary judgment.

On July 5, 2018, two court days before the hearing, HMBL and Presbytery agreed to mutually dismiss their cross-complaints against each other. On July 6, the Friday before the Monday hearing, Presbytery dismissed its cross-complaint. No one brought this to the court’s attention and HMBL did not inform the court that the motion was moot. HMBL’s counsel says that, through inadvertence, counsel did not take the motion off calendar. HMBL has not dismissed its cross-complaint against Presbytery. (It attaches to its motion a request for dismissal that it intends to file.)

The court expended substantial time analyzing the motion well before July 5, even though the motion was unopposed. Even if HMBL took the matter off calendar after their July 5 stipulation, it would not have saved the court any time. The court has no interest in preserving an unwanted and unnecessary summary judgment. But the court respectfully requests the parties to be mindful of the court’s time and advise the court of resolution of disputes well before scheduled hearings.

The court grants the motion of cross-defendant HMBL, LLC, dba Holiday Inn Express (erroneously sued as HMBL, a corporation doing business as Holiday Inn Express) for an order setting aside summary judgment entered on July 17, 2018, on the cross-complaint of cross-complainants Presbytery of Santa Barbara and Synod of Southern California and Hawaii.