March 5, 2019 Law and Motion Calendar PAGE 5 Judge: HONORABLE LELAND DAVIS, III, Department 1 ________________________________________________________________________ 9:00 LINE: 4 18-CIV-01355 COLLEEN KAY CUDD, ET AL. VS. TIFFANY LI, ET AL.

COLLEEN KAY CUDD TIFFANY LI
ALISON E. CORDOVA CAITLIN T. DIMAGGIO

MOTION TO SANCTION TENTATIVE RULING:

The motion for sanctions under Code of Civil Procedure section 128.5 is DENIED. Plaintiffs’ motion fails to comply with the mandatory 21-day waiting period in section 128.5, subdivision (f)(1)(B).

Plaintiffs argue that the waiting period does not apply to them because the Court has already ruled on the purportedly frivolous motions. Under Plaintiffs’ reasoning, any litigant could avoid the mandatory 21-day period merely by waiting until the Court has ruled on a motion and then filing a motion for sanctions. Plaintiffs cite no authority for this interpretation. The interpretation is unreasonable because it would render the waiting period provision meaningless. (See Manufacturers Life Ins. Co. v. Superior Court (1995) 10 Cal.4th 257, 274 (statutes must be construed in manner that avoids interpretations that would render statute “meaningless or inoperative”).)

If the tentative ruling is uncontested, it shall become the order of the Court. Thereafter, counsel for Defendant Li shall prepare a written order consistent with the Court’s ruling for the Court’s signature, pursuant to California Rules of Court, Rule 3.1312, and provide written notice of the ruling to all parties who have appeared in the action, as required by law and the California Rules of Court.