18-UDL-01215 GENE WEBER VS. AURA GUERRERO, ET AL.

GENE WEBER AURA GUERRERO
PRO/PER JULIET M. BRODIE

DEMURRER TO PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR UNLAWFUL DETAINER BY AURA GUERRERO TENTATIVE RULING:

Defendant’s Demurrer to Plaintiff’s Complaint is OVERRULED. Defendant shall file an answer within 5 days of this Order pursuant to CCP §1167.3 and CRC 3.1320(g).

Defendant asserts the 3-day notice is defective because they were “entitled to a Spanish translation of the deficiency notice” under CCP §1632. That section provides, in pertinent part, as follows.

(b) Any person engaged in a trade or business who negotiates primarily in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean, orally or in writing, in the course of entering into any of the following, shall deliver to the other party to the contract or agreement and prior to the execution thereof, a translation of the contract or agreement in the language in which the contract or agreement was negotiated, that includes a translation of every term and condition in that contract or agreement: . . .

(3) A lease, sublease, rental contract or agreement, or other term of tenancy contract or agreement, for a period of longer than one month, covering a dwelling, an apartment, or mobilehome, or other dwelling unit normally occupied as a residence.

Cal. Civ. Code §1632. Defendant has not alleged that the parties’ lease agreement was negotiated in Spanish. Further, Defendant has not alleged that Plaintiff is a “person engaged in a trade or business who negotiates primarily in Spanish.” Accordingly, Defendant fails to provide facts warranting application of CCP §1632.

Defendant also asserts the 3-day notice is defective because there is “no express covenant of the lease” which grants landlord access to the backyard for one month. The lease provides, however, that “Tenant shall: . . . Not obstruct the driveways, sidewalks, courts, entry ways, stairs and/or halls, which shall be used for the purpose of ingress and egress only,” and that Tenant shall “Deposit all trash, garbage, rubbish or refuse in the locations provided therefor and shall not allow any trash, garbage, rubbish or refuse to be deposited or permitted to stand on the exterior of any building or within the common elements.” [Lease, ¶11(a), (k).] The lease also provides that “Landlord . . . shall have the right at all reasonable times . . . to enter the Premises for the purpose of inspecting the Premises . . . And for the purposes of making any repairs, additions, or alterations as may be deemed appropriate by Landlord for the preservation of the Premises or the building.” [Lease, ¶13.]

Plaintiff’s 3-day notice provided, in pertinent part, as follows:

The Landlord needs access to the rear yard of 2861 Fordham Street via the large rolling gate located on Rutgers Street. Access is needed to make yard improvements and to repair/replace the back yard fence. Access for Landlord’s truck to be driven into the back yard via the rolling gate must be provided.

All possessions, debris and rubbish that are presently being stored on the inside of the gate must be removed. Additionally all possessions, debris and rubbish that is at or near the back yard fence must be removed. Also clear access is needed through the center of the yard, for Landlord’s truck and other helper’s trucks. It is anticipated that the work will take approximately one month.

The Court finds that Plaintiff’s three-day notice adequately informed Defendants they were in violation of the covenants of the lease providing landlord access to driveways and entry ways, as well as the covenants providing landlord the right to enter the premises for purposes of making appropriate repairs and alterations. Considering that the notice provides that “All possessions, debris and rubbish that are presently being stored on the inside of the gate must be removed,” and that “all possessions, debris and rubbish that is at or near the back yard fence must be removed,” the Court does not agree with Defendant’s claim that Plaintiff’s notice “fails to make clear what would be required of Defendant in order to perform.”