Case Number: BC493768    Hearing Date: September 15, 2014    Dept: 46

Case Number: BC493768
1017 SOUTH HILL LLC VS L A CABARET VENTURE I INC ET AL
Filing Date: 10/15/2012
Case Type: Breach Rental/Lease (not UD/Evict) (General Jurisdiction)

09/15/2014

TENTATIVE RULING: Motion (demurrer to First Amended Cross- Complaint) is continued to 11/13/2014 at 8:30 a.m. and Plaintiff is ordered to comply with CRC 3.300 and file a “Notice of Related Case” in both this case and in Case No. BC466645 within 10 days.

This tentative ruling is posted at 8:20 a.m. on 09/12/2014_ and the matter is set for hearing on 09/15/2014 at 8:30 a.m.

If there are no parties other than Plaintiff/Petitioner, then Plaintiff/Petitioner may submit to the tentative without appearance by telephonic notification to the clerk of Dept. 46 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on a date prior to the hearing or morning prior to the hearing by calling (213) 974-5665, and the court will issue the tentative ruling as the final ruling. If the other parties have appeared in the action, then the parties must first confer and all agree that the tentative ruling will be the final ruling on the matter. If the parties to the matter before the court all agree, a representative of the parties may call the clerk and submit without an appearance, and the court will issue the tentative ruling as the final ruling. If an order is required, it should be lodged directly in Dept. 46 with a copy to adverse/other parties, if any.

Case No. BC 466 645, styled 1017 South Hill, LLC v. L.A. Cabaret Venture I, Inc. (i.e., Kendig). This case, which has been pending since 10/15/12, was re-assigned to Dept. 46 effective 3/3/14. None of the parties in this case have filed a “Notice of Related Cases,” to date. A review of the procedural history of Case No. 08/01/2011) reflects that Plaintiff dismissed the action, without prejudice, on 4/4/12; this case was filed a mere 6 months later. Plaintiff’s complaint in this action states, in relevant part, that:

“13. On August 1, 2011, a lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles
County Superior Court captioned, 1017 South Hill, LLC, a California limited liability company v. L.A. Cabaret Venture I, Inc., a California corporation; Kathy MacDonald Vercher, an individual; and Does 1 through 100, inclusive bearing case No. BC466645 (the ‘Lawsuit’).

14. On April 6, 2012, the parties entered into a tolling agreement of the Lawsuit wherein 1017 dismissed the lawsuit. The tolling period has expired and 1017 is re-filing the instant Lawsuit without prejudice.” (Complaint, ¶¶ 13-14; emphasis added).

CA Rules of Court Rule 3.300 states, in pertinent part, as follows:

“(a) Definition of ‘related case’
A pending civil case is related to another pending civil case, or to
a civil case that was dismissed with or without prejudice, or to a
civil case that was disposed of by judgment, if the cases:
(1) Involve the same parties and are based on the same or
similar claims;
(2) Arise from the same or substantially identical transactions,
incidents, or events requiring the determination of the same or
substantially identical questions of law or fact;
(3) Involve claims against, title to, possession of, or damages to the
same property; or
(4) Are likely for other reasons to require substantial duplication of
judicial resources if heard by different judges.
(b) Duty to provide notice
Whenever a party in a civil action knows or learns that the action or
proceeding is related to another action or proceeding pending,
dismissed, or disposed of by judgment in any state or federal court in
California, the party must serve and file a Notice of Related Case.
(c) Contents of the notice
The Notice of Related Case must:
(1) List all civil cases that are related by court, case name, case
number, and filing date;
(2) Identify the case that has the earliest filing date and the court and
department in which that case is pending; and
(3) Describe the manner in which the cases are related.
(d) Service and filing of notice
The Notice of Related Case must be filed in all pending cases listed in
the notice and must be served on all parties in those cases.
(e) Time for service
The Notice of Related Case must be served and filed as soon as
possible, but no later than 15 days after the facts concerning the
existence of related cases become known.
(f) Continuing duty to provide notice
The duty under (b)-(e) is a continuing duty that applies when a party
files a case with knowledge of a related action or proceeding, and that
applies thereafter whenever a party learns of a related action or
proceeding…
(h) Judicial action
(1) Related cases pending in one superior court
If all the related cases have been filed in one superior court, the court,
on notice to all parties, may order that the cases, including probate and
family law cases, be related and may assign them to a single judge or department. In a superior court where there is a master calendar, the
presiding judge may order the cases related. In a court in which cases
are assigned to a single judge or department, cases may be ordered
related as follows:
(A) Where all the cases listed in the notice are unlimited civil cases,…the
judge who has the earliest filed case must determine whether the cases
must be ordered related and assigned to his or her department…”

Judge Kendig has the earliest-filed case; as such, she must rule on the related cases issue (and even though the earlier case was dismissed.)