JAJUAN M. JEFFRIES VS. CHRISTIAN HERRERA ET AL

Set for Law and Motion/Discovery Calendar on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, Line 6.

Before the court is an unopposed Motion to be Relieved as Counsel from Counsel Landon Vivian and The Barnes Firm, LC, counsel of record for Plaintiff Jajuan Jeffries. The motion is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.

Moving Parties have not demonstrated proper service on Plaintiff. Plaintiff is not named on the POS. To the extent the court relies on the Declaration in Support of the Motion, service was not timely. (See Code of Civil Procedure section 1005(b) [motion must be filed and served 16 court days before hearing]; Code of Civil Procedure section 1013(a) [service by mail where place of address and place of mailing are within State of adds 5 calendar days to the period of notice]; see Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6(a)(3)(B) [service by email adds two court days to "any period of notice"].) Counsel served their motion on Plaintiff by mail no sooner than 1/20/2026, which is not 16 court days plus five calendar days before 2/18/2026, the hearing date noticed.

Also, the proof of service purports to serve "Order Granting Attorney's Motion to be Relieved as Counsel - Civil," which is a material misrepresentation, given the court has not ordered such relief. (See California Rules of Court, rule 3.1362(d) "The notice of motion and motion, the declaration, and the proposed order must be served on the client and on all other parties who have appeared in the case."].)

As presented, the motion is deficient on the merits, as well. "An impasse concerning the manner in which this case should be prosecuted" is not necessarily grounds for an order relieving counsel. In any event, conclusory statements are insufficient to support a motion to be relieved. Conclusory statements are insufficient to support a motion to be relieved. This motion is supported only by a conclusory assertion. In any event, Specific facts supporting the order need to be set out, if possible (and its most often quite possible), in the declaration.

If counsel re-files their motion and seeks an in-camera hearing or intends to rely on an in-camera hearing to establish the factual basis for the motion, that must be clearly stated in the motion and/or declaration and counsel's in-person, personal attendance at the hearing on the motion will be required. Prior to the hearing, Moving Counsel shall lodge by email to contestdept302tr@sftc.org a proposed order repeating the above verbatim.

For the 9:00 a.m. calendar, all attorneys and parties may appear in Department 302 remotely or in person. Remote hearings will be conducted by videoconference using Zoom. (Dept. 302 Zoom ID 160 409 7690; Passcode 516287.) To appear remotely at the hearing, go to the court's website at sfsuperiorcourt.org under "Online Services," navigate to "Tentative Rulings," and click on the appropriate link, or dial the corresponding phone number.

Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to contestdept302tr@sftc.org with a copy to all other parties by 4pm stating, without argument, the portion(s) of the tentative ruling that the party contests. The subject line of the email shall include the line number, case name and case number. The text of the email shall include the name and contact information, including email address, of the attorney or party who will appear at the hearing.

The court no longer provides a court reporter in the Law & Motion Department. Parties may retain their own reporter, who may appear in the courtroom or remotely. A retained reporter must be a California certified court reporter (CSR), for only a CSR's transcript may be used in California courts. If a CSR is being retained, include in your email all of the following: their name, CSR and telephone numbers, and their individual work email