ROBIN ROBINSON VS. CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO ET AL

Set for Law and Motion/Discovery Calendar on Wednesday, May 06, 2026, Line 6.

Before the court is an unopposed Motion to be Relieved as Counsel from Counsel Jim Reilly, counsel of record for Plaintiff Robin Robinson. The motion is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.

This is counsel's second such motion. The first was set for hearing on 3/5/2026. The court denied that motion based on several deficiencies and ordered counsel to lodge promptly a proposed order repeating the tentative verbatim. Two months have now passed, and counsel still has not complied with the court's order. Counsel is again ordered to lodge by email to contestdept302tr@sftc.org a proposed order repeating the text of the tentative ruling for the 3/5/2026 hearing verbatim.

One deficiency underlying counsel's prior motion was that counsel failed to show that he served his motion on Defendant. (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."].) Here, again, counsel has failed to show that he served Defendant.

Another deficiency underlying counsel's prior motion was a failure to provide a factual basis for the requested order. Just as "a breakdown in communication" is a conclusion unhelpful to the court, so is "[v]arious conflicts have arisen." The court repeats what it said in March 2026: "Conclusory statements are insufficient to support a motion to be relieved. 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 address. =(302/JMQ) |