LAURO ARIAS GONZALEZ VS. FILLMORE MERCHANTS ANDIMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION,INC. ET AL

Set for Law and Motion/Discovery Calendar on Thursday January 22, 2026, Line 14. Defendants Timothy Omi, Patti Mangan and Fillmore Merchants and Improvement Association's unopposed Demurrer to Amended Complaint is OFF CALENDAR.

Defendants failed to demonstrate compliance with their meet-and-confer responsibilities. A party demurring to a pleading must meet and confer with the party who filed the pleading "[b]efore filing [the] demurrer." (Code of Civil Procedure section 430.41 (a).) The meeting must be "in person, by telephone or by video conference." (Ibid.) The meeting must take place at least five days before the date the motion must be filed. (Code of Civil Procedure section 430.41(a)(2.) The moving party must file a declaration with its moving papers demonstrating compliance with these requirements and/or that the opposing party failed to confer in good faith. (Code of Civil Procedure section 430.41(a)(3).)

Here, Defendants learned well in advance of the filing of the demurrer that Plaintiff's counsel had been suspended from practice. Upon that discovery and before seeking to take any action against Plaintiff, Defendants were obligated to contact her in writing, inform her of the suspension and inform her she needs to hire a new lawyer or represent herself in the case. (See Code of Civil Procedure section 286.) Instead, Defendants simply elected to file their demurrer without even trying to meet and confer. This is inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the relevant statutes, including Code of Civi Procedure sections 286 and 430.41.

Defendants' time to respond to the complaint is extended by 30 days. Defendants are ordered to comply with section 286 forthwith, but no later than 5 court days from the date set for hearing of this demurrer.

The parties are admonished they must adhere to the caption set out in the initial pleading in the action. No party shall deviate from the caption (and both sides have here) until the court orders otherwise. Defendants are ordered to prepare a proposed order which repeats verbatim the above and email it to contestdept302tr@sftc.org prior to the time set for hearing.

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.