DEBRA CURTIS VS. LAGUNA HONDA HOSPITAL AND REHABILITATION CENTER ET AL

Set for Law and Motion/Discovery Calendar on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, Line 2. Defendant Shana Chaney's motion to strike portions of Plaintiff Debra Curtis's Third Amended Complaint is DENIED.

A party may move to strike under Code of Civil Procedure section 435 and 436 "any irrelevant, false, or improper matter inserted in any pleading" or "all or any part of any pleading not drawn or filed in conformity with the laws of this state, a court rule, or an order of the court." "In the construction of a pleading, for the purpose of determining its effect, its allegations must be liberally construed, with a view to substantial justice between the parties." (CCP 452.) An immaterial or irrelevant matter under section 436 is defined as "any of the following: (1) An allegation that is not essential to the statement of a claim or defense. (2) An allegation that is neither pertinent to nor supported by an otherwise sufficient claim or defense. (3) A demand for judgment requesting relief not supported by the allegations of the complaint or cross-complaint." (CCP 431.10.)

Defendant's motion to strike is denied. The cited allegations qualify as background for the claims. The court liberally construes the pleading per section 452, and there is no point in excising the cited allegations. The adduced paragraphs are not "irrelevant, false, or improper" within the meaning of CCP 436(a)-they add context to the circumstances surrounding the alleged assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and elder abuse claims. (See PH II, Inc. v. Super. Ct. (1995) 33 Cal.App.4th 1680, 1682-1683 ["We emphasize that such use of the motion to strike should be cautious and sparing. We have no intention of creating a procedural 'line item veto' for the civil defendant."].)

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.

Counsel for the prevailing party is required to prepare a proposed order which repeats verbatim the substantive portion of the tentative ruling and must email it to contestdept302tr@sftc.org prior to the hearing even if the tentative ruling is not contested.

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.