General Casualty Co. of Wisconsin v. Bow Plumbing Group, Inc.

(Pomona Courthouse South: Dept. G) August 24, 2026 DEPARTMENT G LAW AND MOTION RULINGS The Court may change tentative rulings at any time. Therefore, counsel are advised to check this website periodically to determine whether any changes or updates have been made to the tentative ruling. Counsel may submit on a tentative ruling by calling the clerk in Department G at (909) 802-1104 prior to 8:30 a.m. the morning of the hearing.

Inc.'s Demurrer to Plaintiff General Casualty Co. of Wisconsin's Amended Complaint Respondent: Plaintiff General Casualty Co. of Wisconsin

Defendant Bow Plumbing Group, Inc.'s Demurrer to Plaintiff General Casualty Co. of Wisconsin's Amended Complaint is CONTINUED. BACKGROUND This is a negligence and product liability action. Defendant Net Development Co. (Net) allegedly manufactured a building for subrogor Amazing Hospitality Corp. (Amazing Hospitality). Net allegedly installed CPVC pipes manufactured by defendant Bow Plumbing Group, Inc. (Bow). On February 29, 2024, a hot water CPVC pipe allegedly fractured and leaked, damaging the property.

Subrogree plaintiff General Casualty Co. of Wisconsin (GCCW) allegedly insured the property for Amazing Hospitality. On February 10, 2026, GCCW filed the Complaint. On June 25, 2026, GCCW filed the operative Amended Complaint, alleging causes of action for (1) negligence, (2) strict product liability based on a manufacturing defect, (3) strict product liability based on a design defect, and (4) strict product liability based on a failure to warn. On July 28, 2026, Bow filed this demurrer. On August 10, 2026, GCCW filed the opposition, and on August 17, 2026, Bow filed the reply.

The demurrer is set for hearing on August 24, 2026. ANALYSIS Bow specifically demurs to the second through fourth causes of action based on the failure to state sufficient facts and exceeding the scope of leave to amend. For the following reasons, the court the demurrer is CONTINUED.

Legal Standard

Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 430.41, prior to filing a demurrer, "the demurring party shall meet and confer in person or by telephone with the party who filed the pleading that is subject to demurrer for the purpose of

determining whether an agreement can be reached that would resolve the objections to be raised in the demurrer." (Code Civ. Proc., Sec.430.41, subd. (a).) It further provides that "the demurring party shall identify all of the specific causes of action that it believes are subject to demurrer and identify with legal support the basis of the deficiencies." (Code Civ. Proc., Sec. 430.41, subd. (a)(1).) While Code of Civil Procedure section 430.41, subdivision (a)(4) makes clear failing to meet and confer is not grounds to overrule a demurrer, courts "are not required to ignore defects in the meet and confer process" and if the court determines "no meet and confer has taken place, or concludes further conferences between counsel would likely be productive, it retains discretion to order counsel to meaningfully discuss the pleadings with an eye toward reducing the number of issues or eliminating the need for a demurrer, and to continue the hearing date to facilitate that effort." (Dumas v.

Los Angeles County Bd. of Supervisors (2020) 45 Cal.App.5th 348, 355 & fn. 3.)

Discussion

Bow's counsel provides a declaration with exhibits that demonstrate that they sent meet and confer emails to the GCCW's counsel and attempted to call them on the phone, but GCCW's counsel did not respond. (See Thorosian Decl., P.P. 5-6; see also Thorosian Decl., Exh. A.) However, Bow's counsel did not meet and confer in person, by video conference, or by telephone with GCCW's counsel as required by Code of Civil Procedure section 430.41. Therefore, the demurrer is CONTINUED, and Bow's counsel is ORDERED to MEET AND CONFER with GCCW's counsel by telephone, video conference, or in person and to FILE a SUPPLEMENTAL DECLARATION describing such meet and confer efforts, including whether the attempts were made by telephone, video conference, or in person, at least nine (9) court days before the next scheduled hearing on the demurrer.

CONCLUSION For these reasons, the demurrer is CONTINUED to a date to be determined at the hearing in Department G (Pomona). Defendant Bow Plumbing Group, Inc. is ORDERED to MEET AND CONFER with plaintiff General Casualty Co. of Wisconsin regarding the present demurrer and to FILE a SUPPLEMENTAL DECLARATION describing such meet and confer efforts, including whether the attempts were made by telephone, video conference, or in person, at least nine (9) court days before the next scheduled hearing on the demurrer. | Home -->)" -->