J. DENNIS BONNEY VS. 1810 JACKSON STREET, A CONDOMINIUM ET AL

SF Superior Court - Law & Motion / Discovery Dept 301 - CGC23609401 - November 14, 2025 Hearing date: November 14, 2025 Case number: CGC23609401 Case title: J. DENNIS BONNEY VS. 1810 JACKSON STREET, A CONDOMINIUM ET AL Case Number: | | CGC23609401 | Case Title: | | J. DENNIS BONNEY VS. 1810 JACKSON STREET, A CONDOMINIUM ET AL | Court Date: | | 2025-11-14 09:00 AM | Calendar Matter: | | Notice Of Motion And Plaintiff'S Motion To Substitute Doe Defendants | Rulings: | | On the Law and Motion/Discovery calendar for November 14, 2025, line 4. PLAINTIFFS' Motion To Substitute Doe Defendants.

Plaintiff Vivian Kennedy's motion for leave to substitute Carlos Gomez Andonaegui for Doe 1 and Robin Yoshimura for Doe 2 is denied. Kennedy seeks to add Andonaegui and Yoshimura because they were board members of defendant 1810 Jackson Street Homeowners Association (HOA). Kennedy contends she did not learn they were board members until the HOA produced board meeting minutes in March or April of 2025.

"Although courts are bound to apply a policy of great liberality in permitting amendments to the complaint at any stage of the proceedings, up to and including trial, this policy should be applied only where no prejudice is shown to the adverse party . . . . A different result is indicated where inexcusable delay and probable prejudice to the opposing party is shown." (Magpali v. Farmers Group, Inc. (1996) 48 Cal.App.4th 471, 487 [citation simplified].)

Here, the court finds inexcusable delay. Plaintiff's opening brief represented that "Plaintiff first learned of Andonaegui's Board service following his September 3, 2025 deposition. . . . Similarly, Plaintiff learned of Yoshimura's capacity as a Board member following Yoshimura's deposition on September 24, 2025." The court does not credit these assertions; evidence presented by the HOA shows that Kennedy knew or had the ready ability to learn the identity of individual board members early in the litigation, such as through public documents and discovery responses from July 2024. Kennedy's reply assertion that that there are unspecified facts she learned in her depositions of Andonaegui and Yoshimura comes too late.

The court also finds prejudice. The prior amendment the court approved added already-appearing defendants to an elder abuse claim that had already been asserted against the HOA, and added a probate remedy that did not change the nature or tenor of the litigation. Here, Kennedy proposes adding defendants to the case who will be unable to propound written discovery prior to trial. In addition, J. Dennis Bonney is now deceased and the newly-added defendants will be unable to depose him.