MICHAEL NOLIN VS. DAVID KANG ET AL

On the Law and Motion / Discovery calendar for October 10, 2025, line 12 2 - DEFENDANT ALICIA COTTA, MISNAMED AS "ALICIA DARROW" MOTION TO STRIKE 1ST Amended COMPLAINT.

Defendant Alicia Cotta's Demurrer to Plaintiff Michael Nolin's First Amended Complaint is OFF CALENDAR, A party moving to strike a pleading or a part of a pleading must meet and confer with the party who filed the pleading "[b]efore filing [the] motion." (Code of Civil Procedure section 435.5(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 435.5(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 435.5(3).)

Defendant's counsel here sent a letter to Plaintiff's counsel. (See Safron Decl. par. 3 and Ex. 2.) Defendant presented no evidence that counsel met be "in person, by telephone or by video conference." There is no evidence that counsel meaningfully tried to do so; inviting the other side to call in response to a letter is not conferring in person, by telephone or by videoconference. The parties' meet and confer duties are spelled out clearly and compliance is easy. Non-compliance here is not excused.

Defendants are granted 15 days leave to respond to the FAC. Defendant Cotta is ordered to prepare a proposed order which repeats verbatim the above text 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.

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) | |