| Case | County / Judge | Motion | Ruling | Indexed | Hearing |
|---|
DEFENDANT SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT DEMURRER TO COMPLAINT
SF Superior Court - Law & Motion / Discovery Dept 302 - CGC25623302 - November 13, 2025 Hearing date: November 13, 2025 Case number: CGC25623302 Case title: LINDA E. GARCIA JUAREZ VS. SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT ET AL Case Number: | | CGC25623302 | Case Title: | | LINDA E. GARCIA JUAREZ VS. SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT ET AL | Court Date: | | 2025-11-13 09:00 AM | Calendar Matter: | | DEFENDANT SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT DEMURRER TO COMPLAINT (ADDED TO CALENDAR FOR TENTATIVE RULING ENTRY PURPOSES ONLY) | Rulings: | | On the Law & Motion/Discovery calendar for Thursday, November 13, 2025, Line 8, DEFENDANT SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT DEMURRER TO COMPLAINT (ADDED TO CALENDAR FOR TENTATIVE RULING ENTRY PURPOSES ONLY) (Part 2 of 2)
Plaintiff here can allege that Defendant undertook to provide transportation to and from the school or undertook a school-sponsored activity off the premises of the school and specifically assumed such responsibility or liability or has failed to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances and Plaintiff's injuries occurred while she was or should have been under the immediate and direct supervision of an employee of Defendant.
The court rejects Defendant's contention that the properly pleaded (there are no judicially noticed facts) demonstrate Defendant is necessarily immune from all liability under Education Code section 35330(d)'s field trip or excursion immunity. That section provides: "All persons making the field trip or excursion shall be deemed to have waived all claims against the district, a charter school, or the State of California for injury, accident, illness, or death occurring during or by reason of the field trip or excursion. All adults taking out-of-state field trips or excursions and all parents or guardians of pupils taking out-of-state field trips or excursions shall sign a statement waiving all claims."
Not every outing is a field trip or excursion, otherwise "there would have been no purpose in the Legislature's adding [what is now section 44808]" the year after providing for the deemed waiver of liability on field trips. (Castro v. Los Angeles Bd. of Education (1976) 54 Cal.App.3d 232, 236; see Doe v. Mount Pleasant Elementary School Dist. (2025) 113 Cal.App.5th 1208, 1218-1219.)
Looking for case law or statutes not cited here? Search published authorities
Examples: “Why did the court rule this way?” · “What were the procedural grounds?” · “Is appearance required?”
Whether section 35330(d)'s immunity applies involves a fact-intensive analysis regarding the relationship between the outing is part of the school curriculum or serves a "school purpose" (as opposed to observational or recreational purposes) such that school employees owed a duty of immediate and direct supervision. Defendant did not engage in this analysis, let alone demonstrate Plaintiff's complaint necessarily fails under 35330(d)'s field trip or excursion immunity.
Plaintiff must file her amended complaint within 15 days of entry of this order. Plaintiff 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) | |