Mariner Finance, LLC vs. Macdonald, Cody

policy, requests for leave to amend generally will be granted unless the party seeking to amend has been dilatory in bringing the proposed amendment before the Court, and the delay in seeking leave to amend will cause prejudice to the opposing party if leave to amend is granted. (Hirsa v. Superior Court (1981) 118 Cal.App.3d 486, 490; Higgins v. Del Faro (1981) 123 Cal.App.3d 558, 564-565.)

The decision on a motion for leave is directed to the sound discretion of the trial court. Rule 3.1324 regulates the content of the motion and supporting declaration as follows: "(a) Contents of motion A motion to amend a pleading before trial must: (1) Include a copy of the proposed amendment or amended pleading, which must be serially numbered to differentiate it from previous pleadings or amendments; (2) State what allegations in the previous pleading are proposed to be deleted, if any, and where, by page, paragraph, and line number, the deleted allegations are located; and (3) State what allegations are proposed to be added to the previous pleading, if any, and where, by page, paragraph, and line number, the additional allegations are located. (b) Supporting declaration A separate declaration must accompany the motion and must specify: (1) The effect of the amendment; (2) Why the amendment is necessary and proper; (3) When the facts giving rise to the amended allegations were discovered; and (4) The reasons why the request for amendment was not made earlier."

Here, subsection (a) is satisfied via the description and citation to the changes in the proposed amended complaint and the attached redline version. Additionally, the Court finds subsection (b) has been complied with, noting the additional causes of action, the removal of the IIED claim, the discovery of these additional theories and allegations in support thereof via discovery and the relatively short period of time between the discovery responses and the filing of this motion. Given the close relation of the proposed amendments to the activities and transactions stated in the initial Complaint, the Court can discern no prejudice to Defendants by permitting the proposed amended complaint.

As to the substantive arguments raised by Defendants, t he Court will not generally consider the validity of the proposed amended pleading in ruling on a motion for leave as "the preferable practice would be to permit the amendment and allow the parties to test its legal sufficiency by demurrer, motion for judgment on the pleadings or other appropriate proceedings." (California Casualty Gen. Ins. Co. v. Superior Court (1985) 173 Cal.App.3d 274, 281 disapproved of on other grounds by Kransco v. American Empire Surplus Lines Ins. Co. (2000) 23 Cal.4th 390.)

Therefore, the Court grants the motion and orders the proposed amended complaint filed no later than ten (10) days from the date of this hearing. If no one requests oral argument, under Code of Civil Procedure section 1019.5(a) and California Rules of Court, rule 3.1312(a), no further written order is necessary. The minute order adopting this tentative ruling will become the order of the court and service by the clerk will constitute notice of the order. Court reporters are usually not available for law and motion matters in the civil division. The parties and counsel must provide their own reporter if they want a transcript of the proceedings.

Re: Mariner Finance, LLC vs. Macdonald, Cody Case No.: VCL331599 Date: August 31, 2026 Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept. 9-The Honorable Nathan D. Ide

Motion: Plaintiff's Motion to Deem Admissions Admitted Tentative Ruling: To grant the motion and deem Admissions Nos. 1 through 11 admitted.

Facts On or about April 10, 202 6, Plaintiff served by mail Requests for Admissions, Set One on Defendant. The discovery was mailed to the address on Defendant's answer. As of the date of the filing of this motion, no response has been received by Plaintiff. Plaintiff now seeks to deem Admissions Nos. 1 through 11 admitted.

Authority and Analysis Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.280 states that if a party to whom requests for admissions have been directed fails to serve a timely response, the propounding party may move for an order that the truth of any facts specified in the requests for admissions be deemed admitted. Here, Defendant has failed to serve a timely response and Plaintiff has moved for an order to deem the admissions admitted. Based on the foregoing, the Court grants Plaintiff's motion. The facts and allegations alleged in Requests for Admissions Nos. 1 through 11 of Plaintiff's First Set of Requests for Admission shall be deemed admitted.

If no one requests oral argument, under Code of Civil Procedure section 1019.5(a) and California Rules of Court, rule 3.1312(a), no further written order is necessary. The minute order adopting this tentative ruling will become the order of the court and service by the clerk will constitute notice of the order. Court reporters are usually not available for law and motion matters in the civil division. The parties and counsel must provide their own reporter if they want a transcript of the proceedings.

Visalia Division Honorable Bret D. Hillman Presiding- Department 2 Examiner notes for probate matters calendared August 26, 2026, that allow for posting: Status: Recommended for Approval (RFA), Appearance Required or Recommended, Approval Conditional Upon, etc. Case Number | Case Name | Type | Status | Comments | VPR054190 | In the Matter of Medina, Jose Luis | Letters of Administration | Appearance Required | Petition Item 2d(2): amount of bond omitted |