GWENDOLYN HUBBARD VS. HYBRID CITY CONSTRUCTION, INC. ET AL

Matter on calendar for Tuesday, August 26, 2025, Line 2, DEFENDANT RENTAFENCE WHOLESALE, INC.'s DEMURRER to Amended COMPLAINT.

Defendant Rentafence Wholesale, Inc.'s Demurrer to Plaintiff Gwendolyn Hubbard's First Amended Complaint is OFF CALENDAR.

A party demurring to a pleading must meet and confer with the party who filed the pleading "[b]efore filing [the] demurrer." (CCP section 430.41 (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. (CCP section 430.41(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. (CCP section 430.41(3).)

Defendant here speaks generally of conferring with Plaintiff, but it does not identify any meet and confer after the filing of the FAC regarding the FAC specifically. Conferences regarding prior complaints do not satisfy the rule. Further, Defendant does not identify the format of the conference it tries to rely on. Even if the conference took place after the filing of the FAC based on the specific contents of the FAC, Defendant did not meet its burden to demonstrate it met and conferred in person, by telephone or by video conference. The parties' meet and confer duties are spelled out clearly and compliance is easy; the court will not read between the lines or squint to try to determine if it can glean possible compliance. Due to Defendant's failure to demonstrate compliance with the statutory requirements, the motion is ordered off calendar.

Defendants are granted 15 days leave to respond to the FAC.

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). | |