HUMANMADE, A CALIFORNIA NONPROFIT CORPORATION VS. 150 HOOPER, INC., ET AL

Matter on the Law & Motion/Discovery Calendar for Wednesday, Jun-18-2025, Line 6. 2-DEFENDANT PLACEMADE, A CALIFORNIA NONPROFIT CORPORATION's DEMURRER to 3RD Amended COMPLAINT.

Defendant Placemade's demurrer to the third and fifth causes of action in plaintiff Humanmade's third amended complaint (TAC) is overruled as moot as to the third cause of action and sustained without leave to amend as to the fifth cause of action. Placemade's demurrer is not untimely since it has not yet filed an answer. Even if the demurrer was untimely, in the interests of justice the court treats the demurrer as a timely motion for judgment on the pleadings. Humanmade's opposition papers state that Placemade is not a defendant as to the third cause of action, so Placemade's demurrer to that cause of action is moot.

The fifth cause of action alleges that Placemade breached the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) because the monthly rent in Humanmade's lease was and continues to be more than allowed in the CBA. Yet the TAC alleges that Humanmade's landlord is defendant 150 Hooper Inc., not Placemade, and the lease attached to the TAC clearly states that the parties to the lease are 150 Hooper, as landlord, and Humanmade, as tenant, so, even assuming that Placemade had an obligation under the CBA to provide below market rent to someone, it could not have breached that obligation to Humanamade by charging higher rent than permitted by the CBA since it is not alleged, nor could it reasonably be alleged, that Placemade has a rental agreement or a rental arrangement of any kind with Humanmade. Thus, as a matter of law, the fifth cause of action does not allege the required element of breach by Placemade.

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.

Counsel for the moving party is required to prepare a proposed order which repeats verbatim the substantive portion of the tentative ruling and must email it to contestdept302tr@sftc.org prior to the hearing even if the tentative ruling is not contested.

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/HEK) | |