MEGHAN HOLST VS. BELOUS LAW CORPORATION, A CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL ET AL

Set for Law and Motion/Discovery Calendar on Thursday, July 10, 2025, Line 6 1 - DEFENDANTs RELANI BELOUS and BELOUS LAW Corporation's MOTION TO TRANSFER.

Defendants Belous Law Corporation and Relani Belous' motion to transfer venue to Los Angeles County and for an award of fees and costs is granted as to the motion to transfer and denied as to the award of fees and costs. Because this case was "not commenced in the proper court" due to neither of the defendants residing in San Francisco at the commencement of this case, per CCP 395(a) and 396b(a) the court is required to transfer the case to Los Angeles County. Even if plaintiff's motion to consolidate this case with case 623468 was heard and granted before this motion to transfer, the motion to transfer would still be required to be granted.

IN the exercise of its discretion, the court denies defendants' request for an award of fees and costs because the court finds that plaintiff filed this case in San Francisco in good faith, albeit not in accordance with the venue statutes. Plaintiffs to pay all transfer costs.

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 prevailing 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) | |