JENNIFER SPALDING VS. VAN NESS HAYES ASSOCIATES LLC, ET AL

SF Superior Court - Real Property / Housing Dept 501 - CGC23606781 - June 24, 2025 Hearing date: June 24, 2025 Case number: CGC23606781 Case title: JENNIFER SPALDING VS. VAN NESS HAYES ASSOCIATES LLC, ET AL Case Number: | | CGC23606781 | Case Title: | | JENNIFER SPALDING VS. VAN NESS HAYES ASSOCIATES LLC, ET AL | Court Date: | | 2025-06-24 09:30 AM | Calendar Matter: | | DEMURRER to Amended COMPLAINT | Rulings: | | Real Property/Housing Court Law and Motion calendar for June 24, 2025, line 4.

Defendants' Demurrer to Amended Complaint is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND.

Plaintiff was granted final leave to amend the Fourth Amended Complaint to allege her claims in clear and concise language. Plaintiff has not done so. Plaintiff has been previously ordered to make factual allegations in support of each cause of action as to each defendant. Plaintiff has not done so. Instead, Plaintiff continues to allege general allegations of wrongdoing against all defendants without any differentiation.

Plaintiff's apparent attempt to group all defendants together by alleging, generally, theories of joint and several liability and alter ego falls short. Plaintiff does not explain how any of the defendants are connected, who is an alter ego of whom, and fails to allege any facts showing a unity of interest and ownership or conduct amounting to bad faith. To be sure, its not even clear who these defendants are and how they are connected to this lawsuit. Plaintiff's Fifth Amended Complaint fails to accomplish what the Court specifically instructed Plaintiff to do in this regard.

Contrary to Plaintiff's assertions of "mere technical imperfections," Plaintiff's continued and consistent lack of specific allegations against any particular defendant renders the complaint uncertain, ambiguous, and vague such that the nine defendants cannot be expected to understand what allegations are being made against them and under which theories of liability.

The policy of great liberality in permitting amendments is not without its limits. Defendants' demurrers to the First, Second, and Fourth Amended Complaint have been sustained with specific instructions to clearly identify the defendants against whom a particular cause of action is alleged against. Plaintiff has demonstrated that she has no intention of doing so. For this reason, the general demurrer is sustained without leave to amend. =(501/CFH)

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