ZAIRE HILL VS. CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO ET AL

SF Superior Court - Real Property / Housing Dept 501 - CGC24617292 - June 27, 2025 Hearing date: June 27, 2025 Case number: CGC24617292 Case title: ZAIRE HILL VS. CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO ET AL Case Number: | | CGC24617292 | Case Title: | | ZAIRE HILL VS. CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO ET AL | Court Date: | | 2025-06-27 09:30 AM | Calendar Matter: | | DEMURRER to Amended COMPLAINT | Rulings: | | Real Property/Housing Court Law and Motion calendar for June 27, 2025, line 5.

Defendant Homerise's Demurrer to Amended Complaint is SUSTAINED, in part, and OVERRULED, in part.

The demurrer to causes of action 1-3 is OVERRULED. The SAC plausibly alleges an apparent ability to carry out the employee's threats to use weapons because those weapons were within her reach.

The demurrer to cause of action 4 is SUSTAINED without leave to amend. Respondeat superior is a theory, not a standalone cause of action.

The demurrer to cause of action 5 is OVERRULED. Defendant's sole cited case, Chivrell v. City of Arcata (2023) 694 F.Supp.3d 1218, 1232, is a non-binding federal case that based its denial of supervisory liability on the weight of federal authority on this issue. Moreover, Chivrell's analysis of state authority found "the California Supreme Court has 'implicitly' held that a Bane Act claim may be asserted against a supervisor. (Id.) The Court thus declines to dismiss Plaintiff's Bane Act claim on this basis.

The demurrer to cause of action 6 is SUSTAINED without leave to amend. Neither statute cited by Plaintiff applies; one is a statute for employers who harass employees, and another is for restraining orders that cannot be sought through a Complaint.

The demurrer to cause of action 7 is OVERRULED. The Court declines to find that the SAC's allegations are a sham pleading with respect to allegations of threats and the use of racial slurs.

The demurrer to cause of action 8 is SUSTAINED with leave to amend to allege a viable duty and breach.

The demurrer to cause of action 9 is OVERRULED. Although Plaintiff has not alleged a trade, profession, or industry, the allegations are sufficient to sustain a cause of action for defamation because the SAC alleges plausible reputational damages.

The demurrer to cause of action 10 is OVERRULED. The SAC plausibly alleges that the front desk employee deprived Plaintiff of access to and possession of the premises over the course of three months. =(501/CFH)