| Case | County / Judge | Motion | Ruling | Indexed | Hearing |
|---|
Defendant’s Motion for an Order Continuing Trial and Expert Witness Related Dates
2024CUPA026646: MEGAN MCGOURTY vs CY KELLAR 05/20/2026 in Department 20 Defendants Motion for an Order Continuing Trial and Expert Witness Related Dates
The morning calendar in courtroom 20 will normally begin at 8:30 a.m. Please arrive for your hearing no later than 8:20 a.m. The door will be opened before the calendar is called.
The Court allows appearances by CourtCall and Zoom. If appearing by CourtCall, call in no later than 8:20 a.m. If you wish to appear by CourtCall, you must make arrangements with CourtCall by 4:00 p.m. the court day before your scheduled hearing. Requests for approval of a CourtCall appearance made on the morning of the hearing will not be granted. No exceptions will be made.
For Zoom appearances, all counsel appearing by Zoom must email the court at Courtroom20@ventura.courts.ca.gov with a simultaneous copy to all other counsel/selfrepresented parties no later than 3:00 p.m. the court day before the hearing. INCLUDE THE PHRASE "ZOOM APPEARANCE ON (DATE OF HEARING)" IN THE SUBJECT LINE OF YOUR EMAIL. The email must identify the person who will make the appearance. You will receive the login information for your appearance in reply to your email. If appearing by Zoom, log into the hearing no later than 8:20 a.m. The Court will transfer you to the meeting room when the calendar begins. When you log in to Zoom, be sure that your name and the case name are used as your Zoom name. IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW ALL OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS, YOU WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO APPEAR BY ZOOM AT THE HEARING.
With respect to the tentative ruling below, no notice of intent to appear is required. If you wish to submit on the tentative ruling, you may email Courtroom20@ventura.courts.ca.gov with all counsel copied on the email. Do not call in lieu of sending an email. If you submit on the tentative without appearing and the opposing party appears, the hearing will be conducted in your absence. If you are the moving party and do not advise the Court that you submit on the tentative, or you do not appear at the hearing, the Court may deny your motion irrespective of the tentative.
Unless stated otherwise at the hearing, if a formal order is required but not signed at the hearing, the prevailing party shall prepare a proposed order and comply with CRC 3.1312 subdivisions (a), (b), (d), and (e). The signed order shall be served on all parties and a proof of service filed with the court. A "notice of ruling" in lieu of this procedure is not authorized.
Motion: Defendant Cy Kellars (Defendant) Motion for an Order Continuing Trial and Expert Witness Related Dates
Tentative: Defendants Motion for an Order Continuing Trial and Expert Witness Related Dates GRANTED as set forth below.
Looking for case law or statutes not cited here? Search published authorities
Examples: “Why did the court rule this way?” · “What were the procedural grounds?” · “Is appearance required?”
Code of Civil Procedure section 473 provides that a court may, upon any terms as may be just, relieve a party or his or her legal representative from a judgment, dismissal, order, or other proceeding taken against him or her through his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or
2024CUPA026646: MEGAN MCGOURTY vs CY KELLAR
excusable neglect. A discovery demand pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2034 is a proceeding within the meaning of Section 473. (Zellerino v. Brown, (1991) 235 Cal. App. 3d 1097, 1105.)
Due to defense counsels miscommunication with her staff, she failed to oversee that defendants demand for exchange of expert witness information was appropriately served on Plaintiffs counsel. (Smith Decl. ¶¶ 7-8.) Defense counsel thought the demand had been timely served, which is evidenced by the fact that on April 10, 2026, defendant served his designation of experts. (Smith Decl. ¶ 9.) Upon learning from Plaintiffs counsel that no demand had been served, defense counsel sought relief through an ex parte application for an order shortening time to have the within motion heard wherein she explained that during the week of the service of the demand, her office experienced a turnover in support staff who assisted counsel in filing documents with the court.
Defense counsel takes responsibility for the failure to serve the demand and promptly took steps to correct the error. The Court finds defense counsel has shown mistake and inadvertence sufficient to grant relief and that good cause exists to grant the motion pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 473. The court does not find prejudice to plaintiff and instead finds that plaintiff is currently advantaged by knowing the identities of defendants experts. There is the potential for unfair surprise to defendant in proceeding without relief considering the importance of discovery of experts in a lawsuit where plaintiff was injured to the point of needing surgery.
The Court is mindful of the purposes of the discovery act, several of which are to educate the parties in advance of trial as to the real value of their claims and defenses; to narrow issues; and to safeguard against surprise.
Plaintiffs request for monetary sanctions is denied for lack of evidentiary support as to the basis for the request for sanctions as well as for the basis of the amount of sanctions requested.
Based on the foregoing, the motion is GRANTED as follows:
Trial is continued to August 3, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. Counsel may appear via ZOOM on that date, only. If the Court is not engaged and no other matters have priority, trial will commence at 10:00 a.m. on August 4, 2026. Parties are ordered to comply with Courtroom 20 rules and procedures with respect to their pre-trial and trial documents. Counsel are advised that the clerks office does not accept pre-trial documents for filing. All documents which are sought to be filed shall be brought by the parties in hard copy and will be filed in Courtroom 20 on the day trial commences.
Defendant is granted leave to serve his demand for exchange of expert witness information upon Plaintiffs counsel on or before May 22, 2026. The exchange of expert witness information shall thereafter proceed pursuant to code in relation to the continued trial date. Expert discovery and motion cut-off dates with respect to expert discovery, only, will run with the continued trial date.
Defendant shall provide notice.
2