CREWS vs AUTO CITY

25CV133440: CREWS vs AUTO CITY 06/02/2026 Hearing on Motion - Other Motion for Publication; filed by Michael Crews (Plaintiff) CRS# 361460902289 in Department 16

Tentative Ruling - 06/01/2026 Victoria Kolakowski

Plaintiff Michael Crews’s Motion for publication of the summons is denied without prejudice.

I.

Background

In July 2025, Crews filed a Complaint against Defendant Auto City arising from the alleged breach of a vehicle purchase agreement. (Compl., July 24, 2025.) Since then, Crews has been unable to locate and personally serve Auto City at its last known address or a forwarding address. (Mot. at Klopefenstein Decl. ¶¶ 2, 3, 5, Nov. 4, 2025.) In November 2025, Crews then moved for an order to serve the Complaint by publication. (Mot.) The Motion was unopposed. (See Reg. Actions.)

II.

Legal Standard

The court may permit service of the summons by publication if “the party to be served cannot with reasonable diligence be served in another manner” and a “cause of action exists against the party upon whom service is to be made.” (Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 415.50(a)(1).) “The term ‘reasonable diligence’ denotes ‘a thorough, systematic investigation and inquiry conducted in good faith by the party or his agent or attorney.’” (Robert I. Weil & Ira A. Brown, Jr., Cal. Prac. Guide Civ. Proc. Before Trial Ch. 4-D ¶ 4:252 (quoting Watts v. Crawford (1995) 10 Cal. 4th 743, 749 n.5).)

III.

Discussion

The Court finds that service by publication is not currently appropriate. First, Crews seems to have been in contact with Auto City’s counsel at some point earlier last year. (See Mot. 2:10– 11.) Second, Crews has only made one attempt to serve Complaint at Auto City’s last known address. (Id. Ex. B.) And third, Crews did not sufficiently describe his internet and public records searches to permit the Court to verify that he has been reasonably diligent in his efforts to find Auto City. (See, e.g., id. at Klopefenstein Decl. ¶ 4 (“I conducted a search of the California Secretary of State's business registry, which revealed that Auto City has no active listing or registered agent on file.”).)

Together, these facts indicate that Auto City may still be served by means other than publication. (See Espindola v. Nunez (1988) 199 Cal. App. 3d 1389, 1392–93 (“Before allowing a plaintiff to resort to service by publication, the courts necessarily require him to show exhaustive attempts to locate the defendant, for it is generally recognized that service by publication rarely results in actual notice.”).)

The Court denies the Motion without prejudice. Crews may renew his motion upon a more robust showing of reasonable diligence. Further, if Crews renews his motion, Crews should identify the intended newspaper for publication. Finally, Crews may file this request for relief via 25CV133440: CREWS vs AUTO CITY 06/02/2026 Hearing on Motion - Other Motion for Publication; filed by Michael Crews (Plaintiff) CRS# 361460902289 in Department 16 ex parte application. (See Rios v. Singh (2021) 65 Cal. App. 5th 871, 883 (“[A]n application for an order of publication of the summons may be made at an ex parte hearing.”).)

IV. Order The Motion is denied without prejudice.

***

The Motion re: Notice of Motion and Motion for Service by Publication filed by Michael Crews on 11/04/2025 is Denied.

The Court orders counsel to obtain a copy of this order from the eCourt portal.

If a party does not timely contest the foregoing Tentative Ruling and appear at the hearing, the Tentative Ruling will become the order of the court.

How Do I Contest a Tentative Ruling? Find your case in eCourt at https://eportal.alameda.courts.ca.gov/ using “Case Search” or “Calendar Search” (after you log in) Select the Tentative Rulings Tab Select "Click to Contest this Ruling" Enter your name and briefly identify the issues you wish to argue. Select "Proceed"

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SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF ALAMEDA

25CV133440: CREWS vs AUTO CITY 06/02/2026 Hearing on Motion - Other Motion for Publication; filed by Michael Crews (Plaintiff) CRS# 361460902289 in Department 16