Cruz v. Car Auto Center, LLC

(03) Tentative Ruling

Re: Cruz v. Car Auto Center, LLC Case No. 24CECG04412

Hearing Date: May 28, 2026 (Dept. 403)

Motion: Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Case

Tentative Ruling:

To grant defendant’s motion to dismiss the case for lack of a personal representative of the deceased plaintiff’s estate or successor in interest to prosecute the action. (Code Civ. Proc., § 385.)

Explanation:

The court intends to grant the motion to dismiss the action, as plaintiff died about eight months ago and no successor or representative has been substituted into the case to represent his estate’s interests and prosecute the action.

“The personal representatives of a deceased, i. e., his executors or administrators, are the persons to be substituted in an action which is continued following the death of the party, by virtue of section 385 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Upon their appointment and even before their substitution, all rights and interest in litigation vest in them, and they become the real parties in interest, and save for a possible exception in the case of death pending an appeal, the rule seems to be that the personal representative of the deceased must be brought into the suit as a party before he can be affected by any judgment.” (Boyd v. Lancaster (1939) 32 Cal.App.2d 574, 579, citations omitted.)

Thus, “[a] court is without jurisdiction to proceed when one of the parties before it has died and there has been no substitution of any representative of the deceased.” (In re Cazaurang's Estate (1939) 35 Cal.App.2d 556, 558, citations omitted.)

Here, plaintiff died on September 27, 2025. (See Notice of Death of Plaintiff filed by plaintiff’s counsel on November 4, 2025.) Since that time, no personal representative or successor in interest has been appointed to represent the interests of plaintiff’s estate in the action. Nor has plaintiff’s counsel indicated that he intends to file a motion to appoint a successor to represent the estate’s interests. In fact, defense counsel states that his client has not had any contact with anyone claiming to succeed to plaintiff’s interests in the case.