Plaintiffs Motion for Substitution of Party
September 10, 2025 Law and Motion Calendar Judge Nicole S. Healy Department 28 ________________________________________________________________________ Case Title / Nature of Case
02:00 PM LINE 1 21-CIV-02564 PEARL WU, MD, ET AL VS. THE PERMANENTE MEDICAL GROUP, INC.
PEARL WU TIMOTHY C. TRAVELSTEAD THE PERMANENTE MEDICAL GROUP, INC. SPENCER DAVIDSON
Plaintiffs Motion for Substitution of Party
TENTATIVE RULING:
Plaintiffs Pearl Wu, M.D. and Douglas Holsclaw, M.D.’s Motion for Substitution of Party is GRANTED.
Plaintiffs filed this motion on March 25, 2026 seeking to substitute Dr. Holsclaw’s widow, Melody Summers, Trustee of the Holsclaw Summers 2025 Trust dated October 7, 2025, in place of Douglas Holsclaw, M.D., deceased, as the plaintiff in this action. Also on March 26, 2026, defendant TPMG filed a “Notice of Non-opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Substitution of Party.” TPMG stated, inter alia that “Defendant contends that a hearing on this Motion is unnecessary and respectfully requests that the Motion be granted at the Court’s earliest opportunity[.]”
Seeing no reason not to substitute Ms. Summers in the place of her deceased husband as a plaintiff in this matter, and noting that TPMG urged the court to do so at its earliest opportunity, the court GRANTS the motion. As of June 10, 2026, Melody Summers, Trustee of the Holsclaw Summers 2025 Trust dated October 7, 2025, is ORDERED substituted as a plaintiff in this action in place of Douglas Holsclaw, M.D., deceased.
Further, now that Ms. Summers is substituted into this action, plaintiffs are ORDERED to submit to the court for signature the formal order on the demurrer to and motion to strike portions of the third amended complaint within five (5) days of the hearing of this motion. TPMG is ORDERED to file an answer to the TAC within ten (10) days of notice of entry of those formal orders.
If the tentative ruling is uncontested, it shall become the order of the court. Thereafter, plaintiffs’ counsel shall prepare a written order consistent with the court’s ruling for the court’s signature, pursuant to California Rules of Court, Rule 3.1312 and Local Rule 3.403(b)(iv), and provide written notice of the ruling to all parties who have appeared in this action. The order should be e-filed only, do not email or mail a hard copy to the court.
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September 10, 2025 Law and Motion Calendar Judge Nicole S. Healy Department 28 ________________________________________________________________________
02:00 PM LINE 2 21-CIV-02564 PEARL WU, MD, ET AL VS. THE PERMANENTE MEDICAL GROUP, INC.
PEARL WU TIMOTHY C. TRAVELSTEAD THE PERMANENTE MEDICAL GROUP, INC. SPENCER DAVIDSON
Motion to Sever
TENTATIVE RULING:
Defendant The Permanente Medical Group’s (TPMG) Motion for Separate Trials is DENIED.
The court has reviewed the parties’ papers and finds that, in its discretion, and in order to best utilize and preserve the court’s and the parties’ resources, the cases will not be severed but will remain consolidated for all purposes including trial.
The Wu case (24-CIV-02654) was filed on May 3, 2021, and was originally set for trial on October 6, 2025 by order dated September 18, 2024. The Holsclaw case (24-CIV-06703) was filed on October 23, 2024. Thereafter, the two cases were related by order dated December 12, 2024. On March 5, 2025, at TPMG’s request, the court consolidated the Wu and Holsclaw cases.
Thereafter, the parties stipulated and agreed to continue the trial date and all related dates pending mediation, and stipulated to extend the running of the five-year period to bring the Wu case to trial to August 24, 2026. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 583.310, 583.330). By order dated May 12, 2025 the court entered that stipulation and thereafter issued a notice that same day continuing the trial to January 26, 2026.
Plaintiffs filed a third amended complaint (TAC) on November 21, 2025, and the court issued a tentative ruling on TPMG’s demurrer and motion to strike as to that complaint and heard oral argument on February 18, 2026. Plaintiffs filed a notice of Dr. Holsclaw’s death on February 10, 2016. Because of questions surrounding the status of the case following Dr. Holsclaw’s death, the court did not issue a formal order on the demurrer and motion to strike, and TPMG has not answered the TAC. However, TPMG gave notice of the ruling to plaintiffs on February 19, 2026. The court has adopted its tentative rulings has directed TPMG to prepare formal orders as to both rulings, and to file an answer to the TAC.
On August 28, 2025, TPMG filed an unopposed ex parte application to further continue the trial to July 20, 2026. The court held a case management conference on October 10, 2025. In their joint case management conference statement, filed on September 16, 2025, TPMG stated that it “believes that bifurcation of Dr. Holsclaw’s claims from Dr. Wu’s claims may be appropriate. Defendant will seek bifurcation of the liability and damages issues for trial.” The