BENNETT vs SHAUN SPILLANE, OF OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

A Stipulation and Appointment of Official Reporter Pro Tempore (CV/E-206) is required to be signed by each party, the private court reporter, and the Judge prior to the hearing, if not using a reporter from the Court’s Approved Official Reporter Pro Tempore list.

25CV010288: BENNETT vs SHAUN SPILLANE, OF OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL 02/19/2026 Hearing on Motion - Other for Reservation Date and Time to File Notice of Rejection Notice of Yolo County Case Attached Due to Lack of Online Reservation Access in Department 53

Once the form is signed it must be filed with the clerk. If a litigant has been granted a fee waiver and requests a court reporter, the party must submit a Request for Court Reporter by a Party with a Fee Waiver (CV/E-211) and it must be filed with the clerk at least 10 days prior to the hearing or at the time the proceeding is scheduled if less than 10 days away. Once approved, the clerk will forward the form to the Court Reporter’s Office and an official reporter will be provided.

TENTATIVE RULING: This Court has adopted certain procedures for hearings involving self-represented parties who are incarcerated, whereby the hearing date is automatically continued to a later date in order to permit the incarcerated party to appear for the hearing by Zoom after delivery of the Court's tentative ruling. However, because this matter is being dropped from the calendar due to defective service and the Court's lack of jurisdiction as explained below, this matter shall not automatically be set for a continued hearing and an appearance by the incarcerated party beyond the filed papers. Instead, the tentative ruling set forth below shall be the final order of the Court regarding this matter.

The Clerk shall serve a copy of this ruling on plaintiff in the ordinary course.

TENTATIVE RULING:

Self-represented Plaintiff David Bennett’s unopposed “motion for reservation date and time to file notice of rejection notice on Yolo County case attached due to lack of online reservation access” is dropped for defective service.

While the title of this “motion” presents no cognizable motion under either the Code of Civil Procedure or California Rules of Court, the Court finds as a threshold matter that there is no proof of service of the instant motion in the Court’s file showing that Plaintiff served Defendant Shaun Spillane with the instant motion. Defective service deprives the court of jurisdiction. (Lee v. Placer Title Co. (1994) 28 Cal.App.4th 503, 509.) Further, Plaintiff may not cure this defect by filing any amended proof of service (assuming Plaintiff had served Defendant) given that no proof of service for this motion can be filed at this late juncture. (CRC Rule 3.1300(c) [“[p]roof of service of the moving papers must be filed no later than five court days before the time appointed for the hearing”].)

While this matter is dropped, the Court notes that Plaintiff appears to indicate that he

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO

25CV010288: BENNETT vs SHAUN SPILLANE, OF OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL 02/19/2026 Hearing on Motion - Other for Reservation Date and Time to File Notice of Rejection Notice of Yolo County Case Attached Due to Lack of Online Reservation Access in Department 53

attempted to file a motion In August 2025 but it was rejected and that he was directed to call the clerk of Department 53 to set a hearing or use the online reservation system. Plaintiff indicates that he is unable to reserve a hearing date because he does not have online access and cannot call the Court. Plaintiff describes himself as a “pretrial detainee” with a “classification in disciplinary housing,” which prevents him from calling the Court or accessing the Court’s online system. To be clear, if Plaintiff is incarcerated, he is not required either to call the Court or to use the online reservation system to calendar a motion for hearing.

As with the present motion, upon delivery of the motion to the Court, the Court has assigned a hearing date, place and time, leaving it for Plaintiff to serve notice of the motion on all parties. Indeed, the Court also notes that Plaintiff has been able to file numerous other motions which the Court has on its own set on the law and motion calendar.

Furthermore, as this Court has indicated multiple times over multiple orders now, Plaintiff has not updated his address of record and in his repeated filings with the Court (including the present attempted motion), Plaintiff continues to omit any updated address information on his filing (in the upper left corner of first page). Thus, Plaintiff’s address of record in this case remains, “P.O. Box 7001, Atascadero, CA, 93423.” This is the address that Plaintiff himself provided to the parties and Court by filing his complaint on April 28, 2025.

Plaintiff has not notified the Court of any new or updated address, nor does Plaintiff’s present motion, filed on August 27, 2025, state on its title page, any address for Plaintiff. Plaintiff’s address of record remains the address to which documents and orders have been and will be served until and unless Plaintiff files a superseding address of record. To the extent Plaintiff’s alleged difficulties are due in any part to not receiving Court orders, Court mailings, or any other served papers, this is due to Plaintiff’s own failure to comply with the Code of Civil Procedure, California Rules of Court, and the Court’s local rules.

Plaintiff has a duty as a litigant to update the Court and other parties with any change of address. (California Rules of Court, Rule 2.200; Bethlahmy v. Customcraft Industries, Inc. (1961) 192 Cal.App.2d 308, 310.)

Once again, the Clerk is directed to serve a copy of this order on Plaintiff at his address of record. The Court notes that although the Register of Actions indicates that mail to Plaintiff at such address has been returned undelivered, such service is deemed proper service as Plaintiff has failed to provide any updated address of record.

The minute order is effective immediately. No formal order pursuant to CRC Rule 3.1312 or other notice is required.