Thomas v. Goodwill Industries CA1/5

Filed 11/25/24 Thomas v. Goodwill Industries CA1/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

CAROL THOMAS, Plaintiff and Appellant, A169116 v. GOODWILL INDUSTRIES, (San Mateo County Super. Ct. No. 23CIV00958) Defendant and Respondent.

Plaintiff Carol Thomas appeals from a judgment of dismissal entered after the trial court sustained a demurrer to her complaint with leave to amend and she failed to amend. We will affirm the judgment. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Thomas filed an unverified pro se complaint against defendant and respondent Goodwill Industries (Goodwill) in March 2023. She used a Judicial Council form designed for personal injury, property damage, and wrongful death claims, a Judicial Council form for contract claims, and a breach of contract attachment. In a handwritten attachment, she alleged that she was bringing a “discrimination complaint” based on the fact that she is “an African American female” and in March 2022 two “white female employees” made a “false 911 call” to the South San Francisco police department to have her escorted from Goodwill’s property. Thomas further

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alleged that in May 2022 she was “banned from the property and all Chap[ter] 7 Goodwill stores.” Goodwill filed a demurrer, alleging that the complaint failed to state a cause of action. Thomas did not file a memorandum of points and authorities in opposition. The trial court sustained the demurrer, explaining that the complaint did not sufficiently plead the elements of breach of contract, was unclear as to the legal theory Thomas was pursuing for her discrimination claim, and did not allege the elements of a discrimination claim under Civil Code sections 51.7 and 52, subdivision (b). The court granted Thomas 30 days—until July 21, 2023—to file an amended complaint and cure the defects in the pleading. Thomas did not file an amended complaint. Instead, on June 28, 2023, she filed a document titled “Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment” with a purported hearing date of August 23, 2023. The document did not cite to any evidence, although Thomas later filed a “Declaration,” not sworn under penalty of perjury, in which she made assertions of fact and law. On July 31, 2023, the trial court struck Thomas’s motion for summary judgment, explaining that there was no operative complaint or answer on which a summary judgment motion could be based. Meanwhile, Goodwill filed a motion to dismiss the action on the ground that Thomas failed to file an amended complaint by the deadline. Thomas did not oppose the motion. On September 20, 2023, the trial court granted Goodwill’s motion to dismiss and entered a judgment of dismissal. The court observed: “A court may dismiss a complaint to which a demurrer has been sustained with leave to amend upon the motion of any party when the plaintiff has failed to amend