Montgomery v. Los Angeles County CA2/7

Filed 2/19/14 Montgomery v. Los Angeles County CA2/7 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SEVEN

GERALD MONTGOMERY, B244168

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC481718) v.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

Appeal from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Charles F. Palmer, Judge. Affirmed as to Los Angeles County. Appeal dismissed as to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Gerald Montgomery, in pro. per., Plaintiff and Appellant. Pettit Kohn Ingrassia & Lutz, Valerie Garcia Hong, Jenna H. Leyton-Jones, Lauren E. Schue, for Defendant and Respondent Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Nelson & Fulton, Henry Patrick Nelson and Rina Mathevosian, for Defendant and Respondent, Los Angeles County. _____________

Gerald Montgomery appeals from an order dismissing his lawsuit against Los Angeles County after the court sustained the County’s demurrer to his complaint with leave to amend and Montgomery failed to file an amended complaint within the court- ordered 15-day period. Montgomery also purports to appeal from an order denying his request for entry of default against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. We affirm the order dismissing the action against the County. We dismiss the appeal from the order denying Montgomery’s request for entry of default for lack of an appealable order. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 1. The Complaint On March 29, 2012 Montgomery filed a form complaint against the County and 1 Wal-Mart, as well as several of their respective employees, alleging claims for civil rights violations, negligence and fraud arising out of an incident in which he was apparently arrested for shoplifting items from a Wal-Mart store. Although far from clear, the complaint appears to allege a sheriff’s deputy filed a fictitious police report and tampered with evidence. It also alleges Wal-Mart negligently supervised its employee, causing Montgomery to suffer damages. 2. The County’s Demurrer On April 17, 2012 the County demurred to the complaint on the ground it was uncertain, ambiguous, unintelligible, failed to identify a statute authorizing a claim for liability against a public entity and failed to state a cause of action. On September 10, 2012 the court sustained the County’s demurrer and gave Montgomery 15 days leave to file an amended complaint. Notice of ruling was mailed to Montgomery on September 10, 2012.