Hitz v. Rutter CA4/1

Filed 7/11/24 Hitz v. Rutter CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

JEFFREY K. HITZ, D082787

Petitioner and Appellant,

v. (Super. Ct. No. 37-2023- 00023693-PR-TR-CTL) THEODORE RUTTER et al.,

Respondents.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, John B. Scherling, Judge. Affirmed. Jeffrey K. Hitz, in pro. per., for Petitioner and Appellant. Chhokar Law Group, David G. Greco and Kristen A. Friedman, for Respondents. Jeffrey K. Hitz appeals from a judgment dismissing his trust contest petition after the trial court sustained without leave to amend Trustees Theodore and Deborah Rutter’s demurrer. Hitz claims the trial court erred in concluding (1) his trust contest was time-barred, (2) he lacked standing to bring that or any other claim, and (3) amendment was futile. We conclude Hitz failed to adequately support his claims of error with citations to relevant

authority and/or appropriate legal argument and therefore waived them. We accordingly affirm. I. Marilyn and Peter Hoijer executed a declaration of trust in 1991 appointing them as the original trustees, which was amended nine times over the years. In the 1999 Third Amendment, Deborah was appointed as co- trustee. In 2016, Marilyn, Peter, and Deborah executed the Seventh Amendment, removing Hitz, Marilyn’s nephew, as a beneficiary. Peter died in August 2017. In 2018, Marilyn and Deborah executed the Eighth Amendment to the trust, which clarified Marilyn “intentionally makes no gift or provision for” Hitz because she and Peter “provided ample gifts and loans to [him] during their lifetimes, which loans were not repaid.” In the 2020 Ninth Amendment, Theodore was also appointed as co-trustee. Marilyn passed away in September 2022. On October 4, 2022, a notification by trustee under Probate Code section 16061.7 was sent to all beneficiaries and heirs to notify them of Marilyn’s death and the 120-day limitations period to contest the trust. On October 7, 2022, a substantively identical notification of trustee was served providing notice of Peter’s death. Hitz filed a petition on June 7, 2023, contesting the trust and seeking reinstatement as a beneficiary or damages. The petition acknowledged service and receipt of both statutory notices. As Trustees note, Hitz’s claims are difficult to parse given the petition’s lack of separately pleaded causes of action. Liberally construed, the petition: (1) challenged the validity of the Seventh and Eighth Amendments on the grounds of Peter’s and Marilyn’s