Judge: Yvette M. Palazuelos, Case: 24STCV00728, Date: 2024-05-09 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 24STCV00728 Hearing Date: May 9, 2024 Dept: 9
On March 21, 2024,
the Court notified all parties in this action via Case Anywhere that effective
April 2, 2024, Judge Elaine Lu would be temporarily assigned to Department 9 at
312 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, California 90012, Spring Street Courthouse.
The Court hereby
notifies all parties again that Judge Elaine Lu has been temporarily assigned
to Department 9 and will preside over all matters set for hearing on May 9, 2024, include
ing the Initial
Status Conference. All parties are
invited to respond to this notice either (a) by indicating on Case Anywhere
acceptance of Judge Elaine Lu to preside over the upcoming matters set for
hearing on May 9, 2024,
or (b) by filing a peremptory challenge under Code of Civil Procedure section
170.6 (if one is still available to that party) prior to the commencement of
the hearings set for that date.
SUPERIOR
COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FOR
THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
Jose Maravilla v Crash Champions
24STCV00728
May 9, 2024.
[TENTATIVE] CASE MANAGEMENT
ORDER
This action has been designated as
complex pursuant to CRC 3.400(a), and thus requires exceptional judicial
management. All provisions of this CMO are deemed necessary to carry out the
purposes of Rule 3.400(a), and to promote effective decision-making by the
Court. They are based upon individual consideration of this complex action, including
the Status Conference Reports previously filed by the parties.
1.
The
Parties are unaware of any relevant arbitration agreements and/or class action
waiver clauses.
2.
The
Court hereby lifts the stay to permit any party who wishes to file and serve a Motion to consolidate the
two related action or a Motion to Stay or Abate. Any party that wishes to file
and serve a Motion to consolidate
the two related action or a Motion to Stay or Abate must do so on or before
July 9, 2024. Before filing any demurrer
or other motion, the moving party must contact the Court Staff in
Department 9 to obtain a hearing date and a briefing schedule. The Court hereby sets a Non-Appearance Case
Review for July 16, 2024 at 8:30 am.
3.
Phased Discovery. Discovery
is phased. The Court will permit class certification discovery only. Informal
discovery is permitted. Merits-based
discovery will be allowed after a successful class certification motion. If
there is a dispute concerning whether a given discovery request is arbitration
based, or certification or merits-based, the parties are to set up a telephonic
conference with the court pursuant to instruction herein.
4.
The parties in the instant
action are to make their best efforts to coordinate discovery with the parties
in the related action, 22STCV34689 so as to avoid duplication of discovery efforts.
5.
PAGA.
PAGA allegations and causes of action, if any, remain STAYED
until all class and individual allegations have been resolved.
6.
Class list discovery.
The decision in In Re Insurance Installment Fee cases (2012) 211
Cal.App.4th 1395, 1426-1429, held that the notice procedure prescribed by the
trial court and followed by the defendant was necessary to protect privacy
rights under the California Constitution.
The parties therefore shall use the procedure described in Belaire-West
Landscape v Superior Court (2008) 149 Cal.App.4th 554 to notify putative
class members, as described in the applicable paragraph of the currently
operative complaint, giving them the opportunity to opt out. The parties must share the cost of the
procedure equally.
a. Plaintiff
is to take the lead and prepare a proposed letter to be sent out by the
agreed-upon third party administrator.
The parties must discuss and settle upon a final version.
b. The
letter must be written using the administrator’s letterhead, not that of any
party.
c. The
defense must turn over the contact information consisting of name, address,
phone number, and email address (if available) to the third-party
administrator.
d. In the
event the putative class list is greater than 400 people, the administrator
must randomly select a sample of no more than 400. The contact information for those persons
who did not opt out must be turned over to the plaintiff.
7.
Payroll Records Discovery. Responses to any
payroll record discovery requests must be uniquely numbered and redacted so
that putative class member’s identifying information, i.e., name, social
security numbers, etc. are not revealed.
8.
Protective Order.
Parties are alerted that model protective orders may be found at Los
Angeles Superior Court website at http://www.lacourt.org/division/civil/CI0043.aspx. The parties are encouraged to use these model
orders as shown, or if modified, as a template for the modified order. A redlined courtesy copy must be posted on
the e-service bulletin board and lodged with the court at the time of filing.
The parties must use the redlined version to identify any changes proposed to
the model order.
9.
E-service & E-filing. Electronic service is not the same as
electronic filing. The parties have
agreed, and the Court has signed an order authorizing Case Anywhere as the
e-service to be used in this case.
Argument must not be posted on the bulletin board. For information on electronic filing in the
Complex Courts, please refer to https://www.lacourt.org/division/efiling/efiling2.aspx and http://www.lacourt.org/division/efiling/pdf/ComplexefilingFAQs.pdf.
10.
Class Certification Motion. Class
Certification Motion filing and serving deadline is February 18, 2025. The
plaintiff is reminded that the plaintiff’s brief must contain a trial
plan. The trial plan MUST be
filed as a separate brief. As with all
other motions, Counsel must call the Court to obtain a hearing date and
briefing schedule PRIOR to filing and serving the motion for Class
Certification. The Court sets a Non-Appearance
Case Review for February
25, 2025, 8:30 AM, Department 9.
11.
Telephonic conferences. The Court handles discovery motions
informally, using telephonic conferences and LA CourtConnect. Counsel must post
a message via their Electronic Service Provider to request any informal
discovery conference or other conference. The Court will either reply to the
message or issue a Minute Order setting the conference. The telephonic conference will automatically
be taken off calendar if all relevant parties have not scheduled the telephonic
conference with LA CourtConnect. Parties
must file and serve a 5-page joint brief two days before the conference. Since
these conferences are informal, no court reporter or audio recording is
permitted.
12.
Potential Related Cases. Counsel are ordered to file and serve a
Notice of Related Case for any potentially related cases pursuant California
Rule of court Rule 3.300. This is a
continuing obligation on both plaintiffs and defendants while this case is
pending.
13.
Settlement.
File a Notice of Settlement on Judicial Council form CM-200, a mandatory
form.
a. Consider using the form wage and hour
settlement agreements now available on the court’s website at https://www.lacourt.org/forms/all – “Civil Forms” section.
With input and unanimous consensus from an Ad Hoc Wage and Hour
Committee, the court posted: (1) a form class action settlement
agreement, (2) a form class action/PAGA settlement
agreement, (3) and a form PAGA settlement agreement. Using these
forms should cut down on attorney negotiation time and reduce the lag time
between a successful mediation and execution of a long form agreement. Filing a motion that is based on a form
agreement and includes a redlined copy identifying modifications will also
expedite the court’s review process and help reduce the current backlog on
hearings.
b. If settlement includes dismissal of
class action claims (such as a PAGA only settlement or an individual settlement), then Plaintiff
must comply with CRC 3.769 and 3.770 in order to obtain dismissal of class
claims. Do NOT use Judicial
Council Form Civ-110, Request for Dismissal.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: May 9, 2024
__________________________
ELAINE
LU
Judge
of the Superior Court