On 12/13/2018 BENNY SANCHEZ filed a Personal Injury - Motor Vehicle lawsuit against MONICA YESENIA AGUILAR. This case was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Courts, Spring Street Courthouse located in Los Angeles, California. The Judge overseeing this case is WENDY CHANG. The case status is Other.
*******4901
12/13/2018
Other
Spring Street Courthouse
Los Angeles, California
WENDY CHANG
SANCHEZ BRENDA
SANCHEZ BENNY
CABRERA GABRIEL
AGUILAR MONICA YESENIA
GALLEGOS GEORGE
ADEM STEPHANIE N.
2/24/2020: Request for Dismissal - Request for Dismissal
10/31/2019: Minute Order - Minute Order (Hearing on Demurrer - without Motion to Strike; Hearing on Mo...)
11/8/2019: Notice of Ruling - Notice of Ruling
11/14/2019: Notice of Posting of Jury Fees - Notice of Posting of Jury Fees
11/14/2019: Demand for Jury Trial - Demand for Jury Trial
8/20/2019: Opposition (name extension) - Opposition to plaintiffs motion to correct clerical error nunc pro tunc
9/3/2019: Certificate of Mailing for - Certificate of Mailing for (Court Order Re: Hearing on Motion - Other Motion to Correct C...) of 09/03/2019
7/15/2019: Minute Order - Minute Order (Hearing on Demurrer - without Motion to Strike)
5/20/2019: Notice of Ruling - Notice of Ruling
5/10/2019: Reply (name extension) - Reply Defendants Reply to Plainitffs Opposition to Defendants Demurrer
5/2/2019: Opposition (name extension) - Opposition to Demurrer
3/7/2019: Demurrer - without Motion to Strike - Demurrer - without Motion to Strike
3/19/2019: Amended Complaint - Amended Complaint First
4/12/2019: Demurrer - without Motion to Strike - Demurrer - without Motion to Strike
12/13/2018: Summons - Summons on Complaint
12/13/2018: Complaint - Complaint
12/13/2018: Notice of Case Assignment - Limited Civil Case - Notice of Case Assignment - Limited Civil Case
12/13/2018: First Amended Standing Order - First Amended Standing Order
DocketNon-Jury Trial scheduled for 06/11/2020 at 08:30 AM in Spring Street Courthouse at Department 26 Not Held - Vacated by Court on 02/27/2020
DocketOrder to Show Cause Re: Failure to File Proof of Service scheduled for 12/16/2021 at 10:30 AM in Spring Street Courthouse at Department 26 Not Held - Vacated by Court on 02/27/2020
DocketAddress for George Gallegos (Attorney) updated
DocketOn the Amended Complaint (1st) filed by Benny Sanchez, et al. on 03/19/2019, entered Request for Dismissal without prejudice filed by Benny Sanchez and Brenda Sanchez as to the entire action
DocketRequest for Dismissal; Filed by: Benny Sanchez (Plaintiff); Brenda Sanchez (Plaintiff)
DocketAnswer; Filed by: Monica Yesenia Aguilar (Defendant); Gabriel Cabrera (Defendant)
DocketNotice of Posting of Jury Fees; Filed by: Monica Yesenia Aguilar (Defendant); Gabriel Cabrera (Defendant)
DocketDemand for Jury Trial; Filed by: Monica Yesenia Aguilar (Defendant); Gabriel Cabrera (Defendant)
DocketNotice of Ruling; Filed by: Monica Yesenia Aguilar (Defendant)
DocketUpdated -- Complaint DEEMED FILED 12/3/18: Name Extension: DEEMED FILED 12/3/18; As To Parties changed from Gabriel Cabrera (Defendant), Monica Yesenia Aguilar (Defendant) to Gabriel Cabrera (Defendant), Monica Yesenia Aguilar (Defendant)
DocketHearing on Demurrer - without Motion to Strike scheduled for 04/02/2019 at 08:30 AM in Stanley Mosk Courthouse at Department 94
DocketDemurrer - without Motion to Strike; Filed by: Monica Yesenia Aguilar (Defendant); Gabriel Cabrera (Defendant)
DocketOrder to Show Cause Re: Failure to File Proof of Service scheduled for 12/16/2021 at 08:30 AM in Stanley Mosk Courthouse at Department 94
DocketNon-Jury Trial scheduled for 06/11/2020 at 08:30 AM in Stanley Mosk Courthouse at Department 94
DocketCase assigned to Hon. Wendy Chang in Department 94 Stanley Mosk Courthouse
DocketFirst Amended Standing Order; Filed by: Clerk
DocketNotice of Case Assignment - Limited Civil Case; Filed by: Clerk
DocketCivil Case Cover Sheet; Filed by: Benny Sanchez (Plaintiff); Brenda Sanchez (Plaintiff); As to: Monica Yesenia Aguilar (Defendant); Gabriel Cabrera (Defendant)
DocketSummons on Complaint; Issued and Filed by: Benny Sanchez (Plaintiff); Brenda Sanchez (Plaintiff); As to: Monica Yesenia Aguilar (Defendant); Gabriel Cabrera (Defendant)
DocketComplaint; Filed by: Benny Sanchez (Plaintiff); Brenda Sanchez (Plaintiff); As to: Monica Yesenia Aguilar (Defendant); Gabriel Cabrera (Defendant)
Case Number: 18STLC14901 Hearing Date: October 31, 2019 Dept: 94
PROCEEDINGS: MOTION TO AMEND FILING DATE OF COMPLAINT
MOVING PARTY: Plaintiffs Benny Sanchez and Brenda Sanchez
RESP. PARTY: Defendants Monica Yesenia Aguilar and Gabriel Cebrera
PROCEEDINGS: DEMURRER TO FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT
MOVING PARTY: Defendants Monica Yesenia Aguilar and Gabriel Cebrera
RESP. PARTY: Plaintiffs Benny Sanchez and Brenda Sanchez
AMEND FILING DATE OF COMPLAINT;
DEMURRER
(Cal. Govt. Code § 69846.5; CCP § 430.10)
:
Plaintiffs Benny Sanchez and Brenda Sanchez’s Motion to Amend the Filing Date of the Complaint is GRANTED. THE COMPLAINT IS DEEMED FILED AS OF DECEMBER 3, 2018. Defendants Monica Yesenia Aguilar and Gabriel Cebrera’s Demurrer to the First Amended Complaint is OVERRULED. DEFENDANTS ARE TO FILE AND SERVE THEIR ANSWER WITHIN 20 DAYS.SUMMARY OF COMPLAINT: Action for motor vehicle negligence.
REQUEST FOR RELIEF: The Complaint should be deemed filed on December 3, 2018, which was the date it was presented for filing. Therefore, the demurrer based on the statute of limitations should be overruled.OPPOSITION: When Plaintiff filed the First Amended Complaint it did not correct the defect in the Complaint that rendered it subject to the statute of limitations. It is not proper to correct an order nunc pro tunc to show what the court should have done and should not be used to correct Plaintiff’s mistakes in filing the Complaint without complying with CCP section 392
On December 13, 2018, Plaintiffs Benny Sanchez and Brenda Sanchez (“Plaintiffs”) initiated this motor-vehicle-negligence action against Defendants Monica Yesenia Aguilar and Gabriel Cebrera (“Defendants”). Plaintiffs filed the operative First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) on March 19, 2019. Defendants then filed a Demurrer to the First Amended Complaint on April 12, 2019, contending that this action is time-barred. Plaintiff filed an opposition to the Demurrer on May 2, contending that the court clerk improperly rejected the original Complaint when it was first filed on December 3, 2018. At the initial hearing on the demurrer on May 15, 2019, the court continued the hearing to allow Plaintiffs an opportunity to file a motion to correct the filling date of the Complaint nunc pro tunc. Plaintiffs filed the Motion to Correct the Filing Date of the Complaint on July 5, 2019 and Defendants filed their opposition on August 20, 2019. Motion to Amend Filing Date of Complaint Plaintiffs move to have the filing date of the Complaint changed from December 13, 2018 to December 3, 2018 on the grounds that the pleading was presented for filing on December 3, 2018. Specifically, Plaintiffs present evidence that the Complaint was electronically filed on December 3, 2018. (Motion, Gallegos Decl., ¶2 and Exh. A.) The filing was rejected by the Court because Plaintiff selected the wrong type of action and did not submit the Civil Case Cover Sheet and Civil Case Cover Addendum in one envelope. (Ibid.) Upon correcting these defects, the Complaint was accepted for filing by the Court on December 13, 2018. (Id. at ¶4 and Exh. C.)
The court clerk’s function is purely ministerial and he or she cannot reject a complaint that substantially complies with the rules. As explained in Carlson v. State of California Dept. of Fish and Game (1998) 68 Cal.App.4th 1268, 1270, “Government Code section 69846.5 provides that ‘[t]he clerk of the superior court shall endorse on each paper filed with the court the day, month, and year it is filed.’” For purposes of the statute of limitations, “filing” means delivery to the clerk during business hours. (Carlson v. State of California Dept. of Fish and Game (1998) 68 Cal.App.4th 1268 (citing United Farm Workers of America v. Agricultural Labor Relations Bd. (1985) 37 Cal.3d 912, 918).)
Here, Plaintiffs presented the Complaint to the clerk during the Court’s business hours on December 3, 2018. The Complaint should have been deemed filed on that date and the failure to do so was a clerical error. Any error with respect to the inclusion of the Civil Case Cover Sheet was not a basis to reject the Complaint. In fact, the California Rules of Court expressly state that “If a party that is required to provide a cover sheet under this rule or a similar local rule fails to do so or provides a defective or incomplete cover sheet at the time the party's first paper is submitted for filing, the clerk of the court must file the paper.” (Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 3.220, subd. (c).)
Accordingly, Plaintiffs’ Motion to Amend the Filing Date of the Complaint is GRANTED. THE COMPLAINT IS DEEMED FILED AS OF DECEMBER 3, 2018.Demurrer to Complaint
“‘A complaint disclosing on its face that the limitations period has expired in connection with one or more counts is subject to demurrer. [Citation.]’ [Citation.]” (Alexander v. Exxon Mobil (2013) 219 Cal.App.4th 1236, 1250.)
Here, Defendants demur to the First Amended Complaint based on the statute of limitations, namely Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, which provides for a two-year “statute of limitations for negligence actions.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 335.1; Blankenship v. Allstate Ins. Co. (2010) 186 Cal.App.4th 87, 98.) The alleged accident at issue occurred on or about December 4, 2016, (FAC, ¶8), but the Complaint was filed-stamped as December 13, 2018. Defendant contends that because this Complaint was file-stamped more than two years after the accident, the Court should sustain its Demurrer to the entire First Amended Complaint without leave to amend.
In light of the court’s ruling on Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend the Filing Date of the Complaint, the Complaint is deemed filed as of December 3, 2018, which is within the two-year statute of limitations. Defendants’ Demurrer to the First Amended Complaint based on the statute of limitations is OVERRULED.