Plaintiff Antonio Vazquez’s demurrer to Defendant Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC’s amended answer
2026CUPL061341: ANTONIO VAZQUEZ vs JAGUAR LAND ROVER NORTH AMERICA, LLC, A DELAWARE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY 07/14/2026 in Department 44 Demurrer
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MOTION: Plaintiff Antonio Vazquezs (Plaintiff) demurrer to Defendant Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLCs (Defendant) amended answer.
Tentative Ruling:
Plaintiffs demurer to the amended answer is sustained in party, and overruled in part, as set forth below.
Defendant has 20 days to file a first amended answer.
Plaintiff shall give notice.
I. Relevant Background
On February 11, 2026, Plaintiff sued Defendant under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act alleging three causes of action for breach of express warranty, breach implied warranty, and failure to make timely repairs to Plaintiffs 2021 Land Rover Range Rover (Vehicle)
2026CUPL061341: ANTONIO VAZQUEZ vs JAGUAR LAND ROVER NORTH AMERICA, LLC, A DELAWARE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
(Complaint). Plaintiff acquired the new vehicle on August 27, 2021 with warranties that included a 4-year or 50,000 basic warranty and a 4-year or 50,000 powertrain warranty.
Defendant filed an answer to the Complaint on April 3, 2026 in which Defendant asserted a general denial and thirty affirmative defenses.
On May 8, 2026, Defendant filed an amended answer, which is Defendants operative pleading (Amended Answer). In the Amended Answer, Defendant asserts a general denial, makes general allegations and again asserts thirty affirmative defenses.
On May 20, 2026, Plaintiff demurred to the Amended Answer pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure, section 430.20(a) or 430.30(b) for failure to state facts sufficient to state a defense, and under Code of Civil Procedure section 430.20(b) for uncertainty as to the following affirmative defenses: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th. 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 26th, and 28th. Plaintiff further asserts that the 30th affirmative defense is uncertain under Code of Civil Procedure section 430.20(b).
Additionally, Plaintiff asserts the 19th affirmative defense violates Code of Civil Procedure section 458, and the 24th and 29th affirmative defenses are not legally cognizable affirmative defenses.
Defendant did not file an opposition to the demurrer.
II. Discussion:
A. Preliminary Matters
Conformity with Rules of Court. The Rules of Court govern the length and format of law and motion papers, to include that no opening or responding memorandum may exceed 15 pages absent leave of court (See Cal. R. Ct., rule 3.1113(d).); the font must be at least 12 points (Cal. R. Ct., rule 2.104); conforming exhibits that are appropriately indexed, tabbed or bookmarked, and paginated (Cal. R. Ct., rules, 2.256(b) and 3.1110(f).) Counsels compliance with these rules greatly aids in the review of papers filed with the Court, and also avoids delay in the Courts issuance of a decision on the merits.
Noncompliance with these rules may cause delay in the proceedings, or the Court may disregard noncompliant materials. (See Code Civ. Proc. §§ 187 & 128; see also Bozzi v. Nordstrom (2010) 186 Cal.App.4th 755, 765 [trial has broad discretion to refuse to consider papers that do not comply with rule 3.1300(d)].) Plaintiffs papers do not conform with the rules of Court in that they are not properly bookmarked or labeled. Nonetheless, the Court will consider the papers in this filing. Counsel are admonished to file compliant papers going forward.
B. Legal Standard on Demurrer
The statutory grounds for a demurrer to an answer are set forth in Code of Civil Procedure section 430.20 and 430.30. In deciding a demurrer to an answer, the courts limited role is to test the legal sufficiency of a answer. It is long settled that a demurrer admits all material facts
2026CUPL061341: ANTONIO VAZQUEZ vs JAGUAR LAND ROVER NORTH AMERICA, LLC, A DELAWARE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
properly pleaded, but not contentions, deductions, or conclusions of law or fact. A court may also consider matters that may be judicially noticed. (Donabedian v. Mercury Ins. Co. (2004) 116 Cal.App.4th 968, 976, 994; Blank v. Kirwan (1985) 39 Cal.3d 311, 318 (quoting Serrano v. Priest (1971) 5 Cal.3d 584, 591; South Shore Land Co. v. Petersen (1964) 226 Cal.App.2d 725, 732.) .) The complaint is given a reasonable interpretation, and is read as a whole, reading its parts in their context. (Blank v. Kirwan, supra, 39 Cal.3d at p. 318.)
It is an abuse of discretion to deny leave to amend if there is any reasonable possibility that any defects in the complaint can be cured by amendment. But the burden is on the plaintiff to show how the complaint can be amended and how such an amendment will change the legal effect of the pleading. (Goodman v. Kennedy (1976) 18 Cal.3d 335, 349.)
C. Application
The Court has reviewed Plaintiffs demurrer as to each affirmative defense raised by the Amended Answer, and as to each, rules as follows:
The Demurrer to Defendants Amended Answer is OVERRULED as follows:
To the Third Affirmative Defense that the Vehicle is fit for its intended purpose.
To the Fourth Affirmative Defense, No Timely Revocation of Acceptance
To the Fifth Affirmative Defense, Unreasonable or Unauthorized Use
To the Seventh Affirmative Defense, Misuse, Abuse, Improper Maintenance or Other Exclusion
To the Eighth Affirmative Defense, Failure to Comply with Notice Requirements
To the Ninth Affirmative Defense, Good Faith Evaluation
To the Fourteenth Affirmative Defense, Plaintiffs Failure to Maintain Vehicle
To the Fifteenth Affirmative Defense, Intervening/Superseding/Supervening Events
To the Sixteenth Affirmative Defense, Failure to Mitigate
To the Eighteenth Affirmative Defense, Wrong Party
To the Twentieth Affirmative Defense, Unauthorized Use
To the Twenty-Fifth Affirmative Defense, Express Disclaimer of Warranty
2026CUPL061341: ANTONIO VAZQUEZ vs JAGUAR LAND ROVER NORTH AMERICA, LLC, A DELAWARE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
To the Twenty-Ninth Affirmative Defense, Defendants Election to Arbitrate
The Demurer to Defendants Amended Answer is SUSTAINED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND as follows:
To the Tenth Affirmative Defense, Estoppel, Laches, Lack of Good Faith
To the Thirteenth Affirmative Defense, Unclean Hands
To the Nineteenth Affirmative Defense, Statute of Limitations
The Demurrer to Defendants Amended Answer is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND because the answer does not state facts sufficient to constitute a defense (Code Civ. Proc. § 430.20, subd. (a); Timberridge Enters. v. City of Santa Rosa (1978) 86 Cal.App.3d 873, 879-880.), as follows:
To the Second Affirmative Defense, Duration of Implied Warranty.
To the Sixth Affirmative Defense, Failure to Preserve Evidence
To the Eleventh Affirmative Defense, No Privity of Contract
To the Twelfth Affirmative Defense, No Wrongful Conduct or Breach of Duty
To the Seventeenth Affirmative Defense, No Injury or Damage
To the Twenty-First Affirmative Defense, No Willful Conduct
To the Twenty-Second Affirmative Defense, Implied Warranty Limitation
To the Twenty-Third Affirmative Defense, Use Limitation
To the Twenty-Fourth Affirmative Defense, Dispute Resolution
To the Twenty-Sixth Affirmative Defense, No Proximate Cause
To the Twenty-Seventh Affirmative Defense, Failure to Permit Inspection and Repair
To the Twenty-Eighth Affirmative Defense, No Defect
To the Thirtieth Affirmative Defense, Reservation of Right to Add Affirmative Defenses
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