Plaintiff's Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Costs
Accounting; to Remove Trustees and Appoint Successor Trustee; to Impose Constructive Trust; for Damages for Breach of Fiduciary Duty; for Elder Financial Abuse; and for Other Relief - DROPPED as MOOT.
On June 30, 2026, Moving Party Gianelli Law Firm (legally doing business as Gianelli, Friedman, Jeffries & McKernan) filed this demurrer. On July 13, 2026, Petitioner submitted a request for dismissal of the law firm from the action. The request for dismissal was entered the same day. Consequently, Moving Party's demurrer is MOOT, and the hearing on the demurrer is DROPPED.
The following are the tentative rulings for cases calendared before Judge Clifford Tong in Department 23:
CV-25-004706 -CID, HILMER DEL vs GENERAL MOTORS LLC - Plaintiff's Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Costs Pursuant to Civil Code Section 1794(D) - CONTINUED, on the Court's own motion, to October 2, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. in Department 23.
The Court notes that counsel herein has substantial experience with these types of matters and is presumably well-acquainted with the law governing the determination of reasonable fees and expenses pursuant to the statute. Nevertheless, these types of fee disputes are commonplace and appear to reflect a default pattern of refusing to compromise in favor of "trying their luck" before the court, thus wasting judicial resources in the hopes of obtaining a ruling favoring their side. The Court believes that the potential exists for the parties to informally resolve the issues presented herein if genuine efforts to meet and confer as to such issues are undertaken in good faith.
Therefore, the hearing is continued, as above, for that purpose, and the parties are ordered to meet and confer in person or by online video conference to discuss the issues herein. The parties are further ordered to submit a Joint Status Statement by September 21, 2026, describing their efforts to meet-and-confer and any resolution or narrowing of the issues they were able to achieve. The Court strongly encourages the parties to make genuine efforts to informally resolve their differences with due civility to one another. Should counsel for the parties be unable to reach a reasonable compromise of any of the issues presented by the instant motion, the Court may require personal appearances at the time of the continued hearing to further address the issues herein.
CV-25-005440 - MARTIN, STEVEN CURTIS vs DHILLON, SARBIJT SINGH - Defendant's General, or in the Alternative Special Demurrer, to Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint - SUSTAINED, without leave to amend.
This action arises from a July 1, 2023, motor vehicle collision. The original complaint was filed June 4, 2025, in the name of Steven Curtis Martin. Judicially noticed materials establish that Steven Martin died on February 10, 2025, approximately four months before the complaint was filed. The court previously sustained a demurrer to the original complaint with leave to amend. The First Amended Complaint was thereafter filed by Anita Marie Martin as successor-in-interest.
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The threshold issue is whether a complaint filed in the name of a deceased person may serve as the basis for a later amendment adding a successor-in-interest after expiration of the applicable limitations period. The court concludes it may not. A deceased person lacks legal existence and cannot commence litigation. Unlike the cases relied upon by plaintiff, this is not a situation in which a living plaintiff filed suit in an incorrect capacity or where the real party in interest was later substituted into an existing action. Rather, the original complaint was filed in the name of a person who had already died. As a result, no valid action was commenced on June 4, 2025.
The court finds Coats v. K-Mart Corp. (1989) 215 Cal.App.3d 961 persuasive. There, the court declined to apply the relation-back doctrine where the plaintiff lacked authority to sue when the action was initiated. Here, the defect is even more fundamental, because the named plaintiff was deceased before suit was filed. The First Amended Complaint (FAC) therefore has no valid pleading to which it may relate back.
The court acknowledges plaintiff's showing that counsel apparently acted in good faith and was unaware of Steven Martin's death when suit was filed. The court further acknowledges counsel's explanation that locating Anita Martin was complicated by the death certificate's indication that decedent had never married. However, good faith alone cannot create a viable action where none existed. Lack of prejudice to defendants likewise does not overcome the statutory limitations bar.