PAUL M. CAREY JR. VS. VINCENT DABBAY ET AL

Matter on calendar for Monday, November 17, 2025, Line 11, PLAINTIFF PAUL CAREY's MOTION TO STRIKE ANSWER to Amended COMPLAINT.

1 - Plaintiff's Motion to Strike Defendant Richard W. Meier's Answer to Second Amended Complaint is OFF CALENDAR. Counsel for the moving party is required to prepare a proposed order which repeats verbatim the substantive portion of the tentative ruling and must email it to contestdept302tr@sftc.org prior to the hearing even if the tentative ruling is not contested.

A party moving to strike a pleading or a part of a pleading must meet and confer with the party who filed the pleading "[b]efore filing [the] motion." (Code of Civil Procedure section 435.5(a).) The meeting must be "in person, by telephone or by video conference." (Ibid.) The meeting must take place at least five days before the date the motion must be filed. (Code of Civil Procedure section 435.5(a)(2).) The moving party must file a declaration with its moving papers demonstrating compliance with these requirements and/or that the opposing party failed to confer in good faith. (Code of Civil Procedure section 435.5(3).)

Plaintiff here has failed to demonstrate he met and conferred. Plaintiff submitted a letter sent to Alex Graft on September 17, 2025. (See Carey Decl., Ex. A.) Graft, however, was no longer representing Defendant Meier as of September 11, 2025. Plaintiff was served with notice of this on September 11, 2025. Thus, Plaintiff's letter to Graft is of no effect. Even if the letter were of effect, Plaintiff's duty was to meet and confer "in person, by telephone or by video conference." Plaintiff failed to present any evidence that he even tried to meet and confer consistent with the statute. Sending a letter saying "call me," is simply an effort to shift the meet and confer burden to the other side. The moving party bears the burden and, here, Plaintiff failed to demonstrate compliance.

For the 9:00 a.m. calendar, all attorneys and parties may appear in Department 302 remotely or in person. Remote hearings will be conducted by videoconference using Zoom. (Dept. 302 Zoom ID 160 409 7690; Passcode 516287.) To appear remotely at the hearing, go to the court's website at sfsuperiorcourt.org under "Online Services," navigate to "Tentative Rulings," and click on the appropriate link, or dial the corresponding phone number.

Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to contestdept302tr@sftc.org with a copy to all other parties by 4pm stating, without argument, the portion(s) of the tentative ruling that the party contests. The subject line of the email shall include the line number, case name and case number. The text of the email shall include the name and contact information, including email address, of the attorney or party who will appear at the hearing.

The court no longer provides a court reporter in the Law & Motion Department. Parties may retain their own reporter, who may appear in the courtroom or remotely. A retained reporter must be a California certified court reporter (CSR), for only a CSR's transcript may be used in California courts. If a CSR is being retained, include in your email all of the following: their name, CSR and telephone numbers, and their individual work email address. =(302/JMQ). | |