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DemurrerMotStrikeMot Quash
DemurrerMotStrikeMot Quash
Nancy Duffy McCarron, CBN 164780 Law Office of Nancy Duffy McCarron 950 Roble Lane Santa Barbara, CA 93103 805-450-0450 fax 805-965-3492 [email protected] Real Estate Broker Lic. 853086 Notary Public Lic. 1791117 Certified Arbitrator for BBB 30329 Attorney for Defendant Bonnie Shipley SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO STUBBLEFIELD PROPERTIES, a California General Partnership, dba Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Community Plaintiff, v. BONNIE SHIPLEY, Defendant action filed: 8-27-12 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No.
UDDS1204130
NOTICE of/and DEMURRER and MOTION TO STRIKE PLAINTIFFS COMPLAINT and MOTION TO QUASH SUMMONS Date: Sept. 27, 2012 Time: 7:30 a.m. (Limited Civil Case) Hon. Wilfred Schneider
PLEASE NOTE THAT at the above time and place defendant BONNIE SHIPLEY will move the court to sustain a demurrer, motion to strike and motion to quash the complaint. Motions are based on this notice, Points & Authorities, and evidence presented at hearing:
SUMMARY OF STATUTORY BASES FOR MOTIONS (Notice) Unlawful detainer is governed generally by Code of Civil Procedure 1161-1179a. The summary nature of unlawful detainer proceedings mandate strict compliance with the governing statutory provisions. De La Vara v. Municipal Court (1979) 98 C.A. 3d 638, 640. see also Cal-American Income Property Fund IV v. Ho (1984) 161 C.A. 3d 583, 585. (Unlawful detainer is highly summary in nature; code requirements must be followed strictly)
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A person seeking to avail himself of the unlawful detainer statute [CCP1161] must bring himself clearly within the terms of the relationship between himself and occupier of the property. Goetze v. Hanks (1968) 261 C.A.2d 615, 616; Marvell v. Marina Pizzeria (1984) 155 C.A.3d Supp. 1, 7. Statutes permitting incidental relief, such as damages, are strictly construed. Highland Plastics, Inc. v. Enders (1980) 109 CA. 3d Supp. 1. Relief not authorized by the statutes may not be granted and will be stricken by court.
Castle Park No. 5 v. Katherine (1979) 91 C.A. 3d Supp. 6. (see Motion to Strike below )
Because CCP 1167 provides a response time of only five days, as contrasted to the 30 days normally allowed a defendant in a civil action [CCP412.20(a)(3)], service of a five days summons on a complaint that fails to state a cause of action for unlawful detainer (or forcible entry or forcible detainer) is defective in illegally purporting to shorten the defendants time to plead and hence does not give the court jurisdiction over the defendant.
Greene v. Municipal Court (1975) 51 C.A. 3d 446, 451-452. Service of summons is subject
to a Motion to Quash. [CCP 418.10] see Motion to Quash below, following Demurrer P&A A party may object by Demurrer to a pleading on the grounds it does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action [CCP 430.10(a)(e)] [see General Demurrer below] A party may object by Special Demurrer [CCP 430.10(a) [see Special Demurrer below]. CCP 430.10(d) There is a defect or misjoinder of parties. CCP 430.10(f) The pleading is uncertain. As used in this subdivision, uncertain includes ambiguous and unintelligible. CCP 430.10(g) In an action founded upon a contract, it cannot be ascertained from the pleading whether the contract is written, is oral, or is implied by conduct Matters judicially noticed may be read into a complaint to determine its sufficiency to state a cause of action. E.H. Morrill Co. v. State of California (1967) 65 Cal. 2d 787, 795. [see Request for Judicial Notice filed herewith, as grounds to dismiss with prejudice]. Grounds are Evidence Code 452-453 and cases cited in P&A. [see RJN filed herewith]
MOTION TO STRIKE [CCP 436(a); 437] Irrelevant or false matters may be stricken or relief not authorized under the strict interpretation of UD statutory scheme. All objections must be raised simultaneously before answering or they are waived. Id.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS (verified below and admitted by plaintiff see RJN B3) On 1-05-2005 Nancy Duffy (McCarron) bought a mobile home (the premises) at Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Community at 4040 E. Piedmont Dr. #333, Highland. Duffy is 100% sole owner of the premises [see SB Cty certified tax records- RJN A1 A2] Duffy entered into a lease agreement with MSMHC on 1-05-2005 governed by the MRL. [Mobile Home Residency law]. Under MRL Duffy is a homeowner defined at Civ 798.9. Plaintiff admitted above facts are undisputed in Freeman Trial Brief [see RJN B2] As these facts are undisputed the court must apply MRL, UD law, and lease contract law. Court must apply mandatory authority. Auto Equity Sales v. Supr Court, 57 Cal. 2d 450. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Courts_of_Appeal#cite_note-1 (commonly known). The controlling cases in this Second Appellate District which must be applied to the facts:
1 Otanez v. Blue Skies Mobile Home Park (1991 2nd.District) 1 C.A4th.1521 holding:
We hold that the tenant need not live in the premises full-time in order to be a resident
2 City of Santa Barbara v. Adamson (1980) 27 Cal.3d 123, holding: people have an
inalienable right to life... libertyhappinessprivacy. (any 2 or more can live together).
3 Rancho Santa Paula Mobile Homes v. Evans (1994) 26 CA4th. 1129 (no ex post facto)
holding that a new park rule cant be applied to deprive a resident of a right expressly included in her original lease unless the resident executed a modification to lease. The court must apply all statutes included in MRL, specifically Civil Code 798.34 (b) A homeowner who is living alone and who wishes to share his or her mobilehome with one person may do so, and a fee shall not be imposed by management for that person. The court must apply Clause 10 in 1-05-2005 Duffy lease which was never modified. No persons other than those listed on the signature page of this Lease, and one guest (where resident would otherwise be living alone) may reside at the Space without
At all times Duffy had an MRL statutory and contractual right to have one co-resident. I declare all above facts on personal knowledge under penalty of perjury, executed 8-31-12
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APPLYING THE LAW TO ABOVE VERIFIED FACTS AS ADMITTED BY PLAINTIFF GENERAL DEMURRER [CCP 430.10(a)(e)] failure to state a cause of action
The court should dismiss this hybrid UD summons with forcible detainer caption with prejudice as plaintiff cant amend it to state a forcible detainer or UD cause of action. Plaintiff admitted that MRL must be applied to this case as it governs Duffys tenancy. Plaintiff admitted it is bound by the unmodified Duffy/MSMHC lease since 1-05-2005. Accordingly, plaintiff is in privity of contract with Duffy----not in privity with SHIPLEY. Shipley is in privity of contract with Duffy under an agreement to share premises. This is such basic hornbook contract law it is not even necessary to cite case authorities. As Shipley testified in CD1208367 on 8-31-12 she shares the home as Duffys co-resident under MRL statutory authority of Civil Code 798.34 (b) and Clause 10 of Duffys lease. Shipley testified Duffy uses the second bedroom and bath with her own furniture. Shipley testified Duffy made sharing clear to her when she signed the 6-month agreement. Shipley testified that since she moved in 8-1-12 Duffy has slept there 9-10 times. (1/3 mo). There is no question this proved Duffy regularly resides in the home when in the area. Under Adamson, Evans, and Otanez which have interpreted MRL on exactly this issue, there can be no question SHIPLEY has the right to live at #333. This forcible detainer complaint was knowingly filed without any basis in law or fact by a law firm who, as specialists in representing Mobile Home Parks, knows it is invalid. The firm conspired with plaintiff to continue its campaign to HARASS Shipley & Duffy not only to punish Duffy for protesting unconstitutional rules in May 2010, but also as an example to intimidate other residents from protesting any new rules the park arbitrarily imposes. 2012 CEB (2nd Ed.) Eviction Defense at,6.12, p. 557-558, as to co-resident, recites: The resident who is not a homeowner is entitled to many of the protections of the MRL, but the special restrictions on termination of the tenancy apply only to the rental agreement between the park management and the homeowner, and not to the agreement between the resident and the homeowner. If eviction of the resident is necessary, the park management must rely only on the homeowner to evict the tenant or terminateunder CC 798.56, in order to evict the resident. This hybrid unlawful detainer summons, with a forcible detainer complaint is invalid.
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Plaintiff is not authorized to evict SHIPLEY under either an unlawful detainer claim (in which filing a 3-day notice to pay/quit is a prerequisite) or a forcible detainer which is designed to evict a trespasser who has broken and entered. Under the authorities cited above, the court should dismiss the complaint with prejudice as plaintiff cannot possibly amend the complaint to state a cause of action for Unlawful detainer or forcible detainer. A trial court does not abuse its discretion by sustaining a general demurrer without leave to amend if it appears from the complaint that under applicable substantive law there is no reasonable possibility that an amendment could cure the complaints defect
Coffman Specialties, Inc. v. Dept. of Transp. (2009) 176 C.A. 4th 1135, 1144, Heckendorn v. City of San Marino (1986) 42 Cal.3d 481, 486,; Dalton v. East Bay Mun. Utility District
(1993) 18 C.A. 4th 1566, 1570-1571, Moreover, when a complaint is successfully challenged by a general demurrer, the burden is on the plaintiff to demonstrate how the complaint might be amended to cure it of the defect . Nazir v. United Airlines (2009) 178 C.A4th 243.
Assn of Com Org for Reform Now v. Dept of Indust. Relations (1995) 41 C.A. 4th 298, 302.
SPECIAL DEMURRER CCP 430.10(d) There is a defect or misjoinder of parties. As explained above, plaintiff has no standing to evict Shipley as its lease is with DUFFY, and the rent for August 2012 was paid. There can be no UD as there is no privity of contract with SHIPLEY. There can be no forcible detainer as SHIPLEY resides lawfully. Duffy is the sole owner of premises. The park can only evict a resident under only few authorized reasons as expressly recited in CC 798.56 (failure to comply with state law or local ordinances; being substantial annoyance to other residents; conviction of prostitution; failure to comply with a reasonable rule or regulation which is part of the rental agreement or any amendment thereto; or for nonpayment of rent.) None of these apply to Duffy or Shipley. Plaintiff will argue they imposed a new rule in May 2010 not allowing roommates, but that cant be used as a justification because such rule must be part of Duffys rental agreement or amendment thereto. Duffys clause 10 permits co-resident without prior park approval. Finally, the park may not impose a rule which deprives residents of rights afforded to them by our legislature; i.e. Civil Code 798.34 (b) which expressly authorizes a homeowner to have a co-resident. Demurrer should be sustained for misjoinder of parties.
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CCP 430.10(g) In an action founded upon a contract, it cannot be ascertained from the pleading whether the contract is written, is oral, or is implied by conduct The summons recites this is an Unlawful Detainer case. There can be no such cause of action as it cannot be ascertained from the pleading whether the contract is written, oral or implied by conduct. A contract is a prerequisite to unlawful detainer. Demurrer should be sustained as it cannot be ascertained whether contract even exists. CCP 430.10(f) The pleading is uncertain. As used in this subdivision, uncertain includes ambiguous and unintelligible. The summons recites it is an unlawful detainer. Yet, there are no UD allegations, no Notice to Quit. The complaint is labeled forcible detainer which does not apply to these facts for several reasons. First, complaint alleges plaintiff is owner of the premises. Legal definition of premises is in real estate, land and the improvements on it, a building, store, shop, apartment, or other designated structure. Matters judicially noticed may be read into the complaint in determining its sufficiency to state a cause of action. E.H. Morrill Co. v. State of California (1967) 65 Cal. 2d 787, 795. See RJN A which is a certified copy of County Tax record showing that Duffy is the 100% sole owner of the premises commonly known as 4040 E. Piedmont Drive #333. Duffy leases the land from the park pursuant to the 1-5-05 Duffy lease and her August rent check was cashed by MSMHC. Accordingly, only Duffy has the legal power and authority, as she has exclusive control over the land and structure (mobile home) built upon it, and protected by MRL. The park may only evict Duffy under the 7 allowable causes cited above which dont apply. Secondly, the complaint is ambiguous and unintelligible because the summons recites it is a UD case, the caption on the complaint recites it is a forcible detainer; the body of the complaint recites the action is brought under Section 1159 et seq . of the California Code of Civil Procedure. CCP 1159 is followed by specific codes, only one of which can be used. 1159. Forcible entry 1160. Forcible detainer 1161. Unlawful detainer 1161a. Removal of person holding over after notice to quit 1161b. Written notice to quit required before removal from foreclosed property; 1161c. Foreclosure on residential property; Cover sheet and notice of termination of tenancy 1161.1. Unlawful detainer; Commercial real property
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Unlawful detainer (which is what this defendants summons recite) is a statutory remedy and statutory requirements must be strictly complied with at law.
Schulman v. Vera (1980) 108 C.A. 3d 552, 563-564. No reasonable defendant could be
expected to respond (answer) this completely unintelligible and uncertain complaint. It cannot be UD as there is no contract alleged, no prerequisite 3-day notice to pay/quit. It cannot be forcible detainer as Shipley did not force her way in by breaking/entering. (no criminal report was filed against her.) Is she supposed to guess which of above it is? Further, at Par. 11 it alleges that notice was given per CCP 1162, which applies to UD under 1161. Yet it cannot be UD as no contract or 3-day notice and this conflicts with the caption which recites forcible detainer another code section CCP 1159. Then at Par. 15 it recites plaintiff has violated CC 798.75 which cannot possibly apply because that section prohibits residency where a purchaser has not been approved by the park. Shipley is not a purchaser. Duffy already owns the home and did not sell it to Shipley. At par. 17 it claims plaintiff alleges to be entitled to attorney fees under CC 798.85 arising out of MRL as a prevailing party. If MRL applies the 5-day notice was invalid. [see Notice (compl. Exh. A) which is procedurally and substantively deficient]. If MRL applies then plaintiff could ONLY evict for the 7 enumerated reasons under CC 798.56. As explained above, none of the 7 applies to Duffy or Shipley so it is legally invalid. If the Notice of not legally valid the derivative UD or forcible detainer is also invalid. The court must sustain demurrer for uncertainty as no reasonable person could answer it.
[CCP 418.10]
Because CCP 1167 provides a response time of only five days, as contrasted to the 30 days normally allowed a defendant in a civil action [CCP 412.20(a)(3)], service of a five days summons on a complaint that fails to state a cause of action for unlawful detainer (or forcible entry or forcible detainer) is defective in illegally purporting to shorten the defendants time to plead and hence does not give the court jurisdiction over the defendant
Greene v. Municipal Court (1975) 51 C.A. 3d 446, 451452 (unlawful detainer). Service of
the summons in such a case is subject to a motion to quash under CCP418.10.
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As explained above, the court should sustain the demurrer without leave to amend because plaintiff cannot amend to plead a cause of action for UD or forcible detainer. Plaintiff asks the court to quash the summons under CCP418.10 and Greene. Id. MOTION TO STRIKE [CCP 436(a); 437] Irrelevant or false matters may be stricken. Motions to strike are usually not allowed in limited civil cases, except when damages or relief sought are not supported by the allegations of the complaint or law. CCP 91, 92(d).
Allerton v. King (1929) 96 Cal. App. 230, 233. Motion to strike is appropriate vehicle for
attacking allegations in complaint requesting improper relief. Satz v. Superior Court (1990) 225 C. A. 3d 1525, 1533 n.9,; Saberi v. Bakhtiari (1985) 169 CA. 3d 509, 517, 215 The court must strike a complaint if it is not drawn in conformity to rules. CCP436-437. Here, the complaint seeks attorney fees as damages (Par. 17). Shipley never signed a lease with plaintiff and plaintiff did not file for eviction under MRL. If so, they would have been compelled to follow the proper Notice under MRL which is a 60-day notice. Plaintiff is not in privity of contract with Shipley, but rather with Duffy-not a party herein Accordingly, there is no basis to seek attorney fees from Shipley. Par 17 must be stricken. Par. 8 must be stricken because it is FALSE. Duffy is the owner of the premises within which Shipley resides. (inside the mobilehome owned soley by Duffy). Although land outside #333 may be owned by plaintiff Shipley does not reside on that land, but only uses an easement to drive over that land (common areas) to get to her residence inside #333. This easement to allow access to individual homes within the park is appurtenant to land. Also, plaintiff is not entitled to possession of premises as they collected rent already for the premises ($958 for August rent) from Duffy and are not authorized to collect twice. Plaintiff is limited to collect ONLY the amount of rent pursuant to its lease with Duffy. Par. 9 must be stricken as CCP 1159 does not apply as Shipley did not break & enter. Par. 11 must be stricken as it does not apply. Notice under CCP 1162 pertains to 1161. UD--which is not the cause of action identified in caption. (caption reads forcible detainer) Par. 15 must be stricken as CC 798.75 does not apply as Shipley is not a purchaser. Par. 16 must be stricken as it asks for damages of ($30.01) apparently written in a vacuum
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The entire PRAYER must be stricken for the reasons just explained. Plaintiff is not entitled to possession or damages for rental value (they already collected rent from Duffy) P is not entitled to interest on illegal principal, and not entitled to attorney fees & costs. The entire complaint must be stricken as it is not drawn in conformity with UD statutory scheme, local or state rules. CCP 436-437. Unlawful detainer is a statutory remedy and statutory requirements must be strictly complied with by plaintiff in UD.
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PROOF OF SERVICE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO Bonnie Shipley v. Marvin Freeman Nancy Duffy McCarron v. Marvin Freeman CIVDS 1208367 CIVDS 1208825
I am counsel for defendant: My address is 950 Roble Lane, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. 805-450-0450 fax 805-965-3492 On August 31, 2012 I served respondents with the following documents:
Notice of/and Demurrer, Motion to Strike Plaintiffs Complaint, and Quash Summons Request for Judicial Notice, and Discovery: UD Form Rogs, Econ.Lit.Form Rogs, RFA, Request for Statement of Witnesses & Evidence; Demand for Documentss; Special Interrogatories
NOTE:
[ ] (By Fax) The fax machine I used complied with Rule 2003(3) and no error was reported by machine. Pursuant to Rule CRC, 2008 [c](4). I caused the machine to maintain a record of same. [ ] (By Electronic) to address below (agreement) & [email protected] [x ] (By Mail) 1013a, 2015.5 CCP. I deposited the documents in a pre-paid stamped envelope to: Robert G. Williamson, Attorney for Plaintiff Hart, King, and Coldren 200 Sandpointe 4th Floor Santa Ana, CA 92707 I am familiar with mail collection in San Bernardino. I deposited the envelope in the mail at San Bernardino, CA. I am aware on a motion of the party served, service is presumed invalid if postal cancellation date is more than one day after deposit date on affidavit. [ ] (STATE) I declare under penalty of perjury and laws of California that the above is true. Executed in Santa Barbara, CA on August 31, 2012
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