Demurrer CLMCal. Super. - 2nd Dist.July 27, 2020123 23561 378401583 562400020067960 113454 21905 89 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, MINUTE ORDER TIME: 08:20:00 AM JUDICIAL OFFICER PRESIDING: Mark Borrell COUNTY OF VENTURA VENTURA DATE: 10/28/2020 DEPT: 40 CLERK: Penny Wooff REPORTER/ERM: None CASE NO: 56-2020-00543686-CU-BC-VTA CASE TITLE: California Pharmaceuticals LLC vs. Wells Fargo Bank NA CASE CATEGORY: Civil - Unlimited CASE TYPE: Breach of Contract/Warranty EVENT TYPE: Demurrer (CLM) to Complaint MOVING PARTY: Wells Fargo Bank NA CAUSAL DOCUMENT/DATE FILED: Demurrer, 09/22/2020 STOLO APPEARANCES STOLO No Appearance by all parties Stolo Prior to court commencing, all parties submitted on the Court's tentative ruling via telefax. At 8:36 a.m., court convenes in this matter with all parties present as previously indicated. The Court finds/orders: The Court's tentative is adopted as the Court's ruling. Plaintiff, a limited liability company, has sued Defendant, a bank, contending that Defendant wrongfully refused to allow Plaintiff to make withdraws on its account. In this demurrer, Defendant contends that it was ordered to "freeze" Plaintiff's account by the Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles ("LASC"). For the reasons stated below the court finds Defendant's contention cannot be sustained on demurrer. Request for Judicial Notice Defendant's request for judicial notice of two LASC court orders and the Amendment to Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State is GRANTED. (See Evid. Code, § 452, subds. (c), (d), & (h).) Discussion Defendant does not dispute the facts alleged in the complaint. Rather, the demurrer is predicated on facts not found in the complaint. To that end, Defendant has requested, and the court has granted, judicial notice of the documents described in the preceding paragraph. The LASC orders operate to prohibit any person/entity from "[t]ransferring," "disposing of," or "encumbering" any interest in bank accounts either that are expressly identified in the orders or are within the "dominion or control" of identified persons. Defendant does not contend that Plaintiff's account is one specifically identified in the orders. Rather, one of the persons identified in the orders is Terry Luke and, as Defendant states in its moving papers, "Terry Luke was the authorized signer" on Plaintiff's account with Defendant. The defect in Defendant's demurrer is that this fact - Terry Luke was an authorized signer on Plaintiff's account with Defendant - is neither alleged in the complaint nor revealed in the documents judicially noticed. Defendant seems to believe this void is filled by the Amendment to Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State. But Terry Luke's name does not appear anywhere on that document. The only person named in the amendment is Edgar Lozano. Defendant brings this demurrer in defiance of the most basic rule affecting demurrers: "A demurrer tests VEN-FNR-10.03 MINUTE ORDER DATE: 10/28/2020 Page 1 DEPT: 40 CASE TITLE: California Pharmaceuticals LLC vs. Wells Fargo Bank NA CASE NO: 56-2020-00543686-CU-BC-VTA the pleading alone; a court cannot sustain a demurrer on the basis of extrinsic matter not appearing on the face of the pleading except for matters subject to judicial notice." (Jamulians Against the Casino v. Iwasaki (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 632.) The demurrer is overruled. Defendant is ordered to file an answer only by November 12, 2020. Notice to be given by the clerk. STOLO VEN-FNR-10.03 MINUTE ORDER DATE: 10/28/2020 Page 2 DEPT: 40
