"Motion to Vacate" Shea Hearing ...

Posted by ROBERT LACAMBRA at 8/26/2008 11:02:00 AM |
Lacambra vs. Shea Properties et al

I was at the Santa Ana Court yesterday to file an “Ex-Parte Motion to Vacate Judgment” on the matter of Lacambra vs. Shea Properties. A temporary judge (Robert Monarch) presided over the hearing on the 15th of August and erroneously ruled in favor of the Defendants. On my moving papers, I argued that the Defendants had failed to prove that I had, in any manner, committed any of the following elements necessary to prove an Anti-SLAPP argument:

  1. That I impeded Free Speech
  2. That my case has no merits and will never prevail
  3. That I used the legal process to deplete the Defendant’s resources.
I also argued that the court, on the day that the matter was heard, was guilty of rule infractions. There are certain things that the court must do when a case is being heard by a temporary judge as specified by CA Rules of Court, Rule 2.816. For the benefit of the court I remunerated all the things that the court failed to do the day of the hearing. The following verbiage is culled from my moving paper:

  1. The court failed to inform the Plaintiff that a temporary judge will be hearing the matter on calendar.
  2. The court failed to inform the Plaintiff that the temporary judge is a qualified member of the State Bar.
  3. The court failed to provide to the Plaintiff the name of the judge.
  4. The court failed to inform the Plaintiff that he had a right to have the matter heard before a judge, commissioner of court referee.
  5. The court failed to display a conspicuous sign posted inside or just outside the courtroom to inform the Plaintiff of a judicial substitution.
  6. The court failed to provide the Plaintiff an oral notification or notification by videotape or audiotape of the judicial substitution.
  7. The court failed to give the Plaintiff an opportunity to stipulate his agreement to the judicial substitution.
  8. The court failed to secure the Plaintiff’s agreement in writing expressing his consent to the substitution.
The hearing will be heard on Thursday, August 28th. I’ll post the ruling whenever possible.