Obtaining a Judgment in the Three Dispositive Stages of Litigation

Poole Shaffery had the great honor of achieving a trifecta in the month of August 2024 in obtaining a Judgment in all three dispositive stages of litigation.

There are essentially three stages for a party to prevail with a judgment through litigation: (1) at the pleading stage; (2) at the discovery stage; or (3) from trial.

The Pleading Stage

The initial pleading in litigation is the Complaint. Once the Complaint is filed and served, the defendant can either Demurrer to the Complaint or file an Answer to the Complaint. After an Answer to the Complaint has been filed, a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings can be filed which has the same effect as a Demurrer. A Demurrer or Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings requires the Judge to assume all of the facts pled in the Complaint are true and even though they are assumed true, the defendant contends that the Plaintiff has failed to state facts sufficient to support a cause of action. If the court determines that even if the facts are true, there is not sufficient facts to support the cause of action and Judgment is proper as a matter of law.

On August 22, 2024, Poole Shaffery defended a client wherein a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge granted our client’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. The Complaint alleged that the Plaintiff, while in the course and scope of his employment for our client-defendant, sustained injuries when the client-defendant allegedly fraudulently concealed a work place condition. Poole Shaffery filed the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings on the basis that the claim was barred by California’s workers’ compensation exclusive remedy and no statutory exception to the exclusive remedy applied on the facts of the case. The court agreed with the defendant and granted Judgment in favor of our client.

The Discovery Stage

Discovery is the process wherein parties exchange information and documents so that the parties can appropriately evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the case. After the discovery is exchanged, a party is entitled to bring a Motion for Summary Judgment which is a dispositive motion prior to trial wherein the party contends that there is no triable issue of fact and that the party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. In other words, a Motion for Summary Judgment is a tool to dispose of cases where there is no triable issue of fact and the party can not prove their case up at Trial.

On August 9, 2024, Poole Shaffery defended a client wherein a San Diego County Superior Court Judge granted our client’s Motion for Summary Judgment. The plaintiff alleged she stripped and fell over a sandbag that was placed along the bottom of a construction fence next to an adjacent sidewalk. We filed a Motion for Summary Judgment contending that the condition was open and obvious as a matter of law in that Plaintiff saw and recognized the construction fence and zone before she approached the fence and that Plaintiff could not put forth a triable issue as what caused her to fall since she did not see what she fell on and only after the accident “assumed” that it was the sandbag. The Judge agreed that the open and obvious affirmative defense applied and that plaintiff did not create a triable issue of fact as to what caused her to fall. The court granted Judgment in favor of our client.

Jury Trial

If the parties are unable to resolve their dispute, the matter will proceed to trial. At a jury trial, the parties will generally prepare a Special Verdict Form which requires the jury to answer specific questions regarding the factual findings of the legal issues of the case. From those answers, the court will then enter Judgment on the jury verdict depending on the jury’s answers.

On August 21, 2024, Poole Shaffery defended a client at a jury trial wherein a San Diego County jury found our client, a truck driver, not negligent in operating his tractor trailer by a vote of 12-0. In accordance with the Special Verdict Form, the court will enter Judgment in favor of our client.