Judge scolds lawyer
The Planet Rock dispute is moving slowly through court due to concerns about sloppy documentation.
Yuba County Superior Court Judge Kathleen O'Connor granted a motion Monday to strike Planet Rock's latest complaint in its entirety. The judge then ordered a more complete document be filed.
The problems arose when Planet Rock attorney Gaspar Garcia revised his original complaint from a property ownership dispute with the building's mortgagee, Jack Moghaddam, and added Marysville and the Police Department as defendants.
Planet Rock owner Richard Trinh is suing for trespassing and damages inside the building after the bar and nightclub was shut down in July.
But defendants' lawyers said it's hard to decipher what, exactly, the plaintiff's lawyer is alleging in the second-amended complaint.
“It is so vague and ambiguous that as a main defendant it becomes virtually impossible for Mr. Moghaddam to read the proceedings as they are drafted of who the plaintiffs are referring to,” attorney Jud Waggoman said.
Garcia said in the latest complaint he meant to strike the city and Police Department from the list of defendants. Garcia agreed to draft a new complaint that would not include Marysville and the Police Department.
But, he said, he wanted the option to bring them back into the dispute at a later date because he planned to move the case to U.S. District Court.
The second amended complaint also referred to exhibits that were still attached to previous complaints, Waggoman said.
“Don't waste the court's time coming here with pleadings that don't have exhibits attached,” O'Connor told Garcia.
“I'll expect the next pleading that is filed to be reviewed by you, to have the appropriate exhibits attached and you to review that pleading with a fine-toothed comb to make certain that what you have filed is what you intend to file,” she said.
The next hearing is scheduled for June 4.
Appeal-Democrat reporter Breeana Laughlin can be reached at 749-4724. You may e-mail her at blaughlin@appeal-democrat.com.
