Gonzalez v. Monterey Financial Services, LLC

Filing 26

ORDER denying 22 Plaintiff's Motion to Strike. Signed by Judge Roger T. Benitez on 8/29/2024. (jpp)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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LARIZA GONZALEZ, individually and
on behalf of herself and all others
similarly situated,
Plaintiff,
v.
MONTEREY FINANCIAL SERVICES,
LLC,
Defendant.

) Case No.: 23cv2368-BEN-DEB
)
) ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
) MOTION TO STRIKE
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Before the Court is Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike. Defendant filed an opposition.
After considering the papers submitted, Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike is denied.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f) allows a court to strike from a pleading an

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insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter.

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The purpose of a Rule 12(f) motion “is to avoid the expenditure of time and money that

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must arise from litigating spurious issues by dispensing with those issues prior to trial.”

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Whittlestone, Inc. v. Handi-Craft Co., 618 F.3d 970, 973 (9th Cir. 2010) (internal

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quotation marks omitted). “Motions to strike are generally disfavored and should not be

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granted unless the matter to be stricken clearly could have no possible bearing on the

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subject of the litigation.” Diamond S.J. Enter., Inc. v. City of San Jose, 395 F. Supp. 3d

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1202, 1216 (N.D. Cal. 2019) (internal quotations omitted). The decision to grant a
-123cv2368-BEN-DEB

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motion to strike ultimately lies within the discretion of the trial court. Rees v. PNC
Bank, N.A., 308 F.R.D. 266, 271-72 (N.D. Cal. 2015) (citing Whittlestone, 618 F.3d at
973).
Here, Plaintiff moves to strike a so-called Rule 68 offer that has not been filed on
the docket. Consequently, at this point “there is nothing to strike.” Bogner v. Masari
Invs., LLC, 2009 WL 1395398, at *1 (D. Ariz. May 19, 2009) (“Because Defendants
have not filed the offer of judgment with the Court, there is nothing to strike from the
record.”); Parker v. Risk Mgmt. Alternative, Inc., 204 F.R.D. 113, 114 (N.D. Ill. 2001)
(“Plaintiff has erred by moving to strike a document that has not been filed with the
court.”).

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CONCLUSION

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For the above reasons, the Court DENIES Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED:

August 29, 2024

HON. ROGER T. BENITEZ
United States District Judge

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23cv2368-BEN-DEB