Preservation Directive Follows Plaintiff's Warning That Routine Deletion Could Compromise Evidence in Case Against The Pointe Malibu Recovery Center

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESS Newswire / April 21, 2026 / On April 20, 2026, the Los Angeles Superior Court issued a tentative ruling directing the defendants in Hickman v. James & Bentz, Inc., et al. to safeguard evidence potentially relevant to the case, addressing concerns raised by the plaintiff that materials such as text messages and other communications could be lost in the ordinary course of business.

In the tentative ruling, the court wrote that the plaintiff "is also concerned that defendants will destroy evidence, perhaps not on purpose but rather due to the normal course of texts and the like being deleted," and stated that "the court will echo" the plaintiff's request that such materials be preserved. The court directed that "defendants are to safeguard any such materials that might be pertinent to this case."

The preservation directive came in the context of the plaintiff's ex parte application to shorten time on a discovery motion. The court denied the ex parte application, citing California Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.4, which generally stays trial court proceedings while a motion to compel arbitration is pending. The defendants' motion to compel arbitration is set for hearing on May 28, 2026. The court noted that it had not yet reviewed the arbitration motion on its merits and was "not making a finding" as to whether that motion is well taken.

The plaintiff intends to pursue the underlying discovery, including environmental and remediation records concerning the subject premises, through the appropriate procedural channels following resolution of the arbitration motion.

Court Case Link:
Los Angeles Superior Court Civil Case Access: https://www.lacourt.ca.gov/pages/lp/access-a-case/tp/find-case-information/cp/os-civil-case-access

Case No. 25SMCV04669.

The remains pending. The claims asserted in the lawsuit are allegations only, and no court has determined liability.

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SOURCE: Verdict PR