§ 435.5.Meeting Before Filing Motion to Strike

Section 435.5 imports the meet-and-confer requirement from demurrers into motions to strike. Before filing a motion to strike, the moving party must meet and confer — in person, by telephone, or by video conference — with the party who filed the pleading, to see whether the objections can be resolved without a motion. If an amended pleading is later filed, the parties must meet and confer again before a motion to strike the amended version.

The mechanics track § 430.41 closely. The moving party must identify the specific allegations it believes are subject to being stricken, with legal support; the responding party must explain why the pleading is sufficient or how it could be amended. The parties must meet and confer at least 5 days before the motion to strike is due, or the moving party gets an automatic 30-day extension by filing a declaration under penalty of perjury describing the good-faith effort. The moving party must file a declaration with the motion itself, describing either an unsuccessful meet-and-confer or the other side's failure to participate. And as with demurrers, a court's finding the process was insufficient is not grounds to grant or deny the motion.

Section 435.5 also limits repeat motions and repeat amendments, following the same three-amendment cap and post-grant conference option that § 430.41 sets for demurrers. It carries its own set of exceptions, though: beyond unrepresented incarcerated parties and unlawful detainer proceedings, it exempts special anti-SLAPP motions under § 425.16 and any motion to strike brought less than 30 days before trial.