Tokeshi

Plaintiffs Joseph and Hideko Tokeshi filed an action against defendants State of California (State), County of Los Angeles (County), and certain County employees to recover damages for violations of the Food and Agricultural Code. Their third amended complaint also sought a declaration that section 12673 of the Food and Agricultural Code is unconstitutional. On the day of trial, defendants moved for a judgment on the pleadings. After concluding that the defendants were entitled to governmental immunity, the trial court granted the motion and entered a judgment against plaintiffs. This appeal follows. We affirm.

Preliminarily, we note that a motion for judgment on the pleadings is comparable to a general demurrer in that it may be used to attack a complaint for failing to state a cause of action. (5 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (3d ed. 1985) Pleading, § 953, pp. 385-386.) The motion may be made prior to or at trial. (Ibid.) “Since judgment on the pleadings is similar to a judgment following the sustaining of a demurrer, the standard of appellate review is the same, ‘Like the demurrer, the motion for judgment on the pleadings is confined to the face of the pleading under attack.…