Found this little snippet on a CA legal site... so who's feeling they can be harmed?  Geo?  As you state, due to the damages being claimed, or because they were no shows?  Makes sense, as does the stalling tactics. 

An ex parte application is a request asking the court to make emergency orders. In California, the court cannot grant an ex parte application unless it finds that there is some sort of emergency, and if the court does not grant the orders, harm is almost certain to occur.