“The court in which the action is filed must be competent under California law to render a judgment; i.e., the state constitution or statutes must empower it to adjudicate the type of lawsuit involved and to render a judgment for the amount in controversy. The superior court is divided into departments (probate, family law, etc.) as a matter of convenience; but subject matter jurisdiction of the superior court is vested in the court as a whole. The jurisdiction that a judge exercises is vested in the court, not in the judge personally.”
[California Practice Guide: Civil Procedure Before Trial [certain citations omitted]]
