Judge: Armen Tamzarian, Case: 20STCV37302, Date: 2023-01-09 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV37302    Hearing Date: January 9, 2023    Dept: 52

Defendant Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club’s Motion to Enforce Orders Against Plaintiffs and Their Counsel and Request for Monetary Sanctions

Defendant Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club moves to enforce the court’s discovery orders issued on September 30, 2022, and for further monetary sanctions. 

After a court issues an order compelling responses to interrogatories or requests for production, “[i]f a party then fails to obey” the order, “the court may make those orders that are just, including” imposing monetary, issue, evidence, or terminating sanctions.  (CCP § 2030.290(c) [interrogatories]; § 2031.300(c) [requests for production].)

The court issued four orders compelling discovery responses.  On September 30, 2022, the court granted defendant’s motions to compel discovery and ordered plaintiffs Bill Starkov and Jessica Starkov to serve verified responses without objections to form interrogatories and requests for production within 20 days.  The court also ordered plaintiff’s counsel Steve White to pay $390 in sanctions for each of the four motions, totaling $1,560.

Plaintiffs failed to obey those orders.  In October and November 2022, plaintiffs’ counsel told defense counsel that he would provide the responses later.  In his declaration, defense counsel Ha Eun Cho states, “To date, plaintiffs and plaintiffs’ counsel have not provided any responses, nor any sanctions payment.”  (Cho Decl., ¶ 7.)

The court finds that the “orders that are just” in the circumstances are to again order plaintiffs to provide the responses, again order plaintiffs’ counsel to pay the $1,560 in monetary sanctions, and order plaintiffs’ counsel to pay an additional $960 in sanctions.  The monetary sanctions against plaintiffs’ counsel therefore total $2,520.

Disposition

            Defendant Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club’s motion to enforce orders and for monetary sanctions is granted. 

Plaintiff Bill Starkov is ordered to serve (a) verified responses to form interrogatories, set one, without objections and (b) verified responses to requests for production, set one, without objections no later than January 23, 2023.

Plaintiff Jessica Starkov is ordered to serve (a) verified responses to form interrogatories, set one, without objections and (b) verified responses to requests for production, set one, without objections no later than January 23, 2023.

Plaintiffs’ counsel Steve White is ordered to pay $2,520 in monetary sanctions no later than January 23, 2023.