Judge: Armen Tamzarian, Case: 21STCV45961, Date: 2023-03-07 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 21STCV45961 Hearing Date: March 7, 2023 Dept: 52
Plaintiff
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company’s Motions to: (1) Compel
Defendant Veronica Sims to Respond to Demand for production of Documents, (2)
Compel Defendant Barry Reed to Respond to Demand for Production of Documents,
(3) Deem Request for Admissions to Veronica Sims Admitted, and (4) Deem Request
for Admissions to Barry Reed Admitted
(1
& 2) Demands for Production of Documents
Plaintiff
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance
Company moves to compel defendant Veronica Sims and Barry Reed to serve
responses to demand for production of documents (set one). When a party fails to timely respond to
demands for inspection, the requesting party may move for an order compelling
responses. (2031.300(b).) Failure to timely respond waives any
objections. (CCP § 2031.300(a).)
Plaintiff
served its demands for production of documents (set one) on defendants Sims and
Reed on October 12, 2022. (Randall Decls.,
¶¶ 2.A, 3.) Neither Sims nor Reed served
verified responses as of December 12, 2022, when plaintiff filed these motions. (Id., ¶ 4.) Plaintiff is therefore entitled to orders
compelling each defendant to respond without objections.
(3
& 4) Requests for Admissions
Plaintiff State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company moves for orders deeming the truth of matters specified
in request for admissions (set one) to defendants Veronica Sims and Barry
Reed. When a party fails to respond to
requests for admission, the requesting party may move for an order that the
genuineness of any documents and the truth of any matters specified in the
requests be deemed admitted. (CCP §
2033.280(b).) Failure to timely respond
to requests for admission also waives any objection. (CCP § 2033.280(a).) An order deeming matters admitted is
mandatory “unless [the court] finds that the party to whom the requests for
admission have been directed has served, before the hearing on the motion, a
proposed response to the requests for admission that is in substantial
compliance with Section 2033.220.” (CCP
§ 2033.280(c).)
Plaintiff served
its requests for admission (set one) on defendants Sims and Reed on October 12,
2022. (Randall Decls., ¶¶ 2.A, 3.) Neither Sims nor Reed served verified responses
as of December 12, 2022, when plaintiff filed these motions. (Id., ¶ 4.) Plaintiff is therefore entitled to orders
deeming admitted the truth of the matters specified in its requests for
admission (set one) to each defendant.
Sanctions
On
each of its four motions, plaintiff moves for $920 in sanctions against
defendants. For the two motions to
compel responses to demands for production of documents, defendants misused the
discovery process by “[f]ailing to respond or to submit to an authorized method
of discovery.” (CCP § 2023.010(d).) That misuse of the discovery process is subject
to monetary sanctions. (CCP §
2023.030(a).)
For the two motions to deem matters admitted, sanctions
are mandatory. “It is mandatory that the
court impose a monetary sanction … on the party or attorney, or both, whose
failure to serve a timely response to requests for admission necessitated this
motion.” (CCP § 2033.280(c).) Sims’ and Reed’s failure to serve timely
responses to plaintiff’s requests for admission necessitated this motion.
The
court finds, however, that plaintiffs did not reasonably incur $920 in expenses
on each motion. Plaintiff seeks fees for
2 hours spent preparing each motion and 2 hours spent attending the hearing on
each motion. (Randall Decls., ¶¶ 6-7.) These simple and duplicative motions did not
reasonably require 2 hours of work each.
Attending this combined hearing on the four motions did not reasonably
require 2 hours for each motion (i.e., a total of 8 hours). The court will award only 2 hours of fees at
$215 hourly on each motion, plus the $60 filing fee, for a total of $490 in
sanctions on each motion.
Disposition
Plaintiff State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company’s motion to compel
responses to demand for production of documents (set one) to defendant Veronica
Sims is granted. Defendant
Veronica Sims is ordered to serve verified responses without
objections to demand for production of documents (set one) within 30 days. Defendant Veronica Sims is ordered to pay plaintiff $490 in sanctions within 30 days.
Plaintiff
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance
Company’s motion to compel responses to demand for production of documents (set
one) to defendant Barry Reed is granted.
Defendant Barry Reed is ordered to serve verified responses without
objections to demand for production of documents (set one) within 30 days. Defendant Barry Reed is ordered to pay plaintiff $490 in sanctions within 30 days.
Plaintiff
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance
Company’s motion to deem admitted the matters specified in request for
admissions (set one) to defendant Veronica Sims is granted. The
truth of the matters specified in plaintiff’s request for admissions (set one)
to Veronica Sims is hereby deemed admitted. Defendant Veronica Sims is ordered to plaintiff $490 in sanctions within 30 days.
Plaintiff
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance
Company’s motion to deem admitted the matters specified in request for
admissions (set one) to defendant Barry Reed is granted. The
truth of the matters specified in plaintiff’s request for admissions (set one)
to Barry Reed is hereby deemed admitted.
Defendant Barry Reed is ordered to plaintiff
$490 in sanctions within 30 days.