Judge: Audra Mori, Case: 19STCV09657, Date: 2022-10-10 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 19STCV09657    Hearing Date: October 10, 2022    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Defendant Maria Ortiz (“Defendant”) propounded form interrogatories, set two, and request for admissions (“RFAs”), set one, on Plaintiff Khaliah Farwell (“Plaintiff”) on February 23, 2022.  To date, despite attempts to meet and confer, Plaintiff has not served responses.  Defendant therefore seeks an order compelling Plaintiff to respond, without objections, to the outstanding interrogatories, deeming the RFAs admitted, and imposing sanctions.

Defendant’s motions to compel is unopposed and granted.  Plaintiff is ordered to serve verified responses to form interrogatories, set two, without objections, within ten days.  (CCP § 2030.290(a), (b).) 

Defendant’s motion to deem RFAs, set one, admitted is also granted.  (CCP §2033.280(b).)

Sanctions are mandatory against the party or attorney that necessitated the motion, or unless the Court finds the imposition of sanctions unwarranted.  (CCP §§ 2030.290(c), 2033.280(c).)  Defendant seeks sanctions in the amount of $847.50 for each motion against Plaintiff.  Defendant only requests sanctions against Plaintiff’s counsel in connection with the motion to deem RFAs admitted.  Defendant does not describe any conduct warranting sanctions against Plaintiff personally.  The evidence shows that Defendant served the discovery requests on, and addressed the meet and confer correspondence to, Plaintiff’s counsel.  Therefore, for the motion to deem RFAs admitted, the court awards fees for two hours to prepare the motion and one hour to attend the hearing at the rate of $175 per hour, plus the $60 filing fee, for a total of $410, which must be paid to Defendant’s counsel within 30 days.

Defendant is ordered to give notice. 

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE:

• Parties are encouraged to meet and confer after reading this tentative ruling to see if they can reach an agreement.
• If a party intends to submit on this tentative ruling, the party must send an email to the court at sscdept31@lacourt.org with the Subject line “SUBMIT” followed by the case number.  The body of the email must include the hearing date and time, counsel’s contact information, and the identity of the party submitting.  
• Unless all parties submit by email to this tentative ruling, the parties should arrange to appear remotely (encouraged) or in person for oral argument.  You should assume that others may appear at the hearing to argue.  
• If the parties neither submit nor appear at hearing, the Court may take the motion off calendar or adopt the tentative ruling as the order of the Court.  After the Court has issued a tentative ruling, the Court may prohibit the withdrawal of the subject motion without leave. 

Dated this 10^th day of October 2022