Judge: Audra Mori, Case: 20STCV00944, Date: 2022-10-12 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV00944    Hearing Date: October 12, 2022    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Defendants Julio Villena and Hollywood Glass Co., Inc. (collectively, “Defendants”) propounded special interrogatories, form interrogatories, request for admissions (“RFAs”), and request for production of documents (“RPDs”), all set one, on Plaintiff Ron York on January 26, 2022.  To date, despite attempts to meet and confer, Plaintiff has not served responses.  Defendants therefore seek an order compelling Plaintiff to respond, without objections, to the outstanding interrogatories and RPDs, deeming the RFAs admitted, and imposing sanctions.

Defendants’ motions to compel are unopposed and granted.  Plaintiff is ordered to serve verified responses to form interrogatories, set one, special interrogatories, set one, and RPDs, set one, without objections, within ten days.  (CCP §§ 2030.290(a), (b), 2031.300(a), (b).) 

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

Sanctions are mandatory.  (CCP §§ 2030.290(c), 2031.300(c), 2033.280(c).)  In connection with the motions to compel responses, Defendants seek sanctions against Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s attorney of record.  Defendants request sanctions against only Plaintiff in connection with the motion to deem RFAs admitted.  Defendants do not describe any conduct warranting sanctions against Plaintiff personally.  The evidence shows that Defendants served the discovery requests on, and addressed the meet and confer correspondence to, Plaintiff’s counsel.  Accordingly, sanctions will be imposed against Plaintiff’s attorney of record only.

The Court awards Defendants one hour for preparing each form motion to compel [four hours] and one hour to appear at the hearing- but awards this time only once- all at the requested rate of $180 per hour, for a total attorney fees award of $720.  Defendants are further awarded four filing fees of $60 each, or $240 in costs.  Sanctions are imposed against Plaintiff’s attorney of record only.  Plaintiff’s counsel is ordered to pay sanctions to Defendants, by and through counsel of record, in the total amount of $960.00, within twenty days.

Defendants are 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 12^th day of October 2022