Judge: Audra Mori, Case: 20STCV22116, Date: 2022-12-08 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV22116    Hearing Date: December 8, 2022    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Defendant Ashley Barrett (“Barrett”) propounded form interrogatories, special interrogatories, and request for production of documents (“RPDs”), all set one, on Plaintiff Indira Pacheco (“Plaintiff”) on January 21, 2022.  To date, despite an attempt to meet and confer, Plaintiff has not served responses.  Defendants Brooke Davey and Barrett (collectively, “Defendants”) therefore seek an order compelling Plaintiff to respond, without objections, to the outstanding discovery and to pay sanctions.

Defendants’ motions are unopposed and granted.  Plaintiff is ordered to serve verified responses to Barrett’s 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).)

Sanctions are mandatory.  (CCP §§ 2030.290(c), 2031.300(c).)  Defendants are awarded one hour for preparing each form motion to compel [three hours] and one hour to appear at the hearing- but awarded this time once- all at the requested rate of $189 per hour, for a total of $756 in attorney fees.  Further, Defendants are awarded three motion filing fees of $61.65, or $184.95 total, as costs. 

Defendants seek sanctions against Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s attorney of record.  Defendants do not describe any conduct warranting sanctions against Plaintiff personally.  The evidence shows that the discovery was served on, and meet and confer attempts were made with, Plaintiff’s counsel, but Plaintiff’s counsel did not respond to such.  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 $940.95, 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 8^th day of December 2022