Judge: Audra Mori, Case: 20STCV28122, Date: 2022-12-13 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV28122    Hearing Date: December 13, 2022    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Defendant Dirk Kuiken’s (“Defendant”) motion to compel further responses to form interrogatories, set one, is premature and will be continued to a new date as set forth below.  The parties are ordered to participate in an Informal Discovery Conference (“IDC”) as required by the Court’s Standing Order Re: PI Court Procedures, which is available on the LA Superior Court’s website, under the Personal Injury section.

The Eighth Amended Standing Order provides, “PI Hub Courts may deny or continue a Motion to Compel Further Responses to Discovery unless the parties have participated in an IDC before the scheduled hearing on a motion to compel further discovery responses.”  Defendant must use the Court’s Reservation System to continue the hearing date on the motion and schedule an IDC.  The IDC must be scheduled at least two weeks prior to the continued hearing date on the motion. 

If Defendant fails to continue the motion, the Court may deny or take the motion off calendar. 

The Court is hopeful the hearing on the motion will not be necessary.  If the parties are unable to resolve all outstanding issues at the IDC, the parties must submit a joint statement of items in dispute at least two weeks prior to the continued hearing date.  The joint statement must be a single document, with analysis by both parties, addressing each remaining issue. 

Lastly, although Defendant is seeking to compel further responses against Plaintiff, Defendant reserved the hearing on her motions as Motion to Compel Discovery (not Further Discovery).  However, as Defendant acknowledges, Defendant is seeking to compel further responses against Plaintiff, not initial responses.  Failing to properly reserve the motion for hearing as a motion to compel further manipulates the Court Reservation System and unfairly jumps ahead of other litigants.  Defendant’s counsel is put on notice that failure to reserve motions properly based upon the right hearing type in the future will result in matters being taken off calendar.   

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 13^th day of December 2022