Judge: Audra Mori, Case: 20STCV29530, Date: 2022-09-08 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV29530    Hearing Date: September 8, 2022    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Defendant SEV EL WIL, LLC (“Defendant”) propounded special interrogatories, set one, and request for production of documents (“RPDs”), set one, on Plaintiff Betty Campbell (“Plaintiff”) on October 30, 2020.  Defendant asserts that after multiple extensions were granted, Plaintiff served unverified responses to the discovery requests.  To date, despite attempts to meet and confer, Plaintiff has not served verified responses.  Defendant therefore seeks an order compelling Plaintiff to respond to the outstanding discovery and imposing sanctions.

An unverified response is tantamount to no response at all.  (Melendrez v. Superior Court (2013) 215 Cal.App.4th 1343, 1348.)  Therefore, Defendant’s unopposed motions to compel are granted.  Plaintiff is ordered to serve verified responses to special interrogatories, set one, and RPDs, set one, within ten (10) days.  (CCP §§ 2030.290(a), (b), 2031.300(a), (b).) 

Sanctions are mandatory.  (CCP §§ 2030.290(c), 2031.300(c).)  The Court awards Defendant one hour for preparing each form motion to compel [two hours] and one hour to appear at the hearing- but awards this time only once- all at the reasonable rate of $200 per hour, for a total attorney fees award of $600.  The Court also awards two filing fees of $60 each, or $120 in costs.   

Sanctions are sought and imposed against Plaintiff, who is in pro per.  Plaintiff is ordered to pay sanctions to Defendant, by and through its attorney of record, in the total amount of $720.00, within twenty days. 

Moving 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 8^th day of September 2022