Judge: Audra Mori, Case: 21STCV00370, Date: 2022-08-09 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21STCV00370    Hearing Date: August 9, 2022    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Plaintiff Robert Morehead (“Plaintiff”) propounded form interrogatories, special interrogatories, request for production of documents (“RPDs”), and request for admissions (“RFAs”), all set one, on Defendant City of Los Angeles (the “City”) on October 27, 2021.  To date, the City has not served responses.  Plaintiff therefore seeks an order compelling the City to respond, without objections, to the outstanding interrogatories and RPDs, deeming the RFAs admitted, and imposing sanctions.

Plaintiff’s motions to compel responses to interrogatories and RPDs are unopposed and granted.  The City is ordered to serve verified responses to form interrogatories, set one, special interrogatories, set one, and RPDs, set one, without objections, within twenty (20) days.  (CCP §§ 2030.290(a), (b), 2031.300(a), (b).)

Plaintiff’s 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).)  The court awards Plaintiff one hour for preparing each form motion [three hours total] and one hour to appear at the hearing- but awards this time once- all at the reasonable rate of $200 per hour, for a total of $800 in attorney’s fees.  Further, the court awards Plaintiff three motion filing fees of $60, or $180 total, as costs. 

Plaintiff seeks sanctions against the City and the City’s attorney of record.  Plaintiff does not describe any conduct warranting sanctions against the City directly.  Sanctions are imposed against the City’s attorney of record only.  The City’s counsel is ordered to pay sanctions to Plaintiff, by and through counsel of record, in the total amount of $980.00, within twenty days.

            As a final note, the court realizes that Plaintiff’s motion to compel responses to interrogatories is actually two motions combined into one: (a) motion to compel responses to form interrogatories, set one, and (b) motion to compel special interrogatories, set one.  In the future, moving party is ordered to obtain separate hearing reservations and pay separate filing fees.  Combining multiple motions under the guise of one motion with one hearing reservation manipulates the Court Reservation System and unfairly jumps ahead of other litigants.  Moreover, combining motions to avoid payment of separate filing fees deprives the Court of filing fees it is otherwise entitled to collect.

Be that as it may, in the absence of any objection by the City and lack of any showing of prejudice, the court will exercise its discretion to hear both motions, but the above orders will not become effective until moving party pays an additional $60 in filing fees (1 motions filing fees not paid for x $60 filing fee). 

Plaintiff 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 9^th day of August 2022