Judge: Audra Mori, Case: 21STCV02333, Date: 2023-03-10 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21STCV02333    Hearing Date: March 10, 2023    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Defendant Delano Investors, LLC (“Defendant”) propounded special interrogatories, set one, form interrogatories, set one, request for admissions (“RFAs”), set one, and request for production of documents (“RPDs”), set one, on Plaintiff Sergio Esparza Montoya (“Plaintiff”) on September 2, 2022.  To date, despite attempts to meet and confer and extensions of time to respond, Plaintiff has served only unverified responses to the RFAs.  Plaintiff has not otherwise responded to other discovery requests.  Defendant therefore seeks an order compelling Plaintiff to respond, without objections, to the outstanding interrogatories and RPDs, deeming the RFAs admitted, and imposing sanctions.

Defendant’s 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).) 

As to the RFAs, Defendant’s evidence shows that Plaintiff served unverified substantive responses to the requests.  Unverified responses are tantamount to no response at all.  (Melendrez v. Superior Court (2013) 215 Cal.App.4th 1343, 1348.)  Therefore, Defendant’s motion to deem RFAs, set one, admitted is granted.  (CCP §2033.280(b).)

Sanctions are mandatory.  (CCP §§ 2030.290(c), 2031.300(c), 2033.280(c).)  Defendant is awarded one hour for preparing each form motion [four hours] and one hour to appear at the hearing- but is awarded this time only once- all at the reasonable rate of $185 per hour, for a total of $925 in attorney fees.  Further, Defendant is awarded four motion filing fees of $60, or $240 total, as costs. 

Defendant seeks sanctions against Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s attorney of record.  Defendant does not describe any conduct warranting sanctions against Plaintiff personally.  Sanctions are imposed against Plaintiff’s attorney of record only.  Plaintiff’s counsel is ordered to pay sanctions to Defendant, by and through counsel of record, in the total amount of $1,165.00, 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 10^th day of March 2023