Judge: Audra Mori, Case: 21STCV05058, Date: 2022-09-02 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21STCV05058    Hearing Date: September 2, 2022    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Plaintiff David Medina (“Plaintiff”) propounded special interrogatories, form interrogatories, request for admissions (“RFAs”), and request for production of documents (“RPDs”), all set one, on Defendant New Beginnings Christian Discipleship (“Defendant”) on October 1, 2021.  To date, Defendant has not served responses.  Plaintiff therefore seeks an order compelling Defendant to respond, without objections, to the outstanding interrogatories and RPDs, deeming the RFAs admitted, and imposing sanctions.

Plaintiff’s motions to compel are unopposed and granted.  Defendant is ordered to serve verified responses to form interrogatories, special interrogatories, and RPDs, without objections, within ten 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 unless the Court finds that the one subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or other circumstances make the imposition of sanctions unjust.  (CCP §§ 2030.290(c), 2031.300(c), 2033.280(c).) 

            In this case, as to the motion to compel responses to RPDs, set one, the notice of motion requests monetary sanctions of $1,461.65 against Rives Grogan- another defendant in this action.  However, no explanation is given for why sanctions are being requested against Rives Grogan, and Plaintiff does not otherwise request sanctions against Defendant for this motion.  (See CCP § 2023.040 [“A request for a sanction shall, in the notice of motion, identify every person, party, and attorney against whom the sanction is sought.”])  Thus, no sanctions awarded for the motion to compel RPDs. 

            As to the motion to compel responses to form and special interrogatories and to deem RFAs admitted, Plaintiff seeks sanctions against Defendant.  Plaintiff, however, does not describe any conduct warranting sanctions against Defendant directly, as the evidence shows the subject discovery was served on Defendant’s counsel, and Defendant’s counsel failed to serve responses.  No sanctions are requested against defense counsel, so no sanctions are awarded.

As a final note, the court realizes that Plaintiff’s motion to compel answers to form and special 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 Defendant and lack of any showing of prejudice, the Court will exercise its discretion to hear all the motions, but the above orders will not become effective until moving party pays an additional $60 in filing fees (1 motions filing fee 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 2^nd day of September 2022