Judge: Audra Mori, Case: 21STCV17731, Date: 2022-08-05 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21STCV17731    Hearing Date: August 5, 2022    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Defendants Cashiya Hollis and Tiffiney Willis (collectively, “Defendants”), erroneously sued & served as Tiffinye Willis, propounded form interrogatories, special interrogatories, and request for production of documents (“RPDs”), all set one, on Plaintiff Cassidy Austin (“Austin”) on August 9, 2021.  To date, despite an attempt to meet and confer, Austin has not served responses.  Defendants therefore seeks an order compelling Austin to respond, without objections, to the outstanding discovery and to pay sanctions.

Defendants’ motions are unopposed and granted.  Plaintiff Austin 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).)

Sanctions are mandatory.  (CCP §§ 2030.290(c), 2031.300(c).)  The court awards Defendants one hour for preparing each form motion to compel [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 Defendants three motion filing fees of $61.65, or $184.95 total, as costs. 

Sanctions are sought and imposed against Plaintiff Austin, who is in pro per.  Plaintiff Austin is ordered to pay sanctions to Defendants, by and through counsel of record, in the total amount of $984.95, within twenty days.

As a final matter, the court notes that its records show that Defendants scheduled an additional motion to compel responses for August 5, 2022.  Defendants have filed 15 motions to compel in this action against Plaintiffs; however, none of Defendants’ motions to compel contain a noticed hearing date of August 5, 2022, nor has a notice with proof of service been filed otherwise providing any of the motions were rescheduled for hearing on August 5.  However, the court notes there are three motions noticed for September 1, 2022- motions to compel responses to form interrogatories, special interrogatories, and request for production of documents against Plaintiff Jayson Lasane- but the court’s records show that there are only two motions to compel set to be heard on September 1.  The court presumes this is an error and thus resets all three motions to compel against Jayson Lasane for hearing on September 1, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. 

Defendants are ordered to give notice and reminded to file the notice and a proof of service with the court. 
  

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 5^th day of August 2022