Judge: Audra Mori, Case: 21STCV42648, Date: 2022-12-16 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21STCV42648    Hearing Date: December 16, 2022    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Plaintiff Mira Katherine Sorvino (“Plaintiff”) propounded form interrogatories, set one, on Defendant John Carlos Duarte Castillo (“Defendant”) on February 16, 2022.  Plaintiff then re-served the same form interrogatories on Defendant on June 14, 2022.  To date, despite attempts to meet and confer, Defendant has not served responses.  Plaintiff therefore seeks an order compelling Defendant to respond, without objections, to the outstanding discovery and to pay sanctions.

Plaintiff’s motion is unopposed and granted.  Defendant is ordered to serve verified responses to form interrogatories, set one, without objections, within twenty (20) days.  (CCP § 2030.290(a), (b).)

Sanctions are mandatory unless the one subject to sanctions acted with substantial justification or other circumstances make the imposition of sanctions unjust.  (CCP § 2030.290(c).)  Plaintiff requests sanctions of $3,500.  However, in support of the request, Plaintiff’s counsel merely states that he has “spent several hours” in preparing the form interrogatories and motion.  (Mot. Vargas Decl. at p. 6:16.)  Plaintiff does not otherwise provide any basis for how the sanctions request was calculated, such as Plaintiff’s counsel’s hourly rate or the hours actually worked on the motion.  The request for sanctions, therefore, is denied. 

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 16^th day of December 2022