Judge: Audra Mori, Case: 22STCV00767, Date: 2022-08-25 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22STCV00767    Hearing Date: August 25, 2022    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Plaintiff Don Cooper’s Motion to Compel Production of Documents from Defendant is clearly a Motion to Compel Further Responses to Plaintiff’s request for production of documents, set one.  The motion to compel further, however, is premature and will be continued to a new date as set forth below.  The parties are ordered to participate in an Informal Discovery Conference (“IDC”) as required by the Court’s Standing Order Re: PI Court Procedures, which is available on the LA Superior Court’s website, under the Personal Injury section.

 The hearing on the motion is continued to __________________ 1:30 p.m. in Department 31 of the Spring Street Courthouse.  Moving Party is ordered to use the online reservation management system to schedule an IDC, which must go forward per the terms set forth in the Standing Order.  The IDC must be scheduled at least two weeks prior to the continued hearing date on the motion.  

If the above date is not convenient for the parties and/or an IDC cannot be scheduled, for whatever reason, within the necessary time period, Moving Party must use the online reservation system to promptly continue the hearing on the motion to a date at least two weeks after the IDC.

The court is hopeful the hearing on the motion will not be necessary.  If the parties are unable to resolve all outstanding issues at the IDC, the parties must submit a joint statement of items in dispute at least two weeks prior to the continued hearing date.  The joint statement must be a single document, with analysis by both parties, addressing each remaining issue. 

Moreover, it appears that Plaintiff’s counsel reserved the instant motion to compel further as a “Motion – Other Document Production” in an attempt obtain an earlier hearing date than available on the Court’s reservation system for a motion to compel further.  Failing to properly reserve a hearing for a motion to compel further manipulates the Court Reservation System and unfairly jumps ahead of other litigants.  If Plaintiff’s counsel fails again to properly reserve motions, it may result in an Order to Show Cause Re: Why Plaintiff’s counsel should not be sanctioned.

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 25^th day of August 2022