Judge: Daniel M. Crowley, Case: 20STCV15171, Date: 2022-08-23 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV15171    Hearing Date: August 23, 2022    Dept: 28

Ruling on Defendants Daniel Colin and SPS Ventures, Inc.’s Unopposed Motions to Compel Responses to Form Interrogatories, Special Interrogatories and Request for Production.

            Having reviewed Defendants Daniel Colin and SPS Ventures, Inc.’s unopposed Motions to Compel Responses to Form Interrogatories, Special Interrogatories, and Request for Production of Documents, the Court rules as follows.

            On August 5, 2021, Defendants Daniel Colin and SPS Ventures, Inc. served Form Interrogatories, Set No. One, Special Interrogatories, Set No. One and Request for Production of Documents, Set No. One, on Plaintiff Sonia Elizabeth Daboub.

            Responses were due September 7, 2021. Plaintiff Sonia Elizabeth Daboub has failed to provide timely responses. Defendants Daniel Colin and SPS Ventures, Inc. now move to compel code-compliant responses.

            The Court grants the motions to compel responses to the form and special interrogatories pursuant to Code of Civ. Proc. § 2030.290(b) and orders Plaintiff Sonia Elizabeth Daboub to provide verified responses to the interrogatories compliant with Code of Civ. Proc. §§ 2030.210 (a) and 2030.220 without objections by August 6, 2022. The Court grants the motion to compel responses to the request for production and production of items pursuant to Code of Civ. Proc. § 2031.300 and orders Plaintiff Sonia Elizabeth Daboub to provide verified responses pursuant to Code of Civ. Proc. § 2031.210 and to produce the documents, electronically stored information, and/or other things requested without objections by September 7, 2022.

Defendants Daniel Colin and SPS Ventures, Inc. request monetary sanctions totaling $2,100.00.  The Court awards sanctions pursuant to Code of Civ. Proc. § 2023.030 (a), Code of Civ. Proc. § 2030.290 (c) and Code of Civ. Proc. § 2031.300 (c) in the amount of $1,252.50, calculated as follows:

Defendants request $1,230.00 in sanctions for each of the three motions, based upon 6 hours of attorney’s work, at a rate of $195.00 per hour, and one $60.00 filling fee. Attorney’s work consists of 2.5 hours drafting, 1.5 hours replying to any opposition, and 2 hours appearing at the hearing on the motion. The Court will not award sanctions for any reply, as there has been no opposition to the motion. Additionally, the Court accounts for the fact that the motions are substantially similar and being heard concurrently. As such, the Court awards $742.50 in sanctions for the Form Interrogatories motion based upon 3.5 hours of attorney’s work. The Court awards $255.00 in sanctions for each of the other two motions.

The sanctions total $1,252.50 and are payable by Plaintiff Sonia Elizabeth Daboub and her counsel by September 22, 2022.

Moving Party is to give notice of this ruling.