Judge: Deirdre Hill, Case: 19TRCV00981, Date: 2022-08-09 Tentative Ruling

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Case Number: 19TRCV00981    Hearing Date: August 9, 2022    Dept: M

Superior Court of California

County of Los Angeles

Southwest District

Torrance Dept. M

 

ALCOTT ENTERPRISES, LLC,

 

 

 

Plaintiff,

 

Case No.:

 

 

19TRCV00981

 

vs.

 

 

[Tentative] RULING

 

 

MARAKATA, LLC, et al.

 

 

 

Defendants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hearing Date:                          August 9, 2022

 

Moving Parties:                      Plaintiff Alcott Enterprises, LLC

Responding Party:                  None

Motion to Deem Request for Admissions Admitted (x2)

 

            The court considered the moving papers.

RULING

            The unopposed motions are GRANTED. Sanctions are ordered against defendant David A. Hartley in the sum of $310, and against defendant Alex Archie in the sum of $310.

BACKGROUND

On November 1, 2019, plaintiff filed this breach of contract action against defendants. The operative First Amended Complaint alleges causes of action for (1) breach of contract and (1) common count: services rendered.

LEGAL AUTHORITY

“If a party to whom requests for admission are directed fails to serve a timely response, the following rules apply: (b) The requesting party may move for an order that the genuiness of any documents and the truth of any matters specified in the requests be deemed admitted…. The Court, on motion, may relieve that party from this waiver on its determination that both of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) The party has subsequently served a response that is in substantial compliance with Sections 2033.210, 2033.220, and 2033.230. (2) the party’s failure to serve a timely response was the result of mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect…. (c) The court shall make this order, unless it finds that the party to whom the requests for admission have been directed has served, before the hearing on the motion, a proposed response to the requests for admission that is in substantial compliance with Section 2033.220. It is mandatory that the court impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7…on the party or attorney, or both, whose failure to serve a timely response to requests for admission necessitated this motion.”  (CCP § 2033.280.)  No prior attempt to resolve the matter informally is required.

DISCUSSION

            Plaintiff requests that the court deem the truth of all matters specified in Request for Admissions, Set No. One and the genuineness of documents specified therein, served on defendants David A. Hartley and Alex Archie on April 11, 2022, admitted and conclusively established. Defendants never responded and have not opposed the motions.

Accordingly, the motions are GRANTED.

            Plaintiff also requests sanctions in the amount of $810 against each defendant based on an hourly billing rate of $250 for 3 hours spent on each motion and filing fees. The court finds sanctions are warranted, but the amount to be excessive in light of the simplicity of the motions and the fact that they are unopposed. Thus, the court finds $310 (1 x $250/hr., plus a $60 filing fee) to be a reasonable amount of sanctions against defendant David A. Hartley and Alex Archie each.

            Plaintiff is ordered to give notice of ruling.