Judge Holly J. Fujie, Case 19STCV08965 2023-04-17 Tentative Ruling

DEPARTMENT 56 JUDGE HOLLY J. FUJIE, LAW AND MOTION RULINGS. The court makes every effort to post tentative rulings by 5.00 pm of the court day before the hearing. The tentative ruling will not become the final ruling until the hearing [see CRC 3.1308(a)(2)], and are also available in the courtroom on the day of the hearing [see CRC 3.1308(b)]. If the parties wish to submit on the tentative ruling and avoid a court appearance, all counsel must agree and choose which counsel will give notice. That counsel must 1) call Dept 56 by 8:30 a.m. on the day of the hearing (213/633-0656) and state that all parties will submit on the tentative ruling, and 2) serve notice of the ruling on all parties. If any party declines to submit on the tentative ruling, then no telephone call is necessary and all parties should appear at the hearing in person or by Court Call. Court reporters are not provided, and parties who want a record of motions and other proceedings must hire a privately retained certified court reporter.

The Court has reviewed the moving papers. No opposition papers were filed. Any opposition papers were required to have been filed and served at least nine court days before the hearing under California Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) section 1005, subdivision (b).

This consolidated action consists of five actions arising out of a landlord/tenant relationship at a residential property owned and managed by Defendants. On February 16, 2023, Moving Defendant filed: (1) a motion to compel responses to the Form Interrogatories, Set 1 served on Plaintiffs Erik Kitter and Nicholas Hartstein (“Plaintiffs”) (the “FROG Motion”); (2) a motion to compel Plaintiffs’ responses to Special Interrogatories, Set 1 (the “SPROG Motion”); (3) a motion to compel Plaintiffs’ responses to Requests for Production, Set 1 (the “RFP Motion”); and (4) a motion to deem Requests for Admissions, Set 1 admitted against Plaintiffs (the “RFA Motion”) (collectively, the “Motions”) on the grounds that Plaintiffs failed to provide timely responses to the aforementioned discovery requests.

Under CCP section 2030.290, subdivision (b), when a party directs interrogatories towards a party and that party fails to serve a timely response, the party propounding the interrogatories may move for an order compelling response to the interrogatories. (CCP § 2030.290, subd. (b).) The moving party need only show that the interrogatories were served on the opposing party, the time has expired to respond to the interrogatories and no responses have been served in order for the court to compel the opposing party to respond. (Leach v. Superior Court (1980) 111 Cal.App.3d 902, 906.)

Where there has been no timely response to a demand for inspection, copying, testing or sampling, the demanding party may seek an order compelling a response. (CCP § 2031.300, subd. (b).) Failure to timely respond waives all objections, including privilege and work product. (CCP § 2031.300, subd. (a).)

Under CCP section 2033.280, subdivision (a), where requests for admission are propounded on a party and that party fails to serve a timely response, that party waives any objection to the requests. (CCP § 2033.280, subd. (a).) The requesting party may move for an order that the genuineness of any documents and the truth of any matters specified in the requests be deemed admitted, as well as for a monetary sanction. (CCP § 2033.280, subd. (b).) The court must grant a motion to have admission requests deemed admitted where responses have not been served prior to the hearing, or, if such responses were served, they were not in substantial compliance with CCP section 2033.220. (CCP § 2033.280, subd. (c).) It is mandatory that the court impose a monetary sanction the party or attorney, or both, whose failure to serve a timely response to requests for admission necessitated the motion. (Id.)

Moving Defendant propounded the discovery requests at issue in the Motions on Plaintiffs on September 27, 2022. (Declaration of Neda Firouzi (“Firouzi Decl.”) ¶ 3.) As of the time the Motions were filed, Plaintiffs had not provided responses. (Firouzi Decl. ¶ 9.)

As they are unopposed, the Court GRANTS the Motions. (Sexton v. Superior Court (1997) 58 Cal.App.4th 1403, 1410.) Plaintiffs are ordered to submit responses to the discovery requests discussed in the Motions within 20 days of this order. The RFAs at issue in the RFA Motion are deemed admitted.

Moving Defendant’s counsel declares that she expended 1 hour preparing the SPROG Motion, 0.8 hours preparing the FROG Motion, 0.6 hours preparing the RFP Motion, and 0.7 hours preparing the RFA Motion at a rate of $200 per hour. (Firouzi Decl. ¶ 10.)[1] Moving Defendant also incurred a $60 filing fee in connection to each Motion. (See Firouzi Decl. ¶ 12.)

The Court exercises its discretion and awards Moving Defendant sanctions in the reasonable amount of $840, which represents three hours drafting the Motions collectively at an hourly rate of $200 per hour and $240 in filing fees. (Moran v. Oso Valley Greenbelt Assn. (2004) 117 Cal.App.4th 1029, 1034.) Plaintiffs are ordered to pay this amount within 20 days of this order.

In consideration of the current COVID-19 pandemic situation, the Court¿strongly¿encourages that appearances on all proceedings, including this one, be made by LACourtConnect if the parties do not submit on the tentative.¿¿If you instead intend to make an appearance in person at Court on this matter, you must send an email by 2 p.m. on the last Court day before the scheduled date of the hearing to¿SMC_DEPT56@lacourt.org¿stating your intention to appear in person.¿ The Court will then inform you by close of business that day of the time your hearing will be held. The time set for the hearing may be at any time during that scheduled hearing day, or it may be necessary to schedule the hearing for another date if the Court is unable to accommodate all personal appearances set on that date.¿ This rule is necessary to ensure that adequate precautions can be taken for proper social distancing.

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the Court at SMC_DEPT56@lacourt.org as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org. If the department does not receive an email and there are no appearances at the hearing, the motion will be placed off calendar.

[1] The Firouzi Declarations filed with the Motions slightly vary in their recitation of hours worked. The accounting reference cited above corresponds with the Firouzi Declaration filed in support of the SPROG Motion.