Judge: Holly J. Fujie, Case: 21STCV17176, Date: 2022-08-05 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.

Case Number: 21STCV17176    Hearing Date: August 5, 2022    Dept: 56

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

MOVING PARTY: Plaintiffs

RESPONDING PARTY: Defendant FCA US, LLC (“Defendant”)

            The Court has considered the moving, opposition and reply papers.

BACKGROUND

            This action arises out of the purchase of an allegedly defective vehicle that was manufactured by Defendant.  On March 18, 2022, Plaintiffs and Defendant participated in an Informal Discovery Conference (“IDC”) to address discovery disputes.  Following the IDC, the Court issued an order requiring Defendant to produce specified categories of documents.  On June 16, 2022, Plaintiffs filed a motion to compel further responses to their Requests for Production, set one (the “Motion”). 

To the extent that the Motion seeks to enforce the order issued by the Court after the March 18, 2022 IDC, the proper mechanism for Plaintiffs is to file a motion to enforce compliance with the Court’s March 18, 2022 order.  For future reference, the proper mechanism for Plaintiffs to seek further responses to discovery requests that were not the subject of the March 18, 2022 IDC is to schedule a further IDC with the Court.  The Court sets an IDC on August 12, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. 

Moving party is ordered to give notice of this ruling.

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.

                Dated this 5th day of August 2022