Judge: Jill Feeney, Case: 20STCV44683, Date: 2023-04-19 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV44683    Hearing Date: April 19, 2023    Dept: 30

Dept. 30

Calendar No.

Baraness Investments LLC vs. Alanic International Corporation, et. al., Case No. 20STCV44683

Tentative Ruling re:  Defendant’s Motion to Compel Further Discovery Responses; Request for Sanctions

Defendant/Cross-Complainant Alanic International Corporation (Alanic) moves to compel Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Baraness Investments, LLC (Baraness) to produce further responses to the Form Interrogatories (Set One), No. 17.1. The motion is granted. Plaintiff is ordered to serve a supplemental verified response, without objection, to Form Interrogatory 17.1 within ten (10) days of today’s date.

A motion to compel further responses to form or specially prepared interrogatories may be brought if the responses contain: (1) answers that are evasive or incomplete; (2) an unwarranted or insufficiently specific exercise of an option to produce documents in lieu of a substantive response; or (3) unmerited or overly generalized objections. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.300, subd. (a).)  

Under Code Civ. Proc. § 2030.220, a responding party’s answer to interrogatories must be “as complete and straightforward as the information reasonably available to the responding party permits,” and “[i]f an interrogatory cannot be answered completely, it shall be answered to the extent possible.” It is improper for an answer to only respond to a portion of the information sought, particularly when an interrogatory is specific and explicit. (Deyo v. Kilbourne (1978) 84 Cal.App.3d 771, 783.)

“For discovery purposes, information is relevant if it ‘might reasonably assist a party in evaluating the case, preparing for trial, or facilitating settlement.’ [Citation]. Admissibility is not the test and information, unless privileged, is discoverable if it might reasonably lead to admissible evidence. [Citation] These rules are applied liberally in favor of discovery.” (Gonzales v. Superior Court (1995) 33 Cal.App.4th 1539, 1546.)

Alanic served the Form Interrogatories (Set One) and Requests for Admissions (Set One) on Baraness on August 6, 2021. (Moralyan Decl. ¶ 2.) Form Interrogatory No. 17.1 asks Baraness, for each response to the Requests for Admissions that is not an unqualified admission, to state the facts, witnesses, and documents supporting the response. Baraness served initial responses on October 27, 2021, and served verifications and further responses on November 16, 2021. (Moralyan Decl. ¶ 2, Ex. F, Ex. G.)

On March 8, 2023, the Court granted Alanic’s motion to compel further discovery responses as to the underlying Requests for Admissions, Nos. 12-20, 22, and 24. On March 23, 2023, Baraness served further responses to Form Interrogatory No. 17.1. (Szkopek Decl. ¶ 6, Ex. 3 [45].) Baraness’s further responses assert various boilerplate objections to both Form Interrogatory No. 17.1 and the underlying Requests for Admission.

The Court agrees with Alanic that these objections are improper. Baraness’s objections to the Requests for Admissions at issue were considered and rejected through the Court’s March 8 ruling. Baraness has presented no argument in support of its objections to Form Interrogatory 17.1, and the Court finds that those objections are meritless. Accordingly, the motion is granted.

Misuses of the discovery process include “making an evasive response to discovery,” and “opposing, unsuccessfully and without substantial justification, a motion to compel . . . discovery.” (Code Civ. Proc. § 2023.010.) The Court finds that monetary sanctions against Baraness are warranted due to its evasive responses and unsuccessful opposition. Alanic requests sanctions in the amount of $1,877.40, for 4 hours at an hourly rate of $409.50 by counsel Carola Murguia, plus 4.5 hours at an hourly rate of $355.50 by counsel Emma Moralyan. (Moralyan Decl. ¶ 12.)  The Court grants sanctions in the reduced amount of $1,877.40.  Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s counsel are ordered to pay Defendant’s counsel $1,877.40 within thirty (30) days of today’s date.