Department 30, Spring Street Courthouse

January 12, 2023

22STCV02299

Motion to Deem Requests for Admissions (Set One) Admitted by Plaintiff, filed by Defendants United Maintenance Company, Inc. and United National Maintenance, Inc.

The motion is continued so that Plaintiff may serve the verified version of the responses on Defendants.  

The verified responses should be served with a new date reflecting the date of service so that there is no issue with timing in the event Defendants wish to pursue a motions to compel further.

    

The request for sanctions is granted. Sanctions in the amount of $860 are imposed on the Law Offices of Jacob Emrani. They are due within 30 days after the date of this order. 

Moving party to provide notice. 

This is an action for negligence arising from an electric scooter collision that took place in January 2020. Plaintiff Edgar Ivan Gomez filed his Complaint against Defendants AMS Global Theater Management, LLC, Anschutz Entertainment Group, Inc., National Fitness Productions Co., Inc., United National Maintenance, Inc., and United Maintenance Company, Inc. on January 19, 2022.

On October 31, 2022, Defendants United Maintenance Company, Inc. (“UMC”) and United National Maintenance, Inc. (“UNM”) filed the instant motion to deem Requests for Admissions (“RFAs”) admitted.

Moving Arguments

Defendants UNM and UMC propounded written discovery on Plaintiff on August 19, 2022 with responses due by September 21, 2022. Plaintiff failed to serve responses as of the time Plaintiff made this motion.

Opposing Arguments

Plaintiff argues that the motion is moot because he served verified responses without objection on November 13, 2022. Plaintiff also argues sanctions are not appropriate because UMC failed to mitigate its damages by unnecessarily filing the motion without communicating with Plaintiff’s counsel. In the alternative, Plaintiff moves for relief under Code Civ. Proc., section 473.

Reply

Defendants contend that Plaintiff sent them unverified responses on November 23, 2022 and sent them nothing on November 13, 2022 as claimed. Defendants attach a copy of the unverified responses sent on November 23, 2022. 

Where there has been no timely response to requests for admissions, a “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 under Chapter 7 (commencing with section 2023.010).”  The court “shall” grant the motion to deem requests for admission admitted “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.”  (Code Civ. Proc., § 2033.280(c).)

 

Sanctions are mandatory in connection with motions to deem requests for admissions admitted if a party to whom the requests for admissions have been directed failed to serve a timely response to the request for admission. (Code Civ. Proc., §2033.280(c).) 

UMC and UNM (“Moving Defendants”) move to deem RFAs admitted.

Moving Defendants’ counsel testifies that he propounded written discovery on Plaintiff on August 19, 2022 with responses due on September 21, 2022. (Huang Decl., ¶¶2-3.) Plaintiff had not served responses by the time Moving Defendants filed this motion.

Plaintiff argues in opposition that Moving Defendants’ motion is moot because Plaintiff served verified responses without objections. Plaintiff also argues sanctions are not appropriate because Moving Defendants failed to mitigate damages and did not communicate with Plaintiff’s counsel regarding the late responses. If the Court grants Moving Defendants’ motion to deem RFAs admitted, Plaintiff seeks relief under Code Civ. Proc., section 473.

Plaintiff attaches a verified response to its opposition at Exhibit A. According to the Exhibit, the verified response was electronically served on November 23, 2022 and counsel declares it to be so. However, Exhibit A is not the actual email that was sent. 

In their reply, Defendants attach as Exhibit A to counsel’s declaration a copy of the email sent on November 23, 2022. Unlike the version submitted by Plaintiff, it contains no verification. 

This motion is continued so that Plaintiff may serve the verified version of the responses on Defendants.

Sanctions with respect to the motion to deem requests for admissions admitted are mandatory if a party to whom the requests for admissions have been directed failed to serve a timely response to the request for admission. (Code Civ. Proc., §2033.280(c).) Sanctions are granted because Plaintiff failed to serve timely responses to Moving Defendants’ RFAs. However, Moving Defendants’ demand for sanctions is excessive. The Court awards $860 total for 4 hours of attorney time at a rate of $200 per hour and filing fees.