Judge: John C. Gastelum, Case: 20-01150180, Date: 2022-09-13 Tentative Ruling

Motion to Compel Production

Ruling: Off Calendar – no hearing will be held.  Motion to Compel Further Responses to Request for Production of Documents and to Compel Further Document Production; Request for Sanctions is continued to 11-29-2022, Dept. C11, at 2 pm. 

Code of Civil Procedure section 2016.049 requires “a reasonable and good faith attempt at an informal resolution of each issue presented by the motion.” 

KPRS contends that Plaintiff failed to adequately meet and confer prior to filing this Motion because the Motion raises some issues which were never previously addressed in prior meet and confer attempts.

Here, KPRS’ responses were served on October 4, 2021, after extensions were provided and Plaintiff met and conferred with KPRS as to the Responses on March 17, 2022, April 26, 2022, and May 2, 2022. The meet and confers resulted in two sets of Amended Responses by KPRS, the last of which occurred on May 6, 2022. (See Donoghue Decl., ¶¶ 19-25.) It appears, however, that Plaintiff did not meet and confer as to the second amended responses prior to filing this Motion. (See Id., ¶ 26.)

KPRS also presents evidence that Plaintiff raises several issues for the first time in this Motion; Plaintiff did not ask KPRS to amend its responses as demanded here; and that Plaintiff for the first time, requests that Greg Weeger, Lindsay McCaig, Joel Stensby, Paul Kirstedja, and Lev Rabinovich should have been included as document custodians. (See Breucop Decl., ¶¶ 7-9.)

Accordingly, the Court finds the meet and confer attempts were not adequate and will continue the Motion to allow the parties to meet and confer as to the issues raised in this Motion and specifically as to the Second Amended Verified Responses.  

MP to give notice.