Judge: John C. Gastelum, Case: 20-01169714, Date: 2023-08-15 Tentative Ruling

Motion to Compel Deposition (Oral or Written)

Ruling:  Off Calendar– no hearing will be held.   Defendant Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc.’s (“Defendant”) unopposed motion to compel the deposition of Plaintiff is DENIED without prejudice.

The motion and the underlying deposition notices were only served on Plaintiff via email. Plaintiff is an unrepresented party. While the court understands Defendant has been unsuccessful in the past with attempts to serve Plaintiff at her physical address, the Code of Civil Procedure does not allow for email service on unrepresented parties absent express consent. (Code Civ. Proc., §1010.6(c).) The court’s records do not reflect that Plaintiff has consented to email service in this case. Because neither the motion nor the underlying deposition notices were served in a code compliant manner, the motion must be denied.

The court observes that, given this history of this case, it would be prudent for Defendant to serve Plaintiff in the future via both her physical and email address.

Defendant to give notice.