Judge: John J. Kralik, Case: 20BBCV00064, Date: 2022-09-16 Tentative Ruling

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Case Number: 20BBCV00064    Hearing Date: September 16, 2022    Dept: NCB

Superior Court of California

County of Los Angeles

North Central District

Department B

On June 10, 2022, Defendant/Cross-Complainant Maria Sanchez (“Sanchez”) filed a motion to compel Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Juvenal Villa Rangel, Sr.’s (“Rangel”) to Form Interrogatories, set two (“FROG”) and for sanctions against Plaintiff and his counsel of record in the amount of $1,661.65. The Court notes that the FROG requests are entitled Form Interrogatories – Construction Litigation.

On December 10, 2021, Sanchez served on Rangel the FROG requests, such that responses were due by January 15, 2022.  As of the filing of the motion, Sanchez states that she has not received responses from Rangel. 

On September 7, 2022, Rangel filed a response to the motion.  Rangel argues that while the FROG may have been propounded timely, the motion was not timely filed pursuant to the discovery cut-off dates because trial was initially set for August 22, 2022 and was continued to November 28, 2022, but the related dates were not continued with the trial date.  Other than this procedural argument, Rangel does not dispute whether responses were or were not provided.  He requests that if the motion is granted, that he have 30 days to submit responses to the FROG without objection.  He also argues that sanctions should not be imposed against him. 

CCP § 2024.020(a) states: “Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any party shall be entitled as a matter of right to complete discovery proceedings on or before the 30th day, and to have motions concerning discovery heard on or before the 15th day, before the date initially set for the trial of the action.”  While the trial date was continued, there was no specification in the Court’s minute order whether discovery and other dates would be tied to the new trial date.  However, the Court notes that this motion was filed on June 10, 2022, well before the August 22, 2022 trial date.  As Sanchez explains in the reply brief (filed September 12, 2022), Sanchez reserved the first available date for this motion, which was September 16, 2022.  As such, the Court will consider the merits of this motion.

Sanchez’s motion to compel responses to the FROG is granted pursuant to CCP § 2030.290.  Rangel is ordered to provide verified responses to Sanchez’s discovery requests, without objections, within 25 days of notice of this order.

Sanchez requests sanctions in the amount of $1,661.65 for the time her attorneys spent on this action (=$400/hour x [2 hours to prepare the motion + 2 hours to attend the hearing], plus $61.65 for filing fees).  The Court will award sanctions in the reasonable sum of $561.65.  Rangel and his counsel of record, jointly and severally, are ordered to pay monetary sanctions in the amount of $561.65 to Sanchez, by and through counsel, within 20 days of notice of this order.  

            Defendant/Cross-Complainant Maria Sanchez shall provide notice of this order.