Judge: Jon R. Takasugi, Case: 21STCV20431, Date: 2023-02-16 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21STCV20431    Hearing Date: February 16, 2023    Dept: 17

Superior Court of California

County of Los Angeles

DEPARTMENT 17

TENTATIVE RULING

Defendant’s motion to compel further responses is GRANTED.

            On 6/1/2021, Plaintiff Eian Beron, Jr. (Plaintiff) filed suit against Gas Media Group, LLA, Keaton Keller, and Oombrella Enterprises, alleging: (1) breach of contract: breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; (2) declaratory relief; (3) fraud; (4) breach of fiduciary duty; and (5) accounting.

Now, Defendant Keaton Keller (Defendant) moves to compel further responses from Plaintiff to his Requests for Production (RFPs) (Set One).

Factual Background

Plaintiff’s action concerns allegations that he holds a 40% in Gas Media Group (GMG).  In turn, Defendants allege that while this was contemplated, such an agreement was ultimately abandoned, due, in part, to Plaintiff’s outstanding tax liabilities. 

Discussion

            Defendant argues that further responses are warranted to RFP Nos. 18, 19, and 21 because Plaintiff’s objections are meritless.

            The Court agrees.

RFP No.18 seeks documents relating to Cursor’s ownership. The Cursor ownership interests are directly relevant the subject matter of this action given that Plaintiff’s alleged interest in Gas Media Group is through Cursor. (See Complaint, Exh. 1.)

RFP No. 19 seeks Cursor’s financial statements. Again, the requested financial statements are relevant in the evaluation of the issues in this matter since Plaintiff has alleged that his entity, Cursor, has an equity interest in GMG. A company’s financial statements reflects its assets, including ownership interests in other companies, and thus is relevant to show how Cursor characterized its relationship with GMG.

RFP No. 21 seeks documents the Plaintiff received from the IRS. In his motion, Defendant clarified that he does not seek tax returns through this request. Rather, Defendant only seeks notices from IRS concerning outstanding tax liabilities. This is relevant because Defendant contends that Plaintiff’s issues with the IRS were part of the reason he was not offered an ownership interest in GMG.

As such, each of the RFPs at issue seek directly relevant material and are sufficiently narrow in scope. Moreover, to the extent that Defendant has asserted a right to privacy objection, Plaintiff must provide sufficient factual information for the parties to evaluate the merits of the claim, including if necessary, a privilege log describing the alleged privileged documents. (CCP § 2031.240.)

Based on the foregoing, Defendant’s motion to compel further responses is granted.

It is so ordered.

Dated:  February    , 2023

   Hon. Jon R. Takasugi
   Judge of the Superior Court

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the court at smcdept17@lacourt.org by 4 p.m. the day prior as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org.  If a party submits on the tentative, the party’s email must include the case number and must identify the party submitting on the tentative.  If all parties to a motion submit, the court will adopt this tentative as the final order.  If the department does not receive an email indicating the parties are submitting on the tentative and there are no appearances at the hearing, the motion may be placed off calendar. 

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