Judge: Kevin C. Brazile, Case: 22STCV13089, Date: 2023-02-07 Tentative Ruling

Hearing Date: February 7, 2023

Case Name: Remneff v. Bellatrix Media, Inc., et al.

Case No.: 19STCV15486

Matter: Motion for Protective Order

Moving Party: Plaintiff Melanie Remneff

Responding Party: Defendant Maureen Rourke

Notice: OK

Ruling: The Motion is granted.  The Court declines to award sanctions. 

Moving party to give notice.

If counsel do not submit on the tentative, they are strongly 

encouraged to appear by LACourtConnect rather than in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This is an employment action with a defamation cause of action.  Plaintiff Melanie Remneff seeks a protective order allowing Plaintiff not to respond to Defendant Maureen Rourke’s request for admission, set two, and form interrogatory no. 17.1.  Plaintiff contends this discovery is excessive, duplicative, and overburdensome.  Specifically, Plaintiff argues that “Defendant propounded 158 requests for admission to Plaintiff. Of the 158 requests, 120 were strictly related to Plaintiff’s defamation cause of action. Plaintiff responded to the first thirty-five, and objected to the remainder as harassing, oppressive, and unduly burdensome. Defendant did not take any additional action, and the time to move on those requests has passed. Now, Defendant Rourke propounded sixteen additional, duplicative requests for admission, seeking the same information and asking Plaintiff to make substantively the same admissions that was previously sought in set one. Each of these requests are solely related to Plaintiff’s defamation cause of action, and Defendant is attempting to cure its prior inaction with duplicative requests.”

Good cause must be shown for the protective order, and the issuance and formulation of the protective order are within the Court’s discretion.  (See, e.g., Mercury Interactive Corp. v. Klein (2007) 158 Cal.App.4th 60, 106-7; Raymond Handling Concepts Corp. v. Superior Court (1995) 39 Cal.App.4th 584, 588.)

The Motion is granted.  Defendant already propounded 158 requests for admission that were substantially similar to and encompassed by the 16 requests currently at issue; furthermore, there has been no justification for the additional discovery.  

The Court declines to award sanctions. 

Moving party to give notice.

If counsel do not submit on the tentative, they are strongly encouraged to appear by LACourtConnect rather than in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic.