Judge: Lee S. Arian, Case: 20STCV12882, Date: 2023-12-12 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV12882    Hearing Date: December 12, 2023    Dept: 27

Luis Fido Chacon v. Eran Weinberg

CASE NUMBER: 20STCV12882

Motion – Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Inspection of Vehicle and Event Data Recorder

TENTATIVE

            Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Inspection of Vehicle and Event Data Recorder is DENIED. The current owner of the vehicle, Erika Grisel Rodriguez, is not a party to the action and is not subject to discovery under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 2031.

Background

            Luis Fido Chacon (“Plaintiff”) filed suit on April 2, 2020 against Eran Weinberg (“Defendant”) after an automobile collision on March 6, 2019 in which Plaintiff alleges that Defendant negligently operated their vehicle, causing the accident. (Complaint, ¶¶ 1 & 8.)

            Plaintiff has brought a motion pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) section 2031 now files a Motion to Compel Inspection of the Vehicle and Event Data Recorder (“Motion”), requesting that the Court issue an order against the now owner of the vehicle, Erika Grisel Rodriguez^[1] (“Rodriguez”) to permit inspection by Plaintiff’s expert.

            The Motion is unopposed. (In fact, it is unclear whether the Motion was served.)  

Discussion

Legal Standard

            Plaintiff’s motion is made pursuant to CCP § 2031.010, which provides:

            (a) Any party may obtain discovery within the scope delimited by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 2017.010), and subject to the restrictions set forth in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2019.010), by inspecting, copying, testing, or sampling documents, tangible things, land or other property, and electronically stored information in the possession, custody, or control of any other party to the action.

            (b) A party may demand that any other party produce and permit the party making the demand, or someone acting on the demanding party's behalf, to inspect and to copy a document that is in the possession, custody, or control of the party on whom the demand is made.

            (c) A party may demand that any other party produce and permit the party making the demand, or someone acting on the demanding party's behalf, to inspect and to photograph, test, or sample any tangible things that are in the possession, custody, or control of the party on whom the demand is made.

            (d) A party may demand that any other party allow the party making the demand, or someone acting on the demanding party's behalf, to enter on any land or other property that is in the possession, custody, or control of the party on whom the demand is made, and to inspect and to measure, survey, photograph, test, or sample the land or other property, or any designated object or operation on it.

            (e) A party may demand that any other party produce and permit the party making the demand, or someone acting on the demanding party's behalf, to inspect, copy, test, or sample electronically stored information in the possession, custody, or control of the party on whom demand is made.

            In each of these subsections, the demand is to be directed to another “party.” Here, Rodriguez is not a party to this action.  Accordingly, Section 2031 does not apply.

            The Motion is denied.  Plaintiff’s counsel is hereby admonished that future motions that have no legal basis will be subject to sanctions pursuant to CCP Section 128.7. This Court has a docket of greater than 4,000 cases; it does not have time to address motions that are clearly unsupported by the law.

Moving party is ordered to give notice.  

  Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the Court at SSCDEPT27@lacourt.org indicating intention to submit on the tentative as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org.  Please be advised that if you submit on the tentative and elect not to appear at the hearing, the opposing party may nevertheless appear at the hearing and argue the matter.  Unless you receive a submission from all other parties in the matter, you should assume that others might appear at the hearing to argue.  If the Court does not receive emails from the parties indicating submission on this tentative ruling and there are no appearances at the hearing, the Court may, at its discretion, adopt the tentative as the final order or place the motion off calendar.