Judge: Lee S. Arian, Case: 22STCV08055, Date: 2024-09-19 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22STCV08055    Hearing Date: September 19, 2024    Dept: 27

Hon. Lee S. Arian, Dept 27 

MOTIONS TO COMPEL INITIAL RESPONSES AND REQUESTS FOR SANCTIONS

Hearing Date: 9/19/24¿ 

CASE NO./NAME: 22STCV08055 AN DO, et al. vs MARTA E. MELENDEZ, et al.

Moving Party: Defendants MARTA E. MELENDEZ and RODOLFO ORTIZ

Responding Party: Unopposed

Notice: Sufficient¿ 

Ruling: MOTIONS TO COMPEL INITIAL RESPONSES AND REQUESTS FOR SANCTIONS ARE GRANTED. 

On January 25, 2024, Defendants MARTA E. MELENDEZ and RODOLFO ORTIZ served Special Interrogatories, Set No. 1, Request for Production of Documents (RFP), Set One, and Form Interrogatories, Set One on Plaintiff. Responses to these discovery requests were due on February 24, 2024. As of August 2024, Plaintiff has failed to provide responses to Defendants’ discovery requests. Defendants now move the court to compel initial discovery responses.

It undisputed that Plaintiff did not provide the discovery responses at issue prior to the statutory deadline. Plaintiff did not file an opposition or any document indicating that the discovery responses at issue were served prior to the hearing. Thus, the motions are granted. Plaintiff is ordered to provide complete and verified responses to Defendants’ Special Interrogatories, Set No. 1, RFP Set One, and Form Interrogatories, Set One without objections within 20 days of today.

Furthermore, sanctions are mandatory, and the court does not find Plaintiff to have acted with substantial justification. Defendants request sanctions in the amount of $810 in attorney fees per motion. The court reduces the sanction to $1,500 for all three motions given the simplicity and duplicity of the issues and the lack of objections. Sanctions in the amount of $1,500 are ordered against Plaintiff and his/her counsel, jointly and severally, payable to Defendant within 20 days of today.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE:

If a party intends to submit on this tentative ruling, the party must send an email to the court at sscdept27@lacourt.org with the Subject line “SUBMIT” followed by the case number.  The body of the email must include the hearing date and time, counsel’s contact information, and the identity of the party submitting.

Unless all parties submit by email to this tentative ruling, the parties should arrange to appear remotely (encouraged) or in person for oral argument.  You should assume that others may appear at the hearing to argue.

If the parties neither submit nor appear at hearing, the Court may take the motion off calendar or adopt the tentative ruling as the order of the Court.  After the Court has issued a tentative ruling, the Court may prohibit the withdrawal of the subject motion without leave.