Judge: Lee S. Arian, Case: 23STCV19426, Date: 2025-05-22 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23STCV19426    Hearing Date: May 22, 2025    Dept: 27

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Background

On December 23, 2024, Plaintiff served a deposition notice for the City of Los Angeles’s person most knowledgeable (PMQ) for January 8, 2025. The following day, defense counsel responded by email stating that neither she nor the PMQ was available on that date. In the same email, defense counsel offered three alternative dates in April 2025. Plaintiff accepted defense counsel’s proposed deposition date of April 15, 2025. On January 7, 2025, Plaintiff served an amended deposition notice for the City’s PMQ for April 15, 2025.

On April 14, 2025, defense counsel’s office canceled the deposition and stated that new dates would be provided. On April 18, 2025, Plaintiff sent a follow-up email requesting new deposition dates but received no response. Plaintiff now moves to compel Defendant’s deposition. Defendant did not file an opposition.

Legal Standard 

¿¿¿¿      Any party may obtain any discovery of information, documents, land, property, or electronically stored information so long as the discoverable matter is not privileged, is relevant to the subject matter and can lead one to admissible evidence.¿(Code Civ. Proc. § 2017.010.)¿¿¿¿¿ 

¿¿¿¿¿     Code Civ. Proc., § 2025.450¿provides in pertinent part the following:¿¿¿¿¿¿ 

¿¿¿¿¿     “(a) If, after service of a deposition notice, a party to the action or an officer, director, managing agent, or employee of a party, or a person designated by an organization that is a party under Section 2025.230, without having served a valid objection under Section 2025.410, fails to appear for examination, or to proceed with it, or to produce for inspection any document, electronically stored information, or tangible thing described in the deposition notice, the party giving the notice may move for an order compelling the deponent's attendance and testimony, and the production for inspection of any document, electronically stored information, or tangible thing described in the deposition notice.¿¿¿¿¿ 

Discussion

Plaintiff has satisfied all requirements to compel the deposition. Defendant did not file an objection to the deposition notice. The deposition date was mutually agreed upon, but Defendant canceled the deposition one day before it was scheduled to proceed. Plaintiff subsequently followed up to obtain alternative dates, but none were provided. Furthermore, no opposition to the motion has been filed. Accordingly, the motion is granted. Defendant is ordered to produce its person most knowledgeable (PMK) for deposition within 10 days of today.

Defendant did not act with substantial justification. Defendant provided the deposition date, canceled on short notice, and failed to offer any alternative dates, thereby forcing Plaintiff to file this motion. Sanctions in the reduced amount of $1,000 are imposed against Defendant and its attorney of record jointly and severally payable to Plaintiff within 20 days of today.

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’s 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.