Judge: Lee S. Arian, Case: 23STCV26868, Date: 2025-04-16 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23STCV26868    Hearing Date: April 16, 2025    Dept: 27

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

On December 16, 2024, Defendants Jose Juan Sanchez and Orfalindo Florentino Sanchez propounded Form Interrogatories, Set One, and Requests for Production, Set One, upon Plaintiff Randy Matias. On the same date, Defendants also propounded Form Interrogatories, Set One, upon Plaintiff Consuelo Rodriguez.

Defendants granted Plaintiffs several extensions to respond, with the final deadline being March 7, 2025. To date, Plaintiffs have failed to serve any responses. Defendants now move the Court to compel responses.

Plaintiffs filed an opposition; however, they do not dispute that no responses have been served. Instead, Plaintiffs contend that, as early as February 4, 2025, Plaintiffs’ counsel informed Defendants that they had been unable to make contact with their clients and had made numerous efforts to establish communication. As of April 3, 2025, Plaintiffs’ counsel has filed a motion to be relieved as counsel.

Plaintiffs initiated this action and are required to fulfill their discovery obligations. Defendants are not obligated to grant open-ended extensions simply because Plaintiffs have failed to communicate with their own counsel. In fact, Defendants have already granted Plaintiffs’ counsel multiple extensions to obtain responses and have acted reasonably under the circumstances.

Accordingly, Plaintiff Consuelo Rodriguez is ordered to serve complete and verified responses to Defendants’ Form Interrogatories, Set One, without objections, within 20 days of the date of this order. Plaintiff Randy Matias is ordered to serve complete and verified responses to Defendants’ Form Interrogatories, Set One, and Requests for Production, Set One, without objections, within 20 days of the date of this order.

The Court also issues sanctions in the amount of $1,000 against each Plaintiff for failing to respond to the discovery requests at issue, payable to Defendants within 20 days of the date of this order. However, the Court declines to impose sanctions against Plaintiffs’ counsel, as counsel has diligently attempted to contact Plaintiffs. Furthermore, Defendants do not request sanctions against Plaintiffs’ counsel.

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.