Judge Lee S. Arian, Case Number: 23STCV29730, Date: 2024-11-22 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Lee S. Arian, Case: 23STCV29730, Date: 2024-11-22 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23STCV29730 Hearing Date: November 22, 2024 Dept: 27

Hon. Lee S. Arian, Dept 27

MOTION TO COMPEL COMPLIANCE

Hearing Date: 11/22/24

CASE NO./NAME: 23STCV29730 CISTIAN MARTINEZ vs EAN HOLDINGS, LLC, et al.

Moving Party: Defendant Hansa Senturk

Responding Party: Unopposed

Notice: Sufficient

Ruling: GRANTED

Legal Standard

CCP § 2020.010 permits discovery of non-party witnesses through oral and written depositions. (See CCP § 2020.010(a)(1), (2); Hawkins v. TACA International Airlines, S.A. (2014) 223 Cal.App.4th 466, 476.) A deposition subpoena may command the attendance and testimony of the deponent, the production of business records, or both. (CCP § 2020.020.) Additional requirements regarding notification and a right to object are in place where the records sought are consumer records, including personal medical records. (See CCP § 1985.3.)

Two provisions in the Code of Civil Procedure govern motions to compel responses to deposition subpoenas. CCP § 1987.1 provides that “[i]f a subpoena requires the attendance of a witness or the production of books, documents, electronically stored information, or other things before a court, or at the trial of an issue therein, or at the taking of a deposition, the court, upon motion reasonably made by [a party or a witness] . . . may make an order quashing the subpoena entirely, modifying it, or directing compliance with it upon those terms or conditions as the court shall declare, including protective orders.”

CCP § 2025.480(a) similarly provides that “[i]f a deponent fails to answer any question or to produce any document, electronically stored information,¿or tangible thing under the deponent's control that is specified in the deposition notice or a deposition subpoena, the party seeking discovery may move the court for an order compelling that answer or production.” Unlike CCP § 1987.1, CCP § 2025.480 also includes a time limit (“[t]his motion shall be made no later than 60 days after the completion of the record of the deposition”) and a meet and confer requirement (“[t]his motion . . . shall be accompanied by a meet and confer declaration under Section 2016.040”). (CCP § 2025.480(b).) Finally, CCP § 2025.480(c) requires that notice of the motion be given to all parties and to the deponent.

Discussion

This case arises from a motor vehicle collision between Plaintiff Cistian Martinez and Defendant Hansa Senturk. Plaintiff is claiming $45,500 in past lost income, along with an unspecified claim for future lost earnings. Plaintiff identified only one prior employer, Michi Floor Co., during discovery but produced only two W-2 forms from this employer, reflecting less than $5,000 in wages for 2023 and less than $10,000 for 2022. To evaluate Plaintiff's lost earnings claim, Defendant Hansa Senturk served a Deposition Subpoena for Production of Employment Records on Michi Floor Co. on August 21, 2024. Plaintiff did not object to the subpoena, which required production of records by September 9, 2024. Michi Floor Co. failed to produce the requested documents by the deadline or respond to Defendant’s multiple meet-and-confer attempts. Defendant now moves to compel compliance with the subpoena. Neither Plaintiff nor the deponent filed an opposition.

The Court finds good cause to compel production of the employment records. There is a significant discrepancy between Plaintiff’s claim for lost wages and the income reflected in the limited documents produced. Defendant is entitled to Plaintiff’s employment records to evaluate Plaintiff’s claims. Additionally, Defendant satisfied the meet-and-confer requirement, as Defendant’s repeated attempts to obtain compliance were ignored by Michi Floor Co. Finally, notice of the motion has been properly served on all parties and the deponent.

Accordingly, the motion is granted. Michi Floor Co. is ordered to comply with the subpoena and produce the requested employment records within 15 days of this Order.

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.