Judge: Lee S. Arian, Case: 24STCV00370, Date: 2025-02-03 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 24STCV00370    Hearing Date: February 3, 2025    Dept: 27

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

On June 20, 2024, Plaintiff served Form Interrogatories, Set One, and Request for Production of Documents, Set One, on Defendant KWK Trucking, Inc. On the same date, Plaintiff propounded Request for Production of Documents, Set One, and Form Interrogatories, Set One, to Defendant DHL Express. Defendants’ responses were due by July 22, 2024.

Defendants DHL Express and KWK Trucking, Inc. are represented by the same counsel. On July 22, 2024, Defendants, through their counsel, Ms. Goldscher, served objections to all discovery requests at issue.

Plaintiff argues that the objections were boilerplate and meritless and moves the Court to compel initial responses. However, because Plaintiff concedes that the responses were timely, objections have not been waived, and a motion to compel initial responses is procedurally improper. Plaintiff must file a motion to compel further responses instead.

Additionally, under Personal Injury Hub rules, a motion to compel further responses requires the parties to attend an Informal Discovery Conference (IDC) before the motion can be heard. No IDC has been scheduled in this matter.

Accordingly, the motions are denied. However, the Court reviewed the responses at issue and finds that they appear to be boilerplate in nature and orders the parties to meet and confer on the responses by February 7, 2025.

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.