Judge Lee W. Tsao, Case 20STCV22420 2023-02-16 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Lee W. Tsao, Case: 20STCV22420, Date: 2023-02-16 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV22420 Hearing Date: February 16, 2023 Dept: C

SCHAFFER v. K&M MEAT COMPANY, INC.

CASE NO.: 20STCV22420

HEARING: 02/16/23

TENTATIVE ORDER

Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Defendant K&M MEAT COMPANY, INC.’s Further Responses at Deposition is CONTINUED to Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 9:30 a.m. in Dept. SE-C.

Moving Party to give Notice.

CRC Rule 3.1345(a)(4-5) requires a motion to compel answers at a deposition and to compel production of documents or tangible things at a deposition to be accompanied by a separate statement. Here, no separate statement has been submitted. The Motion is procedurally defective.

Moreover, the Court is not persuaded that counsel have exhausted their meet and confer obligations pursuant to the Code. Counsel are advised that their meet and confer efforts should go beyond merely sending letters stating their respective positions. (See Townsend v. Superior Court (1998) 61 Cal.App.4th 1431, 1439.) “A determination of whether an attempt at informal resolution is adequate…involves the exercise of discretion. The level of effort at an informal resolution which satisfies the ‘reasonable and good faith attempt’ standard depends upon the circumstances. In a larger, more complex discovery request, a greater effort at informal resolution may be warranted. In a simpler, or more narrowly focused case, a more modest effort may suffice. The history of the litigation, the nature of the interaction between counsel, the nature of the issues, the type and scope of the discovery requested, the prospects for success and other similar factors can be relevant. Judges have broad powers and responsibilities to determine what measures and procedures are appropriate in varying circumstances.” (Obregon v. Sup. Ct. (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 424, 431.)

In the interests of adjudicating this issue on the merits (not procedural technicalities), the Court CONTINUES this matter as indicated above.

Counsel are ORDERED to make further efforts to resolve the issues presented. If, after exhausting those efforts, court intervention is needed, counsel may appear and argue the merits on the continued hearing date. If counsel are unable to informally resolve their discovery disputes, then counsel are instructed to submit a JOINT STATEMENT outlining the remaining disputed issues for which a ruling is required in satisfaction of the Separate Statement requirement. The joint statement must be FILED on or before April 10, 2023.