Judge Lee W. Tsao, Case 20STCV22420 2023-04-20 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Lee W. Tsao, Case: 20STCV22420, Date: 2023-04-20 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV22420 Hearing Date: April 20, 2023 Dept: C

SCHAFFER v. K&M MEAT COMPANY, INC.

CASE NO.: 20STCV22420

HEARING: 04/20/23

TENTATIVE ORDER

Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Defendant K&M MEAT COMPANY, INC.’s Further Responses at Deposition is CONTINUED to Thursday, June 22, 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.

On February 16, 2023, this Court issued the following Order: “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.” (Order, 02/16/23.)

The Court is in receipt of Attorney Frederick L. Stoker III’s Declaration filed on March 7, 2023. Mr. Stoker indicates that Defense counsel has failed to respond to Plaintiff’s counsel’s meet and confer efforts. To date, no joint statement and no separate statement is on file with the Court.

The Court continues this matter once more, as indicated above. Counsel are once again ORDERED 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 June 2, 2023. If counsel are unable to meet and confer and submit a timely joint statement, then counsel for the Moving Party is ORDERED to FILE and SERVE a code-compliant SEPARATE STATEMENT on or before June 9, 2023. Counsel are encouraged to informally resolve their discovery disputes.