Judge Lee W. Tsao, Case Number: 22NWCV01299, Date: 2024-01-10 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Lee W. Tsao, Case: 22NWCV01299, Date: 2024-01-10 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22NWCV01299 Hearing Date: January 10, 2024 Dept: C

chavira v. american honda

CASE NO.: 22NWCV01299

HEARING: 1/10/24 @ 9:30 AM

Plaintiff Gloria Chavira’s Motion to Compel Further Responses to Request for Production is GRANTED in part. Sanctions are awarded in the amount of $890.00.

Moving Party to give NOTICE.

Plaintiff Gloria Chavira (Plaintiff) move to compel Defendant American Honda Motor Co.’s (Defendant) further response to Request for Production (set one) pursuant to CCP § 2031.310.

Background

On November 14, 2022, Plaintiff filed a complaint against Defendant for violations of the Song-Beverly Act for failure to repair or repurchase Plaintiff’s vehicle.

Legal Standard

CCP § 2031.310 allows a party to file a motion compelling further answers to document requests if it finds that the response is inadequate, incomplete, or evasive, or an objection in the response is without merit or too general. The motion shall be accompanied with a meet and confer declaration. (CCP § 2031.310(b).)

Meet and Confer

The Court finds that the parties adequately met and conferred.

Discussion

Plaintiff seeks to compel further responses to Requests Nos. 19-23, 25-30, and 45-46.

Defendant has produced documents as to Requests Nos. 19-23 and 25-30. Thus, Plaintiff’s request to compel further responses as to Requests Nos. 19-23 and 25-30 is denied as moot.

Requests Nos. 45-46 seek documents related to similar vehicles and customer complaints:

Request No. 45: All DOCUMENTS evidencing complaints by owners of 2020 Honda Pilot vehicles regarding any of the complaints that the SUBJECT VEHICLE was presented to YOUR or YOUR authorized repair facilities for repair during the warranty period.

Request No. 46: All DOCUMENTS evidencing warranty repairs to 2020 Honda Pilot vehicles regarding any of the components that YOU or YOUR authorized repair facilities performed repairs on under warranty.

These requests are overbroad because they seek documents related to vehicles worldwide. Therefore, these requests will be limited to repairs and customer complaints concerning 2020 Honda Pilots sold in California. Defendant is ordered to provide further responses to Requests Nos. 45 and 46 as to 2020 Honda Pilots sold in California.

Sanctions

The court shall impose a monetary sanction against the party who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion to compel further responses to interrogatories or demand for production of documents unless the party subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or the sanction would otherwise be unjust. (Code of Civ. Proc., §§ 2030.300, subd. (d), 2031.310, subd. (h), 2033.290, subd. (d).)

Here, Defendant failed to act with substantial justification. Defendant has failed to provide sufficient justification for it providing discovery responses only after Plaintiff filed her Motion. Plaintiff seeks $2,739.00 in sanctions against Defendant and its counsel of record, consisting of 3.6 hours drafting the motion, two hours reviewing the opposition and drafting a reply, and one hour preparing for and attending the hearing at a rate of $415.00 per hour and the $60.00 filing fee. Because Plaintiff has filed a boilerplate motion, the Court awards sanctions in the reasonable amount of $890.00 for two hours of attorney’s fees and costs.

Accordingly, Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Further Responses is GRANTED in part with the limitations set forth above. Plaintiff’s request for sanctions is GRANTED and imposed against Defendant and its counsel of record, jointly and severally, in the amount of $890.00. This sanction is to be paid within thirty days of this Order.