Judge Lee W. Tsao, Case Number: 23NWCV01225, Date: 2024-06-26 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Lee W. Tsao, Case: 23NWCV01225, Date: 2024-06-26 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23NWCV01225 Hearing Date: June 26, 2024 Dept: C

GUTIERREZ v. MORALES, ET AL.

CASE NO.: 23NWCV01225

HEARING: 6/26/24 @ 9:30 A.M.

TENTATIVE ORDER

I. Plaintiff Imelda Gutierrez’s Motion to Compel Responses to Form Interrogatories, Set One as to Defendant Gerardo Montalvo Flores is GRANTED.

II. Plaintiff Imelda Gutierrez’s Motion to Compel Responses to Form Interrogatories, Set One as to Defendant Jorge Alexander Morales is GRANTED.

III. Monetary sanctions are DENIED.

Moving Party to give NOTICE.

The motions are unopposed as of June 24, 2024.

This is a motor vehicle collision. Plaintiff alleges that on or about May 20, 2021, Plaintiff was lawfully operating her vehicle westbound on Lambert Road near Cole Road. Defendant Jorge Alexander Morales was operating his vehicle directly behind Plaintiff’s vehicle and Defendant Martin Quan Tran was operating his vehicle in front of Plaintiff’s vehicle. Defendants operated their vehicles without caution and caused Defendant Jorge Alexander Morales’s vehicle to collide into Plaintiff’s vehicle.

Defendants move to compel the initial discovery of Form Interrogatories, Set One from Defendant Gerardo Montalvo Flores and Defendant Jorge Alexander Morales.

Legal Standard

Code of Civil Procedure section 2030.290, subdivision (b) allows the propounding party to file a motion to compel responses to interrogatories if a response has not been received. If responses are untimely, the responding party waives objections. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2030.290, subd. (a).)

Discussion

Plaintiff served each defendant with form interrogatories, set one on January 17, 2024, by U.S. mail. (Decl. Landau, ¶ 2, Ex. A.) Responses were due on or before February 23, 2024. (Id., ¶ 3.) Defendant granted an extension to March 15, 2024. (Id., ¶ 4, Ex. B.) Despite these extensions, Defendant has not received responses. (Id., ¶ 5.)

Accordingly, the motions are GRANTED. Plaintiffs are ordered to serve responses without objections within 30 days.

Sanctions

Discovery sanctions may not be imposed under Section 2023.030, even together with Section 2023.010, absent another provision of the Discovery Act that authorizes the imposition of sanctions. (City of L. A. v. PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC (2022) 84 Cal.App.5th 466, 500.) Sanctions with respect to interrogatories are only authorized against a party who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion to compel responses. (Code of Civ. Proc. § 2030.290, subd. (c).)

Here, sanctions are denied because the motions are unopposed.