TENTATIVE RULING

Plaintiff Christian Carrillo’s Motion to Compel Cross-Defendant’s Responses to Plaintiff’s Requests for Production is GRANTED.

Cross-Defendant Mohammed Tehrani shall serve code-compliant responses to Plaintiff Christian Carrillo’s Requests for Production of Documents, Set One, without objections, within thirty (30) days of entry of this order.

Plaintiff Christian Carrillo’s Request for Monetary Sanctions is GRANTED in the reduced amount of $1,010, payable by Cross-Defendant Mohammed Tehrani and defense counsel to Plaintiff Christian Carrillo and Plaintiff’s counsel within thirty (30) days of entry of this order.

Plaintiff Christian Carrillo to give notice. 

REASONING

Where there has been no timely response to a Code of Civil Procedure section 2031.010 demand, the demanding party must seek an order compelling a response. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2031.300, subd. (b).) Failure to timely respond waives all objections, including privilege and work product.  (Code Civ. Proc., § 2031.300, subd. (a).) Thus, unless the party to whom the demand was directed obtains relief from waiver, he or she cannot raise objections to the documents demanded. (Ibid.) There is no deadline for a motion to compel responses. Likewise, for failure to respond, the moving party need not attempt to resolve the matter outside court before filing the motion. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 2031.300.) Where the motion seeks only a response to the inspection demand, no showing of “good cause” is required. (Contra Code Civ. Proc., § 2031.310, subd. (b)(1) [good cause requirement for motion to compel further responses].)

Plaintiff Christian Carrillo (“Plaintiff”) served Cross-Defendant Mohammed Tehrani (“Cross-Defendant”) with his Requests for Production of Documents, Set One, on June 20, 2023. (Mot., Slipski Decl. ¶ 4.) Responses were due on or before July 25, 2023, and counsel provided six extensions to provide responses. (Mot., Slipski Decl. ¶¶ 5-12.) To date, no responses have been received. (Mot., Slipski Decl. ¶ 13.)

Accordingly, Plaintiff Christian Carrillo’s Motion to Compel Cross-Defendant’s Responses to Plaintiff’s Requests for Production is GRANTED. Cross-Defendant Mohammed Tehrani shall serve code-compliant responses to Plaintiff Christian Carrillo’s Requests for Production of Documents, Set One, without objections, within thirty (30) days of entry of this order.

If a motion to compel responses to requests for production is filed, the Court may impose a monetary sanction against the losing party “unless it finds that the one subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or that other circumstances make the imposition of the sanction unjust.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2031.300, subd. (c).) Further, “[t]he court may award sanctions under the Discovery Act in favor of a party who files a motion to compel discovery, even though no opposition to the motion was filed, or opposition to the motion was withdrawn, or the requested discovery was provided to the moving party after the motion was filed.” (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1348(a).)

Plaintiff requests $2,000 in monetary sanctions for the motion. The Court finds that monetary sanctions are proper, but the Court reduces the amount to $1,010, representing one hour spent preparing the motion and one hour spent appearing at the hearing on the motion, totaling two hours at the rate of $475 per hour, as well as one filing fee of $60.