TENTATIVE RULING

Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Mike Khattab’s Motion to Compel Production of Documents Against Defendant/Cross-Complainant Ahmedshah Patail is GRANTED.

Defendant/Cross-Complainant Ahmedshah Patail shall serve code-compliant responses to Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Mike Khattab’s Requests for Production, Set One, without objections, within thirty (30) days of entry of this order.

Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Mike Khattab’s Request for Monetary Sanctions is GRANTED in the reduced amount of $1,110.00, payable by Defendant/Cross-Complainant Ahmedshah Patail and defense counsel to Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Mike Khattab and Plaintiff’s counsel within thirty (30) days of entry of this order.

Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Mike Khattab 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/Cross-Defendant Mike Khattab (“Plaintiff”) served Defendant/Cross-Complainant Ahmedshah Patail (“Defendant”) with his Requests for Production, Set One, on March 28, 2024. (Mot., Pomerantz Decl. ¶ 2.) To date, no responses have been received. (Mot., Pomerantz Decl. ¶ 3.) Defense counsel John Bussman states that he was not served with the discovery requests, but he concedes that the other attorneys in his office were served with the discovery, and there is no requirement that an attorney serve all attorneys who may be working on the case, and the Court notes that Mr. Bussman’s name is not listed on the case caption as a handling attorney. (See Opp’n, Bussman Decl. ¶ 5.) Further, counsel does not state that responses have been served since receiving the present motion, and there is no statutory requirement that Plaintiff’s counsel have met and conferred with defense counsel before filing the present motion.

Accordingly, Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Mike Khattab’s Motion to Compel Production of Documents Against Defendant/Cross-Complainant Ahmedshah Patail is GRANTED. Defendant/Cross-Complainant Ahmedshah Patail shall serve code-compliant responses to Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Mike Khattab’s Requests for Production, 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 $2,075.00 in monetary sanctions for the motion. The Court finds that monetary sanctions are proper, but the Court reduces the amount to $1,110.00, representing two-and-a-half hours spent preparing the motion and reply and one hour spent appearing at the hearing on the motion, totaling three-and-a-half hours at the reduced rate of $300 per hour, as well as one filing fee of $60. Accordingly, Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Mike Khattab’s Request for Monetary Sanctions is GRANTED in the reduced amount of $1,110.00, payable by Defendant/Cross-Complainant Ahmedshah Patail and defense counsel to Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Mike Khattab and Plaintiff’s counsel within thirty (30) days of entry of this order.