TENTATIVE RULING

Defendant Andrea Bari’s Motion to Compel Deposition of Plaintiff Jerome Nash’s Deposition is GRANTED. Within five (5) days, the parties shall meet and confer to determine a deposition date.

Defendant Andrea Bari’s Request for Monetary Sanctions is GRANTED in the reduced amount of $1,570.20, payable by Plaintiff Jerome Nash to Defendant Andrea Bari and defense counsel within thirty (30) days of entry of this order.

Defendant Andrea Bari to give notice. 

REASONING

Defendant Andrea Bari (“Defendant”) moves the Court for an order compelling Plaintiff Jerome Nash (“Plaintiff”) to appear for his deposition in accordance with the deposition notices served on October 4, 2023, and November 23, 2023. Defendant represents that she served a notice of deposition upon Defendant on October 4, 2023, with the deposition to occur on November 8, 2023, but Plaintiff failed to appear. (Mot., Greer Decl. ¶¶ 3, 6, Ex. A.) Defendant met and conferred with Plaintiff, and the deposition was renoticed to occur on December 5, 2023, with the deposition notice served on November 23, 2023. (Mot., Greer Decl. ¶ 7, Ex. B.) Plaintiff failed to appear on that date, and Plaintiff’s counsel appeared to indicate that Plaintiff would not appear. (Mot., Greer Decl. ¶ 8.)

“If, after service of a deposition notice, a party to the action . . . , without having served a valid objection under Section 2025.410, fails to appear for examination, or to proceed with it, or to produce for inspection any document, electronically stored information, or tangible thing described in the deposition notice, the party giving the notice may move for an order compelling the deponent’s attendance and testimony, and the production for inspection of any document, electronically stored information, or tangible thing described in the deposition notice.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2025.450, subd. (a).) The motion “shall set forth specific facts showing good cause justifying the production for inspection of any document, electronically stored information, or tangible thing described in the deposition notice” and “shall be accompanied by a meet and confer declaration under Section 2016.040, or, when the deponent fails to attend the deposition and produce the documents, electronically stored information, or things described in the deposition notice, by a declaration stating that the petitioner has contacted the deponent to inquire about the nonappearance.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2025.450, subds, (b)(1), (b)(2).)

It is axiomatic that Defendant is entitled to take Plaintiff’s deposition, and Plaintiff has failed to appear for the deposition or serve a valid objection to the notice of deposition. Accordingly, Defendant Andrea Bari’s Motion to Compel Deposition of Plaintiff Jerome Nash’s Deposition is GRANTED. Within five (5) days, the parties shall meet and confer to determine a deposition date.

Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.450, subdivision (g)(1), provides that if a motion to compel a deposition is granted, the Court shall impose monetary sanctions “in favor of the party who noticed the deposition and against the deponent or the party with whom the deponent is affiliated, unless the court finds that the one subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or that other circumstances make the imposition of the sanction unjust.” The Court finds that monetary sanctions are proper here, but the Court reduces the amount of monetary sanctions to $1,570.20, omitting one half-hour for preparing a reply and the cost of the anticipated deposition of $1,800, as such costs are not recoverable at this juncture. Such sanctions are payable by Plaintiff Jerome Nash to Defendant Andrea Bari and defense counsel within thirty (30) days of entry of this order.