TENTATIVE RULING

Plaintiff Narvii, Inc.’s Motion to Compel is taken off calendar.

Plaintiff Narvii, Inc. to give notice.

REASONING

Currently pending before the Court is Plaintiff Narvii, Inc. (“Plaintiff”)’s Motion to Compel. Plaintiff filed this motion on January 23, 2025, entitled it a “Motion to Compel,” but Plaintiff stated in the notice of motion that it was moving the Court for an order compelling Defendants MediaLab.AI, Inc. and Amino App, LLC “to respond further and completely to certain demands for inspection propounded by Plaintiff and to produce all responsive documents.” Despite stating in the notice of motion that Plaintiff sought further responses to its discovery requests, counsel reserved the motion hearing as a “Motion to Compel Discovery (not Further Discovery),” which is stated in the motion reservation attached to the motion, i.e., Plaintiff moved to compel further responses, but counsel made a reservation on the basis that no further responses were sought.

It is clear from the motion papers and opposition that this motion is one to compel further responses. Department N has a standing order, available on the Court’s “Courtroom Information” website, stating as follows:

MOTIONS TO COMPEL FURTHER AND INFORMAL DISCOVERY CONFERENCES: Before a party will receive a hearing date on any motion to compel further, the party must attend an Informal Discovery Conference (“IDC”). The moving party shall contact the courtroom to obtain an Informal Discovery Conference date. At least ten (10) days prior to an Informal Discovery Conference, the parties are ordered to meet and confer in an effort to resolve all discovery disputes. The parties shall submit a JOINT brief, less than five pages in length that summarizes the discovery dispute(s) at issue.

In the Court’s order dated February 22, 2024, after a hearing at which Plaintiff’s counsel was present, the Court again stated, “Before a Motion to Compel Further Responses is filed, counsel must jointly telephone the courtroom and reserve a date for an Informal Discovery Conference (IDC).”

The parties had sufficient notice that an Informal Discovery Conference was required before this motion was filed with the Court. Plaintiff’s counsel both did not heed these orders and instead simply reserved a hearing for the motion by reserving the motion improperly. At no point did Plaintiff contact the courtroom to obtain an Informal Discovery Conference date, no joint brief was submitted, and no Informal Discovery Conference occurred before this motion was filed. For these reasons, Plaintiff Narvii, Inc.’s Motion to Compel is taken off calendar. Counsel are advised to familiarize themselves with the Court’s standing orders and take notice of statements in the Court’s minute orders.