Judge: Lisa R. Jaskol, Case: 22STCV09970, Date: 2024-06-24 Tentative Ruling
All parties are urged to meet and confer with all parties concerning this tentative ruling to see if they can reach an agreed-upon resolution of their matter. If you are able to reach an agreement, please notify the courtroom staff in advance of the hearing if you wish to submit on the tentative ruling rather than argue the motion by notifying the court by e-mailing the court at: SSCDEPT28@lacourt.org. Include the word "SUBMITS" in all caps and the Case Number in the Subject line. In the body of the email, please provide the date and time of the hearing, your name, your contact information, the party you represent, and whether that party is a plaintiff, defendant, cross-complainant, cross-defendant, claimant, intervenor, or non-party, etc.
Please be advised that if you submit on the tentative and elect not to appear at the hearing, the opposing party may still appear at the hearing and argue the matter, and the court could change its tentative based upon the argument. Unless you receive a submission from all other parties in the matter, you should assume that others might appear at the hearing to argue. If you submit, but still intend to appear, include the words "SUBMITS, BUT WILL APPEAR" in the Subject line. If you elect to argue your matter, you are urged to do so remotely, via Court-Connect.
Note that once the Court has issued a tentative, the Court has the inherent authority not to allow the withdrawal of a motion and to adopt the tentative ruling as the order of the court. This does not excuse a moving party's need to do one of the following: appear; submit; or take a matter off calendar by canceling the motion in the case reservation system before issuance of the tentative ruling if the matter moving party does not intend to proceed.
If you submitted a courtesy copy of your papers containing media (such as a DVD or thumb drive), unless you request the return of the media in your papers, the court will destroy it following the hearing of your matter.
Case Number: 22STCV09970 Hearing Date: June 24, 2024 Dept: 28
Having considered the moving and supplemental papers, the Court rules as follows.
BACKGROUND
On March 22, 2022, Plaintiff Rosa Reyes (“Plaintiff”) filed this action against Defendants Diamond Valley R.V. Park, LLC, Diamond Valley RV Park LLC dba Diamond Valley RV Resort, Kelly Mac, and Does 1-50 for general negligence, intentional tort, and premises liability.
On January 3, 2023, Defendant Kelly Mac dba Diamond Valley RV Resort (“Resort”) filed an answer.
On February 7, 2024, Resort filed a motion to compel Plaintiff’s deposition and for sanctions, to be heard on May 2, 2024. On April 24, 2024, Resort filed a supplemental declaration. The Court continued the hearing to June 24, 2024.
Trial is currently scheduled for October 29, 2024.
PARTY’S REQUESTS
Resort asks the Court to compel Plaintiff to appear for a deposition on May 17, 2024 and to award sanctions against Plaintiff.
LEGAL STANDARD
Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.450 provides in part:
“(a) If, after service of a deposition notice, a party to the action or an officer, director, managing agent, or employee of a party, or a person designated by an organization that is a party under Section 2025.230, 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.
“(b) A motion under subdivision (a) shall comply with both of the following:
“(1) 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.
“(2) The motion 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.
*
* *
“(2) On motion of any other party who, in person or by attorney, attended at the time and place specified in the deposition notice in the expectation that the deponent’s testimony would be taken, the court shall impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010) in favor of that party 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. . . .”
(Code Civ. Proc., § 2025.450, subds. (a), (b), (g).)
DISCUSSION
On February 7, 2024, Resort filed a motion to compel Plaintiff’s deposition and for sanctions. On April 24, 2024, Resort filed a supplemental declaration stating that the parties had agreed to conduct Plaintiff’s deposition on May 17, 2024. Resort agreed to waive monetary sanctions. Resort’s supplemental declaration asked the Court to order Plaintiff to appear for the May 17, 2024 deposition.
It has been more than one month since May 17, 2024. Resort has not informed the Court whether the May 17, 2024 deposition took place. The Court will assume the deposition took place and take this motion off calendar.
CONCLUSION
The Court takes off calendar Defendant Kelly Mac dba Diamond Valley RV Resort’s motion to compel Plaintiff Rosa Reyes’s deposition and for sanctions.
Moving party is ordered to give notice of this ruling.
Moving party is ordered to file the proof of service of this ruling with the Court within five days.