Judge Lynette Gridiron Winston, Case Number: 24PSCV01347, Date: 2025-01-28 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Lynette Gridiron Winston, Case: 24PSCV01347, Date: 2025-01-28 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 24PSCV01347 Hearing Date: January 28, 2025 Dept: 6

CASE NAME: Hee Sook Park v. Jung Hyun Kim, et al.

Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Disclosures Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure § 2016.090

TENTATIVE RULING

The Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s motion to compel initial disclosures pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure § 2016.090. Defendant Jung Hyun Kim must provide all responsive information and documents per Code of Civil Procedure § 2016.090 within 15 days of the Court’s order.

Plaintiff is ordered to give notice of the Court’s ruling within five calendar days of this order.

BACKGROUND

This is an elder abuse case. On April 26, 2024, plaintiff Hee Sook Park (Plaintiff) filed this action against defendants Jung Hyun Kim (Kim), Jianchun Li, and Does 1 through 250, alleging causes of action for elder abuse, negligence, and assault and battery.

On December 19, 2024, Plaintiff moved to compel initial disclosures. The motion is unopposed.

LEGAL STANDARD

(a) The following shall apply in a civil action unless modified by stipulation by all parties to the action:

(1) Within 60 days of a demand by any party to the action, each party that has appeared in the action, including the party that made the demand, shall provide to the other parties an initial disclosure that includes all of the following information:

(A) The names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses of all persons likely to have discoverable information, along with the subjects of that information, that the disclosing party may use to support its claims or defenses, or that is relevant to the subject matter of the action or the order on any motion made in that action, unless the use would be solely for impeachment. The disclosure required by this subparagraph is not required to include persons who are expert trial witnesses or are retained as consultants who may later be designated as expert trial witnesses, as that term is described in Chapter 18 (commencing with Section 2034.010) of Title 4 of Part 4.

(B) A copy, or a description by category and location, of all documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things that the disclosing party has in its possession, custody, or control and may use to support its claims or defenses, or that is relevant to the subject matter of the action or the order on any motion made in that action, unless the use would be solely for impeachment.

(C) Any contractual agreement and any insurance policy under which an insurance company may be liable to satisfy, in whole or in part, a judgment entered in the action or to indemnify or reimburse for payments made to satisfy the judgment.

(D) Any and all contractual agreements and any and all insurance policies under which a person, as defined in Section 175 of the Evidence Code, may be liable to satisfy, in whole or in part, a judgment entered in the action or to indemnify or reimburse for payments made to satisfy the judgment. Only those provisions of an agreement that are material to the terms of the insurance, indemnification, or reimbursement are required to be included in the initial disclosure. Material provisions include, but are not limited to, the identities of parties to the agreement, the nature and limits of the coverage, and any and all documents regarding whether any insurance carrier is disputing the agreement's or policy's coverage of the claim involved in the action.

(Code Civ. Proc., § 2016.090, subd. (a)(1).)

“A party's obligations under this section may be enforced by a court on its own motion or the motion of a party to compel disclosure.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2016.090, subd. (a)(4).)

DISCUSSION

Meet and Confer

Although meeting and conferring is not required before bringing a motion to compel initial disclosures, the Court does request that parties meet and confer in person, by telephone, or by video conference before bringing any motions. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2016.090; Dept. 6 Courtroom Information.) While the Court does appreciate Plaintiff’s efforts to meet and confer before bringing this motion, the Court requests Plaintiff going forward to attempt to meet and confer in person, by telephone, or by video conference, and not just in writing. (Ibid.; Baladejo Decl., Ex. 2.)

Summary of Arguments

Plaintiff contends to have served a demand for initial disclosures per Code of Civil Procedure section 2016.090 upon Defendant Kim on September 19, 2024, but that Plaintiff has not received any such disclosure from Defendant Kim as of the filing of this motion, despite Plaintiff’s efforts to resolve this matter without court intervention. (Baladejo Decl., ¶¶ 2, 5, Exs. 1-2.)

Analysis

The Court finds Plaintiff is entitled to an order compelling Defendant Kim to provide initial disclosures under Code of Civil Procedure section 2016.090. Plaintiff filed this after on April 26, 2024. Plaintiff duly served the demand for initial disclosures on Defendant Kim on September 19, 2024. (Baladejo Decl., ¶ 2, Ex. 1.) Defendant Kim failed to provide the initial disclosures within 60 days of the demand, and did not provide any as of the filing of this motion. (Baladejo Decl., ¶¶ 3, 5, Ex. 2.) The Court further construes Defendant Kim’s lack of opposition to this motion as a concession that Plaintiff’s arguments are meritorious. (D.I. Chadbourne, Inc. v. Superior Court (1964) 60 Cal.2d 723, 728, fn. 4 [where nonmoving party fails to oppose a ground for a motion, "it is assumed that [nonmoving party] concedes" that ground].)

Based on the foregoing, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s motion.

CONCLUSION

Plaintiff is ordered to give notice of the Court’s ruling within five calendar days of this order.