Judge: Lynne M. Hobbs, Case: 22STCV17284, Date: 2023-11-02 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22STCV17284    Hearing Date: February 29, 2024    Dept: 30

NICHOLAS MORENO vs JAMES ABRAHAM

TENTATIVE

Defendant’s motions to compel responses to supplemental interrogatories, supplemental special interrogatories, and supplemental request for production are GRANTED.

Plaintiff Nicholas Moreno is ordered to serve verified responses, without objections, to the discovery at issue within 20 days of this order.

Defendants’ request for sanctions is DENIED.

Moving party is ordered to give notice.

Discussion

On November 27, 2023, Defendant served Supplemental Form and Special Interrogatories, Set One, and Supplemental Request for Production of Documents, Set One, on Plaintiff. (Wainfield Decl., Exh. A.) To date, Plaintiff has failed to provide responses nor requested any extensions. (Id., ¶ 3.)

As Defendant properly served requests for supplemental interrogatories and supplemental request for production and Plaintiff failed to serve responses, the Court finds Defendant is entitled to a court order directing Plaintiff to provide verified responses without objections to the supplemental discovery served on Plaintiff. Therefore, the motions are granted.

Defendant also requests sanctions. Code of Civil Procedure sections 2030.290(c) and 2031.310 mandate sanctions when the motion is unsuccessfully opposed. Here, as the motions were not opposed, the request for sanctions is denied.

Defendant’s request for sanctions under CCP section 2023.010 for the misuse of discovery is also denied, as "sections 2023.010 and 2023.030 do not independently authorize the trial court to impose monetary sanctions for misuse of discovery.” (City of Los Angeles v. PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC (2022) 84 Cal.App.5th 466, 504.)