Judge Mark E. Windham, Case 20STLC09495 2022-09-14 Tentative Ruling

If you desire to submit on the tentative ruling, you may do so by e-mailing Dept. 26 at the Spring Street Courthouse until the morning of the motion hearing.

The e-mail address is SSCdept26@lacourt.org

The heading on your e-mail should contain the case name, number, hearing date, and that you submit. The message should indicate your name, contact information, and the party you represent. Please note, the above e-mail address is to inform the court of your submission on the tentative ruling. All other inquiries will not receive a response.

If there are no appearances by either side and no submission on the Court's tentative ruling, the matter will be placed OFF CALENDAR.

Due to overcrowding concerns of COVID-19, all parties shall make every effort to schedule a remote appearance via LACourtConnect (https://my.lacourt.org/laccwelcome) for their next hearing. The parties shall register with LACourtConnect at least 2 hours prior to their scheduled hearing time.

MOTION TO COMPEL RESPONSES TO REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS; REQUEST FOR SANCTIONS

Defendant Sonya Najera’s Motion to Compel Responses to Request for Production of Documents, Set One, and Request for Sanctions is GRANTED. PLAINTIFF MAKAYLA HAWKINS IS ORDERED TO SERVE VERIFIED RESPONSES, WITHOUT OBJECTION, TO THE DISCOVERY REQUESTS WITHIN 20 DAYS’ SERVICE OF THIS ORDER. FURTHERMORE, PLAINTIFF MAKAYLA HAWKINS IS ORDERED TO PAY SANCTIONS OF $186.65 TO DEFENSE COUNSEL WITHIN 20 DAYS’ SERVICE OF THIS ORDER.

REQUEST FOR RELIEF: Compel Plaintiff Makayla Hawkins to provide verified responses to Request for Production of Documents, Set One, without objections. Award Defendant sanctions of $1,061.65.

On February 28, 2022, Defendant Sonya Najera (erroneously sued as Sonya Moya) (“Defendant”) served Request for Production of Documents, Set One, on Plaintiff Makayla Hawkins (“Plaintiff Hawkins”). (Motion, Alban Decl., Exh. A.) After Plaintiff Hawkins failed to serve responses, Defendant sought to meet and confer and extended the deadline to respond. (Id. at Exh. B.) Following Plaintiff Hawkins’ continued failure to respond, Defendant filed the instant Motion to Compel Responses to Request for Production of Documents, Set One, and Request for Sanctions. (Id. at ¶d.) Plaintiffs’ attorney filed an opposition declaration on July 13, 2022 confirming Plaintiff Hawkins’ non-cooperation with discovery. (Opp., Yeager Decl.)

There is no requirement for a prior meet and confer effort before a motion to compel initial responses can be filed. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2031.300.) Further, the motion can be brought any time after the responding party fails to provide the responses. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2031.300.) Based on their failure to respond to the propounded discovery, Defendant is entitled to an order compelling Plaintiff Hawkins to serve verified responses to the Request for Production of Documents, Set One, without objections.

Plaintiff Hawkins’ failure to timely respond constitutes a misuse of the discovery process. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2023.010, subd. (d).) Sanctions are appropriate under Code of Civil Procedure sections 2023.010 and 2023.030 and have been properly noticed. However, the amount sought is excessive. Under a lodestar calculation, the request for sanctions is granted against Plaintiff Hawkins in the amount of $186.65 based on half-an-hour of attorney time billed at $250.00 an hour, plus $61.65 in costs per motion. (Motion, Alban Decl., ¶e.)