Judge: Mark E. Windham, Case: 22STLC00290, Date: 2023-08-09 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22STLC00290    Hearing Date: August 9, 2023    Dept: 26

6356 Van Nuys, LLC v. Kechucmyan, et al.

MOTION TO COMPEL RESPONSES TO REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS AND REQUEST FOR MONETARY SANCTIONS

 (CCP §§ 2031.300, 2023.030)

TENTATIVE RULING:

Defendant Seda Khechumyan’s Motion to Compel Responses to Request for Production of Documents, Set One, and Request for Sanctions is GRANTED. PLAINTIFF 6356 VAN NUYS, LLC IS TO SERVE VERIFIED RESPONSES TO THE REQUESTS WITHIN 20 DAYS’ SERVICE OF THIS ORDER. PLAINTIFF AND COUNSEL OF RECORD ARE JOINTLY AND SEVERALLY ORDERED TO PAY SANCTIONS OF $267.50 TO DEFENSE COUNSEL WITHIN 20 DAYS’ SERVICE OF THIS ORDER.

ANALYSIS:

Defendant Seda Khechumyan (“Defendant”) propounded Request for Production of Documents, Set One, on Plaintiff 6356 Van Nuys, LLC (“Plaintiff”) on May 24, 2023. (Motion, Sarkissian Decl., Exh. A.) Following no response from Plaintiff, Defendant filed the instant Motion to Compel Responses to Request for Production of Documents, Set One and Request for Sanctions on June 30, 2023. Plaintiff served an untimely opposition by electronic mail on July 28, 2023. The opposition should have been served by July 25, 2023. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 1005, 1010.6.)

Discussion

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 Plaintiff’s failure to respond to the propounded discovery, Defendant is entitled to an order compelling service of verified responses to the discovery requests without objections.

Plaintiff incorrectly argues in opposition that the discovery motion cutoff date expired prior to the initial trial date, which was set for July 14, 2023, pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2024.020. That statute provides that discovery motions must be “heard on or before the 15th day, before the date initially set for the trial of the action.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2024.020, subd. (a).) However, the opposition does not address Code of Civil Procedure section 599, under which corresponding deadlines are extended with the trial date as of March 19, 2020 until 180 days after the end of the COVID-19 state of emergency. (Code Civ. Proc., § 599.) The Court takes judicial notice of the fact that the COVID-19 state of emergency expired in California on February 28, 2023 and that 180 thereafter was August 27, 2023. The trial date in this action was continued on July 14, 2023 to November 14, 2023 and the discovery and motion cutoff dates track the new trial date.

Plaintiff’s 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. Pursuant to a lodestar calculation, sanctions are awarded in the amount of $267.50 based on half-an-hour of attorney time billed at $415.00 per hour, and $60.00 in costs. (Motion, Sarkissian Decl., ¶5.) 

Conclusion

Defendant Seda Khechumyan’s Motion to Compel Responses to Request for Production of Documents, Set One, and Request for Sanctions is GRANTED. PLAINTIFF 6356 VAN NUYS, LLC IS TO SERVE VERIFIED RESPONSES TO THE REQUESTS WITHIN 20 DAYS’ SERVICE OF THIS ORDER. PLAINTIFF AND COUNSEL OF RECORD ARE JOINTLY AND SEVERALLY ORDERED TO PAY SANCTIONS OF $267.50 TO DEFENSE COUNSEL WITHIN 20 DAYS’ SERVICE OF THIS ORDER.

Moving party to give notice.