Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 20SMCV00140, Date: 2023-04-17 Tentative Ruling

The Court generally uploads tentative rulings the morning of the hearing.  Because of that, the parties cannot submit on the tentative the night before and not appear.  However, if after reviewing the tentative ruling ALL COUNSEL submit, they should tell the Court's judicial assistant when checking in and the Court will endeavor to either not hear the case in light of the submission or, if the Court believes that a hearing is still needed for some other reason, then the Court will be inclined to give priority.

In some cases, tentative rulings may be given by email the morning of the hearing rather than on the tentative ruling site.  Please check your email if you have not seen the tentative.  The email is generally sent to the persons who have signed up for a remote hearing.

For those appearing in the courtroom, the Court will provide a hard copy of the tentative ruling. 

Case Number: 20SMCV00140    Hearing Date: April 17, 2023    Dept: R

The unopposed motion to compel is GRANTED, but defendant may make good faith objections when responding.  (In making those objections, defendant should be careful not to use boilerplate.  Defendant must also be clear as to whether any documents are in fact being withheld on the basis of any objection and the specific extent of any withholding.)  Discovery was served in aid of a judgment but the judgment debtor did not respond and has provided no justification.  Verified responses are to be filed within 30 days.  Monetary sanctions are also GRANTED in the amount of $878.75, payable to plaintiff’s counsel within 30 days. 

However, before issuing the tentative as an order, the court would like some confirmation that the address is correct.  After all, a judgment debtor has no duty to keep the judgment creditor informed of a change of address absent some order to do so.