Judge: Mark V. Mooney, Case: 22STCV08051, Date: 2022-10-18 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 22STCV08051 Hearing Date: October 18, 2022 Dept: 68
2STCV08051
GAVRIELI BRANDS LLC vs EMPIRE CONTAINER FREIGHT STATION,
INC.
Tentative Ruling on (1) Motion to Compel Further Response to
First Set of Special Interrogatories, (2) Motion to Compel Responses to Second
Set of Form Interrogatories - 17.1 and (3) Motion to Deem Facts Admitted and for
Sanctions for all Motions.
Granted as stated below.
BACKGROUND
The complaint in this case was filed on March 7, 2022. The
causes of action asserted in the Plaintiff’s Complaint are for (1) Possession
of Personal Property; (2) Conversion; (3) Negligence; (4) Promissory Fraud; and
(5) Unfair Competition. Plaintiff filed this motion on September 2, 2022.
The Discovery
Two of the three motions addressed in this ruling were originally
on calendar in this department on September 28, 2022. No substantive responses were provided to the
Special Interrogatories. No Responses
were provided to the Request to Admit. And
the third motion (which is now before the Court) involves the Second Set of
Form Interrogatories, to which no responses were provided. That Form Interrogatory was Interrogatory 17.1
that related to the Requests to Admit. And
no Oppositions were filed to any of these Motions. According to Plaintiff:
“…a mere 30-minutes prior to the [September
28, 2022] hearing on Plaintiff Gavrieli Brans LLC’s motions … Defendant Empire
Container Freight Station purported to serve initial responses to Plaintiff’s
RFAs and further responses to Plaintiff’s special interrogatories.
As a result of Empire’s last-minute
responses, this Court continued the hearing on Plaintiffs’ motions to October
18, 2022 and directed the parties to meet and confer. However, Empire has
ignored Plaintiff’s request to meet and confer and Empire’s eleventh hour
responses are incomplete and/or insufficient. Certain RFAs should be deemed
admitted, Empire should be compelled to provide further responses to certain
special interrogatories, and sanctions must still be awarded for Empire’s
discovery misconduct.” (Plaintiffs
Supplemental Briefing Oct. 12, 2022.)
Responses to the Requests to Admit are Incomplete
The Plaintiff’s Supplemental Briefing shows that Defendant
Empire has not adequately responded to the following discovery:
Requests to Admit: 1, 2, 4, 34, and 36. Empire is required when it indicates that it
is unable to admit or deny a request for admit, to state that it conducted a
reasonable inquiry concerning the matter in the particular request and that the
information known or readily obtainable is insufficient to enable it to admit
the matter. Code of Civil Procedure § 2033.220(c).
With regard to RFA 23 the response is not sufficient as it
appears to be truncated. It simply reads “ADMIT that” with no period suggesting
that something was to follow. A complete
response must be provided.
The response to RFA 35 is not proper as it appears to not be
responsive to the Request. A new
response must be provided that is responsive to the Request.
Defendant is ordered to provide full and complete code
compliant responses to RFAs 1, 2, 4, 23, 34, 35 and 36 within 15 days of this
Order.
Responses to the Special Interrogatories are Required
Defendant has not provided an adequate response to Special
Interrogatory number 9. It is not sufficient to indicate that the answer is
based on “information and belief,” without providing the factual basis for that
information and belief. Defendant must provide all of the information upon
which it bases that its contention.
Defendant must provide complete responses to interrogatories
Nos. 6, 7 and 8 as well.
Further answers to Special Interrogatories 6, 7, 8, and 9,
without objection, shall be provided within 15 days of the date of this Order.
Second Set of Form Interrogatories - 17.1
Defendant failed to serve responses to the Second Set of
Form Interrogatories. Plaintiff’s
counsel filed a Declaration dated October 11, 202 stating that as of that date
no responses have been served to the Second Set of Form Interrogatories. Nor has an opposition been filed or served to
the motion.
Defendant is ordered to serve full and complete responses to
the Second Set of Form Interrogatories, without objection within 15 days of the
date of this Order.
Meet and Confer
“On the Court's own motion, the
Hearing on Motion to Compel Further Discovery Responses scheduled for
09/28/2022, and Hearing on Motion to Deem Request for Admissions Admitted
scheduled for 09/28/2022 are continued to 10/18/2022 at 08:30 AM in Department
68 at Stanley Mosk Courthouse. Counsel are to have a meaningful meet and confer
regarding the responses provided this morning and the discovery responses at
issue for the 10-18-2022.”
According to Plaintiff’s counsel, a request to meet and
confer was made to defendant’s counsel, but no meet and confer was scheduled by
defendant’s counsel. This is not acceptable.
Sanctions are Awarded
Plaintiff is entitled to an award of sanctions. Defendant has failed to comply with its discovery
obligations. The statutes mandates the
award of sanctions unless the position of Defendant is substantially justified. Defendant’s failures are not justified.
Plaintiff is awarded the following amounts on the various
motions, which sanctions are awarded jointly and severally against both Empire Container
Freight Station, Inc., and its counsel of record Mainak D’Attaray and are payable
within 60 days:
Special Interrogatories $2,500.00
Request to Admit $3,097.50
Form Interrogatory $2,250.00