Judge: Michael E. Whitaker, Case: 21STCV03126, Date: 2022-10-06 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21STCV03126    Hearing Date: October 6, 2022    Dept: 32

PLEASE NOTE:   Parties are encouraged to meet and confer concerning this tentative ruling to determine if a resolution may be reached.  If the parties are unable to reach a resolution and a party intends to submit on this tentative ruling, the party must send an email to the Court at sscdept32@lacourt.org indicating that party’s intention to submit.  The email shall include the case number, date and time of the hearing, counsel’s contact information (if applicable), and the identity of the party submitting on this tentative ruling.  If the Court does not receive an email indicating the parties are submitting on this tentative ruling and there are no appearances at the hearing, the Court may place the motion off calendar or adopt the tentative ruling as the order of the Court.  If all parties do not submit on this tentative ruling, they should arrange to appear in-person or remotely (which is highly encouraged).  Further, after the Court has posted/issued a tentative ruling, the Court has the inherent authority to prohibit the withdrawal of the subject motion and adopt the tentative ruling as the order of the Court. 

TENTATIVE RULING

MOTIONS

            Defendant Charles Henderson (Defendant) moves to compel responses from Plaintiff Joseph Remarcke (Plaintiff) to Form Interrogatories, set two (FROGs).  Defendant also moves  to deem admitted the matters specified in Request for Admissions, set one, (RFAs) which Defendant propounded on Plaintiff.  Defendant seeks monetary sanctions in connection with the motions.  Plaintiff has not filed oppositions to the motions.

            Preliminarily, the Court notes that Defendant failed to attach a copy of the FROGs, with an attendant proof of service, to the motion to compel.  Instead, Defendant attached a copy of “Form Interrogatories, set one” to the motion to compel.  Therefore, the Court finds that the motion to compel the FROGs to be procedurally defective. 

ANALYSIS

            Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.280, subdivision (a), “[i]f a party to whom requests or admission are directed fails to serve a timely response…[t]he party to whom the requests for admission are directed waives any objection to the requests, including one based on privilege or on the protection for work product[.]”  (Code Civ. Proc., § 2033.280, subd. (a).)  Where a party fails to respond to requests for admissions, the propounding party may move for an order that the genuineness of any documents and the truth of any matters specified in the requests be deemed admitted, as well as for a monetary sanction.¿ (Code Civ. Proc., § 2033.280, subd. (b).)

Here, Defendant served the RFAs on Plaintiff on November 23, 2021, both via mail and electronically. Plaintiff’s responses were thus due by December 28, 2021.  As of the filing date of the motion, Defendant has not received responses from Plaintiff.  Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiff has failed to serve timely responses to the RFAs.

Defendant requests monetary sanctions in connection with the motion.  The Court finds Plaintiff’s failure to respond to the RFAs to be an abuse of the discovery process, warranting monetary sanctions.  (See Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2023.010, subd. (d), 2033.280, subd. (b).)  Accordingly, the Court will impose monetary sanctions against Plaintiff, in the amount of $460, which represents two hours of attorney time to prepare the motion and attend the hearing at $200 per hour, plus the motion filing fee of $60.

CONCLUSION AND ORDER

Therefore, the Court grants Defendant’s motion to deem admitted matters specified in the RFAs, and orders that the matters in the RFAs are admitted per Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.280. 

Further, the Court denies without prejudice Defendant’s motion to compel responses to the FROGs as procedurally defective.

Further, the Court orders Plaintiff to pay monetary sanctions in the amount of $460 to Defendant, by and through counsel for Defendant, within 30 days of notice of the Court’s orders.

Defendant shall provide notice of the Court’s orders and file a proof of service of such.