Judge: Michael Small, Case: 23STCV11271, Date: 2025-05-01 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23STCV11271    Hearing Date: May 1, 2025    Dept: 57

On June 6, 2024, the Court issued an order granting Plaintiff Arminda Gomez Barrera's ("Plaintiff") Motion to Compel Defendant Nissan North America, Inc. ("Nissan") to Provide Further Responses to Plaintiff's Request for Production of Documents, Set One ("RFPs"), Numbers 16, 19, 20, 21, 32, and 42, and directing Nissan to provide the further responses by July 18, 2024 ("the Discovery Order").  Nissan failed to appear at the hearing on that motion. 

Pending before the Court today is Plaintiff's motion to compel compliance with the Discovery Order ("the Compliance Motion").  The Court is granting the Compliance Motion.  Nissan opposes it .  According to Nissan, it cannot comply with the Discovery Order unless and until Plaintiff provides Nissan "search terms."   Nissan's argument is unavailing.  If Nissan believed that search terms were necessary, it could have appeared at the hearing at which the Court made the Discovery Order.   It failed to appear.   After the Discovery Order was issued, Nissan could have sought reconsideration of the Discovery Order on the ground that search terms were necessary.  It failed to seek reconsideration.  Thus, at this juncture, Nissan's plea for search terms comes too late.  It needs to comply with the Discovery Order.

Plaintiff seeks in the Compliance Motion a monetary sanction against Nissan in the amount of $500 per day going forward, for each day that passes without compliance with the Discovery Order.  The Court will discuss this request at the hearing today.