Judge: Michelle C. Kim, Case: 20STCV02958, Date: 2023-09-27 Tentative Ruling


Case Number: 20STCV02958    Hearing Date: October 9, 2023    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA  

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT 

 

DAVID GREGORY CROFTS, 

Plaintiff(s),  

vs. 

 

RONALD BELK, ET AL., 

 

Defendant(s). 

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      CASE NO: 20STCV02958 

 

[TENTATIVE] ORDER RE: MOTION TO COMPEL IN-PERSON DEPOSITION  

 

Dept. 31 

1:30 p.m.  

October 9, 2023  

 

Plaintiff David Gregory Crofts (“Plaintiff”) moves to compel Defendant Ronald Belk’s (“Belk”) in-person deposition. Plaintiff contends that Belk objected to Plaintiff’s four deposition notices without cause. 

 

In opposition, defense counsel contends that they repeatedly indicated Belk would appear for his deposition on a mutually agreeable date, and defense counsel offered dates to Plaintiff’s counsel. However, Plaintiff did not notice the deposition after the dates were provided. Further, Defendant contends that Plaintiff’s motion is set to be heard past the motion-cut off deadline of September 27, 2023. 

  

CCP §2024.020 provides: 

  1. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any party shall be entitled as a matter of right to complete discovery proceedings on or before the 30th day, and to have motions concerning discovery heard on or before the 15th day, before the date initially set for the trial of the action. 

  1. Except as provided in Section 2024.050, a continuance or postponement of the trial date does not operate to reopen discovery proceedings. 

As relevant to the issue, on November 18, 2022, the Court granted Defendants’ motion to continue trial; the trial date was continued to June 12, 2023, with all discovery and expert cutoff dates continued to reflect the new trial date. (Min. Order, Nov. 18, 2022.) On February 6, 2023, per oral stipulation, the trial date was continued to October 12, 2023. (Min. Order, Feb. 6, 2023). Based on the Court’s recollection, the intention of the last trial continuance was for the discovery and motion cut-off dates to follow. Accordingly, all discovery and motion cut-off dates are based on the October 12, 2023 trial date.  

 

Plaintiff’s motion is untimely and is therefore DENIED.  

 

Plaintiff is ordered to give notice.   

 

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: 

  • Parties are encouraged to meet and confer after reading this tentative ruling to see if they can reach an agreement. 

  • If a party intends to submit on this tentative ruling,¿the party must send an email to the court at¿sscdept31@lacourt.org¿with the Subject line “SUBMIT” followed by the case number.¿ The body of the email must include the hearing date and time, counsel’s contact information, and the identity of the party submitting.¿¿ 

  • Unless¿all¿parties submit by email to this tentative ruling, the parties should arrange to appear remotely (encouraged) or in person for oral argument.¿ You should assume that others may appear at the hearing to argue.¿¿ 

  • If the parties neither submit nor appear at hearing, the Court may take the motion off calendar or adopt the tentative ruling as the order of the Court.¿ After the Court has issued a tentative ruling, the Court may prohibit the withdrawal of the subject motion without leave.¿ 

 

Dated this 6th day of October 2023 

 

  

 

 

Hon. Michelle C. Kim 

Judge of the Superior Court