Judge: Michelle C. Kim, Case: 20STCV22589, Date: 2023-04-24 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV22589    Hearing Date: April 24, 2023    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Defendant Cassandra Bible (“Defendant”) propounded request for production of documents (“RPDs”), set one, on Plaintiff Robert Thomas (“Plaintiff”) on May 23, 2022.  To date, despite attempts to meet and confer, Plaintiff has not served responses.  Defendant therefore seeks an order compelling Plaintiff to respond, without objections, to the outstanding discovery and to pay sanctions.

Trial in this action is currently set for May 8, 2023.  Pursuant to CCP § 2024.020, the last day to have motions concerning discovery heard is on or before the 15th day before trial.  Fifteen days before the May 8, 2023 trial date would have been April 23, 2023.  Because April 23, 2023 was a Sunday, Defendant was required to have the motion heard on or before Friday, April 21, 2023, in order to comply with the full statutory period under CCP § 2024.020.  Therefore, discovery is closed in this action and the motion cutoff date has now passed.  (Pelton-Shepherd Industries, Inc. v. Delta Packaging Products, Inc. (2008) 165 Cal.App.4th 1568, 1586 [A party who notices a discovery motion to be heard after the discovery motion cutoff date does not have a right to have the motion heard.].) 

Based on the foregoing, Defendant’s motion is denied. 

Defendant 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 24^th day of April 2023