Judge: Michelle C. Kim, Case: 20STCV45380, Date: 2023-03-14 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV45380    Hearing Date: March 14, 2023    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Defendant, Marshalls of CA, LLC (erroneously sued as Marshall’s Department Stores of California, Inc.) (“Defendant”) propounded form interrogatories, special interrogatories, and requests for production of documents (RPDs), on plaintiff Chad Tewksberry (“Plaintiff”) on June 16, 2022. To date, despite an extension of time to respond, Plaintiff has not served responses. Defendant therefore seeks an order compelling Plaintiff to respond, without objections, to the outstanding discovery and to pay sanctions.

Defendant’s motions are unopposed and granted.  Plaintiffs are ordered to serve verified responses to form interrogatories, special interrogatories, and RPDs, without objections, within ten days.  (CCP §§ 2030.290(a),(b), 2031.300(a),(b).)

Sanctions are mandatory.  (CCP §§ 2030.290(c), 2031.300(c).)  Defendant seeks sanctions in the amount of $1,425 for each motion.  The requested amount includes more hours than were necessary to bring this matter to hearing, particularly as the motions were very similar and unopposed.  The court awards Defendant one hour for preparing each form motion to compel [three hours total] and one hour to appear at the hearing on all motions [one hour total] all at the requested rate of $195 per hour, for a total of $780 in attorney’s fees.  Further, the court awards Defendant three motion filing fees of $60, or $180 total, as costs.

Defendant seeks sanctions against Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s attorney of record.  Defendant does not describe any conduct warranting sanctions against Plaintiff personally.  Sanctions are imposed against Plaintiff’s attorney of record only.  Plaintiff’s counsel is ordered to pay sanctions to Defendant, by and through counsel of record, in the total amount of $960, within twenty days.

Moving 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 14^th day of March, 2023