I. Motion to Compel 

Defendant Hawthorn Regency Apartments, LLC, erroneously sued as Hawthorne Regency, ("Defendant”) propounded (1) form interrogatories, set one, (2) special interrogatories, set one, and (3) RPDs, set one, on plaintiff Daniel Jahren (“Plaintiff”) on October 20, 2023. After providing Plaintiff an extension up until December 11, 2023 to provide responses, Plaintiff has not served responses to date. Defendant therefore seeks an order compelling Plaintiff to respond, without objections, to the outstanding discovery and to pay sanctions.  

Any opposition was due on or before February 8, 2024; the motions are unopposed. 

For a motion to compel discovery responses, all a propounding party must show is that it properly served its discovery requests, that the time to respond has expired, and that the party to whom the requests were directed failed to provide a timely response. (See Leach v. Superior Court (1980) 111 Cal.App.3d 902, 905 906.) Where a party fails to serve timely responses to discovery requests, the court may make an order compelling responses. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2030.290; 2031.300; Sinaiko Healthcare Consulting, Inc. v. Pacific Healthcare Consultants (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 390, 403.) A party that fails to serve timely responses waives any objections to the request, including ones based on privilege or the protection of attorney work product. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.290, subd. (a); § 2031.300, subd. (a).)    

Therefore, because the evidence shows Plaintiff was properly served with discovery and failed to respond, Defendant’s unopposed motions are GRANTED. Plaintiff is ordered to serve verified responses to Defendant’s form interrogatories, set one, special interrogatories, set one, and RPDs, set one, without objections, within twenty (20) days. (CCP §§ 2030.290(a),(b), 2031.300(a),(b).) 

II. Sanctions 

Sanctions are mandatory against any party, person, or attorney who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion to compel a response, unless a court makes certain findings.¿ (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.290(c), 2031.300(c).)¿ Plaintiff did not file any opposition. However, sanctions may be awarded, even though no opposition was filed, pursuant to CRC 3.1348(a). Defendant seeks sanctions in the amount of $510 for each motion.     

Defendant is awarded 1 hour to prepare each motion, and 1 hour to appear at the hearing (awarded only once), at the requested rate of $225 per hour, for a total of $900 in attorney’s fees. Further, Defendant is awarded three motion filing fees of $60, for a total of $180, as costs.    

Sanctions are sought and imposed against Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s counsel, jointly and severally. Plaintiff and/or Plaintiff’s counsel are ordered to pay sanctions to Defendant, by and through counsel of record, in the total amount of $1,080, within twenty (20) days. 

Moving party is ordered to give notice.   

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: